Federal judiciary’s workplace conduct committee issues additional recommendations for improvement

A working group created at the height of the #MeToo movement to address workplace conduct within the federal judiciary has released additional recommendations for improvement in a new report.

The seven-member Federal Judiciary Workplace Conduct Working Group was created in January 2018 at the behest of United States Chief Justice John Roberts to “ensure an exemplary workplace for every judge and every court employee,” as more individuals came forward with accounts of sexual abuse and sexual harassment in workplaces nationwide.

In March, the working group released a 32-page report citing broad improvements across the federal judiciary to fostering a safer workplace by adding abusive conduct to longstanding protections against discrimination and harassment, imposing an express prohibition on abusive conduct and improving processes to make it easier for employees to report and resolve workplace concerns.

The Judicial Conference previously adopted more than 30 recommendations made in the working group’s initial 2018 report, where it amended the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges, the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees and the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act Rules.

“Key elements tying the Judiciary’s workplace conduct program together are leadership and education,” the March 2022 report states. “Chief judges, judges, and unit executives are actively engaged in training and other initiatives, and they are leading by example through their personal commitment to maintaining an exemplary workplace. Since 2018, there has been a dramatic increase in training.”

Nine additional recommendations have been made to continue improvement.

The newest report recommends that the federal judiciary’s strategy for an exemplary workplace continue its current course. The working groups’ new policy recommendations, which will be referred to various committees of the U.S. Judicial Conference, include:

1. Conducting a nationwide climate survey, disseminated at regular intervals to all federal judiciary employees, to assess the workplace environment and to provide insight into the prevalence of workplace conduct issues and the impact and effectiveness of the improvements the judiciary has made to its policies and processes.
2. Augmenting annual employment dispute resolution-related data collection to include data related to informal advice contacts, while ensuring that confidentiality is protected.
3. Enhancing the formal complaint process by revising the model EDR plan to specify that an employee complaint be overseen by a presiding judicial officer from outside the court from which the complaint originated.
4. Developing an express policy regarding romantic relationships that exist or develop between employees where there is a supervisory or evaluative relationship.
5. Assessing incorporation of additional monetary remedies as part of the EDR complaint process.
6. Directing the Office of Judicial Integrity, with the assistance of the Directors of Workplace Relations, to issue an annual federal judiciary workplace conduct report.
7. Expanding outreach and engagement to include further outreach to law schools, and ongoing communications with employee focus groups and advisory groups to share concerns about workplace needs.
8. Strengthening annual EDR training by revising the model EDR plan to emphasize that courts and employing offices have a responsibility to ensure that EDR training is offered and accessible to all employees and judges on an annual basis, and to take affirmative steps to ensure completion.
9. Developing a system for regular review of the federal judiciary’s workplace conduct policies to ensure comprehensive implementation across courts and circuits.

“The federal Judiciary is committed, without reservation, to sustaining an exemplary workplace and to the well-being of all its employees,” the report said. “The Judiciary’s work is not done.”