IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 724 

Requiring each employing office of the House of Representatives to adopt 

an anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policy for the office’s workplace, establishing the Office of Employee Advocacy to provide legal 

assistance and consultation to employees of the House regarding procedures and proceedings under the Congressional Accountability Act of 

1995, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 5, 2018 

Mr. HARPER (for himself, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS

of Illinois, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. COMSTOCK, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. WALKER, 

Mr. SMITH of Nebraska, Mr. LOUDERMILK, Mr. BYRNE, Ms. SPEIER, 

Mr. DEUTCH, and Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, 

and in addition to the Committee on Ethics, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Requiring each employing office of the House of Representatives to adopt an anti-harassment and anti-discrimination 

policy for the office’s workplace, establishing the Office 

of Employee Advocacy to provide legal assistance and 

consultation to employees of the House regarding procedures and proceedings under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, and for other purposes. 

1 Resolved, 


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1 SECTION 1. MANDATORY ANTI-HARASSMENT AND ANTI-DIS2 CRIMINATION POLICIES FOR HOUSE OF3 FICES. 

4 (a) REQUIRING OFFICES TO ADOPT POLICY.—Each 

5 employing office of the House of Representatives under 

6 the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 shall adopt 

7 an anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policy for the 

8 office’s workplace. 

9 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than June 1, 2018, 

10 the Committee on House Administration shall promulgate 

11 regulations to carry out this section, and shall ensure that 

12 such regulations are consistent with the requirements of 

13 the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, the Code 

14 of Official Conduct under rule XXIII of the Rules of the 

15 House of Representatives, and other relevant laws, rules, 

16 and regulations. 

17 SEC. 2. OFFICE OF EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

19 Office of the Chief Administrative Officer of the House 

20 of Representatives the Office of Employee Advocacy (here21 after in this section referred to as the ‘‘Office’’). 

22 (b) FUNCTIONS.— 

23 (1) LEGAL ASSISTANCE, CONSULTATION, AND

24 REPRESENTATION.—Subject to subsection (c), the 

25 Office shall carry out the following functions: 


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1 (A) Providing legal assistance and con2 sultation to covered employees of the House 

3 under the Congressional Accountability Act of 

4 1995 regarding the procedures of such Act and 

5 the procedures applicable to civil actions arising 

6 under such Act, including— 

7 (i) the roles and responsibilities of the 

8 Office of Compliance, the Office of the 

9 House Employment Counsel, and similar 

10 authorities; 

11 (ii) any proceedings conducted under 

12 such Act; 

13 (iii) the authority of the Office of 

14 Compliance to compel cooperation and tes15 timony under investigations and pro16 ceedings conducted under title IV of such 

17 Act; and 

18 (iv) the employee’s duties relating to 

19 such proceedings, including the responsi20 bility to testify. 

21 (B) Providing legal assistance and rep22 resentation— 

23 (i) in personal civil legal matters re24 lated to a covered employee’s initiation of 

25 or participation in proceedings under title 


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1 IV of such Act (other than a civil action 

2 filed under section 408 of such Act); and 

3 (ii) in any proceedings of the Office of 

4 Compliance, the Committee on Ethics of 

5 the House of Representatives (including 

6 the Office of Congressional Ethics), or any 

7 other administrative or judicial body re8 lated to the alleged violations of such Act 

9 which are the subject of the proceedings 

10 initiated by the covered employee, or the 

11 proceedings in which the covered employee 

12 participates, under title IV of such Act. 

13 (C) Operating a hotline through which cov14 ered employees of the House under such Act 

15 may contact the Office. 

16 (2) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IN

17 ANY JURISDICTION.—Notwithstanding any law re18 garding the licensure of attorneys, an attorney who 

19 is employed by the Office and is authorized to pro20 vide legal assistance and representation under this 

21 section is authorized to provide that assistance and 

22 representation in any jurisdiction, subject to such 

23 regulations as may be prescribed by the Office. 

24 (3) NATURE OF RELATIONSHIP.—The relation25 ship between the Office and an employee to whom 


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1 the Office provides legal assistance, consultation, 

2 and representation under this section shall be the re3 lationship between an attorney and client. 

4 (4) PROHIBITING ACCEPTANCE OF AWARD OF

5 ATTORNEY FEES OR OTHER COSTS.—The Office may 

6 not accept any award of attorney fees or other litiga7 tion expenses and costs under any hearing or civil 

8 action brought under the Congressional Account9 ability Act of 1995. 

10 (5) PROHIBITING ASSISTANCE IN OTHER MAT11 TERS OR PROCEEDINGS.—The Office may not pro12 vide any legal assistance, consultation, or represen13 tation with respect to any matter or proceeding 

14 which does not arise under the Congressional Ac15 countability Act of 1995. 

16 (c) PROHIBITING PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE UPON

17 FILING OF CIVIL ACTION.—If a covered employee of the 

18 House files a civil action with respect to an alleged viola19 tion of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, as 

20 provided in section 408 of such Act, the Office may not 

21 provide assistance under this section to the employee with 

22 respect to investigations or proceedings under such Act 

23 in connection with such alleged violation at any time after 

24 the employee files such action. 

25 (d) DIRECTOR.— 


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1 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Office shall be headed 

2 by a Director who shall be appointed by the Chief 

3 Administrative Officer of the House of Representa4 tives. 

5 (2) QUALIFICATIONS; NONPARTISANSHIP OF PO6 SITION.—The individual appointed as Director shall 

7 be a lawyer who is admitted to practice before the 

8 United States District Court for the District of Co9 lumbia and who has experience in representing em10 ployees in workplace discrimination cases. 

11 (3) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

12 paid at an annual rate established by the Chief Ad13 ministrative Officer. 

14 (4) REMOVAL.—The Director may be removed 

15 by the Chief Administrative Officer only for cause. 

16 (e) OTHER PERSONNEL.—Subject to regulations of 

17 the Committee on House Administration and with the ap18 proval of the Chief Administrative Officer, the Director 

19 may appoint and fix the compensation of such additional 

20 personnel as the Director determines to be necessary to 

21 carry out the functions of the Office. 

22 (f) NONPARTISANSHIP OF POSITIONS.—The Director 

23 and the other personnel of the Office shall be appointed 

24 without regard to political affiliation and solely on the 

25 basis of fitness to perform the duties of the position. 


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1 SEC. 3. FUNCTIONS OF OFFICE OF HOUSE EMPLOYMENT 

2 COUNSEL. 

3 (a) FUNCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The Office of the 

4 House Employment Counsel established under the Office 

5 of the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall carry 

6 out all of the functions which the Office carried out as 

7 of the date of the enactment of this Act, including the 

8 following: 

9 (1) Providing legal assistance and representa10 tion to employing offices of the House with respect 

11 to proceedings under the Congressional Account12 ability Act of 1995 which are brought by covered 

13 employees of the House under such Act. 

14 (2) Providing employing offices of the House 

15 with confidential advice and counseling regarding 

16 compliance with employment laws. 

17 (3) Providing training to managers and employ18 ees regarding employment law compliance. 

19 (b) NO EFFECT ON PENDING PROCEEDINGS.—Noth20 ing in this section may be construed to affect any pro21 ceeding to which the Office is a party that is pending on 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act, including any suit 

23 to which the Office is a party that is commenced prior 

24 to such date. 


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1 SEC. 4. REQUIRING INCLUSION OF CERTIFICATIONS ON 

2 PAYROLL AUTHORIZATION FORMS OF HOUSE 

3 OF REPRESENTATIVES OF NO CONNECTION 

4 BETWEEN PAYROLL ACTIONS AND AWARDS 

5 AND SETTLEMENTS UNDER CONGRESSIONAL 

6 ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995. 

7 (a) REQUIRING INCLUSION OF CERTIFICATION ON

8 FORMS.—The Chief Administrative Officer of the House 

9 of Representatives shall incorporate, as part of the Payroll 

10 Authorization Form used by an office of the House to reg11 ister the appointment of an employee to the office or a 

12 salary adjustment or title change with respect to an em13 ployee of the office— 

14 (1) a certification to be made by the author15 izing official of the office that the appointment, sal16 ary adjustment, or title change is not made to pay 

17 a settlement or award in connection with conduct 

18 prohibited under the Congressional Accountability 

19 Act of 1995; and 

20 (2) in the case of an office of a Member of the 

21 House, a certification by the Member that any 

22 amounts in the Members’ Representational Allow23 ance for the office which may be used to carry out 

24 the appointment, salary adjustment, or title change 

25 are not being used to pay a settlement or award in 

26 connection with conduct prohibited under such Act. 


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1 (b) REQUIRING CERTIFICATION AS CONDITION OF

2 PROCESSING PAYROLL ACTION.—The Chief Administra3 tive Officer may not process any Payroll Authorization 

4 Form with respect to an office of the House if the Form 

5 does not include the certifications required with respect 

6 to that office under subsection (a). 

7 SEC. 5. SEXUAL HARASSMENT AS VIOLATION OF HOUSE 

8 CODE OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT. 

9 Clause 9 of rule XXIII of the Rules of the House 

10 of Representatives is amended by striking ‘‘such indi11 vidual,’’ and inserting ‘‘such individual, including by com12 mitting an act of sexual harassment against such indi13 vidual,’’. 

14 SEC. 6. SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HOUSE MEM15 BERS AND EMPLOYEES AND UNWELCOME 

16 SEXUAL ADVANCES AS VIOLATION OF HOUSE 

17 CODE OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT. 

18 Rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representa19 tives is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating clause 18 as clause 19; 

21 and 

22 (2) by inserting after clause 17 the following 

23 new clause: 

24 ‘‘18.(a) A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commis25 sioner may not engage in a sexual relationship with any 


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1 employee of the House who works under the supervision 

2 of the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner. This 

3 paragraph does not apply with respect to any relationship 

4 between two people who are married to each other. 

5 ‘‘(b) A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, 

6 officer, or employee of the House may not engage in un7 welcome sexual advances or conduct towards another 

8 Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or em9 ployee of the House. 

10 ‘‘(c) In this clause, the term ‘employee’ includes an 

11 applicant for employment, a paid or unpaid intern (includ12 ing an applicant for an internship), a detailee, and an indi13 vidual participating in a fellowship program.’’. 

14 SEC. 7. EFFECT OF INITIATION OF PROCEEDINGS UNDER 

15 CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 

16 1995 ON AUTHORITY OF OFFICE OF CONGRES17 SIONAL ETHICS TO CONSIDER ALLEGATIONS. 

18 The Office of Congressional Ethics may not initiate 

19 or continue any investigation of an allegation of a violation 

20 of law made applicable to employing offices of the House 

21 of Representatives under part A of title II of the Congres22 sional Accountability Act of 1995, or make any rec23 ommendations regarding such an allegation, if a covered 


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1 employee initiates proceedings with respect to the alleged 

2 violation under title IV of such Act. 

Æ 


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