Tunnel crew alleges retaliation by AoC

The Architect of the Capitol (AoC) has subjected members of the Capitol Power Plant tunnel crew to daily retaliation and created a hostile work environment since they complained to Congress about hazardous workplace conditions last spring, according to a new formal complaint by the employees.

The members of the tunnel crew, represented by Government Accountability Project (GAP) and the law firm of Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP (KMB), will hold a press conference on the complaint today at 11 a.m. at the Library of Congress. The complaint will be handled by the Office of Compliance (OoC). 

In a press release issued yesterday by GAP, members of the 10-man tunnel crew allege that the AoC deliberately violated the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) through several forms of harassment including threats of termination, micromanagement of their daily work and an imposition of constant supervision of their activities. 

GAP is a nonprofit that frequently defends complaints from whistleblowers.

The CAA was enacted in 1995 to bring Congress and many of its agencies under the same labor, civil-rights and workplace-safety laws that are followed by businesses and the federal government. While whistle-blower protections have been largely left out for legislative branch employees, the CAA contains anti-retaliation language that could be applicable to the men’s situation according to Joanne Royce, GAP general counsel. 

Royce said that despite some of the limitations, the workers, who fall under the CAA, have a strong case.

“I think under the retaliation provisions [of the CAA] they are protected,” Royce said.

David Marshall, a KMB attorney representing the men, echoed Royce: “The CAA has a provision that protects workers from retaliation.”

The OoC ensures legislative-branch agencies follow federal safety and health standards. 

The AoC and the OoC did not return requests for comment for this article.

After all forms of mediation within the OoC are exhausted, the members of the tunnel crew plan to file a suit in federal court, according Marshall.

“The [CAA] provides an administrative remedy, and ultimately a transfer to federal court for these workers and other employees of the U.S. Congress and its associated agencies,” according to a GAP press release.

In March, the tunnel crew sent a letter to several members of Congress to report the state of their daily working conditions.

The letter described their exposure to falling concrete and asbestos while working on the pipes in underground utility tunnels that provide steam and chilled water to heat and cool the Capitol complex.

The AoC is in charge of the maintenance of the buildings on the Capitol campus and their infrastructure.

In addition to the complaint, the members of the tunnel crew will also send a letter to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) asking that he help the workers receive adequate medical care at the expense of the federal government.

“Their top priority is to get the proper medical exams done by a fully qualified doctor,” said Marshall. “The Architect of the Capitol has shown deliberate indifference to these workers’ health and safety for years, refusing to pay for the diagnostic tests necessary to determine the extent of their injuries.”

“We’re demanding the government pay for these tests, and we will seek full compensation for the asbestos disease and other injuries these workers have sustained,” he added.

Durbin met privately with the tunnel crew late last month to discuss their health concerns.

At press time Durbin’s office did not have the letter but a spokesperson said it would “closely examine it and give it full consideration” once it was received.

In June, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) expressed his interest in adding federal whistle-blower protection laws to the CAA to provide employees that work for Congress with the same protections as those in the federal government.