REFERENCE-—when NBC News directed questions about the Alcee Hastings $200,000 harassment settlement and payments to two congressional entities the documents showed were involved in establishing and approving them — the Office of Compliance and the Senate Office of the Chief Counsel for Employment — neither provided answers.
In an email, the Office of Compliance’s media representative wrote that “the Congressional Accountability Act requires that the OOC maintain the confidentially of contacts made with the office. The OOC cannot comment on whether matters have or have not been filed with the office.”
The Senate legal office did not respond to questions — including why it reached a settlement in this case even though Hastings is a member of the House.
The Process
In the “lessons” memo, the counsel representing Hastings’ side, she argued that “the manner in which the case was resolved was not ideal, and, going forward, we strongly recommend that the commission consider adopting regulations or policies to avoid this type of situation.”
According to the “lessons” memo, Packer contacted the Senate Chief Counsel for Employment’s office and “indicated her interest in settling the case.” A draft confidentiality agreement between Packer and the commission, obtained by NBC News, forced Packer to resign in order to accept the settlement. She also had to agree to never seek employment with the commission again.
The agreement was also made with the commission, not Hastings, and required commission employees to attend a sexual harassment training session. Hastings was not required to attend. According to the settlement, the commission’s harassment politics also had to be redrafted and distributed them at the seminar.
The Senate office didn’t communicate with the House office that first opened the case on the terms and details of the settlement, according to Lett’s “lessons” memo. Other than a conversation between Hastings and Cardin in 2014 that a settlement had been reached, Hastings was never provided any details of the settlement until it was reported in the press last week.
“Until (last Friday) evening, I had not seen the settlement agreement between the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) and Ms. Packer,” Hastings said. “At no time was I consulted, nor did I know until after the fact that such a settlement was made.”
It’s not the first settlement where the accused was not made aware of the details. An attorney to former Rep. Eric Massa, D-N.Y., said the congressman was unaware of $100,000 worth of sexual harassment-related payments to former staffers in 2010, according to ABC News. Massa’s attorney, James D. Doyle, said that the process is unfair to both the victim and the accused.
Further shrouding this taxpayer-funded process and payouts is the lack of information provided to lawmakers and the public.
The amount of Packer’s settlement, $200,000, the largest known to date, was not included in recent details about sexual harassment settlements and payments given to the House Administration Committee, including an $84,000 settlement for an employee of Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas.
Congress has wrestled with these issues in a more urgent way since the recent wave of sexual misconduct allegations began sweeping through virtually every sector of America over the past months, including several high-profile cases that have brought down members of the House and Senate.
Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., chairman of the House Administration Committee, told NBC News that he will introduce bipartisan legislation next week to reform the entire adjudication process for accusers and the accused as a way to provide more transparency to the public.
In the meantime, leaders on Capitol Hill continue to struggle to explain how these past settlements happened in the first place.
OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE
Web site https://www.compliance.gov/about-ooc/our-pledge
OUR PLEDGE
We appreciate that workplace rights issues can be stressful to deal with, difficult to manage, and challenging to understand. So when someone calls to speak to our counselors about a sensitive workplace issue, we are committed to providing prompt, courteous, and responsive information to help them better understand their rights and responsibilities. All counseling calls with the OOC are strictly confidential.
When we inspect properties to determine compliance with safety and health and disability access, we are committed to working with employing offices to help them understand the law and to provide the information necessary to cure any potential violations.
Finally, we strongly believe that understanding the laws incorporated in the Congressional Accountability Act is the best way to prevent workplace conflict, and as such, we are committed to being a vital, educational resource for Congressional Members, employing offices, and legislative branch employees through our publications and training programs.
The Office of Compliance is part of the legislative branch and is therefore not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
OOC’s Organizational Structure
The OOC has a five-member, non-partisan Board of Directors and four executive staff, appointed by the Board, who carry out the day-to-day functions of the Agency. The Office also employs an experienced professional staff on Capitol Hill who educate, communicate, inspect, litigate, and otherwise run its operations.
About the Office of Compliance
The Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) protects over 30,000 employees of the legislative branch nationwide and establishes the Office of Compliance (OOC) to administer and ensure the integrity of the Act through its programs of dispute resolution, education, and enforcement. The OOC assists members of Congress, employing offices and employees, and visiting public in understanding their rights and responsibilities under the workplace and accessibility laws. The OOC advises Congress on needed changes and amendments to the CAA; and the OOC’s General Counsel has independent investigatory and enforcement authority for certain violations of the CAA.
OOC’s Organizational Structure
The OOC has a five-member, non-partisan Board of Directors and four executive staff, appointed by the Board, who carry out the day-to-day functions of the Agency. The Office also employs an experienced professional staff on Capitol Hill who educate, communicate, inspect, litigate, and otherwise run its operations.
John Adams Building
110 2nd Street SE, Room LA 200
Washington, DC 20540-1999
Phone: 202-724-9250
Fax: 202-426-1913