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103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4822

AN ACT

To make certain laws applicable to the legislative branch

of the Federal Government.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congressional Ac5 countability Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 As used in this Act:

8 (1) CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYEE.—The term

9 ‘‘congressional employee’’ means—
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1 (A) an individual on the payroll of an em2 ploying office of the House of Representatives;

3 (B) an individual on the payroll of an em4 ploying office of the Senate;

5 (C) an individual on the payroll of an em6 ploying office of the Architect of the Capitol;

7 and

8 (D) an individual on the payroll of an em9 ploying office of an instrumentality.

10 (2) EMPLOYEE IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENT11 ATIVES.—The term ‘‘individual on the payroll of an

12 employing office in the House of Representatives’’

13 means—

14 (A) an individual who is covered under rule

15 LI of the House of Representatives, as in effect

16 on the day before the date of enactment of this

17 Act;

18 (B) any applicant for a position that is to

19 be occupied by an individual described in sub20 paragraph (A); or

21 (C) any individual who was formerly an

22 employee described in subparagraph (A) and

23 whose claim of a violation arises out of the indi24 vidual’s employment.
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1 (3) EMPLOYEE IN THE SENATE.—The term

2 ‘‘individual on the payroll of an employing office in

3 the Senate’’ means—

4 (A) any employee whose pay is disbursed

5 by the Secretary of the Senate;

6 (B) any applicant for a position that is to

7 be occupied by an individual described in sub8 paragraph (A)); or

9 (C) any individual who was formerly an

10 employee described in subparagraph (A) and

11 whose claim of a violation arises out of the indi12 vidual’s employment.

13 (4) EMPLOYEE OF THE ARCHITECT OF THE

14 CAPITOL.—The term ‘‘individual on the payroll of an

15 employing office of the Architect of the Capitol’’

16 means—

17 (A) an employee of the Architect of the

18 Capitol or an individual within the administra19 tive jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol

20 if such employee or individual is paid from

21 funds under a law providing appropriations for

22 the legislative branch;

23 (B) any applicant for a position that is to

24 be occupied by an employee or individual de25 scribed in subparagraph (A); or
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1 (C) any individual who was formerly an

2 employee or individual described in subpara3 graph (A) and whose claim of a violation arises

4 out of the individual’s employment.

5 (5) EMPLOYEE OF AN INSTRUMENTALITY.—

6 The term ‘‘individual on the payroll of an employing

7 office of an instrumentality’’ means—

8 (A) any individual on the payroll of an in9 strumentality of the legislative branch of the

10 Federal Government;

11 (B) any applicant for a position that is to

12 be occupied by an individual described in sub13 paragraph (A); or

14 (C) any individual who was formerly an

15 employee described in subparagraph (A) and

16 whose claim of a violation arises out of the indi17 vidual’s instrumentality employment.

18 (6) HEAD OF AN EMPLOYING OFFICE.—The

19 term ‘‘head of an employing office’’ means the indi20 vidual who has final authority to appoint, hire, dis21 charge, and set the terms, conditions, or privileges

22 of the Congressional employment of an employee.
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1 SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF LAWS.

2 (a) LAWS WHICH WILL APPLY.—The following laws

3 shall apply, as prescribed by this subsection, to the legisla4 tive branch of the Federal Government:

5 (1) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29

6 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), effective on the earlier of the ef7 fective date of applicable regulations of the Office of

8 Compliance under section 5 or 1 year after the date

9 of the enactment of this Act.

10 (2) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

11 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), effective on the earlier of

12 the effective date of applicable regulations of the Of13 fice of Compliance under section 5 or 1 year after

14 the date of the enactment of this Act.

15 (3) The Americans With Disabilities Act of

16 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), effective on the ear17 lier of the effective date of applicable regulations of

18 the Office of Compliance under section 5 or 1 year

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

20 (4) The Age Discrimination in Employment Act

21 of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) (including remedies

22 available to private employees), effective on the ear23 lier of the effective date of applicable regulations of

24 the Office of Compliance under section 5 or 1 year

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 (5) Titles I and V of the Family and Medical

2 Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.), effec3 tive on the earlier of the effective date of applicable

4 regulations of the Office of Compliance under sec5 tion 5 or 1 year after the date of the enactment of

6 this Act.

7 (6) The Occupational Safety and Health Act of

8 1970 (other than section 19) (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.)

9 (subject to subsection (c)), effective on the earlier of

10 the effective date of applicable regulations of the Of11 fice of Compliance under section 5 or 2 years after

12 the date of the enactment of this Act.

13 (7) Chapter 71 (relating to Federal labor man14 agement relations) of title 5, United States Code, ef15 fective on the earlier of the effective date of applica16 ble regulations of the Office of Compliance under

17 section 5 or 2 years after the date of the enactment

18 of this Act.

19 (8) The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of

20 1988 (29 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.), effective on the ear21 lier of the effective date of applicable regulations of

22 the Office of Compliance under section 5 or 1 year

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, except

24 that this Act shall not apply to the United States

25 Capitol Police.
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1 (9) The Worker Adjustment and Retraining

2 Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.), effective

3 on the earlier of the effective date of applicable regu4 lations of the Office of Compliance under section 5

5 or 1 year after the date of the enactment of this

6 Act.

7 (10) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.

8 791), effective on the earlier of the effective date of

9 applicable regulations of the Office of Compliance

10 under section 5 or 1 year after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act.

12 The laws referred to in this subsection which apply now

13 to congressional employees shall continue to apply to such

14 employees until the effective date such laws are made ap15 plicable in accordance with this subsection.

16 (b) LAWS WHICH MAY BE MADE APPLICABLE.—Any

17 provision of Federal law shall, to the extent that it relates

18 to the terms and conditions of employment (including hir19 ing, promotion or demotion, salary and wages, overtime

20 compensation, benefits, work assignments or

21 reassignments, termination, protection from discrimina22 tion in personnel actions, health and safety of employees,

23 and family and medical leave) of employees apply to the

24 legislative branch of the Federal Government in accord25 ance with this Act or, to the extent that it relates to any
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1 standard benefits package approved as part of the national

2 health care reform enacted by Congress in the 103d Con3 gress, apply to Members of Congress, as defined in section

4 2106 of title 5, United States Code, in accordance with

5 this Act.

6 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH OSHA.—The legislative

7 branch of the Federal Government shall comply with the

8 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 as follows:

9 If a citation of a violation of such Act is received, action

10 to abate the violation shall take place as soon as possible,

11 but no later than the fiscal year following the fiscal year

12 in which the citation is issued.

13 SEC. 4. OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE.

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

15 legislative branch an Office of Compliance (hereinafter in

16 this Act referred to as the ‘‘Office’’).

17 (b) COMPOSITION.—

18 (1) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The Office shall

19 have a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors

20 shall consist of 8 individuals appointed jointly by the

21 Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Major22 ity Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Leaders

23 of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Ap24 pointments of the first 8 members of the Board of
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1 Directors shall be completed not later than 120 days

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

3 (2) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the

5 Board of Directors shall appoint, may establish

6 the compensation of, and may terminate, sub7 ject to the approval of the Board of Directors,

8 an Executive Director (referred to in this Act

9 as the ‘‘executive director’’). The compensation

10 of the executive director may not exceed the

11 compensation for level V of the Executive

12 Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United

13 States Code. The executive director shall be an

14 individual with training or expertise in the ap15 plication of the laws referred to in section 3 to

16 employment. The appointment of the first exec17 utive director shall be completed no later than

18 120 days after the initial appointment of the

19 Board of Directors.

20 (B) OFFICE.—The executive director may

21 not be an individual who holds or may have

22 held the position of Member of the House of

23 Representatives or Senator. The executive direc24 tor may not be an individual who holds the po25 sition of employee of the House of Representa-
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1 tives or the Senate but the executive director

2 may be an individual who held such a position

3 at least 4 years before appointment as executive

4 director. The term of office of the executive di5 rector shall be a single term of 5 years.

6 (c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS QUALIFICATIONS.—

7 (1) SPECIFIC QUALIFICATIONS.—

8 (A) LOBBYING.—No individual who en9 gages in, or is otherwise employed in, lobbying

10 of the Congress and who is required under the

11 Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act to register

12 with the Clerk of the House of Representatives

13 or the Secretary of the Senate shall be consid14 ered eligible for appointment to, or service on,

15 the Board of Directors.

16 (B) OFFICE.—No member of the Board of

17 Directors appointed under subsection (b)(1)

18 may hold or may have held the position of

19 Member of the House of Representatives or

20 Senator, may hold the position of employee of

21 the House of Representatives or Senate, or may

22 have held such a position within 4 years of the

23 date of appointment.

24 (2) HOLDING OFFICE.—If during a term of of25 fice a member of the Board of Directors engages in
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1 an activity described in paragraph (2)(A), such posi2 tion shall be declared vacant and a successor shall

3 be selected in accordance with subsection (b)(1).

4 (3) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Board of

5 Directors shall be filled in the manner in which the

6 original appointment was made.

7 (d) BOARD OF DIRECTORS TERM OF OFFICE.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), membership on the Board of Directors

10 shall be for 5 years. A member shall only be eligible

11 for appointment for a single term of office.

12 (2) FIRST APPOINTMENTS.—Of the members

13 first appointed to the Board of Directors—

14 (A) 2 shall have a term of office of 2

15 years,

16 (B) 2 shall have a term of office of 3

17 years,

18 (C) 2 shall have a term of office of 4

19 years, and

20 (D) 2 shall have a term of office of 5

21 years,

22 as designated at the time of appointment by the per23 sons specified in subsection (b)(1).

24 (3) REMOVAL.—Any member of the Board of

25 Directors may be removed from office by a majority
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1 decision of the appointing authorities described in

2 subsection (b)(1) and only for—

3 (A) disability that substantially prevents

4 the member from carrying out the duties of the

5 member,

6 (B) incompetence,

7 (C) neglect of duty,

8 (D) malfeasance, or

9 (E) a felony or conduct involving moral

10 turpitude.

11 (e) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Board of

12 Directors shall be appointed from the members of the

13 Board of Directors by the members of the Board.

14 (f) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—

15 (1) PER DIEM.—Each member of the Board of

16 Directors shall be compensated at a rate equal to

17 the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay

18 prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule

19 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code,

20 for each day (including travel time) during which

21 such member is engaged in the performance of the

22 duties of the Board.

23 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the

24 Board of Directors shall receive travel expenses, in25 cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates au-
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1 thorized for employees of agencies under subchapter

2 I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, for

3 each day the member is engaged in the performance

4 of duties away from the home or regular place of

5 business of the member.

6 (g) OFFICE STAFF.—The executive director may ap7 point and fix the compensation of such staff, including

8 hearing officers, as are necessary to carry out this Act.

9 (h) DETAILEES.—The executive director may, with

10 the prior consent of the Government department or agency

11 concerned, use the services of any such department or

12 agency, including the services of members or personnel of

13 the General Accounting Office Personnel Appeals Board.

14 (i) CONSULTANTS.—In carrying out this Act, the ex15 ecutive director may procure the temporary (not to exceed

16 1 year) or intermittent services of individual consultants

17 or organizations thereof.

18 SEC. 5. STUDY AND REGULATIONS.

19 (a) INITIAL ACTION.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Directors shall

21 conduct a study of the manner in which the laws

22 made applicable to the legislative branch of the Fed23 eral Government under section 3(a) should apply.

24 The Board of Directors shall complete such study

25 and report the results to Congress not later than
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1 180 days after the date of the first appointment of

2 the first executive director.

3 (2) INSTRUMENTALITIES.—The Board of Direc4 tors shall include in its study under paragraph (1)

5 an examination of the procedures used by the instru6 mentalities to enforce the application of laws appli7 cable to the legislative branch of the Federal Gov8 ernment and a determination as to whether to direct

9 the instrumentality to make improvements in its reg10 ulations and procedures so as to assure that proce11 dures as effective as the procedures set forth in sec12 tions 7 through 12 will apply. If the instrumentality

13 has no such regulations and procedures, the Board

14 may direct the instrumentality to adopt the requisite

15 regulations and procedures, or, if deemed necessary,

16 in lieu thereof may itself adopt regulations pursuant

17 to this section or authorize use of the procedures

18 pursuant to sections 7 through 12.

19 (b) CONTINUING ACTION.—On an ongoing basis the

20 Board of Directors—

21 (1) shall determine which of the laws referred

22 to in section 3(b) should apply to the legislative

23 branch of the Federal Government and if it should,

24 the manner in which it should be made applicable;
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1 (2) shall study the application to the legislative

2 branch of the Federal Government of provisions of

3 Federal law referred to in section 3 that are enacted

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act;

5 (3) may propose regulations with respect to

6 such application in accordance with subsection (c);

7 and

8 (4) may review the regulations in effect under

9 subsection (e)(1) and make such amendments as

10 may be appropriate in accordance with subsection

11 (c).

12 (c) REGULATIONS.—

13 (1) LAWS MADE APPLICABLE.—

14 (A) GENERAL RULE.—Not later than 180

15 days after the date of the completion of the

16 study under subsection (a), the Board of Direc17 tors shall, in accordance with section 553 of

18 title 5, United States Code, propose regulations

19 to implement the requirements of the laws

20 made applicable to the legislative branch of the

21 Federal Government under section 3(a). The

22 Board of Directors shall provide a period of at

23 least 30 days for comment on the proposed reg24 ulations.
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1 (B) CONGRESSIONAL NOTICE.— In addi2 tion to publishing a general notice of proposed

3 rulemaking under section 553(b) of title 5,

4 United States Code, the Board of Directors

5 shall concurrently submit such notice for publi6 cation in the Congressional Record.

7 (C) AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS.—When

8 proposing regulations under subparagraph (A)

9 to implement the requirements of a law referred

10 to in section 3(a), the Board of Directors shall

11 recommend to the Congress changes in or re12 peals of existing law to accommodate the appli13 cation of such law to the legislative branch of

14 the Federal Government.

15 (D) FINAL REGULATIONS.—The Board of

16 Directors shall, in accordance with such section

17 553, issue final regulations not later than 60

18 days after the end of the comment period on

19 the proposed regulations.

20 (2) CONTINUING ACTION.—

21 (A) GENERAL RULE.—Not later than 180

22 days after the date of the completion of the

23 study or a determination under subsection (b),

24 the Board of Directors shall, in accordance with

25 section 553 of title 5, United States Code, pro-
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1 pose regulations that specify which of the provi2 sions of Federal law considered in such study

3 shall apply to the legislative branch of the Fed4 eral Government. The Board of Directors shall

5 provide a period of at least 30 days for com6 ment on the proposed regulations.

7 (B) CONGRESSIONAL NOTICE.— In addi8 tion to publishing a general notice of proposed

9 rulemaking under section 553(b) of title 5,

10 United States Code, the Board of Directors

11 shall concurrently submit such notice for publi12 cation in the Congressional Record.

13 (C) AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS.—When

14 proposing regulations under subparagraph (A)

15 specifying which of the provisions of Federal

16 law referred to in section 3(b) shall apply to the

17 legislative branch of the Federal Government,

18 the Board of Directors shall recommend to the

19 Congress changes in or repeals of existing law

20 to accommodate the application of such law to

21 the legislative branch of the Federal Govern22 ment.

23 (D) FINAL REGULATIONS.— The Board of

24 Directors shall, in accordance with such section

25 553, issue final regulations not later than 60
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1 days after the end of the comment period on

2 the proposed regulations.

3 (3) REGULATION REQUIREMENTS.—Regulations

4 under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be consistent

5 with the regulations issued by an agency of the exec6 utive branch of the Federal Government under the

7 provision of law made applicable to the legislative

8 branch of the Federal Government, including por9 tions relating to remedies.

10 (4) ACTION IF DISAPPROVAL.—If a regulation

11 is disapproved by a concurrent resolution considered

12 under subsection (e), not later than 60 days after

13 the date of the disapproval, the Board of Directors

14 shall propose a new regulation to replace the regula15 tion disapproved. The action of the Board of Direc16 tors under this paragraph shall be in accordance

17 with the applicable requirements of this subsection.

18 (d) TRANSMITTAL.—A final regulation issued under

19 subsection (c) shall be transmitted to the Congress for

20 consideration under subsection (e).

21 (e) TAKING EFFECT OF REGULATIONS.—

22 (1) GENERAL RULE.—Subject to subsection (f),

23 a final regulation which is issued under subsection

24 (c) shall take effect upon the expiration of 60 days

25 from the date the final regulation is issued unless
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1 disapproved by the Congress by concurrent resolu2 tion.

3 (2) CONCURRENT RESOLUTION.—A concurrent

4 resolution referred to in paragraph (1) may be intro5 duced in the House of Representatives or the Senate

6 within 5 days of session after the date on which the

7 Board of Directors issues the final regulation to

8 which the concurrent resolution applies. The matter

9 after the resolving clause of the resolution shall be

10 as follows: ‘‘That Congress disapproves the issuance

11 of final regulations of the Office of Compliance as is12 sued on llllll (the blank space being ap13 propriately filled in).’’.

14 (3) PROCEDURE.—A concurrent resolution re15 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall be referred to the

16 appropriate committee of the House involved. If no

17 concurrent resolution is reported within 15 days of

18 session after the Board of Directors issues final reg19 ulations under subsection (c)(1)(D) or (c)(2)(D), the

20 committee to which the concurrent resolution was

21 referred shall be discharged from further consider22 ation of the first such concurrent resolution intro23 duced and the concurrent resolution shall be placed

24 on the appropriate calendar of the House involved.

25 Any meeting of a committee on a concurrent resolu-
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1 tion shall be open to the public. Within 5 days of

2 session after the concurrent resolution is reported or

3 discharged, it shall be in order as a matter of high4 est privilege to move to proceed to its consideration

5 and such motion shall not be debatable. The concur6 rent resolution shall be debatable for not to exceed

7 4 hours equally divided between proponents and op8 ponents and it shall not be subject to amendment.

9 If, prior to the adoption of a concurrent resolution

10 by one House, that House receives a concurrent res11 olution of the other House with respect to the same

12 regulations, then the procedure in that House shall

13 be the same as if no concurrent resolution had been

14 received from the other House, but vote on final

15 adoption shall be on the concurrent resolution of the

16 other House. If a concurrent resolution is received

17 by a House in which no identical concurrent resolu18 tion has been introduced, it shall be referred to the

19 appropriate committee and the same procedures and

20 20-day period for action shall apply to the consider21 ation of the concurrent resolution by that House as

22 would apply to an introduced concurrent resolution.

23 (f) RULEMAKING POWER.—The provisions of sub24 section (e) of this section are enacted by the Congress—
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1 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of

2 the House of Representatives and the Senate, re3 spectively, and as such they shall be considered as

4 part of the rules of each House, respectively, or of

5 that House to which they specifically apply, and

6 such rules shall supersede other rules only to the ex7 tent that they are inconsistent therewith; and

8 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

9 right of either House to change such rules (so far

10 as relating to such House) at any time, in the same

11 manner, and to the same extent as in the case of

12 any other rule of such House.

13 (g) OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.—Any meeting of the

14 Board of Directors held in connection with a study under

15 subsection (a) or (b) shall be open to the public. Any meet16 ing of the Board of Directors in connection with a regula17 tion under subsection (c) shall be open to the public.

18 SEC. 6. OTHER FUNCTIONS.

19 (a) RULES OF THE OFFICE.—The executive director

20 shall adopt rules governing the procedures of the Office,

21 subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, includ22 ing the procedures of hearing boards, which shall be sub23 mitted for publication in the Congressional Record. The

24 rules may be amended in the same manner. The executive

25 director may consult with the Chairman of the Adminis-
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1 trative Conference of the United States, the Legal Counsel

2 of the Senate, and the General Counsel of the House of

3 Representatives on the adoption of rules.

4 (b) INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.—The executive di5 rector shall have authority to conduct such investigations

6 as the executive director requires to implement sections

7 8 through 10 and section 12.

8 (c) DUTIES.—The Office shall—

9 (1) carry out a program of education for Mem10 bers of Congress and other employing authorities of

11 the legislative branch of the Federal Government re12 specting the laws made applicable to them and a

13 program to inform individuals of their rights under

14 laws applicable to the legislative branch of the Fed15 eral Government and under sections 7 through 12,

16 (2) in carrying out the program under para17 graph (1), distribute the telephone number and ad18 dress of the Office, procedures for action under sec19 tions 7 through 12, and any other information the

20 executive director deems appropriate for distribution,

21 distribute such information to Members of Congress

22 and other employing authorities of the legislative

23 branch of the Federal Government in a manner suit24 able for posting, provide such information to new

25 employees of the legislative branch of the Federal
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1 Government, distribute such information to the resi2 dences of congressional employees, and conduct sem3 inars and other activities designed to educate em4 ployers and employees in such information,

5 (3) compile and publish statistics on the use of

6 the Office by congressional employees, including the

7 number and type of contacts made with the Office,

8 on the reason for such contacts, on the number of

9 employees who initiated proceedings with the Office

10 under sections 7 through 12 and the result of such

11 proceedings, and on the number of employees who

12 filed a complaint under section 10, the basis for the

13 complaint, and the action taken on the complaint,

14 and

15 (4) within 180 days of the initial appointment

16 of the executive director and in conjunction with the

17 Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Sec18 retary of the Senate, develop a system for the collec19 tion of demographic data respecting the composition

20 of the congressional employees, including race, sex,

21 and wages, and a system for the collection of infor22 mation on employment practices, including family

23 leave and flexible work hours, in Congressional

24 offices.
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1 (d) REPORT.—Within one year of the date the system

2 referred to in subsection (c)(4) is developed and annually

3 thereafter, the Board of Directors shall submit to Con4 gress a report on the information collected under such sys5 tem. Each report after the first report shall contain a com6 parison and evaluation of data contained in the previous

7 report.

8 SEC. 7. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF ALLEGED

9 VIOLATIONS.

10 The procedure for consideration of alleged violations

11 of laws made applicable to the legislative branch of the

12 Federal Government under this Act consists of 4 steps as

13 follows:

14 (1) Step I, counseling, as set forth in section 8.

15 (2) Step II, mediation, as set forth in section

16 9.

17 (3) Step III, formal complaint and hearing by

18 a hearing board, as set forth in section 10.

19 (4) Step IV, judicial review if a congressional

20 employee is aggrieved by a dismissal of a claim

21 under section 10(c), a final decision under section

22 10(g), or an order under section 10(h) or if a head

23 of an employing office is aggrieved by a final deci24 sion under section 10(g) or would be subject to an

25 order issued under section 10(h).
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1 (5) Step V, as an alternative to steps III and

2 IV, a civil action in a district court of the United

3 States in accordance with section 12.

4 A congressional employee may elect the procedure de5 scribed in paragraph (3) or (5) but not both procedures.

6 SEC. 8. STEP I: COUNSELING.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—A congressional employee alleging

8 a violation of a law made applicable to the legislative

9 branch of the Federal Government under this Act may re10 quest counseling through the Office. The Office shall pro11 vide the employee with all relevant information with re12 spect to the rights of the employee. A request for counsel13 ing shall be made not later than 180 days after the alleged

14 violation forming the basis of the request for counseling

15 occurred.

16 (b) PERIOD OF COUNSELING.—The period for coun17 seling shall be 30 days unless the employee and the Office

18 agree to reduce the period. The period shall begin on the

19 date the request for counseling is received.

20 SEC. 9. STEP II: MEDIATION.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days after the

22 end of the counseling period under section 8, the employee

23 who alleged a violation of a law made applicable to the

24 legislative branch of the Federal Government under this
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1 Act may file a request for mediation with the Office. Medi2 ation—

3 (1) may include the Office, the employee, the

4 employing office, and individuals who are rec5 ommended by organizations composed primarily of

6 individuals experienced in adjudicating or arbitrating

7 personnel matters, and

8 (2) shall be a process involving meetings with

9 the parties separately or jointly for the purpose of

10 resolving the dispute between the employee and the

11 employing office.

12 (b) MEDIATION PERIOD.—The mediation period shall

13 be 30 days beginning on the date the request for mediation

14 is received and may be extended for an additional 30 days

15 at the discretion of the Office. The Office shall notify the

16 employee and the head of the employing office when the

17 mediation period has ended.

18 SEC. 10. STEP III: FORMAL COMPLAINT AND HEARING.

19 (a) FORMAL COMPLAINT AND REQUEST FOR HEAR20 ING.—Not later than 30 days after receipt by the congres21 sional employee of notice from the Office of the end of

22 the mediation period under section 9, the congressional

23 employee may file a formal complaint with the Office

24 against the head of the employing office involved. No com25 plaint may be filed unless the employee has made a timely
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1 request for counseling and has completed the procedures

2 set forth in sections 8 and 9.

3 (b) HEARING BOARD.—A board of 3 independent

4 hearing officers (hereinafter in this Act referred to as a

5 ‘‘hearing board’’), who are not Members of the House of

6 Representatives, Senators, or officers or employees of the

7 House of Representatives or Senate, chosen by the execu8 tive director (one of whom shall be designated by the exec9 utive director as the presiding hearing officer) shall be as10 signed to consider each complaint filed under subsection

11 (a). The executive director shall appoint hearing officers

12 from candidates who are recommended by the Federal Me13 diation and Conciliation Service or the Administrative

14 Conference of the United States. A hearing board shall

15 act by majority vote.

16 (c) DISMISSAL OF FRIVOLOUS CLAIMS.—Prior to a

17 hearing under subsection (d), a hearing board may dismiss

18 any claim that it finds to be frivolous.

19 (d) HEARING.—A hearing shall be conducted—

20 (1) in closed session on the record by a hearing

21 board; and

22 (2) no later than 30 days after filing of the

23 complaint under subsection (a), except that the Of24 fice may, for good cause, extend up to an additional

25 60 days the time for conducting a hearing.
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1 (e) DISCOVERY.—Reasonable prehearing discovery

2 may be permitted at the discretion of the hearing board.

3 (f) SUBPOENA POWER.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—A hearing board may au5 thorize subpoenas, which shall be issued by the pre6 siding hearing officer on behalf of the hearing board

7 for the attendance of witnesses at proceedings of the

8 hearing board and for the production of correspond9 ence, books, papers, documents, and other records.

10 The attendance of witnesses and the production of

11 evidence may be required from any place within the

12 United States.

13 (2) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per14 son refuses to obey a subpoena issued under para15 graph (1), the hearing board may apply to a United

16 States district court for an order requiring that per17 son to appear before the hearing board to give testi18 mony, produce evidence, or both, relating to the

19 matter under investigation. The application may be

20 made within the judicial district where the hearing

21 is conducted or where that person is found, resides,

22 or transacts business. Any failure to obey the order

23 of the court may be punished by the court as civil

24 contempt.
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1 (3) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The subpoenas

2 of the hearing board shall be served in the manner

3 provided for subpoenas issued by a United States

4 district court under the Federal Rules of Civil Pro5 cedure for the United States district courts.

6 (4) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of any

7 court to which application is to be made under para8 graph (2) may be served in the judicial district in

9 which the person required to be served resides or

10 may be found.

11 (5) IMMUNITY.—The hearing board is an agen12 cy of the United States for the purpose of part V

13 of title 18, United States Code (relating to immunity

14 of witnesses).

15 (g) HEARING BOARD DECISION.—As expeditiously as

16 possible, but in no case more than 45 days after the con17 clusion of the hearing, the hearing board shall make a de18 cision in the matter for which the hearing was held. The

19 decision of the hearing board shall be transmitted by the

20 Office to the employee and the employing office. The deci21 sion shall state the issues raised by the complaint, describe

22 the evidence in the record, and contain a determination

23 as to whether a violation of a law made applicable to the

24 legislative branch of the Federal Government under this

25 Act has occurred. Any decision of the hearing board shall
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1 contain a written statement of the reasons for the hearing

2 board’s decision. A final decision of the hearing board

3 shall be made available to the public by the Office.

4 (h) REMEDY ORDER.—If the decision of the hearing

5 board under subsection (g) is that a violation of a law

6 made applicable to the legislative branch of the Federal

7 Government under this Act, it shall order the remedies

8 under such law as made applicable to the legislative

9 branch of the Federal Government under this Act, except

10 that no Member of the House of Representatives, Senator,

11 any other head of an employing office, or agent of such

12 a Member or Senator, shall be personally liable for the

13 payment of compensation. The hearing board shall have

14 no authority to award punitive damages. The entry of an

15 order under this subsection shall constitute a final decision

16 for purposes of judicial review under section 11.

17 (i) FUNDS.—There shall be established in the House

18 of Representatives and in the Senate a fund from which

19 compensation (including attorney’s fees) may be paid in

20 accordance with an order under subsection (h) or as a re21 sult of judicial review under section 11 or a civil action

22 under section 12. From the outset of any proceeding in

23 which compensation may be paid from a fund of the House

24 of Representatives, the General Counsel of the House of
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•HR 4822 EH1S

1 Representatives may provide the respondent with rep2 resentation.

3 SEC. 11. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—

5 (1) TYPES OF REVIEW.—Following any hearing

6 under section 10 on a complaint relating to a provi7 sion of law described in section 3, any congressional

8 employee aggrieved by a dismissal of a claim under

9 section 10(c), a final decision under section 10(g), a

10 final order under section 10(h), or any head of an

11 employing office aggrieved by a final decision under

12 section 10(g) or a final order under section 10(h),

13 may petition for review by the United States Court

14 of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in accordance

15 with paragraph (2).

16 (2) PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO REVIEW.—The

17 following provisions apply to a review under para18 graph (1):

19 (A) LAW APPLICABLE.—Chapter 158 of

20 title 28, United States Code, shall apply—

21 (i) with respect to section 2344 of

22 title 28, United States Code, service of the

23 petition shall be on the House or Senate

24 Legal Counsel, or the appropriate entity of
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1 an instrumentality, as the case may be,

2 rather than on the Attorney General;

3 (ii) the provisions of section 2348 of

4 title 28, United States Code, on the au5 thority of the Attorney General, shall not

6 apply;

7 (iii) the petition for review shall be

8 filed not later than 90 days after the entry

9 in the Office of a final decision under sec10 tion 10(g), an order under section 10(h);

11 and

12 (iv) the Office shall be an ‘‘agency’’ as

13 that term is used in chapter 158 of title

14 28, United States Code.

15 (B) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—To the ex16 tent necessary for decision and when presented,

17 the court shall decide all relevant questions of

18 law and interpret constitutional and statutory

19 provisions. The court shall set aside a dismissal

20 under section 10(c), a final decision under sec21 tion 10(g), or an order under section 10(h) if

22 it is determined that the dismissal, decision, or

23 order was—
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1 (i) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of

2 discretion, or otherwise not consistent with

3 law;

4 (ii) not made consistent with required

5 procedures; or

6 (iii) unsupported by substantial evi7 dence.

8 (C) RECORD.—In making determinations

9 under subparagraph (B), the court shall review

10 the whole record, or those parts of it cited by

11 a party, and due account shall be taken of the

12 rule of prejudicial error. The record on review

13 shall include the record before the hearing

14 board, the decision of the hearing board, and

15 the order of the hearing board.

16 (b) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—If a congressional employee

17 is the prevailing party in a proceeding under this section,

18 attorney’s fees for the judicial proceeding may be allowed

19 by the court in accordance with the standards prescribed

20 under section 706(k) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

21 U.S.C. 2000e–5(k)).

22 SEC. 12. CIVIL ACTION.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—

24 (1) CIVIL ACTION.—A congressional employee

25 may within 30 days after receipt of notice from the
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•HR 4822 EH1S

1 Office of the end of the mediation period under sec2 tion 9 for a violation of a law made applicable to the

3 legislative branch of the Federal Government bring

4 a civil action in a district court of the United States

5 seeking relief from the alleged violation of law if

6 such a civil action is available under such law. In

7 any such civil action, any party may demand a jury

8 trial.

9 (2) EXHAUSTION REQUIREMENT.—No civil ac10 tion may be filed under paragraph (1) unless the

11 employee has made a timely request for counseling

12 and has completed the procedures set forth in sec13 tions 8 and 9.

14 (3) COURT ORDER.—If a court determines that

15 a violation of law occurred, the court may only enter

16 an order described in section 10(h).

17 (b) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—If a congressional employee

18 is the prevailing party in a proceeding under this section,

19 attorney’s fees may be allowed by the court in accordance

20 with any standards prescribed under Federal law for the

21 award of such fees in the event of a violation of such provi22 sion.

23 SEC. 13. RESOLUTION OF COMPLAINT.

24 If, after a formal complaint is filed under section 10,

25 the employee and the head of the employing office resolve
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•HR 4822 EH1S

1 the issues involved, the employee may withdraw the com2 plaint or the parties may enter into a written agreement,

3 subject to the approval of the executive director.

4 SEC. 14. PROHIBITION OF INTIMIDATION.

5 Any intimidation of, or reprisal against, any employee

6 by any Member of the House of Representatives, Senator,

7 or officer or employee of the House of Representatives or

8 Senate, by the Architect of the Capitol or anyone employed

9 by the Architect of the Capitol, or by an instrumentality

10 of the legislative branch of the Federal Government be11 cause of the exercise of a right under this Act constitutes

12 an unlawful employment practice, which may be remedied

13 in the same manner under this Act as is a violation of

14 a law made applicable to the legislative branch of the Fed15 eral Government under this Act.

16 SEC. 15. CONFIDENTIALITY.

17 (a) COUNSELING.—All counseling shall be strictly

18 confidential except that the Office and the employee may

19 agree to notify the head of the employing office of the

20 allegations.

21 (b) MEDIATION.—All mediation shall be strictly

22 confidential.

23 (c) HEARINGS.—Except as provided in subsections

24 (d) and (e), the hearings and deliberations of the hearing

25 board shall be confidential.
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1 (d) RELEASE OF RECORDS FOR JUDICIAL ACTION.—

2 The records of hearing boards may be made public if re3 quired for the purpose of judicial action under section 9.

4 (e) ACCESS BY COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.—At the

5 discretion of the executive director, the executive director

6 may provide to the Committee on Standards of Official

7 Conduct of the House of Representatives and the Select

8 Committee on Ethics of the Senate access to the records

9 of the hearings and decisions of the hearing boards, in10 cluding all written and oral testimony in the possession

11 of the hearing boards, concerning a decision under section

12 10(g). The executive director shall not provide such access

13 until the executive director has consulted with the individ14 ual filing the complaint at issue in the hearing, and until

15 the hearing board has issued the decision.

16 (f) COORDINATION.—The executive director shall co17 ordinate the proceedings with the Committee on Stand18 ards and Official Conduct of the House of Representatives

19 and the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate to en20 sure effectiveness, to avoid duplication, and to prevent pe21 nalizing cooperation by respondents in the respective pro22 ceedings.
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1 SEC. 16. POLITICAL AFFILIATION AND PLACE OF RESI2 DENCE.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be a violation of a law

4 made applicable to the legislative branch of the Federal

5 Government under this Act to consider the—

6 (1) party affiliation,

7 (2) domicile, or

8 (3) political compatibility with the employing

9 office,

10 of a congressional employee with respect to employment

11 decisions.

12 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of subsection (a),

13 the term ‘‘employee’’ means—

14 (1) an employee on the staff of the House of

15 Representatives or Senate leadership,

16 (2) an employee on the staff of a committee or

17 subcommittee,

18 (3) an employee on the staff of a Member of

19 the House of Representatives or Senate,

20 (4) an officer or employee of the House of Rep21 resentatives or Senate elected by the House of Rep22 resentatives or Senate or appointed by a Member of

23 the House of Representatives or Senate, other than

24 those described in paragraphs (1) through (3), or
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•HR 4822 EH1S

1 (5) an applicant for a position that is to be oc2 cupied by an individual described in paragraphs (1)

3 through (4).

4 SEC. 17. OTHER REVIEW PROHIBITED.

5 No congressional employee may commence a judicial

6 proceeding to redress practices prohibited under section

7 5, except as provided in this Act.

8 SEC. 18. STUDY.

9 (a) STUDY.—The Office shall conduct a study—

10 (1) of the ways that access by the public to in11 formation held by the Congress may be improved,

12 streamlined, and made consistent between the House

13 of Representatives and the Senate and of the appli14 cation of section 552 of title 5, United States Code

15 to the legislative branch of the Federal Government;

16 and

17 (2) of the application of the requirement of sec18 tion 552a of title 5, United States Code, to the legis19 lative branch of the Federal Government.

20 (b) STUDY CONTENT.—The study conducted under

21 subsection (a) shall examine—

22 (1) information that is currently made available

23 under such section 552 by Federal agencies and not

24 by the legislative branch of the Federal Government;
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•HR 4822 EH1S

1 (2) information held by the non-legislative of2 fices of the legislative branch of the Federal Govern3 ment, including—

4 (A) the instrumentalities,

5 (B) the Architect of the Capitol,

6 (C) the Director of Non-Legislative and

7 Financial Services of the House of Representa8 tives,

9 (D) the Clerk of the House of Representa10 tives,

11 (E) the Secretary of the Senate,

12 (F) the Inspector General of the House of

13 Representatives,

14 (G) the Sergeant at Arms of the House of

15 Representatives and the Sergeant at Arms of

16 the Senate,

17 (H) the Doorkeeper of the House of Rep18 resentatives,

19 (I) the United States Capitol Police, and

20 (J) the House Commission on Congres21 sional Mailing Standards;

22 (3) financial expenditure information of the leg23 islative branch of the Federal Government; and
40

•HR 4822 EH1S

1 (4) provisions for judicial review of denial of ac2 cess to information held by the legislative branch of

3 the Federal Government.

4 (c) TIME.—The Office shall conduct the study pre5 scribed by subsection (a) and report the results of the

6 study to the Congress not later than one year after the

7 date of the initial appointment of the Board of Directors.

8 SEC. 19. LIMITATION ON USE OF TRAVEL AWARDS IN THE

9 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi11 sion of law or any rule, regulation, or other authority, any

12 travel award that accrues by reason of official travel of

13 a Member, officer, or employee of the House of Represent14 atives may be used only with respect to official travel.

15 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Committee on House Ad16 ministration of the House of Representatives shall have

17 authority to prescribe regulations to carry out this section.

18 (c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—

19 (1) the term ‘‘travel award’’ means any fre20 quent flier mileage, free travel, discounted travel, or

21 other travel benefit, whether awarded by coupon,

22 membership, or otherwise; and

23 (2) the term ‘‘official travel’’ means, with re24 spect to the House of Representatives, travel per-
41

•HR 4822 EH1S

1 formed for the conduct of official business of the

2 House of Representatives.

Passed the House of Representatives August 10,

1994.

Attest:

Clerk.

HR 4822 EH1S——2

HR 4822 EH1S——3
103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4822

AN ACT

To make certain laws applicable to the legislative

branch of the Federal Government.