Congress Leads by Example Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Representative Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
Introduced
Summary
Strengthen enforcement and whistleblower protections for legislative branch workplaces. This bill would give the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights new subpoena power and recordkeeping duties and expand employee rights like whistleblower defenses, parental bereavement leave, and protections from garnishment or bankruptcy-based discrimination.
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- Covered employees, including staff at the Government Accountability Office and the Library of Congress, would get clearer whistleblower rights, parental bereavement leave, and protections against discharge or discriminatory treatment tied to garnishment or bankruptcy. Remedies would track existing federal personnel and bankruptcy standards.
- Employing offices would face new OSHA-style recordkeeping duties and the OCWR would regain subpoena authority and the power to seek temporary relief in unfair labor cases. The bill phases in these changes and allows interim use of the most relevant executive-agency rules while OCWR issues regulations.
- Juror-employment protections would extend to legislative branch employers and certain hearings would be opened to the public. Claims under Title IV would go through a mandatory, faster mediation step with adjusted timing rules depending on who files the request.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Faster enforcement and open hearings
This bill would give the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights stronger investigatory powers and OSHA-style recordkeeping for legislative employers. It would expand subpoena authority and let the Office's General Counsel use certain Labor Department-like authorities, with interim executive-agency rules allowed until the Office issues its own. The bill would let the Office seek temporary relief in unfair-labor cases filed after enactment, require prompt mediation for Title IV claims filed after enactment, and require employers to keep discrimination records starting 60 days after enactment. Hearings and deliberations in certain CAA cases would generally be open to the public for proceedings after enactment.
More workplace rights for legislative employees
This bill would extend several existing federal worker protections to legislative-branch employees, including GAO and Library of Congress staff. It would add whistleblower remedies, bankruptcy anti-discrimination and garnishment protections, and parental bereavement leave rights. It would also make more Fair Labor Standards Act and Family and Medical Leave Act rules apply to these employees. Many of these changes would take effect when the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights issues implementing rules, or sooner where the bill says they apply on enactment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov