A bill to amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to acknowledge that the Department is considering or rejecting a civil rights claim not later than 45 days after receipt of the claim and, once considering a claim, to process all civil rights complaints within 270 days.

Summary: Fair Claims Act - Amends the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to require the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to: (1) accept or deny a formal civil rights complaint against USDA sent by registered mail or delivered in person within 45 days of receipt; and (2) resolve such claim within 270 days of receipt, with exceptions for pending criminal investigations or alternative dispute procedures.

Authorizes a claimant to file an appeal of the finding with the Assistant Secretary for Administration for any civil rights claim in which discrimination is found.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Claims Act''.

SEC. 2. CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

    Section 14010 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 
U.S.C. 2279-2) is amended--
            (1) by striking the section enumerator and heading and all 
        that follows through ``Each year'' and inserting the following:

``SEC. 14010. CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE DEPARTMENT OF 
              AGRICULTURE.

    ``(a) Required Reports and Submissions.--Each year'';
            (2) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (D), by adding ``and'' at the 
                end; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(E) the number of claims that have not been 
                resolved during the 270-day period beginning on the 
                date of acknowledgment of receipt of the claim by the 
                agency;'';
            (3) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (4) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) submit to each Senator and Member of Congress a list 
        that--
                    ``(A) identifies the number of constituents in the 
                State or district of the Senator or Member that have 
                outstanding civil rights claims that have been pending 
                for more than 270 days since the date of acknowledgment 
                of receipt of a formal complaint by the Department of 
                Agriculture; and
                    ``(B) includes the number of claims that are 
                outstanding for each 60-day interval beyond the 270-day 
                period.
    ``(c) Required Submissions to Claimant.--As soon as practicable 
after the expiration of the 270-day period beginning on the date of 
acknowledgment of receipt of a civil rights claim by the Department of 
Agriculture, if the claim remains outstanding, the Secretary shall 
submit to the claimant of the outstanding civil rights claim the 
estimated time of resolution for the claim.
    ``(d) Timeline for Response and Resolution.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall accept or 
        deny all formal civil rights complaints sent by registered mail 
        or delivered in person for processing during the 45-day period 
        beginning on the date of receipt of the complaint.
            ``(2) Failure to accept complaint.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If the Secretary refuses to 
                accept a complaint as a formal civil rights complaint, 
                the complainant may appeal the intake decision during 
                the 15-day period beginning on the date of the disputed 
                intake through the office of the Assistant Secretary 
                for Administration of the Department of Agriculture.
                    ``(B) Required response.--The Assistant Secretary 
                for Administration shall respond not later than 45 days 
                after the date on which an appeal is filed under 
                subparagraph (A) on acceptance or denial of the formal 
                complaint process.
            ``(3) Resolution of claims.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall resolve all civil 
                rights claims during the 270-day period beginning on 
                the date of acknowledgment of delivery of the complaint 
                by registered mail or in person.
                    ``(B) Exceptions.--
                            ``(i) Alternative dispute resolution.--
                        Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), in a case in 
                        which the claimant has pursued the option of 
                        alternative dispute resolution with the 
                        Secretary, the 270-day period shall not begin 
                        until--
                                    ``(I) the claimant terminates the 
                                alternative dispute resolution process 
                                in writing to the Department of 
                                Agriculture; and
                                    ``(II)(aa) the Department has 
                                acknowledged receipt of the claim; or
                                    ``(bb) the Postal Service verifies 
                                that the complaint has been delivered 
                                by registered mail.
                            ``(ii) Pending criminal investigation.--
                        Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), in a case in 
                        which a criminal investigation is pending with 
                        respect to the claims, the 270-day period shall 
                        not begin until the pending criminal 
                        investigation has been concluded.
                    ``(C) Failure to resolve.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If a civil rights claim 
                        is not resolved during the 270-day period, the 
                        Secretary shall provide to the claimant, in 
                        accordance with subsections (a)(3) and (b)--
                                    ``(I) an explanation of the reason 
                                for delay;
                                    ``(II) an explanation of the 
                                remaining process that is required for 
                                the resolution of the claim;
                                    ``(III) a description of any items 
                                necessary for review; and
                                    ``(IV) an estimated time for 
                                resolution of the claim.
                            ``(ii) Protection of confidential 
                        information.--An explanation of the reason for 
                        delay under clause (i) shall not include 
                        confidential information relating to the claim 
                        that would interfere with potential or ongoing 
                        court proceedings.
            ``(4) Appeal of finding of discrimination.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For any civil rights claim in 
                which discrimination is found under this section, the 
                claimant may file an appeal of the finding with the 
                Assistant Secretary for Administration.
                    ``(B) Action by assistant secretary for 
                administration.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
                on which an appeal is filed under subparagraph (A), the 
                Assistant Secretary for Administration shall respond to 
                the appeal by issuing an acceptance or denial of the 
                finding.
    ``(e) Periodic Audits Conducted by Inspector General of the 
Department of Agriculture.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this subsection and not less frequently than every 3 years 
thereafter, the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture 
shall conduct an audit of each activity taken by the Secretary under 
this section for the period covered by the audit to determine 
compliance with this section.''.