Yesterday, we told you that the Congressional office charged with protecting Capitol employees issued a report claiming they couldn’t even contact the same employees they are supposed to protect. Someone, the report said, had blocked them from getting staffers’ email addresses.
The Office of Compliance report appears to have done the job of getting the office access to staffers — somewhat. The office will now have access to the House email system, so it can send employees information about their rights when it comes to workplace safety and harassment. In an email obtained by TPMmuckraker, the Committee on House Administration announced that it would help the OOC get out information through the system.
But the email doesn’t detail how much access the OOC will have. A spokesman from the CHA did not return phone calls, and the OOC refused to comment.
The OOC yesterday declined to say which office blocked them from getting a list of staffers’ email addresses. But a spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner told Politico that it was former Chief Administration Officer Dan Beard, and used it to attack Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“It is ridiculous that Speaker Pelosi’s hand-picked CAO, the recently-departed Dan Beard, blocked the Office of Compliance from communicating directly with House employees about the problems they face in the workplace through the House e-mail system,” Michael Steel said. “Add that to the lengthy list of blunders we hope Speaker Pelosi’s next pick for CAO won’t repeat.”
Beard resigned earlier this month after an Inspector General released a scathing report about the CAO office, citing high turnover and low morale among employees.
