Q: If my claim is not resolved during the counseling phase, and I want to pursue the matter, does the CAA require that I file a request for mediation with the OOC?
A: Yes.
Q: If I initiate mediation, will I be under a "gag order"?
A: No. At the beginning of the mediation process, all parties sign an agreement to keep confidential all communications, statements, and documents that are prepared for the mediation. Information obtained, exchanged, or imparted during mediation may not be disclosed by the mediator or any party to the mediation. This means that you can't discuss what was said during mediation or share information you learned for the first time through mediation. The purpose of this limited confidentiality obligation is to encourage the parties to share information in order to seek resolution of the claim. The CAA does not prohibit discussing with others the underlying harassment or other actions that brought you to the OOC in the first place.
Q: Do I have to attend mediation in person?
A: No. Contrary to some inaccurate reports in the media, there is no requirement that the employee be in the same room — or even in the same building — as the accused harasser during mediation. You may participate in the mediation process over the telephone, or by similar means, and you may have someone else represent you in your absence. Your designated representative can be but is not required to be, a lawyer.
Q: I have a sexual harassment claim. I have heard that unless I continue to work in the workplace with my harasser, I cannot pursue a claim with the OOC. Is this true?
A: No. You do not have to continue to work in the same workplace, or even in the legislative branch at all, in order to pursue a claim before the OOC. Just remember that your request for counseling must be filed within 180 days of the alleged harassment. Q: I’ve read that legislative branch employees have to go through a longer and more cumbersome process than victims of sexual harassment in the private sector or the executive branch. Is that true? A: No. Employees outside of the legislative branch are required to exhaust administrative remedies by going through a multi-step process with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and/or the Merit Systems Protection Board, and those procedures can take as long as – or longer than – the OOC’s process.
Q: Do I have to report harassment to my supervisor or employing office before filing with the OOC?
A: No. The CAA does not require an employee to do so in order to initiate a claim. Nonetheless, an employee may be required to report discriminatory harassment under an employing office’s published anti-harassment policy and give it a chance to fix the situation, where it would be reasonable to do so.
Q: All of the media reports seem to be focusing on the sexual harassment of women. I am a male – can I file a claim if I’ve been sexually harassed?
A: Yes.
Q: If a settlement results in a payment to the complainant, where do the funds come from?
A: Awards and settlements are paid from an account in the US Treasury of the United States, pursuant to Section 1415 of the CAA.
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