II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5168 

To make certain antidiscrimination laws applicable to the judicial branch 

of the Federal Government, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Ms. HIRONO (for herself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To make certain antidiscrimination laws applicable to the 

judicial branch of the Federal Government, and for other 

purposes. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Judiciary Accountability Act of 2024’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—GENERAL 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Application of laws. 


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TITLE II—EXTENSION OF RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS 

Subtitle A—Employment Discrimination, Employment and Reemployment of 

Veterans, Intimidation, and Reprisal 

Sec. 201. Rights and protections under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 

1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and title II of the Genetic Information 

Nondiscrimination Act of 2008. 

Sec. 202. Rights and protections relating to veterans’ employment and reemployment. 

Sec. 203. Prohibition of intimidation or reprisal. 

Sec. 204. Remedies and limitations. 

Subtitle B—Reporting and Notices 

Sec. 211. Annual reports. 

Sec. 212. Notices. 

TITLE III—OFFICE OF JUDICIAL INTEGRITY 

Sec. 301. Establishment of the Office of Judicial Integrity. 

Sec. 302. Officers, staff, and other personnel. 

Sec. 303. Procedural rules. 

Sec. 304. Substantive regulations. 

Sec. 305. Expenses. 

TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL DISPUTERESOLUTION PROCEDURES 

Sec. 401. Procedure for consideration of alleged violations. 

Sec. 402. Initiation of proceedings. 

Sec. 403. Preliminary review of claims. 

Sec. 404. Mediation. 

Sec. 405. Hearing. 

Sec. 406. Appeal to the Board. 

Sec. 407. Judicial review of board decisions and enforcement. 

Sec. 408. Civil action. 

Sec. 409. Judicial review of regulations. 

Sec. 410. Other judicial review prohibited. 

Sec. 411. Effect of failure to issue regulations. 

Sec. 412. Expedited review of certain appeals. 

Sec. 413. Sovereign immunity and judicial independence. 

Sec. 414. Settlement. 

Sec. 415. Payments. 

Sec. 416. Confidentiality and referrals. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Improvements to judicial conduct and disability complaints process. 

Sec. 502. District of Columbia courts. 

Sec. 503. United States Tax Court. 

Sec. 504. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 

Sec. 505. District Court of Guam. 

Sec. 506. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. 

Sec. 507. District Court of the Virgin Islands. 


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Sec. 508. Transition provisions. 

Sec. 509. Severability. 

1 TITLE I—GENERAL 

2 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

3 Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act, 

4 as used in this Act: 

5 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

6 Board of Directors of the Office of Judicial Integ7 rity. 

8 (2) CHAIR.—The term ‘‘Chair’’ means the 

9 Chair of the Board of Directors of the Office of Ju10 dicial Integrity. 

11 (3) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘covered 

12 employee’’ means any employee of an employing 

13 unit. 

14 (4) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ includes 

15 an officer, an applicant for employment, and a 

16 former employee. 

17 (5) EMPLOYING UNIT.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘employing 

19 unit’’ means— 

20 (i)(I) a court of appeals of the United 

21 States, for individuals employed directly by 

22 the court, including covered individuals; 


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1 (II) a district court of the United 

2 States, for individuals employed directly by 

3 the court, including covered individuals; 

4 (III) a bankruptcy court, for individ5 uals employed directly by the court, includ6 ing covered individuals; 

7 (IV) the United States Court of Fed8 eral Claims, for individuals employed di9 rectly by the court, including covered indi10 viduals; and 

11 (V) the United States Court of Inter12 national Trade, for individuals employed 

13 directly by the court, including covered in14 dividuals; 

15 (ii) a judicial council of a court of ap16 peals, for individuals employed directly by 

17 the council, including covered individuals; 

18 (iii) the office of a judge of a court 

19 described in clause (i), for individuals ap20 pointed by the judge; 

21 (iv) the office of a United States mag22 istrate judge, for individuals appointed by 

23 the judge; 

24 (v) the office of a bankruptcy judge, 

25 for individuals appointed by the judge; 


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1 (vi) the office of a person who is a cir2 cuit executive, clerk, librarian, crier, or 

3 staff attorney of a court of appeals, for in4 dividuals appointed by that person; 

5 (vii) the office of the senior technical 

6 assistant of the Court of Appeals for the 

7 Federal Circuit, for individuals appointed 

8 by the senior technical assistant; 

9 (viii) the office of the clerk of a dis10 trict court of the United States, a bank11 ruptcy court, or the United States Court of 

12 Federal Claims, for individuals appointed 

13 by the clerk; 

14 (ix) the office of a district court exec15 utive, for individuals appointed by the ex16 ecutive; 

17 (x) the Judicial Conference of the 

18 United States, the Administrative Office of 

19 the United States Courts, the Federal Ju20 dicial Center, and the United States Sen21 tencing Commission; and 

22 (xi) a Federal Public Defender Orga23 nization described in section 

24 3006A(g)(2)(A) of title 18, United States 

25 Code. 


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1 (B) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—In subpara2 graph (A), the term ‘‘covered individual’’ in3 cludes a circuit executive, a clerk of court, a 

4 court reporter, a probation officer, a pretrial 

5 services officer, a librarian, a crier, a mes6 senger, a bailiff, a staff attorney, a 

7 preargument attorney, a bankruptcy adminis8 trator, and (with respect to the United States 

9 Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) the 

10 senior technical assistant of that court. 

11 (6) GENERAL COUNSEL.—The term ‘‘General 

12 Counsel’’ means the General Counsel of the Office of 

13 Judicial Integrity. 

14 (7) JUDGE.—The term ‘‘judge’’ has the mean15 ing given the term in section 351 of title 28, United 

16 States Code. 

17 (8) JUDICIAL BRANCH AGENCY.—The term ‘‘ju18 dicial branch agency’’— 

19 (A) means an entity established in the ju20 dicial branch of the Federal Government that is 

21 not an employing unit described in clauses (i) 

22 through (ix), or clause (xi), of paragraph 

23 (5)(A); and 

24 (B) includes the Judicial Conference of the 

25 United States, the Administrative Office of the 


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1 United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Cen2 ter, and the United States Sentencing Commis3 sion. 

4 (9) JUDICIAL COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘judicial 

5 council’’ means a judicial council of a circuit de6 scribed in section 332 of title 28, United States 

7 Code. 

8 (10) OEA.—The term ‘‘OEA’’ means the Office 

9 of Employee Advocacy. 

10 (11) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 

11 Office of Judicial Integrity. 

12 (12) OTHER ABUSIVE CONDUCT.—The term 

13 ‘‘other abusive conduct’’— 

14 (A) means a pattern of demonstrably egre15 gious and hostile conduct not covered by sub16 title A of title II that— 

17 (i) unreasonably interferes with a cov18 ered employee’s work; 

19 (ii) creates an abusive working envi20 ronment; and 

21 (iii) is threatening, oppressive, or in22 timidating; and 

23 (B) does not include communications and 

24 actions that are reasonably related to— 


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1 (i) performance management, includ2 ing instruction, corrective criticism, and 

3 evaluation; 

4 (ii) performance improvement plans; 

5 (iii) duty assignments and changes to 

6 duty assignments; 

7 (iv) office organization; or 

8 (v) progressive discipline. 

9 (13) WORKPLACE MISCONDUCT.—The term 

10 ‘‘workplace misconduct’’— 

11 (A) means misconduct against a covered 

12 employee that impacts or is related to the cov13 ered employee’s workplace or employment; and 

14 (B) includes conduct prohibited under sub15 title A of title II, other abusive conduct, and 

16 other misconduct the Board defines by rule17 making pursuant to section 304. 

18 SEC. 102. APPLICATION OF LAWS. 

19 The following laws shall apply, as prescribed by this 

20 Act and notwithstanding any other provision of Federal 

21 law, to the judicial branch of the Federal Government: 

22 (1) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

23 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.). 

24 (2) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 

25 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 


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1 (3) The Age Discrimination in Employment Act 

2 of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.). 

3 (4) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

4 701 et seq.). 

5 (5) Title II of the Genetic Information Non6 discrimination Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 2000ff et 

7 seq.). 

8 (6) Chapter 43 (relating to veterans’ employ9 ment and reemployment) of title 38, United States 

10 Code. 


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1 TITLE II—EXTENSION OF 

2 RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS 

3 Subtitle A—Employment Discrimi4 nation, Employment and Reem5 ployment of Veterans, Intimida6 tion, and Reprisal 

7 SEC. 201. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER TITLE VII OF 

8 THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, THE AGE DIS9 CRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1967, 

10 THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973, TITLE I 

11 OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT 

12 OF 1990, AND TITLE II OF THE GENETIC IN13 FORMATION NONDISCRIMINATION ACT OF 

14 2008. 

15 (a) DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES PROHIBITED.—All 

16 personnel actions affecting covered employees shall be 

17 made free from any discrimination or an unlawful practice 

18 based on— 

19 (1) race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, 

20 within the meaning of section 703 of the Civil 

21 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–2); 

22 (2) age, within the meaning of section 15 of the 

23 Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 

24 U.S.C. 633a); 


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1 (3) disability, within the meaning of section 501 

2 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791) 

3 and sections 102 through 104 of the Americans with 

4 Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12112–12114); 

5 or 

6 (4) genetic information, within the meaning of 

7 section 202 of the Genetic Information Non8 discrimination Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 2000ff–1). 

9 (b) REMEDY.— 

10 (1) CIVIL RIGHTS.—The remedy for a violation 

11 of subsection (a)(1) shall be— 

12 (A) such remedy as would be appropriate 

13 if awarded under section 706(g) of the Civil 

14 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5(g)); 

15 and 

16 (B) such compensatory damages as would 

17 be appropriate if awarded under section 1977 

18 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981), or as 

19 would be appropriate if awarded under sections 

20 1977A(a)(1), 1977A(b)(2), and irrespective of 

21 the size of the employing unit, 1977A(b)(3)(D) 

22 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a(a)(1), 

23 1981a(b)(2), and 1981a(b)(3)(D)). 

24 (2) AGE DISCRIMINATION.—The remedy for a 

25 violation of subsection (a)(2) shall be— 


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1 (A) such remedy as would be appropriate 

2 if awarded under section 15(c) of the Age Dis3 crimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 

4 U.S.C. 633a(c)); and 

5 (B) such liquidated damages as would be 

6 appropriate if awarded under section 7(b) of 

7 such Act (29 U.S.C. 626(b)). 

8 In addition, the waiver provisions of section 7(f) of 

9 such Act (29 U.S.C. 626(f)) shall apply to covered 

10 employees. 

11 (3) DISABILITIES DISCRIMINATION.—The rem12 edy for a violation of subsection (a)(3) shall be— 

13 (A) such remedy as would be appropriate 

14 if awarded under section 505(a)(1) of the Reha15 bilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794a(a)(1)) 

16 or section 107(a) of the Americans with Dis17 abilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12117(a)); and 

18 (B) such compensatory damages as would 

19 be appropriate if awarded under sections 

20 1977A(a)(2), 1977A(a)(3), 1977A(b)(2), and, 

21 irrespective of the size of the employing unit, 

22 1977A(b)(3)(D) of the Revised Statutes (42 

23 U.S.C. 1981a(a)(2), 1981a(a)(3), 1981a(b)(2), 

24 and 1981a(b)(3)(D)). 


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1 (4) GENETIC INFORMATION.—The remedy for a 

2 violation of subsection (a)(4) shall be the remedy 

3 specified in section 207(g) of the Genetic Informa4 tion Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 

5 2000ff–6(g)). 

6 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) GENETIC INFORMATION NONDISCRIMINA8 TION ACT OF 2008.— 

9 (A) DEFINITIONS.—Section 201(2) of the 

10 Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 

11 2008 (42 U.S.C. 2000ff(2)) is amended— 

12 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

13 (I) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of 

14 clause (iv); 

15 (II) by striking the period at the 

16 end of clause (v) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

17 and 

18 (III) by adding after clause (v) 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(vi) a covered employee (including an 

21 applicant and a former employee), as de22 fined in section 101 of the Judiciary Ac23 countability Act of 2024.’’; and 

24 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of 

2 clause (iv); 

3 (II) by striking the period at the 

4 end of clause (v) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

5 and 

6 (III) by adding after clause (v) 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(vi) an employing unit, as defined in 

9 section 101 of the Judiciary Accountability 

10 Act of 2024.’’. 

11 (B) REMEDIES AND ENFORCEMENT.—Sec12 tion 207 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000ff–6) is 

13 amended— 

14 (i) by redesignating subsection (g) as 

15 subsection (h); and 

16 (ii) by inserting after subsection (f) 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(g) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY JUDICIARY ACCOUNT19 ABILITY ACT OF 2024.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The powers, remedies, and 

21 procedures provided in the Judiciary Accountability 

22 Act of 2024 to the Board (as defined in section 101 

23 of that Act), or any person, alleging a violation of 

24 section 201(a)(1) of that Act shall be the powers, 

25 remedies, and procedures this title provides to that 


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1 Board, or any person, respectively, alleging an un2 lawful employment practice in violation of this title 

3 against an employee described in section 

4 201(2)(A)(vi), except as provided in paragraphs (2) 

5 and (3). 

6 ‘‘(2) COSTS AND FEES.—The powers, remedies, 

7 and procedures provided in subsections (b) and (c) 

8 of section 722 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 

9 1988) shall be powers, remedies, and procedures this 

10 title provides to that Board, or any person, respec11 tively, alleging such a practice. 

12 ‘‘(3) DAMAGES.—The powers, remedies, and 

13 procedures provided in section 1977A of the Revised 

14 Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), including, irrespective 

15 of the size of the employing unit, in subsection 

16 (b)(3)(D) of such section 1977A, shall be powers, 

17 remedies, and procedures this title provides to that 

18 Board, or any person, respectively, alleging such a 

19 practice (not an employment practice specifically ex20 cluded from coverage under section 1977A(a)(1) of 

21 the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a(a)(1)). 

22 ‘‘(4) OTHER APPLICABLE PROVISIONS.—With 

23 respect to a claim alleging a practice described in 

24 paragraph (1), titles III and IV of the Judiciary Ac25 countability Act of 2024 shall apply in the same 


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1 manner as such titles apply with respect to a claim 

2 alleging a violation of section 201(a)(1) of such 

3 Act.’’. 

4 (d) APPLICATION TO UNPAID STAFF.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsections (a) and (b) shall 

6 apply with respect to— 

7 (A) any staff member of an employing unit 

8 who carries out official duties of the employing 

9 unit but who is not paid by the employing unit 

10 for carrying out such duties (referred to in this 

11 subsection as an ‘‘unpaid staff member’’), in12 cluding an intern, an individual detailed to an 

13 employing unit from elsewhere, and an indi14 vidual participating in a fellowship program or 

15 clerkship, in the same manner and to the same 

16 extent as such subsections apply with respect to 

17 a covered employee; and 

18 (B) a former unpaid staff member, if the 

19 act that may be a violation of subsection (a) oc20 curred during the service of the former unpaid 

21 staff member in the employing unit. 

22 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

23 paragraph (1) may be construed to extend liability 

24 for a violation of subsection (a) to an employing unit 

25 on the basis of an action taken by any person who 


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1 is not under the supervision or control of the em2 ploying unit. 

3 (3) INTERN DEFINED.—For purposes of this 

4 subsection, the term ‘‘intern’’ means an individual 

5 who performs service for an employing unit which is 

6 uncompensated by the United States to earn credit 

7 awarded by an educational institution or to learn a 

8 trade or occupation. 

9 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

10 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 202. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS RELATING TO VET12 ERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT. 

13 (a) EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF

14 MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for an 

16 employing unit to— 

17 (A) discriminate within the meaning of 

18 subsections (a) and (b) of section 4311 of title 

19 38, United States Code, against an eligible em20 ployee; 

21 (B) deny to an eligible employee reemploy22 ment rights within the meaning of sections 

23 4312 and 4313 of title 38, United States Code; 

24 or 


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1 (C) deny to an eligible employee benefits 

2 within the meaning of sections 4316, 4317, and 

3 4318 of title 38, United States Code. 

4 (2) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE.—For purposes of 

5 this section, the term ‘‘eligible employee’’ means a 

6 covered employee performing service in the uni7 formed services, within the meaning of section 

8 4303(13) of title 38, United States Code, whose 

9 service has not been terminated upon occurrence of 

10 any of the events enumerated in section 4304 of title 

11 38, United States Code. 

12 (b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub13 section (a) shall be such remedy as would be appropriate 

14 if awarded under section 4323(d) of title 38, United 

15 States Code. 

16 (c) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall, pursuant 

18 to section 304, issue regulations to implement this 

19 section. 

20 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations 

21 issued under paragraph (1) shall be the same as 

22 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec23 retary of Labor to implement the statutory provi24 sions referred to in subsection (a) except to the ex25 tent that the Board may determine, for good cause 


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1 shown and stated together with the regulation, that 

2 a modification of such regulations would be more ef3 fective for the implementation of the rights and pro4 tections under this section. 

5 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsections (a) and (b) shall 

6 be effective 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 203. PROHIBITION OF INTIMIDATION OR REPRISAL. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for an em9 ploying unit to intimidate, take reprisal against, or other10 wise discriminate against, any covered employee— 

11 (1) because the covered employee has opposed 

12 any practice made unlawful by this Act; or 

13 (2) because the covered employee has— 

14 (A) initiated proceedings; 

15 (B) made a charge, complaint, or claim; or 

16 (C) testified, assisted, or participated in 

17 any manner in a hearing or other proceeding, 

18 under this Act or under chapter 16 of title 28, 

19 United States Code. 

20 (b) REMEDY.—The remedy available for a violation 

21 of subsection (a) shall be such legal or equitable remedy 

22 as may be appropriate to redress a violation of subsection 

23 (a). 

24 (c) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In any proceeding involving 

25 an alleged violation of this section, the burden of proof 


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1 shall be determined in accordance with section 1221(e) of 

2 title 5, United States Code, in addition to any other appli3 cable provision. 

4 (d) VENUE.—Notwithstanding section 408(b), in ad5 dition to the venue specified by section 1391 of title 28, 

6 United States Code, venue for a civil action for a claim 

7 arising under this section shall lie in the United States 

8 District Court for the District of Columbia and in any ju9 dicial district located within 100 miles of any border of 

10 the judicial district in which the covered employee is, ap11 plies to be, or was, employed by an employing unit. 

12 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsections (a) through (d) 

13 shall be effective 1 year after the date of enactment of 

14 this Act. 

15 SEC. 204. REMEDIES AND LIMITATIONS. 

16 (a) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—If a covered employee, with 

17 respect to any claim under this Act, is a prevailing party 

18 in any proceeding under section 405, 406, 407, or 408, 

19 the Merits Hearing Officer, Board, or court, as the case 

20 may be, may award attorney’s fees, expert fees, and any 

21 other costs as would be appropriate if awarded under sec22 tion 706(k) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

23 2000e–5(k)). 

24 (b) INTEREST.—In any proceeding under section 

25 405, 406, 407, or 408, the same interest to compensate 


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1 for delay in payment shall be made available as would be 

2 appropriate if awarded under section 717(d) of the Civil 

3 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16(d)). 

4 (c) CIVIL PENALTIES AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES.—No 

5 civil penalty or punitive damages may be awarded with 

6 respect to any claim under this Act. 

7 (d) EXCLUSIVE PROCEDURE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), no person may commence an administra10 tive or judicial proceeding to seek a remedy for a 

11 violation of the rights and protections afforded by 

12 this Act except as provided in this Act or the rules 

13 and regulations promulgated under this Act. 

14 (2) VETERANS.—A covered employee alleging a 

15 violation of section 202 may also utilize any provi16 sions of chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code, 

17 that are applicable to that employee. 

18 (e) CONSTRUCTION.— 

19 (1) DEFINITIONS AND EXEMPTIONS.—Except if 

20 inconsistent with definitions and exemptions pro21 vided in this Act, the definitions and exemptions in 

22 the laws made applicable to covered employees by 

23 this Act shall apply to claims by covered employees, 

24 and defense to claims by covered employees, under 

25 this Act. 


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1 (2) SIZE LIMITATIONS.—Notwithstanding para2 graph (1), provisions in the laws made applicable to 

3 covered employees under this Act determining cov4 erage based on size, whether expressed in terms of 

5 number of employees, amount of business trans6 acted, or another measure, shall not apply in deter7 mining coverage under this Act. 

8 (3) EXECUTIVE BRANCH ENFORCEMENT.—This 

9 Act shall not be construed to authorize enforcement 

10 of this Act by the executive branch. 

11 Subtitle B—Reporting and Notices 

12 SEC. 211. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

13 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS ON AWARDS AND SETTLE14 MENTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

16 (A) REQUIREMENT.—The Office shall pre17 pare and submit to the Committee on the Judi18 ciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 

19 Judiciary of the House of Representatives, and 

20 publish on the public website of the Office, an 

21 annual report regarding payments from the ac22 count described in section 415(a) that were the 

23 result of claims alleging a violation of subtitle 

24 A (referred to in this subsection as ‘‘covered 

25 payments’’). 


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1 (B) REPORTING.—The reporting required 

2 under this paragraph shall— 

3 (i) include the amount of such a cov4 ered payment and information on the em5 ploying unit involved; and 

6 (ii) identify each provision of subtitle 

7 A that was the subject of a claim resulting 

8 in the covered payment. 

9 (C) REPORTING PERIODS AND DATES.— 

10 The report required under this paragraph shall 

11 be submitted by January 31 of each year and 

12 shall reflect covered payments made in the pre13 vious calendar year. 

14 (2) PROTECTION OF IDENTITY OF INDIVIDUALS

15 RECEIVING AWARDS AND SETTLEMENTS.—In pre16 paring, submitting, and publishing the reports re17 quired under paragraph (1), the Office shall ensure 

18 that the identity or position of any claimant is not 

19 disclosed. 

20 (3) AUTHORITY TO PROTECT THE IDENTITY OF

21 A CLAIMANT.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out para23 graph (2), the Judicial Integrity Officer, in con24 sultation with the Board, may make an appro25 priate redaction to the data included in the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:51 Oct 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5168.IS S5168

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1 port described in paragraph (1) if the Judicial 

2 Integrity Officer, in consultation with the 

3 Board, determines that including the data con4 sidered for redaction may lead to the identity or 

5 position of a claimant unintentionally being dis6 closed. The report shall note each redaction and 

7 include a statement that the redaction was 

8 made solely for the purpose of avoiding such an 

9 unintentional disclosure of the identity or posi10 tion of a claimant. 

11 (B) RECORDKEEPING.—The Judicial In12 tegrity Officer shall retain a copy of the report 

13 described in paragraph (1), without redactions. 

14 (4) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

15 ‘‘claimant’’ means an individual who received an 

16 award or settlement, related to a violation of subtitle 

17 A, or who made an allegation of a violation of sub18 title A against an employing unit. 

19 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS OF STATISTICAL MATTER.— 

20 On an annual basis, the Office shall submit to the Com21 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee 

22 on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report 

23 that includes, for the previous year, data collected pursu24 ant to section 301(h)(5) for each employing unit, to the 

25 extent the data reasonably can be anonymized, as well as 


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1 analyses of trends comparing such data for the previous 

2 year to such data for years before the previous year. 

3 SEC. 212. NOTICES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Every employing unit shall post 

5 and keep posted (in a conspicuous place upon its premises 

6 where notices to covered employees are customarily post7 ed) a notice provided by the Office that— 

8 (1) describes the rights, protections, and proce9 dures applicable to covered employees of the employ10 ing unit under this Act, concerning violations de11 scribed in subsection (b); and 

12 (2) includes contact information for the Office. 

13 (b) VIOLATIONS.—A violation described in this sub14 section is— 

15 (1) discrimination or an unlawful practice pro16 hibited by section 201(a) or 202(a); and 

17 (2) a violation of section 203 that is related to 

18 discrimination or an unlawful practice described in 

19 paragraph (1). 


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1 TITLE III—OFFICE OF JUDICIAL 

2 INTEGRITY 

3 SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF JUDICIAL IN4 TEGRITY. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, as an 

6 independent office within the judicial branch of the Fed7 eral Government, the Office of Judicial Integrity. 

8 (b) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The Office shall have 

9 a Board of Directors. The Board shall consist of 5 individ10 uals appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States 

11 from a list of names submitted by the Judicial Conference 

12 of the United States. Appointments of the first 5 members 

13 of the Board shall be completed not later than 90 days 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

15 (c) CHAIR.—The Chair shall be appointed from mem16 bers of the Board by the Chief Justice of the United 

17 States. 

18 (d) BOARD OF DIRECTORS QUALIFICATIONS.— 

19 (1) SPECIFIC QUALIFICATIONS.—Selection and 

20 appointment of members of the Board shall be solely 

21 on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of the 

22 office. The Board shall include some members who, 

23 collectively have training or experience in— 

24 (A) enforcing or investigating 1 or more 

25 laws specified in section 102, including at least 


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1 1 member with experience representing employ2 ees who allege a violation of such a law; 

3 (B) judicial ethics; and 

4 (C) providing licensed counseling and other 

5 support services for victims of harassment, sex6 ual assault, discrimination, or retaliation. 

7 (2) DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR APPOINTMENTS.— 

8 (A) INCOMPATIBLE REPRESENTATION.— 

9 No individual who currently represents a party 

10 (including the United States) in any suit alleg11 ing discrimination, harassment, sexual assault, 

12 or retaliation against an officer or employee of 

13 the judicial branch shall be eligible for appoint14 ment to, or service on, the Board. 

15 (B) INCOMPATIBLE OFFICE.—No member 

16 of the Board— 

17 (i) may hold or may have held the po18 sition of justice of the Supreme Court of 

19 the United States, judge of a district court 

20 of the United States, judge of a court of 

21 appeals of the United States, judge of the 

22 United States Court of Federal Claims, 

23 United States magistrate judge, bank24 ruptcy judge, or director or deputy director 


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1 of the Administrative Office of the United 

2 States Courts; or 

3 (ii) may hold the position of officer or 

4 employee of a court, judicial branch agen5 cy, or any other office or instrumentality of 

6 the judicial branch of the Federal Govern7 ment (other than the Office) or have held 

8 such a position within 4 years before the 

9 date of appointment as a member of the 

10 Board. 

11 (3) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Board shall 

12 be filled in the manner in which the original appoint13 ment was made. 

14 (e) TERM OF OFFICE.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graphs (2) and (3), membership on the Board shall 

17 be for 5 years. A member of the Board may be re18 appointed, but no individual may serve as a member 

19 for more than 2 terms. 

20 (2) FIRST APPOINTMENTS.—Of the members 

21 first appointed to the Board— 

22 (A) 1 shall have a term of office of 3 

23 years; 

24 (B) 2 shall have a term of office of 4 

25 years; and 


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1 (C) 2 shall have a term of office of 5 

2 years, 1 of whom shall be the Chair, 

3 as designated at the time of appointment by the 

4 Chief Justice of the United States. 

5 (3) APPOINTMENTS TO PARTIAL TERMS.—A 

6 member appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired 

7 term shall be appointed for the remainder of the 

8 term. Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a member ap9 pointed to fill a vacancy with less than 2 years re10 maining in the term may be appointed to 2 further 

11 full terms. 

12 (4) SERVICE UNTIL SUCCESSOR APPOINTED.—A 

13 member whose term has expired may continue to 

14 serve until the date on which a successor has taken 

15 office. 

16 (f) REMOVAL.— 

17 (1) AUTHORITY.—Any member of the Board 

18 may be removed from office by the Chief Justice of 

19 the United States, but only for— 

20 (A) disability that substantially prevents 

21 the member from carrying out the duties of the 

22 member; 

23 (B) incompetence; 

24 (C) neglect of duty; 


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1 (D) malfeasance, including a felony or con2 duct involving moral turpitude; or 

3 (E) holding an office or employment or en4 gaging in an activity that disqualifies the indi5 vidual from service as a member of the Board 

6 under subsection (d)(2). 

7 (2) STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR REMOVAL.— 

8 In removing a member of the Board, the Chief Jus9 tice of the United States shall state in writing to the 

10 member of the Board being removed, the Judicial 

11 Conference of the United States, and the Committee 

12 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee 

13 on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives the 

14 specific reasons for the removal. 

15 (g) COMPENSATION.— 

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

17 shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily 

18 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed 

19 for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 

20 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day 

21 (including travel time) during which such member is 

22 engaged in the performance of the duties of the 

23 Board. The rate of pay of a member may be pro24 rated based on the portion of the day during which 


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1 the member is engaged in the performance of Board 

2 duties. 

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

4 Board shall receive travel expenses, including per 

5 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for 

6 employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 

7 57 of title 5, United States Code, for each day the 

8 member is engaged in the performance of duties 

9 away from the home or regular place of business of 

10 the member. 

11 (h) WORKPLACE MISCONDUCT PREVENTION PRO12 GRAM.—The Board shall oversee and the Office shall exe13 cute a workplace misconduct prevention program that is 

14 consistent with prevailing best practices, by— 

15 (1) ensuring that every covered employee in the 

16 judicial branch of the Federal Government is covered 

17 by a comprehensive workplace misconduct policy and 

18 proposing revisions to workplace misconduct related 

19 portions of the rules and codes described in sub20 section (i)(4) and the creation and revision of addi21 tional workplace misconduct policies under sub22 section (i)(4); 

23 (2) creating a nationwide confidential reporting 

24 system, relating to workplace misconduct, that is 

25 readily accessible to prospective, current, and former 


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1 employees of the judicial branch of the Federal Gov2 ernment; 

3 (3) providing for a comprehensive training pro4 gram on workplace misconduct and bystander inter5 vention, which may be conducted in coordination 

6 with the Federal Judicial Center; 

7 (4) proposing standards for the imposition of 

8 prompt, consistent, and proportionate disciplinary 

9 and corrective action when workplace misconduct is 

10 determined to have occurred in an employing unit; 

11 (5) providing for the voluntary collection of in12 formation from all applicants for employment with 

13 each employing unit of data outlined in Statistical 

14 Policy Directive No. 15, issued by the Office of 

15 Management and Budget on October 30, 1997, or a 

16 successor standard, pursuant to section 717 of the 

17 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16), 

18 which information shall be maintained anonymously 

19 and separate from the records of an applicant’s ap20 plication for employment and may not be considered 

21 in evaluating the applicant for employment; 

22 (6) collaborating with each judicial council and 

23 judicial branch agency to compile the annual reports 

24 described in section 211(b); 


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1 (7) conducting and making publicly available 

2 the results of biennial workplace climate assessments 

3 that include surveys of current and former covered 

4 employees and anonymous digests of interviews of 

5 and focus groups conducted with randomly selected 

6 covered employees; 

7 (8) conducting annual audits of the efficacy of 

8 the workplace misconduct prevention program; and 

9 (9) ensuring that the elements of the workplace 

10 misconduct prevention program are easy to under11 stand, are easy to access and use, and are regularly 

12 communicated to all covered employees. 

13 (i) ADDITIONAL BOARD DUTIES.—The Board shall 

14 also— 

15 (1) supervise the Judicial Integrity Officer ap16 pointed under section 302(a); 

17 (2) provide a list of qualified candidates for the 

18 position of Director of the OEA to the Chief Justice 

19 of the United States in accordance with section 

20 501(b); 

21 (3) maintain policies, practices, procedures, and 

22 codes of conduct that— 

23 (A) preserve the integrity of the Board and 

24 the offices and programs established under this 

25 Act; 


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1 (B) maintain the confidence of covered em2 ployees in the Board and the offices and pro3 grams established under this Act; and 

4 (C) guarantee procedural rights to individ5 uals during investigations and dispute resolu6 tion proceedings under this Act; 

7 (4) not less often than every 4 years, rec8 ommend to the Judicial Conference of the United 

9 States, after notice and opportunity for comment, 

10 revisions to workplace misconduct related portions of 

11 the Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Dis12 ability Proceedings, the Code of Conduct for Judicial 

13 Employees, the Code of Conduct for Federal Public 

14 Defender Employees, the Code of Conduct for 

15 United States Judges, and the creation and revision 

16 of such additional (in addition to such rules and 

17 codes) workplace misconduct policies as may be nec18 essary to fulfill its obligations under subsection 

19 (h)(1); 

20 (5) ensure that the Judicial Conference, Con21 gress, and the public are kept informed of— 

22 (A) the work of the Board; 

23 (B) the workplace climate and culture in 

24 the judicial branch of the Federal Government, 


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1 including the incidence of workplace mis2 conduct; and 

3 (C) the efficacy of the workplace mis4 conduct prevention program overseen by the 

5 Board; and 

6 (6) establish general policies and promulgate 

7 such rules and regulations for the Board as are nec8 essary to carry out the objectives of this Act, con9 sistent with the requirements of sections 303 and 

10 304. 

11 (j) JUDICIARY OVERSIGHT.—The Board and Office 

12 shall be subject to oversight (except with respect to the 

13 disposition of individual cases) by the Judicial Conference 

14 of the United States. 

15 (k) CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.—The Board and 

16 Office shall be subject to oversight (except with respect 

17 to the disposition of individual cases) by the Committee 

18 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 

19 Judiciary of the House of Representatives. 

20 (l) GAO AUDIT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, and triennially thereafter, the 

22 Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct 

23 a study of the management, governance structure, and 

24 independence of the Board and Office. 


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1 (m) OPENING OF OFFICE.—The Office shall be open 

2 for business, including the filing of claims under section 

3 402, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act. 

5 (n) FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS.—Members of 

6 the Board and officers and employees of the Office shall 

7 file the financial disclosure reports required under sub8 chapter I of chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, 

9 with the Judicial Conference of the United States. 

10 (o) RECORD RETENTION.—The Office shall establish 

11 and maintain a program for the permanent retention of 

12 its records, including the records of preliminary reviews, 

13 mediations, hearings, and other proceedings conducted 

14 under title IV. 

15 SEC. 302. OFFICERS, STAFF, AND OTHER PERSONNEL. 

16 (a) JUDICIAL INTEGRITY OFFICER.— 

17 (1) APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Chair, subject to 

19 approval of the Board, shall appoint and may 

20 remove the Judicial Integrity Officer. Selection 

21 and appointment of the Judicial Integrity Offi22 cer shall be solely on the basis of fitness to per23 form the duties of the office. The first Judicial 

24 Integrity Officer shall be appointed no later 


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1 than 90 days after the initial appointment of 

2 the Board of Directors. 

3 (B) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Judicial Integ5 rity Officer shall, by demonstrated ability, 

6 background, training, or experience, be es7 pecially qualified to carry out the functions 

8 of the position. 

9 (ii) ATTORNEY.—The Judicial Integ10 rity Officer shall be an attorney admitted 

11 to practice and in good standing with the 

12 highest court of a State of the United 

13 States, the District of Columbia, or a terri14 tory of the United States. 

15 (C) DISQUALIFICATIONS.—The disquali16 fications in section 301(d)(2) shall apply to the 

17 appointment of the Judicial Integrity Officer, 

18 except that representations undertaken on be19 half of the Office or OEA shall not be disquali20 fying. 

21 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chair may fix the 

22 compensation of the Judicial Integrity Officer. The 

23 rate of pay for the Judicial Integrity Officer may 

24 not exceed the annual rate of basic pay prescribed 


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1 for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 

2 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (3) TERM.—The term of office of the Judicial 

4 Integrity Officer shall be a single term of 5 years, 

5 except that the first Judicial Integrity Officer shall 

6 have a single term of 7 years. 

7 (4) DUTIES.—The Judicial Integrity Officer 

8 shall serve as the chief operating officer of the Of9 fice. Except as otherwise specified in this Act, the 

10 Judicial Integrity Officer shall carry out all of the 

11 responsibilities of the Office under this Act. 

12 (b) DEPUTY JUDICIAL INTEGRITY OFFICERS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chair, subject to the 

14 approval of the Board, shall appoint and may re15 move 2 Deputy Judicial Integrity Officers. Selection 

16 and appointment of a Deputy Judicial Integrity Of17 ficer shall be without regard to political affiliation 

18 and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the du19 ties of the office. The disqualifications in section 

20 301(d)(2) shall apply to the appointment of a Dep21 uty Judicial Integrity Officer, except that represen22 tations undertaken as described in section 

23 301(d)(2)(A) on behalf of the Office or OEA shall 

24 not be disqualifying. 


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1 (2) TERM.—A Deputy Judicial Integrity Officer 

2 shall have not more than 2 terms of 5 years, except 

3 that the first Deputy Judicial Integrity Officers shall 

4 have a single term of 6 years. 

5 (3) COMPENSATION.—The Chair may fix the 

6 compensation of the Deputy Judicial Integrity Offi7 cers. The rate of pay for a Deputy Judicial Integrity 

8 Officer may not exceed 96 percent of the annual 

9 rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Exec10 utive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

11 States Code. 

12 (4) DUTIES.—The Deputy Judicial Integrity 

13 Officer shall assume such duties and responsibilities 

14 as may be delegated by the Judicial Integrity Offi15 cer. 

16 (c) GENERAL COUNSEL.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chair, subject to the 

18 approval of the Board, shall appoint and may re19 move the General Counsel. Selection and appoint20 ment of the General Counsel shall be solely on the 

21 basis of fitness to perform the duties of the office. 

22 The disqualifications in section 301(d)(2) shall apply 

23 to the appointment of the General Counsel except 

24 that representations undertaken as described in secVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:51 Oct 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5168.IS S5168

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1 tion 301(d)(2)(A) on behalf of the Office or OEA 

2 shall not be disqualifying. 

3 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chair may fix the 

4 compensation of the General Counsel. The rate of 

5 pay for the General Counsel may not exceed the an6 nual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the 

7 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 

8 United States Code. 

9 (3) DUTIES.—The General Counsel shall— 

10 (A) exercise the authorities and perform 

11 the duties of the General Counsel as specified 

12 in this Act; and 

13 (B) otherwise assist the Board and the Ju14 dicial Integrity Officer in carrying out their du15 ties and powers, including representing the Of16 fice in any judicial proceeding under this Act. 

17 (4) ATTORNEYS IN THE OFFICE OF THE GEN18 ERAL COUNSEL.—The General Counsel shall ap19 point, and fix the compensation of, and may remove, 

20 such additional attorneys as may be necessary to en21 able the General Counsel to perform the General 

22 Counsel’s duties. 

23 (5) TERM.—The General Counsel shall have not 

24 more than 2 terms of 5 years. 

25 (d) CONFIDENTIAL ADVISORS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Judicial Integrity Offi2 cer shall— 

3 (A) appoint, and fix the compensation of, 

4 and may remove, 1 or more confidential advi5 sors to carry out the duties described in this 

6 subsection; or 

7 (B) designate 1 or more employees of the 

8 Office to serve as a confidential advisor. 

9 (2) DUTIES.— 

10 (A) VOLUNTARY SERVICES.—A confiden11 tial advisor appointed or designated under para12 graph (1) shall offer to provide to covered em13 ployees described in paragraph (4) the services 

14 described in subparagraph (B), which a covered 

15 employee may accept or decline. 

16 (B) SERVICES.—The services referred to in 

17 subparagraph (A) are— 

18 (i) informing, on a privileged and con19 fidential basis, a covered employee who has 

20 been subject to a practice that may be a 

21 violation of subtitle A of title II about the 

22 employee’s rights under this Act; 

23 (ii) consulting, on a privileged and 

24 confidential basis, with a covered employee 

25 who has been subject to a practice that 


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1 may be a violation of subtitle A of title II 

2 regarding— 

3 (I) the roles, responsibilities, and 

4 authority of the Office; and 

5 (II) the relative merits of secur6 ing private counsel, designating a non7 attorney representative, or proceeding 

8 without representation for proceedings 

9 before the Office; 

10 (iii) advising and consulting with, on 

11 a privileged and confidential basis, a cov12 ered employee who has been subject to a 

13 practice that may be a violation of subtitle 

14 A of title II regarding any claims the cov15 ered employee may have under title IV, the 

16 factual allegations that support each such 

17 claim, and the relative merits of the proce18 dural options available to the employee for 

19 each such claim; 

20 (iv) assisting, on a privileged and con21 fidential basis, a covered employee who 

22 seeks consideration under title IV of an al23 legation of a violation of subtitle A of title 

24 II in understanding the procedures, and 


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1 the significance of the procedures, de2 scribed in title IV, including— 

3 (I) assisting or consulting with 

4 the covered employee regarding the 

5 drafting of a claim to be filed under 

6 section 402(a); and 

7 (II) consulting with the covered 

8 employee regarding the procedural op9 tions available to the covered em10 ployee after a claim is filed, and the 

11 relative merits of each option; and 

12 (v) informing, on a privileged and 

13 confidential basis, a covered employee who 

14 has been subject to a practice that may be 

15 a violation of subtitle A of title II about 

16 the option of pursuing, in appropriate cir17 cumstances, a complaint with the relevant 

18 judicial council. 

19 (C) CONTINUITY OF SERVICE.—Once a 

20 covered employee has accepted and received any 

21 services offered under this section from a con22 fidential advisor appointed or designated under 

23 paragraph (1), any other services requested 

24 under this subsection by the covered employee 


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1 shall be provided, to the extent practicable, by 

2 the same confidential advisor. 

3 (3) QUALIFICATIONS.—A confidential advisor 

4 appointed or designated under paragraph (1) shall 

5 be an attorney who— 

6 (A) is admitted to practice before, and is 

7 in good standing with, the bar of the highest 

8 court of a State of the United States, the Dis9 trict of Columbia, or a territory of the United 

10 States; and 

11 (B) has experience representing clients in 

12 cases involving the workplace laws incorporated 

13 by subtitle A of title II. 

14 (4) INDIVIDUALS COVERED.—The services de15 scribed in paragraph (2) are available to any covered 

16 employee (which, for purposes of this subsection, 

17 shall include any staff member described in section 

18 201(d) and any former covered employee (including 

19 any such former staff member)), except that— 

20 (A) a former covered employee may only 

21 request such services if the practice that may 

22 be a violation of subtitle A of title II occurred 

23 during the employment or service of the em24 ployee; and 


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1 (B) a covered employee described in this 

2 paragraph may only request such services be3 fore the expiration of the 180-day period de4 scribed in section 402(d). 

5 (5) RESTRICTIONS.—A confidential advisor ap6 pointed or designated under paragraph (1)— 

7 (A) shall not act as the designated rep8 resentative for any covered employee in connec9 tion with the covered employee’s participation 

10 in any proceeding, including any proceeding 

11 under this Act, any judicial proceeding, or any 

12 proceeding before a judicial council; 

13 (B) shall not offer or provide services de14 scribed in paragraph (2)(B) to a covered em15 ployee if the covered employee has designated 

16 an attorney representative in connection with 

17 the covered employee’s participation in any pro18 ceeding under this Act, except that a confiden19 tial advisor may provide general assistance and 

20 information to such attorney representative re21 garding this Act and the role of the Office as 

22 the confidential advisor determines appropriate; 

23 and 

24 (C) shall not serve as a mediator in any 

25 mediation conducted pursuant to section 404. 


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1 (e) DIRECTORS OF WORKPLACE RELATIONS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Judicial Integrity Offi3 cer shall appoint and supervise a director of work4 place relations for each judicial circuit. 

5 (2) WORKPLACE MISCONDUCT PREVENTION

6 PROGRAM.—Each director of workplace relations 

7 shall, subject to the supervision of the Judicial In8 tegrity Officer, oversee the workplace misconduct 

9 prevention program for— 

10 (A) except as provided in subparagraph 

11 (B), all employing units and covered employees 

12 that are located within the geographic confines 

13 of the relevant judicial circuit, unless served by 

14 another such workplace misconduct program; 

15 and 

16 (B) in the case of the Director of Work17 place Relations for the Federal Circuit, all em18 ploying units and covered employees of the 

19 United States Court of Appeals for the Federal 

20 Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for 

21 Veterans Claims, or a court (other than an un22 specified district court) described in section 

23 1295 of title 28, United States Code. 

24 (3) SPECIFIC COURT ASSIGNMENTS.— 


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1 (A) COURT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE.— 

2 The Director of Workplace Relations for the 

3 Second Circuit shall also serve as the Director 

4 of Workplace Relations for the Court of Inter5 national Trade. 

6 (B) OTHER JUDICIAL BRANCH AGEN7 CIES.—The Director of Workplace Relations for 

8 the Federal Circuit shall also serve as the Di9 rector of Workplace Relations for the Court of 

10 Federal Claims, the Administrative Office of 

11 the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial 

12 Center, and the United States Sentencing Com13 mission. 

14 (C) OTHER POSITIONS IN JUDICIAL

15 BRANCH.—Nothing in this subsection shall pro16 hibit a director of workplace relations from con17 currently holding another position in the judi18 cial branch of the Federal Government if the 

19 other position is not incompatible with the du20 ties and responsibilities of being a director of 

21 workplace relations, as determined by the Judi22 cial Integrity Officer. 

23 (f) EMPLOYEE DISPUTE RESOLUTION COORDINA24 TORS.— 


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1 (1) CIRCUITS AND DISTRICTS.—Subject to the 

2 supervision of the Judicial Integrity Officer, each di3 rector of workplace relations appointed under sub4 section (e) shall appoint not fewer than the following 

5 number of employee dispute resolution coordinators: 

6 (A) One for each judicial circuit. 

7 (B) Three for each judicial district, drawn 

8 from at least 2 different employing units. 

9 (C) One for the United States Court of 

10 International Trade. 

11 (D) One for the United States Court of 

12 Federal Claims. 

13 (2) OTHER EMPLOYING UNITS.—Subject to the 

14 supervision of the Judicial Integrity Officer, the Di15 rector of Workplace Relations for the Federal Cir16 cuit shall appoint a sufficient number of employee 

17 dispute resolution coordinators for the Administra18 tive Office of the United States Courts, the Federal 

19 Judicial Center, and the United States Sentencing 

20 Commission. 

21 (3) WORKPLACE MISCONDUCT PREVENTION

22 PROGRAM.—Except as provided in subparagraphs 

23 (A), (C), and (D) of paragraph (1), and paragraph 

24 (2), the employee dispute resolution coordinators for 

25 each judicial district shall assist the relevant director 


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1 of workplace relations with implementing the work2 place misconduct prevention program in all employ3 ing units located within the judicial district. 

4 (4) OTHER POSITIONS IN JUDICIAL BRANCH.— 

5 Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit an em6 ployee dispute resolution coordinator from concur7 rently holding another position in the judicial branch 

8 of the Federal Government if the other position is 

9 not incompatible with the duties and responsibilities 

10 of being an employee dispute resolution coordinator, 

11 as determined by the director of workplace relations. 

12 (g) OTHER STAFF.—The Judicial Integrity Officer 

13 shall appoint, and fix the compensation of, and may re14 move, such other additional staff, including Preliminary 

15 and Merits Hearing Officers, but not including attorneys 

16 and staff employed in the offices of the General Counsel 

17 and not including the General Counsel, as may be nec18 essary to enable the Office to perform its duties. 

19 (h) CONSULTANTS.—In carrying out the functions of 

20 the Office, the Judicial Integrity Officer may procure the 

21 temporary (not to exceed 1 year) or intermittent services 

22 of consultants. 

23 SEC. 303. PROCEDURAL RULES. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Judicial Integrity Officer 

25 shall, subject to the approval of the Board, adopt rules 


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1 governing the procedures of the Office, including the pro2 cedures for Preliminary and Merits Hearing Officers, 

3 which shall be furnished to the Director of the Administra4 tive Office of the United States Courts for publication in 

5 the Federal Register. The rules may be amended in the 

6 same manner. 

7 (b) PROCEDURE.—The Judicial Integrity Officer 

8 shall adopt rules referred to in subsection (a) in accord9 ance with the principles and procedures set forth in sec10 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code. The Judicial In11 tegrity Officer shall publish a general notice of proposed 

12 rulemaking under section 553(b) of title 5, United States 

13 Code. Before adopting rules, the Judicial Integrity Officer 

14 shall provide a comment period of at least 30 days after 

15 publication of a general notice of proposed rulemaking. 

16 Upon adopting rules, the Judicial Integrity Officer shall 

17 transmit notice of such action together with a copy of such 

18 rules to the Director of the Administrative Office of the 

19 United States Courts for publication in the Federal Reg20 ister. Rules shall be considered issued by the Judicial In21 tegrity Officer as of the date on which they are published 

22 in the Federal Register. 

23 SEC. 304. SUBSTANTIVE REGULATIONS. 

24 (a) REGULATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The procedures applicable to 

2 the regulations of the Board issued for the imple3 mentation of this Act, which shall include regula4 tions the Board is required to issue under title II, 

5 are as prescribed in this section. 

6 (2) RULEMAKING PROCEDURE.—Such regula7 tions of the Board shall be adopted and issued in ac8 cordance with subsection (b). 

9 (b) ADOPTION BY THE BOARD.—The Board shall 

10 adopt the regulations referred to in subsection (a)(1) in 

11 accordance with the principles and procedures set forth 

12 in section 553 of title 5, United States Code, and as pro13 vided in the following provisions of this subsection: 

14 (1) PROPOSAL.—The Board shall publish a 

15 general notice of proposed rulemaking under section 

16 553(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

17 (2) COMMENT.—Before adopting regulations, 

18 the Board shall provide a comment period of at least 

19 30 days after publication of a general notice of pro20 posed rulemaking. 

21 (3) ADOPTION.—After considering comments, 

22 the Board shall adopt regulations and shall transmit 

23 notice of such action together with a copy of such 

24 regulations to the Director of the Administrative OfVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:51 Oct 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5168.IS S5168

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1 fice of the United States Courts for publication in 

2 the Federal Register. 

3 (c) ISSUANCE AND EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

4 (1) DATE OF ISSUANCE.—The date of issuance 

5 of regulations shall be the date on which they are 

6 published in the Federal Register under subsection 

7 (b)(3). 

8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Regulations shall be9 come effective not less than 60 days after the regu10 lations are issued, except that the Board may pro11 vide for an earlier effective date for good cause 

12 found (within the meaning of section 553(d)(3) of 

13 title 5, United States Code) and published with the 

14 regulation. 

15 (d) AMENDMENT OF REGULATIONS.—Regulations 

16 may be amended (including repealed) in the same manner 

17 as is described in this section for the adoption and 

18 issuance of regulations, except that the Board may, in its 

19 discretion, dispense with publication of a general notice 

20 of proposed rulemaking of minor, technical, or urgent 

21 amendments that satisfy the criteria for dispensing with 

22 publication of such notice pursuant to section 553(b)(B) 

23 of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 (e) RIGHT TO PETITION FOR RULEMAKING.—Any in2 terested party may petition to the Board for the issuance, 

3 amendment, or repeal of a regulation. 

4 (f) CONSULTATION.—The Judicial Integrity Officer, 

5 the Deputy Judicial Integrity Officers, and the Board— 

6 (1) shall consult, with regard to the develop7 ment of regulations, with— 

8 (A) the Chair of the Administrative Con9 ference of the United States; 

10 (B) the Director of the Administrative Of11 fice of United States Courts; and 

12 (C) the Director of the Office of Personnel 

13 Management; and 

14 (2) may consult with any other persons with 

15 whom consultation, in the opinion of the Board, the 

16 Judicial Integrity Officer, or either of the Deputy 

17 Judicial Integrity Officers, may be helpful. 

18 SEC. 305. EXPENSES. 

19 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

20 fiscal year that includes the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 and for each fiscal year thereafter, there are authorized 

22 to be appropriated for the expenses of the Office such 

23 sums as may be necessary to carry out the functions of 

24 the Office. Until sums are first appropriated pursuant to 

25 the preceding sentence, but for a period not exceeding 12 


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1 months following the date of enactment of this Act, the 

2 expenses of the Office shall be paid from the funds appro3 priated to the courts of appeals of the United States and 

4 the district courts of the United States for other judicial 

5 services and salaries and expenses. 

6 (b) FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES.— 

7 The Judicial Integrity Officer may place orders and enter 

8 into agreements for goods and services with the head of 

9 any agency, or major organizational unit within an agency, 

10 in the judicial, legislative, or executive branch of the 

11 United States in the same manner and to the same extent 

12 as agencies are authorized under sections 1535 and 1536 

13 of title 31, United States Code, to place orders and enter 

14 into agreements. 

15 (c) WITNESS FEES AND ALLOWANCES.—Except for 

16 covered employees, witnesses before a Merits Hearing Of17 ficer or the Board in any proceeding under this Act other 

18 than rulemaking shall be paid the same fee and mileage 

19 allowances as are paid subpoenaed witnesses in the courts 

20 of the United States. Covered employees who are sum21 moned, or are assigned by their employer, to testify in 

22 their official capacity or to produce official records in any 

23 proceeding under this Act shall be entitled to travel ex24 penses under subchapter I and section 5751 of chapter 

25 57 of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND 

2 JUDICIAL DISPUTE-RESOLU3 TION PROCEDURES 

4 SEC. 401. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF ALLEGED 

5 VIOLATIONS. 

6 (a) FILING AND REVIEW OF CLAIMS.—Except as oth7 erwise provided, the procedure for consideration of an al8 leged violation of subtitle A of title II consists of— 

9 (1) the filing of a claim by the covered em10 ployee alleging the violation, as provided in section 

11 402; 

12 (2) the preliminary review of the claim, to be 

13 conducted by a Preliminary Hearing Officer as pro14 vided in section 403; 

15 (3) mediation as provided in section 404, if re16 quested and agreed to by the parties under that sec17 tion; and 

18 (4) a hearing as provided in section 405, sub19 ject to Board review as provided in section 406 and 

20 judicial review in the United States Court of Appeals 

21 for the Federal Circuit (or another circuit under sec22 tion 407(a)(3)) as provided in section 407. 

23 (b) RIGHT OF EMPLOYEE TO FILE CIVIL ACTION.— 

24 (1) CIVIL ACTION.—Only a covered employee 

25 who has timely filed a claim as provided in section 


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1 402 and who has not submitted a request for a hear2 ing on the claim pursuant to section 405(a) may, 

3 during the period described in paragraph (3), file a 

4 civil action in a district court of the United States 

5 with respect to the violation alleged in the claim, as 

6 provided in section 408. 

7 (2) EFFECT OF FILING CIVIL ACTION.—Not8 withstanding paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of subsection 

9 (a), if the covered employee files such a civil ac10 tion— 

11 (A) the preliminary review of the claim by 

12 the Preliminary Hearing Officer as provided in 

13 section 403 shall terminate upon the filing of 

14 the action by the covered employee; and 

15 (B) the procedure for consideration of the 

16 alleged violation shall not include any further 

17 review of the claim by the Preliminary Hearing 

18 Officer as provided in section 403. 

19 (3) PERIOD FOR FILING CIVIL ACTION.—The 

20 period described in this paragraph with respect to a 

21 claim is the 70-day period which begins on the date 

22 the covered employee files the claim under section 

23 402. 

24 (4) SPECIAL RULE FOR EMPLOYEES WHO FAIL

25 TO STATE A CLAIM FOR WHICH RELIEF MAY BE


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1 GRANTED.—Notwithstanding paragraph (3), if a 

2 covered employee receives a written notice the Pre3 liminary Hearing Officer under section 403(d)(2) 

4 that the employee has the right to file a civil action 

5 with respect to the claim in accordance with section 

6 408, the covered employee may file the civil action 

7 not later than 90 days after receiving such written 

8 notice. 

9 (c) RIGHTS OF PARTIES TO RETAIN PRIVATE COUN10 SEL.—Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit the 

11 authority of any individual (including a covered employee, 

12 the head of an employing unit, or an individual who is 

13 alleged to have committed personally an act which con14 stitutes a violation of subtitle A of title II) to retain coun15 sel to protect the interests of the individual at any point 

16 during any of the procedures provided under this title for 

17 the consideration of an alleged violation of subtitle A of 

18 title II. 

19 (d) STANDARDS FOR ASSERTIONS MADE BY PAR20 TIES.—Any party in any of the procedures provided under 

21 this title, as well as any counsel or other person rep22 resenting a party in any such procedures, shall have an 

23 obligation to ensure that, to the best of the party’s knowl24 edge, information, and belief, as formed after an inquiry 


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1 which is reasonable under the circumstances, each of the 

2 following is correct: 

3 (1) No pleading, written motion, or other paper 

4 is presented for any improper purpose, such as to 

5 harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly in6 crease the cost of resolution of the matter. 

7 (2) The claims, defenses, and other legal con8 tentions the party advocates are warranted by exist9 ing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, 

10 modifying, or reversing existing law or for estab11 lishing new law. 

12 (3) The factual contentions have evidentiary 

13 support or, if specifically so identified, will likely 

14 have evidentiary support after a reasonable oppor15 tunity for further review or discovery. 

16 (4) The denials of factual contentions are war17 ranted on the evidence or, if specifically so identi18 fied, are reasonably based on belief or a lack of in19 formation. 

20 (e) PROCEDURE.—Nothing in this Act shall be con21 strued to supersede or limit section 204(d)(2). 

22 SEC. 402. INITIATION OF PROCEEDINGS. 

23 (a) CLAIM.— 

24 (1) FILING OF CLAIM.—To commence a pro25 ceeding under this title, a covered employee alleging 


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1 a violation of law made applicable under subtitle A 

2 of title II shall file a claim with the Office. The Of3 fice shall not accept a claim which is filed after the 

4 deadline applicable under subsection (d). 

5 (2) CONTENTS OF CLAIM.—The claim filed 

6 under this section shall be made in writing under 

7 oath or affirmation, shall describe the facts that 

8 form the basis of the claim and the violation that is 

9 being alleged, shall identify the employing unit al10 leged to have committed the violation or in which the 

11 violation is alleged to have occurred, and shall be in 

12 such form as the Office requires. 

13 (3) NO EFFECT ON ABILITY OF COVERED EM14 PLOYEE TO SEEK INFORMATION FROM OFFICE OR

15 PURSUE RELIEF.—Nothing in paragraph (2), or sub16 section (b) or (c), may be construed to limit the abil17 ity of a covered employee— 

18 (A) to contact the Office or any other ap19 propriate office prior to filing a claim under 

20 this section to seek information regarding the 

21 employee’s rights under this Act and the proce22 dures available under this Act; 

23 (B) in the case of a covered employee al24 leging misconduct by a judge, to make a comVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:51 Oct 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5168.IS S5168

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1 plaint under chapter 16 of title 28, United 

2 States Code; or 

3 (C) to file a civil action in accordance with 

4 section 401(b). 

5 (b) INITIAL PROCESSING OF CLAIM.— 

6 (1) INTAKE AND RECORDING; NOTIFICATION TO

7 EMPLOYING UNIT.—Upon the filing of a claim by a 

8 covered employee under subsection (a), the Office 

9 shall take such steps as may be necessary for the 

10 initial intake and recording of the claim, including 

11 providing each party with all relevant information 

12 respect to the rights of the party under this Act, and 

13 shall transmit immediately a copy of the claim to the 

14 head of the employing unit and the designated rep15 resentative of that unit. 

16 (2) SPECIAL NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

17 FOR CLAIMS BASED ON ACTS BY JUDGES.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a claim 

19 alleging a violation described in subparagraph 

20 (B) which consists of a violation described in 

21 section 415(d)(1)(A) by an individual, upon the 

22 filing of the claim under subsection (a), the Of23 fice shall notify immediately such individual of 

24 the claim, the possibility that the individual 

25 may be required to reimburse the account deVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:51 Oct 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5168.IS S5168

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1 scribed in section 415(a) for the reimbursable 

2 portion of any award or settlement in connec3 tion with the claim, and the right of the indi4 vidual under section 415(d)(2) to intervene in 

5 any mediation, hearing, or civil action under 

6 this title with respect to the claim. 

7 (B) VIOLATIONS DESCRIBED.—A violation 

8 described in this subparagraph is— 

9 (i) harassment that is unlawful under 

10 section 201(a) or 202(a); or 

11 (ii) intimidation, reprisal, or discrimi12 nation that is unlawful under section 203 

13 and is taken against a covered employee 

14 because of a claim alleging a violation de15 scribed in clause (i). 

16 (c) USE OF SECURE ELECTRONIC REPORTING AND

17 TRACKING SYSTEM.— 

18 (1) ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF SE19 CURE SYSTEM.—The Office shall establish and oper20 ate a secure electronic reporting system through 

21 which a covered employee may initiate a proceeding 

22 under this title, and which will keep an electronic 

23 record of the date and time at which the proceeding 

24 is initiated and will track all subsequent actions or 


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1 proceedings occurring with respect to the proceeding 

2 under this title. 

3 (2) ACCESSIBILITY TO ALL PARTIES.—The sys4 tem shall be accessible to all parties to such actions 

5 or proceedings, but only until the completion of such 

6 actions or proceedings. 

7 (3) ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTIVENESS OF PRO8 CEDURES.—The Office shall use the information 

9 contained in the system to make regular assessments 

10 of the effectiveness of the procedures under this title 

11 in providing for the timely resolution of claims, and 

12 shall submit annual reports on such assessments 

13 each year to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

14 Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

15 House of Representatives. 

16 (d) DEADLINE.—A covered employee may not file a 

17 claim under this section with respect to an allegation of 

18 a violation of law after the expiration of the 180-day pe19 riod which begins on the date of the alleged violation. 

20 SEC. 403. PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF CLAIMS. 

21 (a) PRELIMINARY REVIEW BY PRELIMINARY HEAR22 ING OFFICER.— 

23 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 7 days 

24 after transmission to the employing unit of a claim 

25 pursuant to section 402(b), the Judicial Integrity 


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1 Officer shall appoint a Preliminary Hearing Officer 

2 to conduct a preliminary review of the claim. 

3 (2) PROCESS FOR APPOINTMENT.—The Judicial 

4 Integrity Officer shall appoint a Preliminary Hear5 ing Officer under this subsection in the same man6 ner and in accordance with the same requirements 

7 and procedures applicable to the appointment of a 

8 Merits Hearing Officer under section 405(c). 

9 (b) ASSESSMENTS REQUIRED.—In conducting a pre10 liminary review of a claim under this section, the Prelimi11 nary Hearing Officer shall assess each of the following: 

12 (1) Whether the claimant is a covered employee 

13 authorized to obtain relief relating to the claim 

14 under this title. 

15 (2) Whether the entity which is the subject of 

16 the claim is an employing unit under this Act. 

17 (3) Whether the individual filing the claim has 

18 met the applicable deadlines for filing the claim 

19 under this title. 

20 (4) The identification of factual and legal issues 

21 involved with respect to the claim. 

22 (5) The specific relief sought by the individual. 

23 (6) Whether, on the basis of the assessments 

24 made under paragraphs (1) through (5), the indi25 vidual filing the claim is a covered employee who has 


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1 stated a claim for which, if the allegations contained 

2 in the claim are true, relief may be granted under 

3 this title. 

4 (7) The potential for the settlement of the claim 

5 without a hearing as provided under section 405 or 

6 a civil action as provided under section 408. 

7 (c) REPORT ON REVIEW.— 

8 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after a 

9 claim is filed under section 402, the Preliminary 

10 Hearing Officer shall submit to the individual filing 

11 the claim and the unit which is the subject of the 

12 claim a report on the preliminary review conducted 

13 under this section, and shall include in the report 

14 the hearing officer’s determination as to whether the 

15 individual is a covered employee who has stated a 

16 claim for which relief may be granted under this 

17 title (as described in paragraph (6) of subsection 

18 (b)). The submission of the report shall conclude the 

19 preliminary review. 

20 (2) EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.—The Prelimi21 nary Hearing Officer may (upon notice to the indi22 vidual filing the claim and the employing unit which 

23 is the subject of the claim) use an additional period 

24 of not to exceed 30 days to conclude the preliminary 

25 review. 


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1 (d) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION OF FAILURE TO

2 STATE CLAIM FOR WHICH RELIEF MAY BE GRANTED.— 

3 If the Preliminary Hearing Officer’s report on the prelimi4 nary review of a claim under subsection (c) includes the 

5 determination that the individual filing the claim is not 

6 a covered employee or has not stated a claim for which 

7 relief may be granted under this title— 

8 (1) the individual may not obtain a hearing 

9 with respect to the claim as provided under section 

10 405; and 

11 (2) the Preliminary Hearing Officer shall pro12 vide the individual and the Judicial Integrity Officer 

13 with a written notice that the individual may file a 

14 civil action with respect to the claim in accordance 

15 with sections 401(b) and 408. 

16 SEC. 404. MEDIATION. 

17 (a) AVAILABILITY OF MEDIATION.— 

18 (1) NOTIFICATION REGARDING MEDIATION.— 

19 (A) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—Upon receipt 

20 of a claim under section 402, the Office shall 

21 notify the covered employee who filed the claim 

22 about the process for mediation under this sec23 tion and the deadlines applicable to such medi24 ation. 


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1 (B) EMPLOYING UNIT.—Upon trans2 mission to the employing unit of the claim pur3 suant to section 402(b), the Office shall notify 

4 the employing unit about the process for medi5 ation under this section and the deadlines appli6 cable to such mediation. 

7 (2) INITIATION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—During the period de9 scribed in subparagraph (B), either the covered 

10 employee who filed a claim under section 402 or 

11 the employing unit named in the claim may file 

12 a request for mediation with the Office, which 

13 shall promptly notify the other party. If the 

14 other party agrees to the request, the Office 

15 shall promptly assign a mediator to the claim, 

16 and conduct mediation under this section. 

17 (B) TIMING.—A covered employee or an 

18 employing unit may file a request for mediation 

19 under subparagraph (A) during the period be20 ginning on the date that the covered employee 

21 or employing unit, respectively, receives a notifi22 cation under paragraph (1) regarding a claim 

23 under section 402 and ending on the date on 

24 which a Merits Hearing Officer issues a written 

25 decision relating to the claim under section 


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1 405(g) or the covered employee files a civil ac2 tion with respect to the claim in accordance 

3 with sections 401(b) and 408, as applicable. 

4 (3) FAILURE TO REQUEST OR ACCEPT MEDI5 ATION TO HAVE NO EFFECT ON TREATMENT OF

6 CLAIM.—The failure of a party to request mediation 

7 under this section with respect to a claim, or the 

8 failure of a party to agree to a request for mediation 

9 under this section, may not be taken into consider10 ation under any procedure under this title with re11 spect to the claim, including a preliminary review 

12 under section 403, a hearing under section 405, or 

13 a civil action under section 408. 

14 (b) PROCESS.—Mediation under this section— 

15 (1) may include the Office, the covered em16 ployee, the employing unit, and 1 or more individ17 uals appointed by the Judicial Integrity Officer from 

18 the master list developed and maintained under sub19 section (e); and 

20 (2) shall involve meetings with the parties dur21 ing which, at the request of any of the parties, the 

22 parties shall be separate, for the purpose of resolv23 ing the dispute between the covered employee and 

24 the employing unit. 


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1 (c) MEDIATION PERIOD.—The mediation period shall 

2 be 30 days, beginning on the first day after the second 

3 party agrees to the request for mediation. The mediation 

4 period may be extended for 1 additional period of 30 days 

5 at the joint request of the covered employee and the em6 ploying unit. Any deadline in this Act relating to a claim 

7 for which mediation has been agreed to in this section, 

8 that has not already passed by the first day of the medi9 ation period, shall be stayed during the mediation period. 

10 The Office shall notify in writing the covered employee and 

11 the employing unit when the mediation period has ended. 

12 (d) INDEPENDENCE OF MEDIATION PROCESS.—No 

13 individual who is appointed by the Judicial Integrity Offi14 cer to mediate may conduct or aid in a hearing conducted 

15 under section 405 with respect to the same matter or shall 

16 be subject to subpoena or any other compulsory process 

17 with respect to the same matter. 

18 (e) MASTER LIST OF MEDIATORS.— 

19 (1) DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF MAS20 TER LIST.—The Judicial Integrity Officer shall de21 velop and maintain a master list of individuals who 

22 are experienced in adjudicating, arbitrating, or medi23 ating the kinds of personnel and other matters for 

24 which mediation may be held under this section. 

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1 bers of the bar of a State of the United States, the 

2 District of Columbia, or a territory of the United 

3 States. 

4 (2) CONSIDERATION OF CANDIDATES.—In de5 veloping the master list under this subsection, the 

6 Judicial Integrity Officer shall consider candidates 

7 recommended by the Federal Mediation and Concil8 iation Service or the Administrative Conference of 

9 the United States. 

10 SEC. 405. HEARING. 

11 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR HEARINGS TO COMMENCE IN

12 OFFICE.— 

13 (1) HEARING REQUIRED UPON REQUEST.—If, 

14 not later than 10 days after a Preliminary Hearing 

15 Officer submits the report on the preliminary review 

16 of a claim under section 403(c), a covered employee 

17 submits a request to the Judicial Integrity Officer 

18 for a hearing under this section, the Judicial Integ19 rity Officer shall appoint an independent Merits 

20 Hearing Officer pursuant to subsection (c) to con21 sider the claim and render a decision, and a hearing 

22 shall be commenced in the Office. 

23 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) does not 

24 apply with respect to the claim if— 


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1 (A) the Preliminary Hearing Officer’s re2 port on the preliminary review of the claim 

3 under section 403(c) includes the determination 

4 that the individual filing the claim is not a cov5 ered employee who has stated a claim for which 

6 relief may be granted under this title (as de7 scribed in section 403(d)); or 

8 (B) the covered employee files a civil action 

9 as provided in sections 401(b) and 408 with re10 spect to the claim. 

11 (b) DISMISSAL.—A Merits Hearing Officer may dis12 miss any claim that the Merits Hearing Officer finds to 

13 be frivolous or that fails to state a claim upon which relief 

14 may be granted. 

15 (c) MERITS HEARING OFFICER.— 

16 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Upon the filing of a re17 quest for a hearing under subsection (a), the Judi18 cial Integrity Officer shall appoint an independent 

19 Merits Hearing Officer. The Merits Hearing Officer 

20 may not be a member of the Board, covered em21 ployee, justice, judge, or head of an employing unit. 

22 The Judicial Integrity Officer shall select Merits 

23 Hearing Officers on a rotational or random basis 

24 from the lists developed under paragraph (2). Noth25 ing in this section shall prevent the appointment of 


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1 Merits Hearing Officers as full-time employees of 

2 the Office or the selection of Merits Hearing Officers 

3 on the basis of specialized expertise needed for par4 ticular matters. 

5 (2) LISTS.—The Judicial Integrity Officer shall 

6 develop master lists, composed of— 

7 (A) members of the bar of a State of the 

8 United States, the District of Columbia, or a 

9 territory of the United States who are experi10 enced in adjudicating or arbitrating the kinds 

11 of personnel and other matters for which hear12 ings may be held under this Act; and 

13 (B) individuals expert in technical matters 

14 relating to accessibility and usability by persons 

15 with disabilities. 

16 In developing lists, the Judicial Integrity Officer 

17 shall consider candidates recommended by the Fed18 eral Mediation and Conciliation Service or the Ad19 ministrative Conference of the United States. 

20 (3) PROHIBITING PRELIMINARY HEARING OFFI21 CER FROM CONDUCTING HEARING.—The Judicial 

22 Integrity Officer may not appoint a Merits Hearing 

23 Officer to conduct a hearing under this section with 

24 respect to a claim if the hearing officer conducted 


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1 the preliminary review with respect to the claim 

2 under section 403. 

3 (d) HEARING.—Unless a claim is dismissed before a 

4 hearing, a hearing shall be— 

5 (1) conducted in closed session on the record by 

6 the Merits Hearing Officer; 

7 (2) commenced no later than 90 days after the 

8 Judicial Integrity Officer receives the covered em9 ployee’s request for the hearing under subsection 

10 (a), except that, upon mutual agreement of the par11 ties or for good cause, the Office shall extend the 

12 time for commencing a hearing for not more than an 

13 additional 30 days; and 

14 (3) conducted, except as specifically provided in 

15 this Act and to the greatest extent practicable, in ac16 cordance with the principles and procedures set 

17 forth in sections 554 through 557 of title 5, United 

18 States Code. 

19 (e) DISCOVERY.—Reasonable prehearing discovery 

20 may be permitted at the discretion of the Merits Hearing 

21 Officer. 

22 (f) SUBPOENAS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the request of a party, a 

24 Merits Hearing Officer may issue subpoenas for the 

25 attendance of witnesses and for the production of 


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1 correspondence, books, papers, documents, and other 

2 records. The attendance of witnesses and the pro3 duction of records may be required from any place 

4 within the United States. Subpoenas shall be served 

5 in the manner provided under rule 45(b) of the Fed6 eral Rules of Civil Procedure. 

7 (2) OBJECTIONS.—If a person refuses, on the 

8 basis of relevance, privilege, or other objection, to 

9 testify in response to a question or to produce 

10 records in connection with a proceeding before a 

11 Merits Hearing Officer, the hearing officer shall rule 

12 on the objection. At the request of the witness or 

13 any party, the Merits Hearing Officer shall (or on 

14 the hearing officer’s own initiative, the hearing offi15 cer may) refer the ruling to the Board for review. 

16 (3) ENFORCEMENT.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a person fails to 

18 comply with a subpoena, the Board may au19 thorize the General Counsel to apply, in the 

20 name of the Office, to an appropriate district 

21 court of the United States for an order requir22 ing that person to appear before the Merits 

23 Hearing Officer to give testimony or produce 

24 records. The application may be made within 

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1 ducted or where that person is found, resides, 

2 or transacts business. Any failure to obey a 

3 lawful order of the district court issued pursu4 ant to this section may be held by such court 

5 to be a civil contempt thereof. 

6 (B) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—Process in an 

7 action or contempt proceeding pursuant to sub8 paragraph (A) may be served in any judicial 

9 district in which the person refusing or failing 

10 to comply, or threatening to refuse or not to 

11 comply, resides, transacts business, or may be 

12 found, and subpoenas for witnesses who are re13 quired to attend such proceedings may run into 

14 any other district. 

15 (g) DECISION.—The Merits Hearing Officer shall 

16 issue a written decision as expeditiously as possible, but 

17 in no case more than 90 days after the conclusion of the 

18 hearing. The written decision shall be transmitted by the 

19 Office to the parties. The decision shall state the issues 

20 raised in the claim, describe the evidence in the record, 

21 contain findings of fact and conclusions of law, contain 

22 a determination of whether a violation has occurred, and 

23 order such remedies as are appropriate pursuant to title 

24 II. The decision shall be entered in the records of the Of25 fice. If a decision is not appealed under section 406 to 


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1 the Board, the decision shall be considered the final deci2 sion of the Office. 

3 (h) PRECEDENTS.—A Merits Hearing Officer who 

4 conducts a hearing under this section shall be guided by 

5 judicial decisions under the laws made applicable by sec6 tion 102 and by Board decisions under this Act. 

7 SEC. 406. APPEAL TO THE BOARD. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any party aggrieved by the deci9 sion of a Merits Hearing Officer under section 405(g) may 

10 file a petition for review by the Board not later than 30 

11 days after entry of the decision in the records of the Of12 fice. 

13 (b) PARTIES’ OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT ARGU14 MENT.—The parties to the hearing upon which the deci15 sion of the Merits Hearing Officer was made shall have 

16 a reasonable opportunity to be heard, through written sub17 mission and, in the discretion of the board, through oral 

18 argument. 

19 (c) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—The Board shall set 

20 aside a decision of a Merits Hearing Officer if the Board 

21 determines that the decision was— 

22 (1) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, 

23 or otherwise not consistent with law; 

24 (2) not made consistent with required proce25 dures; or 


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1 (3) unsupported by substantial evidence. 

2 (d) RECORD.—In making determinations under sub3 section (c), the Board shall review the whole record, or 

4 those parts of it cited by a party, and due account shall 

5 be taken of the rule of prejudicial error. 

6 (e) DECISION.—The Board shall issue a written deci7 sion setting forth the reasons for its decision. The decision 

8 may affirm, reverse, or remand to the Merits Hearing Of9 ficer for further proceedings. A decision that does not re10 quire further proceedings before a Merits Hearing Officer 

11 shall be entered in the records of the Office as a final 

12 decision. 

13 SEC. 407. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF BOARD DECISIONS AND EN14 FORCEMENT. 

15 (a) JURISDICTION.— 

16 (1) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Except as provided in 

17 paragraph (3), the United States Court of Appeals 

18 for the Federal Circuit shall have jurisdiction over 

19 any proceeding commenced by a petition of a party 

20 aggrieved by a final decision of the Board under sec21 tion 406(e) in cases arising under subtitle A of title 

22 II. Except as provided in paragraph (3), the court 

23 of appeals shall have exclusive jurisdiction to set 

24 aside, suspend (in whole or in part), determine the 


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1 validity of, or otherwise review the decision of the 

2 Board. 

3 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—Except as provided in 

4 paragraph (3), the United States Court of Appeals 

5 for the Federal Circuit shall have jurisdiction over 

6 any petition of the General Counsel, filed in the 

7 name of the Office and at the direction of the 

8 Board, to enforce a final decision under section 

9 405(g) or 406(e) with respect to a violation of sub10 title A of title II. 

11 (3) CASES INVOLVING THE UNITED STATES

12 COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT.— 

13 In the case of a proceeding in which the relevant 

14 employing unit is the United States Court of Ap15 peals for the Federal Circuit, or the office of a 

16 judge, circuit executive, clerk, librarian, crier, staff 

17 attorney, or senior technical assistant thereof, the 

18 powers of judicial review and enforcement provided 

19 under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be exercised by 

20 the United States Court of Appeals for the District 

21 of Columbia Circuit. 

22 (b) PROCEDURES.— 

23 (1) RESPONDENTS.— 

24 (A) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—In any proceeding 

25 commenced by a petition filed under subsection 


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1 (a)(1), the Office shall be named respondent 

2 and any party before the Board may be named 

3 respondent by filing a notice of election with 

4 the court within 30 days after service of the pe5 tition. 

6 (B) ENFORCEMENT.—In any proceeding 

7 commenced by a petition filed under subsection 

8 (a)(2), the party under section 405 or 406 that 

9 the General Counsel determines has failed to 

10 comply with a final decision under section 

11 405(g) or 406(e) shall be named respondent. 

12 (2) INTERVENTION.—Any party that partici13 pated in the proceedings before the Board under sec14 tion 406 and that was not made respondent under 

15 paragraph (1) may intervene as of right. 

16 (c) LAW APPLICABLE.—Chapter 158 of title 28, 

17 United States Code, shall apply to judicial review under 

18 paragraph (1) of subsection (a), except that— 

19 (1) with respect to section 2344 of such title, 

20 service of a petition in any proceeding in which the 

21 Office is a respondent shall be on the General Coun22 sel rather than on the Attorney General; 

23 (2) the provisions of section 2348 of such title, 

24 on the authority of the Attorney General, shall not 

25 apply; 


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1 (3) the petition for review shall be filed not 

2 later than 90 days after the entry in the Office of 

3 a final decision under section 406(e); and 

4 (4) the Office shall be an ‘‘agency’’ as that 

5 term is used in chapter 158 of such title. 

6 (d) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—To the extent necessary 

7 for decision in a proceeding commenced under subsection 

8 (a)(1) and when presented, the court shall decide all rel9 evant questions of law and interpret constitutional and 

10 statutory provisions. The court shall set aside a final deci11 sion of the Board if it is determined that the decision 

12 was— 

13 (1) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, 

14 or otherwise not consistent with law; 

15 (2) not made consistent with required proce16 dures; or 

17 (3) unsupported by substantial evidence. 

18 (e) RECORD.—In making determinations under sub19 section (d), the court shall review the whole record, or 

20 those parts of it cited by a party, and due account shall 

21 be taken of the rule of prejudicial error. 

22 SEC. 408. CIVIL ACTION. 

23 (a) JURISDICTION.—The district courts of the United 

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1 menced under section 401(b) and this section by a covered 

2 employee. 

3 (b) VENUE.—Except for a civil action described in 

4 section 203(d), in addition to the venue specified by sec5 tion 1391 of title 28, United States Code, venue shall lie 

6 in the United States District Court for the District of Co7 lumbia. 

8 (c) PARTIES.—The defendant shall be the employing 

9 unit alleged to have committed the violation, or in which 

10 the violation is alleged to have occurred. 

11 (d) JURY TRIAL.—Any party may demand a jury 

12 trial where a jury trial would be available in an action 

13 against a private defendant under the relevant law made 

14 applicable by this Act. In any case in which a violation 

15 of section 201 is alleged, the court shall not inform the 

16 jury of the maximum amount of compensatory damages 

17 available under paragraphs (1), (3), or (4) of section 

18 201(b). 

19 SEC. 409. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF REGULATIONS. 

20 In any proceeding brought under section 401(b), 407, 

21 or 408 in which the application of a regulation issued 

22 under this Act is at issue, the court may review the valid23 ity of the regulation in accordance with the provisions of 

24 subparagraphs (A) through (D) of section 706(2) of title 

25 5, United States Code. If the court determines that the 


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1 regulation is invalid, the court shall apply, to the extent 

2 necessary and appropriate, the most relevant substantive 

3 executive agency regulation promulgated to implement the 

4 statutory provisions with respect to which the invalid regu5 lation was issued. Except as provided in this section, the 

6 validity of regulations issued under this Act is not subject 

7 to judicial review. 

8 SEC. 410. OTHER JUDICIAL REVIEW PROHIBITED. 

9 Except as expressly authorized by sections 401(b), 

10 407, 408, and 409, the compliance or noncompliance with 

11 the provisions of this Act and any action taken pursuant 

12 to this Act shall not be subject to judicial review. 

13 SEC. 411. EFFECT OF FAILURE TO ISSUE REGULATIONS. 

14 In any proceeding under section 405, 406, 407, or 

15 408, if the Board has not issued a regulation on a matter 

16 for which this Act requires a regulation to be issued, the 

17 Preliminary Hearing Officer, Merits Hearing Officer, 

18 Board, or court, as the case may be, shall apply, to the 

19 extent necessary and appropriate, the most relevant sub20 stantive executive agency regulation promulgated to imple21 ment the statutory provision at issue in the proceeding. 

22 SEC. 412. EXPEDITED REVIEW OF CERTAIN APPEALS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—An appeal may be taken directly 

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1 locutory or final judgment, decree, or order of a court 

2 upon the constitutionality of any provision of this Act. 

3 (b) JURISDICTION.—The Supreme Court shall, if it 

4 has not previously ruled on the question, accept jurisdic5 tion over the appeal referred to in subsection (a), advance 

6 the appeal on the docket, and expedite the appeal to the 

7 greatest extent possible. 

8 SEC. 413. SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY AND JUDICIAL INDEPEND9 ENCE. 

10 The authorization to bring judicial proceedings under 

11 sections 401(b), 405(f)(3), 407, and 408 shall not con12 stitute a waiver of sovereign immunity for any other pur13 pose, or of the protection of judicial independence afforded 

14 under section 1 of article III of the Constitution of the 

15 United States. 

16 SEC. 414. SETTLEMENT. 

17 Any settlement entered into by the parties to the 

18 process described in section 401 shall be in writing and 

19 not become effective unless it is approved by the Judicial 

20 Integrity Officer. 

21 SEC. 415. PAYMENTS. 

22 (a) AWARDS AND SETTLEMENTS.—Except as pro23 vided in subsection (c), only funds which are appropriated 

24 to an account of the Office in the Treasury of the United 

25 States for the payment of awards and settlements may 


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1 be used for the payment of awards and settlements under 

2 this Act. There are authorized to be appropriated for such 

3 account such sums as may be necessary to pay such 

4 awards and settlements. 

5 (b) COMPLIANCE.—Except as provided in subsection 

6 (c), there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

7 may be necessary for administrative, personnel, and simi8 lar expenses of employing units which are needed to com9 ply with this Act. 

10 (c) ACCOMMODATION REQUIREMENTS.—Funds to 

11 correct violations of section 201(a)(3) may be paid only 

12 from funds appropriated to the employing unit or entity 

13 responsible for correcting such violations. There are au14 thorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec15 essary for such funds. 

16 (d) MANDATING REIMBURSEMENT BY JUDGES OF

17 AMOUNTS PAID AS SETTLEMENTS AND AWARDS.— 

18 (1) REIMBURSEMENT REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN

19 VIOLATIONS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara21 graphs (B) and (D), if a payment is made from 

22 the account described in subsection (a) for an 

23 award or settlement in connection with a claim 

24 alleging a violation described in subparagraph 

25 (C) committed personally by an individual who, 


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1 at the time of committing the violation, was a 

2 judge, the individual shall reimburse the ac3 count for the amount of the award or settle4 ment for the claim involved. 

5 (B) CONDITIONS.—In the case of an award 

6 made pursuant to a decision of a Merits Hear7 ing Officer under section 405, or a court in a 

8 civil action, subparagraph (A) shall apply only 

9 if the hearing officer or court makes a separate 

10 finding that a violation described in subpara11 graph (C) occurred which was committed per12 sonally by an individual who, at the time of 

13 committing the violation, was a judge, and such 

14 individual shall reimburse the account for the 

15 amount of compensatory damages included in 

16 the award as would be available if awarded 

17 under section 1977A(b)(3) of the Revised Stat18 utes (42 U.S.C. 1981a(b)(3)) irrespective of the 

19 size of the employing unit. In the case of a set20 tlement for a claim described in section 

21 416(d)(3), subparagraph (A) shall apply only if 

22 the conditions specified in section 416(d)(3) for 

23 requesting reimbursement are met. 

24 (C) VIOLATIONS DESCRIBED.—A violation 

25 described in this subparagraph is— 


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1 (i) harassment that is unlawful under 

2 section 201(a) or 202(a); or 

3 (ii) intimidation, reprisal, or discrimi4 nation that is unlawful under section 203 

5 and is taken against a covered employee 

6 because of a claim alleging a violation de7 scribed in clause (i). 

8 (D) MULTIPLE CLAIMS.—If an award or 

9 settlement is made for multiple claims, some of 

10 which do not require reimbursement under this 

11 subsection, the individual described in subpara12 graph (A) shall only be required to reimburse 

13 for the amount (referred to in this Act as the 

14 ‘‘reimbursable portion’’) that is— 

15 (i) described in subparagraph (A), 

16 subject to subparagraph (B); and 

17 (ii) included in the portion of the 

18 award or settlement attributable to a claim 

19 requiring reimbursement. 

20 (2) RIGHT TO INTERVENE.—An individual who 

21 is subject to a reimbursement requirement of this 

22 subsection shall have the unconditional right to in23 tervene in any mediation, hearing, or civil action 

24 under this title to protect the interests of the indi25 vidual in the determination of whether an award or 


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1 settlement described in paragraph (1) should be 

2 made, and the amount of any such award or settle3 ment, except that nothing in this paragraph may be 

4 construed to require the covered employee who filed 

5 the claim to be deposed by counsel for the individual 

6 in a deposition that is separate from any other depo7 sition taken from the employee in connection with 

8 the hearing or civil action. 

9 SEC. 416. CONFIDENTIALITY AND REFERRALS. 

10 (a) MEDIATION.—All information discussed or dis11 closed in the course of any mediation shall be strictly con12 fidential, and the Judicial Integrity Officer shall notify 

13 each person participating in the mediation of the confiden14 tiality requirement and of the sanctions applicable to any 

15 person who violates the confidentiality requirement. 

16 (b) HEARINGS AND DELIBERATIONS.—Except as 

17 provided in subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f), all pro18 ceedings and deliberations of Preliminary Hearing Offi19 cers, Merit Hearing Officers, and the Board, including any 

20 related records, shall be confidential. The Judicial Integ21 rity Officer shall notify each person participating in a pro22 ceeding or deliberation to which this subsection applies of 

23 the requirements of this subsection and of the sanctions 

24 applicable to any person who violates the requirements of 

25 this subsection. 


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1 (c) RELEASE OF RECORDS FOR JUDICIAL ACTION.— 

2 The records of Preliminary Hearing Officers, Merits 

3 Hearing Officers, and the Board may be made public if 

4 required for the purpose of judicial review under section 

5 407. 

6 (d) REFERRAL TO JUDICIAL COUNCILS.— 

7 (1) REFERRAL.—Upon the final disposition 

8 under this title (as described in paragraph (5)) of a 

9 claim alleging a violation described in section 

10 415(d)(1)(C) committed personally by a judge, the 

11 Judicial Integrity Officer shall refer the claim to the 

12 judicial council of the relevant circuit. Dispositions 

13 referred under this subsection shall be treated by ju14 dicial councils as complaints under chapter 16 of 

15 title 28, United States Code, except that these com16 plaints shall bypass review by the chief judge and be 

17 certified directly to a special committee appointed by 

18 the chief judge under section 353 of that title. No 

19 judge may participate in the special committee or 

20 the judicial council’s action on a referral under this 

21 paragraph concerning that judge’s own conduct, and 

22 the chief judge may, in the interest of justice, refer 

23 resolution of a referral under this subsection to an24 other circuit’s judicial council. For referrals under 

25 this subsection regarding conduct by the chief judge, 


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1 the circuit judge in regular active service next senior 

2 in date of commission shall act as chief judge for 

3 purposes of this subsection. 

4 (2) ACCESS TO RECORDS AND INFORMATION.— 

5 If the Judicial Integrity Officer refers a claim to a 

6 judicial council under this subsection, the Judicial 

7 Integrity Officer shall provide the council with ac8 cess to the records of any preliminary reviews, hear9 ings, or decisions of Preliminary Hearing Officers, 

10 Merits Hearing Officers, and the Board under this 

11 Act, and any information relating to an award or 

12 settlement paid, in response to such a claim. 

13 (3) REVIEW BY JUDICIAL COUNCILS OF SET14 TLEMENTS OF CERTAIN CLAIMS.—After the receipt 

15 of a settlement agreement for a claim that includes 

16 an allegation of a violation described in section 

17 415(d)(1)(C) committed personally by a judge, the 

18 judicial council receiving the referral shall, as part 

19 of the procedure set out in paragraph (1), determine 

20 whether the settlement involved an actual violation 

21 described in section 415(d)(1)(C) committed person22 ally by the judge. If the judicial council so deter23 mines, it shall notify the Judicial Integrity Officer to 

24 request the reimbursement described in section 


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1 415(d) and include the settlement in the report re2 quired by section 211(a). 

3 (4) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFI4 ABLE INFORMATION.—If the judicial council to 

5 which a claim is referred under paragraph (1), or 

6 the Judicial Conference upon subsequent referral, 

7 issues a public order or report with respect to the 

8 claim, the judicial council or Judicial Conference 

9 shall ensure that the order or report does not di10 rectly disclose the identity or position of the indi11 vidual who filed the claim. 

12 (5) FINAL DISPOSITION DESCRIBED.—In this 

13 subsection, the ‘‘final disposition’’ of a claim means 

14 any of the following; 

15 (A) An order or agreement to pay an 

16 award or settlement, including an agreement 

17 reached pursuant to mediation under section 

18 404. 

19 (B) A final decision of a Merits Hearing 

20 Officer under section 405(g) that is no longer 

21 subject to review by the Board under section 

22 406. 

23 (C) A final decision of the Board under 

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1 peal to the United States Court of Appeals for 

2 the Federal Circuit under section 407. 

3 (D) A final decision in a civil action under 

4 section 408 that is no longer subject to appeal. 

5 (6) COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS, COURT OF

6 INTERNATIONAL TRADE, AND COURT OF APPEALS

7 FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT.—Section 363 of title 

8 28, United States Code, shall apply to a referral in9 volving the United States Court of Federal Claims, 

10 the United States Court of International Trade, and 

11 the United States United States Court of Appeals 

12 for the Federal Circuit. 

13 (e) ACCESS BY JUDICIAL COUNCILS, JUDICIAL CON14 FERENCE, AND CONGRESS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Judicial Integrity Offi16 cer shall provide judicial councils, the Judicial Con17 ference of the United States, and Congress access to 

18 the records of the hearings and decisions of Prelimi19 nary Hearing Officers, Merits Hearing Officers, and 

20 the Board, including all written and oral testimony 

21 in the possession of the Office, when such material 

22 is requested as part of the review of a complaint 

23 under chapter 16 of title 28, United States Code, or 

24 in the exercise of the power of impeachment by Con25 gress under the Constitution of the United States. 


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1 The Judicial Integrity Officer shall not provide such 

2 access until the Judicial Integrity Officer has con3 sulted with the individual filing the claim at issue, 

4 and until a final disposition has been reached as de5 fined in subsection (d)(5). 

6 (2) APPLICABILITY.—Section 363 of title 28, 

7 United States Code, shall apply to claims described 

8 in paragraph (1) involving judges of the United 

9 States Court of Federal Claims, the United States 

10 Court of International Trade, and the United States 

11 Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. 

12 (f) FINAL DECISIONS.—A final decision entered 

13 under section 405(g) or 406(e) shall be made public if it 

14 is in favor of the complaining covered employee or if the 

15 decision reverses a decision of a Merits Hearing Officer 

16 which had been in favor of the covered employee. The 

17 Board may make public any other decision at its discre18 tion. 

19 (g) CLAIMS.—Nothing in this section may be con20 strued to prohibit a covered employee from disclosing the 

21 factual allegations underlying the covered employee’s 

22 claim, or to prohibit an employing unit from disclosing the 

23 factual allegations underlying the employing unit’s defense 

24 to the claim. 


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1 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 501. IMPROVEMENTS TO JUDICIAL CONDUCT AND DIS4 ABILITY COMPLAINTS PROCESS. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHING DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIA6 TION AS JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT.—Section 358 of title 28, 

7 United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each judicial council and the 

11 Judicial Conference shall prescribe rules for the conduct 

12 of proceedings under this chapter, including the processing 

13 of petitions for review that— 

14 ‘‘(1) ensure the independence, integrity, impar15 tiality, and competence of proceedings under this 

16 chapter; 

17 ‘‘(2) ensure the greatest possible public con18 fidence in proceedings under this chapter and main19 tain public confidence in the Federal judiciary; 

20 ‘‘(3) reflect that the judicial office is a position 

21 of public trust; and 

22 ‘‘(4) effectuate section 453 of this title and the 

23 requirements of the Judiciary Accountability Act of 

24 2024.’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

4 (i) by inserting ‘‘(with the right to be 

5 accompanied by counsel)’’ after ‘‘appear’’; 

6 and 

7 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

8 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (C) by adding the following at the end: 

10 ‘‘(4) workplace misconduct, as defined in sec11 tion 101 of the Judiciary Accountability Act of 

12 2024, constitutes a violation of this chapter.’’; 

13 (3) in subsection (c), in the first sentence— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘notice and an oppor15 tunity’’ and inserting ‘‘notice, an opportunity’’; 

16 and 

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and written explanation 

18 in the Federal Register’’ before the period at 

19 the end; and 

20 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) TRANSMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

22 180 days before the effective date of a rule prescribed 

23 under this section, the Chief Justice of the United States, 

24 or, if applicable, the chief judge of the relevant judicial 

25 council, shall transmit to Congress a copy of the proposed 


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1 rule. The rule shall take effect unless otherwise provided 

2 by law.’’. 

3 (b) FILING AND IDENTIFYING COMPLAINTS.—Sec4 tion 351 of title 28, United States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

6 following: ‘‘For purposes of this chapter, a complaint 

7 identified under this subsection shall be treated in 

8 the same manner as a complaint filed under sub9 section (a).’’; 

10 (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub11 section (f); and 

12 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(d) IDENTIFYING COMPLAINT BY JUDICIAL CON15 FERENCE.—In the interests of the effective and expedi16 tious administration of the business of the courts and on 

17 the basis of information available to the Judicial Con18 ference of the United States, the Judicial Conference may, 

19 by written order stating reasons therefor, identify a com20 plaint for purposes of this chapter and thereby dispense 

21 with filing of a written complaint. Upon identifying a com22 plaint under this paragraph, the Judicial Conference shall 

23 refer the complaint in accordance with the transmittal pro24 cedures described in subsection (c). 


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1 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULE FOR EMPLOYEES FILING COM2 PLAINTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A complaint described in 

4 subsection (a) made by a current or former covered 

5 employee, as defined in the Judiciary Accountability 

6 Act of 2024, may be filed with the Judicial Con7 ference of the United States. 

8 ‘‘(2) TRANSMITTAL BY JUDICIAL CON9 FERENCE.—Upon receipt of a complaint filed under 

10 this subsection, the Judicial Conference of the 

11 United States shall transmit the complaint in ac12 cordance with subsection (c).’’. 

13 (c) JUDICIAL CONFERENCE TO REPORT VIOLATIONS

14 TO CONGRESS.—Section 355 of title 28, United States 

15 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(c) VIOLATIONS REPORTED TO CONGRESS.—If the 

17 Judicial Conference concurs in the determination of the 

18 judicial council, or makes its own determination, that tak19 ing an action as described in paragraphs (1)(C) and (2) 

20 of section 354(a) is appropriate, the Judicial Conference 

21 shall submit to Congress the determination and the record 

22 of the proceedings.’’. 

23 (d) EXPANDED DEFINITION OF JUDGE.—Subsection 

24 (f)(1) of section 351 of title 28, United States Code, as 

25 redesignated by subsection (b) of this section, is amended 


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1 by striking ‘‘or magistrate judge’’ and inserting ‘‘mag2 istrate judge, or an individual who was such a judge at 

3 the time of the conduct described in a complaint’’. 

4 (e) EFFECT OF RESIGNATION OR RETIREMENT OF

5 JUDGE.—Chapter 16 of title 28, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in section 352, by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(e) EFFECT OF VACANCY OF OFFICE.—The resigna10 tion, retirement from office under chapter 17, or death 

11 of a judge who is the subject of a complaint under section 

12 351 shall not be grounds for— 

13 ‘‘(1) dismissing the complaint under subsection 

14 (b)(1); or 

15 ‘‘(2) concluding that action on the complaint is 

16 no longer necessary under subsection (b)(2).’’; and 

17 (2) in section 353, by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(d) EFFECT OF VACANCY OF OFFICE.—The special 

20 committee shall complete its investigation and file a report 

21 under subsection (c) without regard to the resignation, re22 tirement from office under chapter 17, or death of the 

23 judge whose conduct is the subject of the complaint.’’. 


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1 (f) EXPANDING AUTHORITY OF JUDICIAL COUN2 CIL.—Section 354(a)(2)(A) of title 28, United States 

3 Code, is amended— 

4 (1) in clause (i)— 

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘or subject to the comple6 tion of any corrective measures recommended 

7 by the judicial council’’ after ‘‘certain’’; and 

8 (B) by inserting ‘‘, or that any current 

9 cases assigned to the judge be reassigned’’ be10 fore the semicolon at the end; 

11 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (3) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the 

13 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(iv) in the case of a complaint based 

16 on workplace misconduct, ordering such 

17 action as the judicial council determines 

18 appropriate to protect employees from the 

19 workplace misconduct.’’. 

20 (g) EXPENSES FOR COMPLAINANTS AND THIRD PAR21 TIES.—Section 361 of title 28, United States Code, is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘Upon’’ and inserting the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(a) FOR JUDGES.—Upon’’; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(b) FOR COMPLAINANTS.—Upon the request of a 

3 complainant under this chapter, the judicial council of a 

4 circuit may, if the complaint was not finally dismissed 

5 under section 354(a)(1)(B), recommend that the Director 

6 of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts 

7 award reimbursement, from funds appropriated to the 

8 Federal judiciary, for those reasonable expenses, including 

9 attorneys’ fees, incurred by that complainant during the 

10 investigation which would not have been incurred but for 

11 filing a complaint under this chapter.’’. 

12 (h) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—Section 360 of 

13 title 28, United States Code, is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

15 paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and subsections (c) and 

16 (d) of this section’’ after ‘‘section 355’’; and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(c) REPORTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) REPORT TO JUDICIAL CONFERENCE.— 

20 ‘‘(A) NOTICE OF COMPLAINTS FILED.— 

21 Not later than 30 days after a complaint is 

22 filed by a current or former covered employee, 

23 as defined in the Judiciary Accountability Act 

24 of 2024, under section 351, the clerk of a court 


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1 of appeals shall notify the Judicial Conference 

2 of such complaint. 

3 ‘‘(B) REPORT OF SPECIAL COMMITTEE.— 

4 Each special committee appointed under section 

5 353 shall submit to the Judicial Conference a 

6 copy of a report of the special committee under 

7 subsection (c) of that section. 

8 ‘‘(C) REDACTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTI9 FYING INFORMATION.—To the extent prac10 ticable, a notification and report under this 

11 paragraph shall not include any personally iden12 tifying information except for the identity of the 

13 judge whose conduct is the subject of the com14 plaint. The identity of the judge may be re15 dacted only with the consent of the complain16 ant. 

17 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Judicial Con19 ference of the United States shall submit to 

20 Congress an annual report, signed by every 

21 member of the Executive Committee, that in22 cludes, with respect to complaints under this 

23 chapter for each judicial circuit during the pre24 vious 365-day period, the following information: 


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1 ‘‘(i) The number, type, and disposi2 tion of such complaints. 

3 ‘‘(ii) A description of actions taken 

4 under paragraph (1)(C) and (2) of section 

5 354(a). 

6 ‘‘(iii) A description of voluntary reme7 dial or corrective actions taken by judges 

8 subject to such complaints. 

9 ‘‘(B) REDACTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTI10 FYING INFORMATION.—Reports submitted 

11 under this paragraph may not contain the per12 sonally identifying information of a complainant 

13 or judge. 

14 ‘‘(d) DISCLOSURE BY COMPLAINANT PERMITTED.— 

15 Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent a 

16 complainant or victim of judicial misconduct from dis17 closing any information related to the complaint.’’. 

18 SEC. 502. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURTS. 

19 (a) APPLICATION TO DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

20 COURTS.—Subject to subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this 

21 section, the laws made applicable to the judicial branch 

22 of the Federal Government under section 102 of this Act 

23 shall also be applicable to the courts of the District of Co24 lumbia. 


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1 (b) COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AU2 THORITY.—Notwithstanding section 602(a)(4) of the Dis3 trict of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Re4 organization Act (sec. 1–206.02(a)(4), D.C. Official 

5 Code), and subject to subsection (c) of this section, the 

6 Council of the District of Columbia may enact any act nec7 essary to implement subsection (a) of this section with re8 spect to the courts of the District of Columbia, including 

9 by providing for the reporting and investigation of and 

10 remedies for violations of the laws made applicable by sub11 section (a). 

12 (c) NO EFFECT ON JUDICIAL TENURE.—Nothing in 

13 this section shall authorize any amendment to chapter 15 

14 of title 11 of the District of Columbia Official Code (relat15 ing to the appointment, removal, and retirement of judges 

16 of the District of Columbia courts) or any provision that 

17 would displace that chapter as the exclusive means by 

18 which a judge of the District of Columbia courts may be 

19 removed from office. 

20 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall take ef21 fect upon the enactment of legislation by the Council of 

22 the District of Columbia under the authority granted to 

23 it by subsection (b). 


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1 SEC. 503. UNITED STATES TAX COURT. 

2 (a) LAWS MADE APPLICABLE.—The laws made ap3 plicable to the judicial branch of the Federal Government 

4 under section 102 of this Act shall be applicable to the 

5 United States Tax Court: 

6 (b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act: 

7 (1) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—Employees of the 

8 employing units described in subparagraph (B) shall 

9 be treated as covered employees (as defined in sec10 tion 101). 

11 (2) EMPLOYING UNIT.—The following shall be 

12 treated as employing units (as so defined): 

13 (A) The United States Tax Court. 

14 (B) A judge or special trial judge of the 

15 United States Tax Court. 

16 (C) A retired judge of the United States 

17 Tax Court performing duties pursuant to sec18 tion 7447(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

19 1986. 

20 (D) A retired special trial judge of the 

21 United States Tax Court performing duties 

22 pursuant to section 7447A(c) of the Internal 

23 Revenue Code of 1986. 

24 (E) The clerk of the United States Tax 

25 Court. 


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1 (c) SPECIAL PROVISION RELATED TO JUDICIAL

2 COUNCILS AND THE JUDICIAL CONFERENCE.—In car3 rying out the provisions of this Act, the United States Tax 

4 Court shall have the powers granted to a judicial council 

5 under this Act. 

6 (d) REGULATIONS.—The United States Tax Court 

7 shall revise the rules prescribed pursuant to section 

8 7466(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to give ef9 fect to the amendments to chapter 16 of title 28, United 

10 States Code, made by section 501 of this Act. 

11 SEC. 504. COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS. 

12 (a) APPLICATION TO THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR

13 VETERANS CLAIMS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The laws made applicable to 

15 the judicial branch of the Federal Government under 

16 section 102 of this Act shall be applicable to the 

17 Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 

18 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act: 

19 (A) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term 

20 ‘‘covered employee’’ includes employees of the 

21 Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the 

22 employing units defined in subparagraph (B). 

23 (B) EMPLOYING UNIT.—The term ‘‘em24 ploying unit’’ includes— 


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1 (i) the Court of Appeals for Veterans 

2 Claims; 

3 (ii) a judge of the Court of Appeals 

4 for Veterans Claims and retired judge of 

5 the Court of Appeals of Veterans Claims 

6 performing duties pursuant to section 

7 7257 of title 38, United States Code; and 

8 (iii) the Clerk of the Court of Appeals 

9 of Veterans Claims. 

10 (3) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—Covered employees 

11 defined in subsection (2)(A) shall enjoy all rights 

12 and remedies provided under subtitle A of title II. 

13 (b) SPECIAL PROVISION RELATED TO JUDICIAL

14 COUNCILS AND THE JUDICIAL CONFERENCE.—The Court 

15 of Appeals for Veterans Claims shall exercise the powers 

16 provided to a judicial council under this Act, pursuant to 

17 section 7253(g) of title 38, United States Code. 

18 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Court of Appeals for Vet19 erans Claims shall revise the rules prescribed pursuant to 

20 section 7253(g) of title 38, United States Code, to give 

21 effect to the amendments to chapter 16 of title 28, United 

22 States Code, enacted by section 501 of this Act. 

23 SEC. 505. DISTRICT COURT OF GUAM. 

24 (a) APPLICATION OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT AND DIS25 ABILITY RULES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 351(d)(1) of title 

2 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, 

3 including a judge and magistrate judge of the Dis4 trict Court of Guam’’ before the period at the end. 

5 (2) JUDICIAL COUNCIL AND OTHER OFFICES.— 

6 (A) NINTH CIRCUIT.—With respect to a 

7 judge of the District Court of Guam, the clerk 

8 and chief judge of the United States Court of 

9 Appeals for the Ninth Circuit shall have the 

10 powers granted to a clerk and chief judge, and 

11 the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit shall 

12 have the powers granted to a judicial council, 

13 under chapter 16 of title 28, United States 

14 Code. 

15 (B) REVIEW.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of 

17 sections 354(b) through 360 of title 28, 

18 United States Code, shall apply to the ex19 ercise by the judicial council of the Ninth 

20 Circuit of the powers of a judicial council 

21 under subparagraph (A). 

22 (ii) DETERMINATION.— 

23 (I) IN GENERAL.—The deter24 mination pursuant to section 354(b) 

25 or 355 of title 28, United States 


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1 Code, shall be made based on the 

2 grounds for removal of a judge from 

3 office under section 24(a) of the Or4 ganic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 

5 1424b(a)). 

6 (II) CERTIFICATION AND TRANS7 MITTAL.—Certification and trans8 mittal by the Judicial Conference of 

9 the United States of any complaint 

10 shall be made to the President for 

11 consideration under section 24(a) of 

12 the Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 

13 1424b(a)). 

14 (b) APPLICATION OF JUDICIARY ACCOUNTABILITY

15 ACT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The laws made applicable to 

17 the judicial branch of the Federal Government under 

18 section 102 of this Act shall be applicable to the 

19 District Court of Guam. 

20 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act: 

21 (A) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term 

22 ‘‘covered employee’’ includes employees of the 

23 District Court of Guam. 


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1 (B) EMPLOYING UNIT.—The District 

2 Court of Guam is a district court of the United 

3 States under section 101(5)(A)(i)(II). 

4 SEC. 506. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN MARIANA 

5 ISLANDS. 

6 (a) APPLICATION OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT AND DIS7 ABILITY RULES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 351(d)(1) of title 

9 28, United States Code, as amended by section 505 

10 of this Act, is amended by inserting ‘‘, a judge and 

11 magistrate judge of the District Court for the 

12 Northern Mariana Islands’’ before the period at the 

13 end. 

14 (2) JUDICIAL COUNCIL AND OTHER OFFICES.— 

15 (A) NINTH CIRCUIT.—With respect to a 

16 judge of the District Court for the Northern 

17 Mariana Islands, the clerk and chief judge of 

18 the United States Court of Appeals for the 

19 Ninth Circuit shall have the powers granted to 

20 a clerk and chief judge, and the Judicial Coun21 cil of the Ninth Circuit shall have the powers 

22 granted to a judicial council, under chapter 16 

23 of title 28, United States Code. 

24 (B) REVIEW.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of 

2 sections 354(b) through 360 of title 28, 

3 United States Code, shall apply to the ex4 ercise by the Judicial Council of the Ninth 

5 Circuit of the powers of a judicial council 

6 under subparagraph (A). 

7 (ii) DETERMINATION.— 

8 (I) IN GENERAL.—The deter9 mination pursuant to section 354(b) 

10 or 355 of title 28, United States 

11 Code, shall be made based on the 

12 grounds for removal of a judge from 

13 office under subsection (b) of the first 

14 section of Public Law 95–157 (48 

15 U.S.C. 1821(b)). 

16 (II) CERTIFICATION AND TRANS17 MITTAL.—Certification and trans18 mittal by the Judicial Conference of 

19 the United States of any complaint 

20 shall be made to the President for 

21 consideration under subsection (b) of 

22 the first section of Public Law 95– 

23 157 (48 U.S.C. 1821(b)). 

24 (b) APPLICATION OF JUDICIARY ACCOUNTABILITY

25 ACT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The laws made applicable to 

2 the judicial branch of the Federal Government under 

3 section 102 of this Act shall be applicable to the 

4 District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. 

5 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act: 

6 (A) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term 

7 ‘‘covered employee’’ includes employees of the 

8 District Court for the Northern Mariana Is9 lands. 

10 (B) EMPLOYING UNIT.—The District 

11 Court for the Northern Mariana Islands is a 

12 district court of the United States under para13 graph (5)(A)(i)(II) of section 101. 

14 SEC. 507. DISTRICT COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. 

15 (a) APPLICATION OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT AND DIS16 ABILITY RULES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 351(d)(1) of title 

18 28, United States Code, as amended by section 506 

19 of this Act, is amended by inserting ‘‘, and a judge 

20 and magistrate judge of the District Court of the 

21 Virgin Islands’’ before the period at the end. 

22 (2) JUDICIAL COUNCIL AND OTHER OFFICES.— 

23 (A) THIRD CIRCUIT.—With respect to a 

24 judge of the District Court of the Virgin Is25 lands, the clerk and chief judge of the United 


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1 States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit 

2 shall have the powers granted to a clerk and 

3 chief judge, and the Judicial Council of the 

4 Third Circuit shall have the powers granted to 

5 a judicial council, under chapter 16 of title 28, 

6 United States Code. 

7 (B) REVIEW.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of 

9 sections 354(b) through 360 of title 28, 

10 United States Code, shall apply to the ex11 ercise by the Judicial Council of the Third 

12 Circuit of the powers of a judicial council 

13 under subparagraph (A). 

14 (ii) DETERMINATION.— 

15 (I) IN GENERAL.—The deter16 mination pursuant to section 354(b) 

17 or 355 of title 28, United States 

18 Code, shall be made based on the 

19 grounds for removal of a judge from 

20 office under section 24(a) of the Re21 vised Organic Act of the Virgin Is22 lands (48 U.S.C. 1614(a)). 

23 (II) CERTIFICATION AND TRANS24 MITTAL.—Certification and trans25 mittal by the Judicial Conference of 


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1 the United States of any complaint 

2 shall be made to the President for 

3 consideration under section 24(a) of 

4 the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin 

5 Islands (48 U.S.C. 1614(a)). 

6 (b) APPLICATION OF JUDICIARY ACCOUNTABILITY

7 ACT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The laws made applicable to 

9 the judicial branch of the Federal Government under 

10 section 102 of this Act shall be applicable to the 

11 District Court of the Virgin Islands. 

12 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act: 

13 (A) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term 

14 ‘‘covered employee’’ includes employees of the 

15 District Court of the Virgin Islands. 

16 (B) EMPLOYING UNIT.—The District 

17 Court of the Virgin Islands is a district court 

18 of the United States under paragraph 

19 (5)(A)(i)(II) of section 101. 

20 SEC. 508. TRANSITION PROVISIONS. 

21 (a) CURRENT EMPLOYMENT DISPUTE RESOLUTION

22 PLANS.—Subject to subsection (b), all Employment Dis23 pute Resolution Plans affecting an employing unit that are 

24 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act shall remain 


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1 in effect, subject to ordinary modifications, until 1 year 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

3 (b) CURRENT AND FUTURE CLAIMS AND PRO4 CEEDINGS.— 

5 (1) CLAIMS ARISING BEFORE ENACTMENT.—If, 

6 on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, 

7 a covered employee has pursued or could pursue a 

8 claim available to the employee under processes out9 lined in an Employment Dispute Resolution Plan, 

10 the employee may complete, or initiate and complete, 

11 those processes, and the Employment Dispute Reso12 lution Plan will remain in effect with respect to, and 

13 provide the exclusive means for, resolution of that 

14 claim until the completion of all such processes. 

15 (2) CLAIMS ARISING BETWEEN ENACTMENT

16 AND EFFECTIVE DATE.—If a claim by a covered em17 ployee arises under section 201, 202, or 203 on or 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act but before 

19 the effective date specified in section 201(e), 202(d), 

20 or 203(e) respectively, the employee may elect to 

21 pursue the claim as if the claim had arisen before 

22 that date of enactment, pursuant to paragraph (1), 

23 or may wait to pursue the claim after the effective 

24 date specified in section 201(e), 202(d), or 203(e), 

25 respectively. 


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1 (c) CURRENT EMPLOYEES.— 

2 (1) DIRECTORS OF WORKPLACE RELATIONS.— 

3 Directors of Workplace Relations currently serving 

4 in that role pursuant to an Employment Dispute 

5 Resolution Plan shall continue in that role until the 

6 earlier of— 

7 (A) the appointment of a Director of 

8 Workplace Relations for the relevant circuit by 

9 the Judicial Integrity Officer; or 

10 (B) 1 year after the enactment of this Act. 

11 (2) EMPLOYMENT DISPUTE RESOLUTION COOR12 DINATORS.—Employment Dispute Resolution Coor13 dinators currently serving in that role pursuant to 

14 an Employment Dispute Resolution Plan will con15 tinue to serve in that role until the earlier of— 

16 (A) the appointment of an Employee Dis17 pute Resolution Coordinator for the relevant 

18 court by a Director of Workplace Relations ap19 pointed under this Act; or 

20 (B) 1 year after the enactment of this Act. 

21 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

22 subsection shall prevent— 

23 (A) a Director of Workplace Relations or 

24 Employment Dispute Resolution Coordinator 

25 from being appointed, removed, or replaced 


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1 until the conditions specified in paragraphs (1) 

2 or (2) are satisfied; 

3 (B) the appointment of an individual cur4 rently serving as a Director of Workplace Rela5 tions to the role of Director of Workplace Rela6 tions under this Act by the Judicial Integrity 

7 Officer; or 

8 (C) the appointment of an individual cur9 rently serving as an Employment Dispute Reso10 lution Coordinator to the role of Employee Dis11 pute Resolution Coordinator under this Act by 

12 the relevant Director of Workplace Relations. 

13 (d) EMPLOYMENT DISPUTE RESOLUTION PLAN.—In 

14 this section, the term ‘‘Employment Dispute Resolution 

15 Plan’’ means an Employment Dispute Resolution Plan es16 tablished under the Federal Judiciary Model Employment 

17 Dispute Resolution Plan adopted by the Judicial Con18 ference of the United States in September 2018, or a suc19 cessor plan. 

20 SEC. 509. SEVERABILITY. 

21 If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by 

22 this Act, or the application of such provision or amend23 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconsti24 tutional, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made 

25 by this Act, and the application of the provisions of such 


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1 to any person or circumstance shall not be affected there2 by. 

Æ 


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