--- title: Congress to Vote on Its Own Sexual Harassment Complaints description: The House will vote this week on legislation to overhaul the workplace complaint system in Congress canonical: https://time.com/5134117/congress-will-vote-on-its-own-sexual-harassment-complaint-process/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-05T21:13:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:09:13.250Z article:section: Politics og:title: Congress Will Vote on Its Own Sexual Harassment Complaint Process og:description: A bipartisan group has worked on the bills og:url: https://time.com/5134117/congress-will-vote-on-its-own-sexual-harassment-complaint-process/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e2691e8f4e6b1a0/6988f8f68fd2eeb1e235a630/gettyimages-908473016.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: U.S. Congress Wrangles With Agreement To Solve Government Shutdown og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Congress Will Vote on Its Own Sexual Harassment Complaint Process twitter:description: A bipartisan group has worked on the bills twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e2691e8f4e6b1a0/6988f8f68fd2eeb1e235a630/gettyimages-908473016.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Congress Will Vote on Its Own Sexual Harassment Complaint Process by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 5, 2018 9:13 PM UTC  WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 21: The U.S. Capitol is seen at dusk, January 21, 2018 in Washington, DC. Lawmakers are convening for a Sunday session to try to resolve the government shutdown. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 21: The U.S. Capitol is seen at dusk, January 21, 2018 in Washington, DC. Lawmakers are convening for a Sunday session to try to resolve the government shutdown. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)Drew Angerer—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 5, 2018 9:13 PM UTC The House of Representatives will vote this week on a pair of measures that could overhaul the way [sexual harassment complaints](http://time.com/5000282/this-congresswoman-wants-women-on-capitol-hill-to-say-metoo/) are handled in Congress. As a broad swath of sectors reckoned with the fact that men in positions of power had, at times, u[sed that power to sexually harass and assault women](http://time.com/5055359/the-choice-2017/), the Congress dealt with a [reckoning of its own](http://time.com/5057462/al-franken-resignation-sorry/). A number of lawmakers have announced early retirements or [left Congress](http://time.com/5049821/john-conyers-retires-endorses-son/) as reports of harassment and misconduct came to light. And a bipartisan group of lawmakers worked to fix the process through which Congressional workplace complaints are reported and handled. At issue is a [1995 law that determines how reports of harassment, discrimination](http://time.com/5055450/susan-brooks-theodore-deutch-sexual-harassment-congress/), and other workplace issues are processed. That process had been described as onerous by lawmakers and advocates. This week, the House will take a step toward addressing those issues via a House resolution and formal legislation. Under the resolution, anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies will be mandatory in all House offices and an office that provides employees with legal assistance and aide when they are navigating the complaint process will be established. The resolution also requires employing offices to certify that none of their payroll funds are being used to settle complaints. If the resolution passes the House, it will go into effect immediately. The bill that is up for consideration, [the Congressional Accountability Act Reform Act](https://cha.house.gov/press-release/reforming-congressional-accountability-act-better-congressional-workplace), goes a bit further. It would cut-down the complaint filing process by eliminating mandatory counseling and mediation periods, require members to pay back settlements within 90 days, and force the compliance office to publish detailed information on settlements and awards every six months. The legislation would also give employees access to advocates who can help them navigate the complaint process. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5134117/congress-will-vote-on-its-own-sexual-harassment-complaint-process/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5134117/congress-will-vote-on-its-own-sexual-harassment-complaint-process/"},"headline":"Congress Will Vote on Its Own Sexual Harassment Complaint Process","datePublished":"2018-02-05T21:13:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:09:13.250Z","description":"The House will vote this week on legislation to overhaul the workplace complaint system in Congress","url":"https://time.com/5134117/congress-will-vote-on-its-own-sexual-harassment-complaint-process/","keywords":["Congress","sexual harassment","onetime","'me too'"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e2691e8f4e6b1a0/6988f8f68fd2eeb1e235a630/gettyimages-908473016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e2691e8f4e6b1a0/6988f8f68fd2eeb1e235a630/gettyimages-908473016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. Congress Wrangles With Agreement To Solve Government Shutdown","caption":"U.S. Congress Wrangles With Agreement To Solve Government Shutdown","creditText":"Drew Angerer—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5134117/congress-will-vote-on-its-own-sexual-harassment-complaint-process/","name":"Congress Will Vote on Its Own Sexual Harassment Complaint Process"}}]}] ```