Federal Judiciary: Additional Actions Would Strengthen Efforts to Prevent and Address Workplace Misconduct
Fast Facts
Over 30,000 employees work in the Judicial Branch, which includes the Supreme Court, circuit and other courts, agencies, and more. Allegations of workplace misconduct—including sexual and other types of harassment—at the federal judiciary have recently drawn national attention.
While the judiciary is working to address workplace misconduct, we found it could:
Better align with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recommended practices for preventing harassment
Collect and analyze more data on workplace conduct issues
Evaluate and measure effectiveness of its workplace conduct policies
Our recommendations address these issues.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The federal judiciary has taken several actions at the national and circuit levels to address workplace misconduct. For example, in 2019, the judiciary revised its Model Employment Dispute Resolution Plan and expanded options for reporting wrongful conduct under the employment dispute resolution process. In 2020, the judiciary updated its data collection system.
GAO found that the judiciary's efforts generally aligned with selected recommended practices of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), although some efforts were partially aligned or not aligned, particularly with circuit-level trainings. For example, none of the training materials had an explanation of the range of possible consequences for engaging in prohibited conduct.
Judiciary data show that individuals filed 161 complaints of wrongful conduct from fiscal year 2020 through fiscal year 2022. Each complaint can contain one or more allegations. The most frequent allegation of wrongful conduct was discrimination (see figure). Data also show that judiciary employees filed 17 complaints of misconduct by judges during this timeframe. GAO found that the judiciary could collect additional data, including on issues described by individuals seeking informal advice and issues reported outside of the dispute resolution process. This additional data could help the judiciary better identify and address specific workplace misconduct issues.
Number of Wrongful Conduct Allegations Reported at the Judiciary, by Type, Fiscal Years 2020–2022
Various judiciary entities provide oversight of workplace conduct policies and practices. However, the judiciary does not have performance measures in place for its workplace conduct efforts and has not evaluated the effectiveness of its efforts. In early 2023, the judiciary administered a survey of employees that, according to officials, included questions about workplace conduct policies. As of May 2024, the results of this survey are pending. Officials intend to use the survey results, once finalized, to develop performance measures. Establishing performance measures and evaluating the effectiveness of its policies and practices would help the judiciary better monitor the progress of its workplace conduct efforts and adjust to meet its goals.
Why GAO Did This Study
In recent years, various high-profile allegations of workplace misconduct at the federal judiciary drew national attention. More than 30,000 employees work across the judicial branch, and in 2017, the Chief Justice requested that the judiciary evaluate its workplace conduct efforts.
GAO was asked to review the judiciary's policies and practices to prevent and respond to workplace misconduct. This report examines (1) actions the judiciary has taken since 2017 to prevent and respond to workplace misconduct; (2) the extent to which the judiciary's Model Employment Dispute Resolution Plan and related practices align with EEOC recommended practices; (3) the judiciary's data on workplace misconduct and the extent to which opportunities exist to improve data collection; and (4) the judiciary's oversight of workplace conduct policies and the extent to which the judiciary evaluates the effectiveness of these policies. GAO reviewed the judiciary's workplace conduct policies, analyzed data on allegations of misconduct, and interviewed officials at the national and circuit levels.
Recommendations
GAO is making eight recommendations, including that the judiciary take steps to more fully align its workplace conduct efforts with EEOC recommended practices, collect and analyze additional data, and take actions to measure and evaluate its policies and practices. The judiciary neither agreed nor disagreed with our recommendations but noted planned actions and challenges related to addressing the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative Office of the United States Courts | The Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts should, in coordination with the Judicial Conference, update the Model EDR Plan and related activities, as appropriate, to more fully align with selected EEOC recommended practices. (Recommendation 1) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Administrative Office of the United States Courts | The Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts should, in coordination with circuit-level officials, update workplace conduct training materials and activities in the circuits to more fully align with selected EEOC recommended practices. (Recommendation 2) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Administrative Office of the United States Courts | The Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts should, in coordination with the Judicial Conference, develop a plan for collecting and analyzing data on issues raised through the informal advice option of the Model EDR Plan. (Recommendation 3) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Administrative Office of the United States Courts | The Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts should, in coordination with the Judicial Conference, develop a circuit-level mechanism to collect and analyze data on workplace misconduct complaints made outside of the EDR and JC&D processes. (Recommendation 4) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Judicial Conference of the United States | The Judicial Conference should set performance measures to determine whether its EDR policies are achieving established strategic workplace conduct goals. (Recommendation 5) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Administrative Office of the United States Courts | The Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts should evaluate the effectiveness of the judiciary's EDR policies and practices. (Recommendation 6) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Judicial Conference of the United States | The Judicial Conference should set performance measures to determine whether its JC&D policies are achieving established strategic workplace conduct goals. (Recommendation 7) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Administrative Office of the United States Courts | The Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts should evaluate the effectiveness of the judiciary's JC&D policies and practices on workplace conduct. (Recommendation 8) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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