Congress Reintroduces Judiciary Accountability Act, Which Will Extend Federal Anti-Discrimination Protections To More Than 30,000 Judiciary Employees

Friday, September 27, 2024

For Immediate Release

Contact: Aliza Shatzman, 267-481-2095, aliza.shatzman@legalaccountabilityproject.org

Congress Reintroduces the Judiciary Accountability Act, Which Will Extend Federal Anti-Discrimination Protections To More Than 30,000 Judiciary Employees 

The Legal Accountability Project is heartened that Congress has reintroduced the Judiciary Accountability Act (JAA) (House/Senate), legislation that will extend federal anti-discrimination protections to more than 30,000 federal judiciary employees, including law clerks and federal public defenders. We hope Congress will make this common-sense legislation a priority. 

Federal judiciary employees currently lack basic workplace protections. And judges - the most powerful (and unaccountable) members of the legal profession - are above the anti-discrimination laws they interpret. Troublingly, the judiciary is uniquely exempt from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, and Age Discrimination Act, among other federal anti-discrimination laws. The JAA would align the federal judiciary with its co-equal branches of government and most private workplaces. 

LAP’s President and Founder Aliza Shatzman has been advocating for this common-sense legislation since it was initially introduced in 2021, when she was a former law clerk navigating the byzantine judicial complaint process in the DC Courts. 

“I was particularly excited to see a DC Courts amendment included in the JAA, thereby ensuring those like myself who clerked in DC Superior Court or the DC Court of Appeals - as well as in other Article I federal courts nationwide, for judges who are Senate-confirmed for 15 year terms or less - can enjoy the same basic workplace protections we’ve been fighting for in the federal system,” Shatzman said. 

It is the height of injustice that law clerks – who support the daily functioning of our courts – lack basic workplace protections. There is no better time to pass the JAA and finally ensure legal accountability for judges who mistreat clerks, as well as safe work environments for all judiciary employees.

Here’s what this urgently necessary legislation would do:

(1) Extend federal anti-discrimination protections to more than 30,000 judiciary employees, including law clerks and public defenders, protecting them against discrimination based on gender, gender identity, race, disability, and age; as well as extend whistleblower protections against retaliation;

(2) Standardize Employee Dispute Resolution (EDR) Plans in all federal circuits;

(3) Revise the judicial complaint process under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act so investigations into judicial misconduct can continue even after judges step down; 

(4) Create confidential reporting channels for clerks; and

(5) Require the federal judiciary to collect and report data - publicly and to Congress - annually on: demographics in law clerk hiring; outcomes of judicial misconduct complaints; and an annual workplace culture assessment; as well as an assessment of the EDR Plan's effectiveness, since quantifying the scope of these problems is the first step toward crafting effective solutions.

The JAA is a forceful step toward ensuring safe, supportive work environments for judiciary employees through legal accountability. LAP urges Congress to finally pass this long overdue legislation. We are proud to lead the charge for judicial accountability.