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OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE              LA 200, John Adams Building, 110 Second Street, S.E.              Washington, DC 20540-1999
_________________________RICHARD A. DUNCAN,       Complainant,             v.                                  Case No. 02-AC-59(RP)                                                  August 5 , 2004OFFICE OF THE ARCHITECTOF THE CAPITOL         Respondent._________________________
Before the Board of Directors: Susan               S. Robfogel, Chair; Barbara L. Camens, Alan V. Friedman; Roberta               L. Holzwarth; Barbara Childs Wallace, Members.

DECISION OF THE BOARD OF               DIRECTORS

 I. Introduction

The Office of Compliance entered into               its records the attached decision of Hearing Officer Sylvia Bacon               in this proceeding. The hearing officer granted the Respondent/employing               office’s motion to dismiss the complaint concluding that (1)               the complaint fails to state a claim upon which the requested relief               may be granted; and (2) the claims made in the complaint are not               within the jurisdiction of the Office of Compliance as conferred               upon it by Congress. The Appellant/Complainant timely filed a petition               for review and a supporting brief. The Respondent timely filed its               opposition brief.

 The Complaint alleges, in summary, that the               Complainant opposed unsafe work practices by refusing a superior’s               oral direction that he remove his safety hard hat although working               in a hard hat designated area. Consequently, that superior became               verbally offensive towards the Complainant and forcibly removed               Complainant’s hard hat from his head. Complainant alleges               consequential and lingering physical and emotional damages therefrom.               The Complaint also alleges (1) that the Respondent imposed discipline               upon the Complainant; (2) Respondent materially misrepresented facts               to prejudice Complainant’s related Workers Compensation claim               before the U.S. Department of Labor; and (3) Respondent wrongfully               denied the Complainant’s internal grievance, which was based               upon these events. Complainant alleges that each of Respondent’s               cited acts constituted retaliation proscribed by Section 207(a)               of the Congressional Accountability Act (“the Act”),               inflicted upon him because Complainant had opposed unsafe working               conditions. 

 II. The Hearing Officer’s Legal Conclusions

 The hearing officer, noting that the Act’s               single anti-retaliation provision, Section 207(a), is placed in               Part A of Title II of the Act, concluded that 207(a) restricts its               protection solely to the exercise of rights under those laws applied               by Part A. The hearing officer accorded controlling significance               to the fact that the Occupational Safety and Health Act, under which               the Complainant claims protected activity, is applied by Section               215, which is placed in Part C of Title II of the Act. 

 The hearing officer specifically held that the               Complainant “is a Congressional employee to whom Congress               extended OSHA protections and remedies”. However, she found               it critical that the OSHA protections in Part C contained no “specific               cross-reference” to the remedial provisions in Part A, particularly               Section 207(a). The hearing officer ultimately concluded that the               Complainant’s anti-retaliation remedy exists under OSHA, in               common with non-Congressional employees covered by OSHA. The hearing               officer concluded that to accord the Complainant and other Congressional               employees “private rights of action” under Section 207(a)               would afford them greater remedial procedures than those enjoyed               by non-Congressional employees.

 III. Discussion

 Dismissal on the pleadings is only appropriate               “if it is clear that no relief could be granted under any               set of facts that could be proved consistent with the allegations.”               *H.J. Inc. v. Northwest Bell Telephone Co.,* 492 U.S. 229,               249-50 (1989) (internal quotations and citations omitted). See also               *Conley v. Gibson*, 355 U.S. 41 (1957). In a motion to dismiss,               the court must accept as true all well-pleaded factual allegations               contained in the complaint and draw all reasonable inferences in               the plaintiff’s favor. *In re Burlington Coat Factory Sec.               Litig.,* 114 F.3d 1410, 1424-25 (3d Cir. 1997). However, a court               need not credit a complaint’s legal conclusions wherein factual               support is lacking. *Glassman v. Computervision Corp.,* 90               F.3d 617, 628 (1st Cir. 1996).

 The Board’s standard of review for appeals               from a hearing officer decision requires the Board to set aside               a decision if the Board determines it to be: (1)arbitrary, capricious,               an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not consistent with law; (2)               not made               consistent with required procedures; or (3) unsupported by substantial               evidence. *Section 406(c)*, CAA; 2 U.S.C. §1406(c).

 This petition for review implicates review ground               (1) supra., inasmuch as the appeal challenges the hearing officer’s               legal conclusions of her lack of jurisdiction to entertain the Complaint.               Accordingly, the Board’s review of those legal conclusions               should be de novo. *Nebblett v. Office of Personnel Management,*237 F.3d 1353, 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2001).

 We disagree with the hearing officer’s               conclusion that Section 207(a) does not protect from reprisal covered               employees who exercise their OSHA rights. We begin with Section               207(a) because it so unambiguously and clearly extends anti-reprisal               protection for opposition to any practice made unlawful by the CAA:

***Sec. 207. Prohibition of Intimidation                 or Reprisal***

(a) IN GENERAL.-It shall be unlawful for an                 employing office to intimidate, take reprisal against, or otherwise                 discriminate against, any covered employee because the covered                 employee has opposed any practice made unlawful **by this                 Act**, or because the covered employee has initiated proceedings,                 made a charge, or testified, assisted, or participated in any                 manner in a hearing or other proceeding **under this Act.**                [Emphasis supplied].

 This provision plainly prescribes that its anti-retaliation               protections attach to the exercise of rights across the entire Congressional               Accountability Act and not just to those rights applied by Part               A of Title II of the Act. Nor are we persuaded that the location               of Section 207(a) in Part A counsels to the contrary. The referenced               placement is consistent with the statutory scheme that places other               individual rights of covered employees within Part A of Title II               of the Act. These individual rights are enforced through the dispute               resolution procedures in Title IV of the Act. Section 401, CAA;               2 U.S.C. §1401 et seq. On the other hand, the laws applied               by Parts B-D of Title II (Public Services and Accommodations under               the Americans with Disabilities Act, Occupational Safety and Health               Act, and the Federal Labor-Management Relations Statute) are enforced               through proceedings brought by the Office’s General Counsel               rather than by covered employees. We will not construe the placement               of Section 207(a) in Part A to trump its express language when there               is another reasonable explanation for that placement.               The legislative history of the Act unequivocally supports this conclusion.               While the Act was unaccompanied by any committee reports, two major               Senate proponents of the Act, Senators Charles Grassley and Joseph               Lieberman, introduced into the Congressional Record their section-by-section               analysis of the Act. Addressing section 207(a), the document states,               in pertinent part, “This section provides one uniform remedy               for intimidation or reprisal taken against covered employees for               exercising rights and pursuing remedies of violations for the violation               of rights conferred by this act.” [*Congressional Record,*               p. S624, January 9, 1995]. 

 We also disagree with the hearing officer’s               conclusion that covered employees possess a remedy against reprisal               under the Act’s OSHA provisions. In fact, Section 210 of the               Act selectively applies OSHA provisions, and does not apply OSHA’s               anti-discrimination/ retaliation provision, 29 U.S.C. *§660(c)*,               which provides:

*Discharge or discrimination against employee                 for exercise of rights under this chapter; prohibition; procedure                 for relief                (1) No person shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against                 any employee because such employee has filed any complaint or                 caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this                 chapter or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding                 or because of the exercise by such employee on behalf of himself                 or others of any right afforded by this chapter.                (2) Any employee who believes that he has been discharged or otherwise                 discriminated against by any person in violation of this subsection                 may, within thirty days after such violation occurs, file a complaint                 with the Secretary [of Labor] alleging such discrimination. Upon                 receipt of such complaint, the Secretary shall cause such investigation                 to be made as he deems appropriate. If upon such investigation                 the Secretary determines that the provisions of this subsection                 have been violated, he shall bring an action in any appropriate                 United States District Court against such person. In any such                 action the United States district courts shall have jurisdiction,                 for cause shown to restrain violations of paragraph (1) of this                 subsection and order all appropriate relief including rehiring                 or reinstatement of the employee to his former position with back                 pay.                (3) Within 90 days of the receipt of a complaint filed under this                 subsection the Secretary shall notify the complainant of his determination                 under paragraph (2) of this subsection.*

 Unless Section 207(a)’s reference to “any               practice made unlawful by this Act” is understood to encompass               practices made unlawful by the Act’s OSHA provisions, covered               employees would have no rights or remedies if subjected to intimidation               or reprisal for opposing such practices. However, our view of the               clear import of Section 207(a) avoids this result. 

 Once again an examination of the legislative               history is quite elucidating. In January 1995, the House of Representatives               unanimously passed *H.R. 1*, which tracked *H.R. 4822*               from the previous 103rd Congress. *H.R. 1* contained an anti-retaliation               provision (*Sec. 101(a)(2)*) limiting its scope to the exercise               of rights under statutes applied by that section, which did not               include OSHA. Instead, *H.R. 1* provided a separate anti-retaliation               provision in the bill’s OSHA section that would have afforded               prosecutorial discretion to the Office of Compliance’s General               Counsel. [*H.R. 1, Section 106(c)*]. [See, generally, *Legislative               History, Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, Volume 1, Proceedings               in the 103d Congress, Prepared by the Office of Senate Legal Counsel,*               June 1995, pp. ii-xiii.) Essentially, *H.R. 1* would have               afforded the OSHA anti-retaliation non-private right of action envisioned               by the Hearing Officer.

 However, Congress instead ultimately passed               *S. 2*, which: (1) imposed a general anti-retaliation provision               in *Section 207(a)* to protect exercise of all rights under               the Act; and (2) afforded the General Counsel no role in investigating               and prosecuting OSHA anti-retaliation claims. It is therefore clear               that the Congress considered and rejected the remedial enforcement               scheme that the Hearing Officer found to be operative herein. Instead,               Congress opted that OSHA retaliation claims be processed under Section               207(a) of the Act.

 Accordingly, we reverse the hearing officer’s               decision to grant Respondent’s motion to dismiss the Complaint.             

 ORDER

Pursuant to Section 406(e) of the Congressional               Accountability Act and Section 8.01(d) of the Office’s Procedural               Rules, the Board remands this matter to the hearing officer to proceed               as is consistent with this opinion.

It is so ordered. 

 Issued, Washington, D.C.: August 5 , 2004

CERTIFICATE               OF SERVICE 

I hereby certify that on this Fifth (5th) day               of August 2004, I delivered a copy of this Decision of the Board               of Directors to the following parties by the below identified means:             

**First-Class Mail Postage-Prepaid**

Jeffrey H. Leib, Esq.              Attorney at Law              5104 34th Street, N.W.              Washington, D.C. 20008

**First-Class Mail Postage-Prepaid,               & Facsimile Mail (w/o Hearing Officer               Decision)**

Christine Cooper, Esq.              McGuiness, Norris & Williams, LLP              1015 Fifteenth Street, NW              Washington, DC 20005

 

______________________________              G. Ann Woodbury              Office of Compliance

 August 5, 2004

Jeffrey H. Leib, Esq.              Attorney at Law              5104 34th Street, N.W.              Washington, D.C. 20008

Christine Cooper, Esq.              McGuiness, Norris & Williams, LLP              1015 Fifteenth Street, NW              Washington, DC 20005

              Re: *Richard A. Duncan, Complainant v. Office of               the Architect of the Capitol, Case No. 02-AC-59(RP)*

 Dear Counsel:

 Pursuant to *Section 8.01(e)* of the               Procedural Rules of the Office of Compliance I am hereby providing               you with the Decision of the Board of Directors, dated August 5,                             2004, remanding the matter to the Hearing Officer to proceed in               accordance with the Board’s opinion.

 Sincerely,

 Paul M. Coran              Acting Executive Director

 cc: Hearing Officer               Sylvia Bacon 

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