Office of Compliance: Decision, Gloria Halcomb v. Office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms

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Decisions:

Hearing Officer, Board, & Court Decisions

OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE

LA 200, John Adams Building, 110 Second Street, S.E.

Washington, DC 20540-1999

_________________________________

 Case No. 03-SN-29(CV, RP)

GLORIA HALCOMB,

 

Complainant/Appellant,

 v. 

OFFICE OF THE U.S. SENATE

SERGEANT AT ARMS,

Respondent/Appellee.

_________________________

Before the Board of Directors: Susan S. Robfogel, Chair; Barbara L. Camens, Alan V. Friedman; Roberta L.

Holzwarth; Barbara Childs Wallace, Members.

DECISION

On October 14, 2004, Hearing Officer Curtis E. Von Kann issued the attached “Hearing Officer’s Decision” on the

merits of this matter, after an evidentiary hearing on the record and argument by the parties.

At the hearing, the Hearing Officer dismissed Complainant Halcomb’s claim of hostile work environment

discrimination because that allegation was based upon the lack of hygiene of a co-worker, a circumstance which we

agree does not constitute an actionable hostile work environment claim. As the Hearing Officer determined, “the

Congressional Accountability Act does not protect employees from coworkers who have poor hygiene. . . . The impact

of that falls equally on everybody in the office.”

We also agree with the Hearing Officer’s determination that the Complainant has not established employment

discrimination based on race, or retaliatory termination based upon activity protected by section 207(a) of the

Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1317(a), for the reasons set out in his Decision which is attached

hereto and incorporated by reference herein. The Board has excised certain names from the Hearing Officer’s Decision

to protect individual privacy.

ORDER

Pursuant to section 406 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1406, and section 8.01(d) of the

Procedural Rules, the Board affirms the Hearing Officer’s determination that Complainant Halcomb failed to establish

liability of Respondent Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms for any claim presented in this matter.
Office of Compliance: Decision, Gloria Halcomb v. Office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms

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It is so ordered.

Issued, Washington, D.C.: March 18, 2005

March 18, 2005

Sam E. Taylor, Esq.

P.O. Box 15370

Washington, D.C. 20003

Claudia Kostel, Esq.

Senate Senior Counsel for Employment

Office of Senate Chief Counsel for Employment

Senate Hart Building, Room 103

Washington, D.C. 20510

Re: Case No. 03-SN-29

Dear Parties:

Enclosed with this letter mailed to you by first class mail, you will find a complete copy of the final and/or dispositive

decision of the Board of Directors in the above mentioned case. 

The first page only of the referenced final and/or dispositive decision is included with the faxed copy of this letter.

Please be advised that this decision has been entered into the records of the Office of Compliance on March 18, 2004.

Therefore, pursuant to section 8.04 of the Procedural Rules of this Office, any party wishing to appeal this case must

do so by filing an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as required by section 407 of

the Act, 2 USC 1407. The Office requests that you also fax or mail to this Office a copy of any appeal to the Federal

Circuit.

If the Office has not been provided a secure telecopier number by you, a member of the staff attempted to notify you

by telephone on March 18, 2005 regarding the issuance and the entry of this decision. If you wish to obtain a copy of

the decision at our offices, please contact the Office and arrange to pick up a copy of the decision during business

hours.

Sincerely,

William W. Thompson II

Executive Director

Enclosure: Decision of the Board of Directors

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, the undersigned employee of the Office of Compliance certify that on the date indicated below, I served the

following Decision of the Board of Directors upon each of the following parties, by First Class Mail, and by facsimile

of the cover letter and first page of the Decision:

Sam E. Taylor,

P.O. Box 15370 

Washington, D.C. 20003

Employee Representative
Office of Compliance: Decision, Gloria Halcomb v. Office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms

file:////acfnas/perm/netsite-docs/lps59674/halcomb_03-18-05.htm[2/7/2017 12:13:40 PM]

Fax: 301-989-3249

Claudia Kostel, Esq.

Senate Senior Counsel for Employment

Office of Senate Chief Counsel for Employment 

Senate Hart Building, Room 103

Washington, D.C. 20510

Signed in Washington, D.C. this 18th day of March 2005.

___________________

Selviana B. Bates 

Office of Compliance