Summary: The Office of the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), which maintains congressional buildings, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress, lags behind other federal and private sector organizations in hiring women and minorities. Although GAO noted progress in some areas, many generally accepted principles of modern personnel management are absent in AOC's system. GAO concludes that this situation has led to a demoralized and distrustful working environment, as evidenced by the views expressed to GAO by employees working at the Senate Office Buildings and Senate Restaurants. AOC lacks an Equal Employment Opportunity Program with affirmative action features to ensure a diverse workforce. As a result, women and minorities at AOC were underrepresented in higher-paying skilled and managerial jobs. AOC's hiring and promotion policies and procedures are not defined in an agencywide staffing plan or other document. Case file reviews discovered that hiring and promotion procedures were not uniform or fully documented. Moreover, supervisors were not required to provide employees with annual performance appraisals or routine feedback on job performance, and AOC employees had little chance of receiving agency-funded, skill-based training.
