The Decision to Provide Public Testimony at the DC Council’s Performance Oversight Hearing

Every year around this time there is a call by the Council of the District of Columbia to provide public testimony at Performance Oversight Hearings. Representatives from First Shift Justice Project routinely provide testimony regarding performance of the Office of Human Rights.  

To be honest, I am often reluctant to volunteer to provide any kind of oral testimony.  I am more content to advocate for my clients in writing, through letters and complaints.  However, the DC Office of Human Rights plays a critical role in my clients’ abilities to pursue justice and hold their

employers accountable for adverse employment actions

in violation of the DC Human Rights Act, the Protecting Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and the DC Family and Medical Leave Act.

The DC Office of Human Rights is a government agency that has the power to mediate, investigate, and adjudicate complaints of discrimination in the workplace.  Often my clients’ attempts to advocate on their own against pregnancy discrimination or in support of pregnancy-related accommodations will go unanswered.  Even attempts by an attorney to negotiate an informal resolution to these issues are not always successful.  The DC Office of Human Rights provides my clients with a forum, one often less costly and easier to navigate than court, in which they can file a complaint of employment discrimination and assert their rights in the hopes of obtaining some kind of relief in their favor.  

Accordingly, this year, when it came time to register to provide public testimony, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and sign up to testify.  After all, how the DC Office of Human Rights performs is incredibly relevant to my work at First Shift Justice Project and to my clients’ ability to effectively and efficiently seek justice.  It is important for me, as part of the advocacy work that I do, to highlight, through my clients’ unique experiences, what works well within the DC Office of Human Rights and what needs improvement.  

I delivered my Performance Oversight Hearing testimony to the Committee on Public Works and Operations on February 18, 2026. My testimony can be found here. 

By: Rosalind Herendeen