A Navy Captain Raped Her. The Law Called It a Workplace Injury.

I am writing to demand immediate legislative action to close a statutory loophole that denies civil justice to federal employees sexually assaulted on the job. Recently, a federal court dismissed a civil lawsuit filed by Elsie Dominguez, a civilian engineer for the Navy’s Military Sealift Command aboard the USNS Carson City. She alleged that her ship’s captain used a master key code to override her lock and rape her while she slept, and that the Navy subsequently retaliated against her. Instead of allowing this case to be heard on its merits, the suit was dismissed. The Department of Justice invoked the Westfall Act to claim the captain acted within the scope of his employment, substituting the government as the defendant—which then triggered the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA). Under FECA, workers' comp serves as the "exclusive remedy" for civilian personnel. By treating a violent crime like a routine workplace accident, federal law shields agencies from civil liability for institutional negligence and retaliation. Uniformed service members face a similar barrier under the Feres doctrine. Different rules, same result: survivors of sexual violence who work for the federal government are shut out of court. I urge you to introduce and support legislation that: 1. Amend FECA (5 U.S.C. § 8116): Explicitly exempt claims arising from sexual assault, harassment, and intentional violent crimes from FECA’s exclusive remedy provision. 2. Clarify the Westfall Act: Legislate that sexual violence categorically falls outside the scope of federal employment as a matter of law. 3. Waive Sovereign Immunity Under the FTCA: Ensure survivors can hold federal agencies accountable in court when leadership fails to prevent, investigate, or address sexual assault and retaliation. Congress banned mandatory forced arbitration for sexual misconduct in the private sector. You must now hold the federal government to the exact same standard. Close this loophole and protect survivors.