I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 135 

To amend the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and 

Retaliation Act of 2002 to strengthen Federal antidiscrimination laws 

enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and expand 

accountability within the Federal Government, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2019 

Mr. CUMMINGS (for himself, Mr. MEADOWS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, and Ms. JACKSON LEE) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform 

A BILL 

To amend the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 to strengthen 

Federal antidiscrimination laws enforced by the Equal 

Employment Opportunity Commission and expand accountability within 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Employee 

5 Antidiscrimination Act of 2019’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HR 135 IH

1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 Section 102 of the Notification and Federal Em3 ployee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (5 

4 U.S.C. 2301 note) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (4), to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(4) accountability in the enforcement of Fed7 eral employee rights is furthered when Federal agen8 cies take appropriate disciplinary action against 

9 Federal employees who have been found to have 

10 committed discriminatory or retaliatory acts;’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (5)(A)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘nor is accountability’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘but accountability is not’’; and 

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘for what by law the 

15 agency is responsible’’ after ‘‘under this Act’’. 

16 SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION OF VIOLATION. 

17 Section 202 of the Notification and Federal Em18 ployee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (5 

19 U.S.C. 2301 note) is amended by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION OF FINAL AGENCY ACTION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) Not later than 30 days after a Federal 

23 agency takes final action or the Equal Employment 

24 Opportunity Commission issues an appellate decision 

25 involving a finding of discrimination or retaliation 

26 prohibited by a provision of law covered by paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Jan 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H135.IH H135

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HR 135 IH

1 graph (1) or (2) of section 201(a), as applicable, the 

2 head of the agency subject to the finding shall pro3 vide notice for at least 1 year on the agency’s inter4 net website in a clear and prominent location linked 

5 directly from the agency’s internet home page stat6 ing that a finding of discrimination or retaliation 

7 has been made. 

8 ‘‘(2) The notification shall identify the date the 

9 finding was made, the date or dates on which the 

10 discriminatory or retaliatory act or acts occurred, 

11 and the law or laws violated by the discriminatory 

12 or retaliatory act or acts. The notification shall also 

13 advise Federal employees of the rights and protec14 tions available under the respective provisions of law 

15 covered by paragraph (1) or (2) of section 201(a).’’. 

16 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

17 (a) ELECTRONIC FORMAT REQUIREMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(a) of the Notifi19 cation and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and 

20 Retaliation Act of 2002 (5 U.S.C. 2301 note) is 

21 amended— 

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘Homeland Security and’’ 

23 before ‘‘Governmental Affairs’’; 

24 (B) by inserting ‘‘Oversight and’’ before 

25 ‘‘Government Reform’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HR 135 IH

1 (C) by inserting ‘‘(in an electronic format 

2 prescribed by the Office of Personnel Manage3 ment)’’ after ‘‘an annual report’’. 

4 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

5 by paragraph (1)(C) shall take effect on the date 

6 that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

7 Act. 

8 (3) TRANSITION PERIOD.—Notwithstanding the 

9 requirements of section 203(a) of the Notification 

10 and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retal11 iation Act of 2002 (5 U.S.C. 2301 note), the report 

12 required under such section may be submitted in an 

13 electronic format, as prescribed by the Office of Per14 sonnel Management, during the period beginning on 

15 the date of enactment of this Act and ending on the 

16 effective date in paragraph (2). 

17 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT FOR DISCIPLINARY

18 ACTION.—Section 203 of such Act is amended by adding 

19 at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(c) DISCIPLINARY ACTION REPORT.—Not later 

21 than 60 days after the date on which a Federal agency 

22 takes final action or a Federal agency receives an appel23 late decision issued by the Equal Employment Oppor24 tunity Commission involving a finding of discrimination 

25 or retaliation in violation of a provision of law covered by 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HR 135 IH

1 paragraph (1) or (2) of section 201(a), as applicable, the 

2 employing Federal agency shall submit to the Commission 

3 a report stating whether disciplinary action has been initi4 ated against a Federal employee as a result of the viola5 tion.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. DATA TO BE POSTED BY EMPLOYING FEDERAL 

7 AGENCIES. 

8 Section 301(b) of the Notification and Federal Em9 ployee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (5 

10 U.S.C. 2301 note) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (9)— 

12 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

13 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

14 (B) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking 

15 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; 

16 and 

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

18 ‘‘(C) for each such finding counted under 

19 subparagraph (A), the agency shall specify— 

20 ‘‘(i) the date of the finding; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the affected agency; 

22 ‘‘(iii) the law violated; and 

23 ‘‘(iv) whether a decision has been 

24 made regarding necessary disciplinary ac25 tion as a result of the finding.’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•HR 135 IH

1 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(11) Data regarding each class action com3 plaint filed against the agency alleging discrimina4 tion or retaliation, including— 

5 ‘‘(A) information regarding the date on 

6 which each complaint was filed; 

7 ‘‘(B) a general summary of the allegations 

8 alleged in the complaint; 

9 ‘‘(C) an estimate of the total number of 

10 plaintiffs joined in the complaint if known; 

11 ‘‘(D) the current status of the complaint, 

12 including whether the class has been certified; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(E) the case numbers for the civil actions 

15 in which discrimination or retaliation has been 

16 found.’’. 

17 SEC. 6. DATA TO BE POSTED BY THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT 

18 OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION. 

19 Section 302(b) of the Notification and Federal Em20 ployee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (5 

21 U.S.C. 2301 note) is amended by striking ‘‘(10)’’ and in22 serting ‘‘(11)’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•HR 135 IH

1 SEC. 7. NOTIFICATION AND FEDERAL EMPLOYEE ANTI2 DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION ACT 

3 AMENDMENTS. 

4 (a) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—The Notifica5 tion and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retal6 iation Act of 2002 (5 U.S.C. 2301 note) is amended by 

7 adding after section 206 the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 207. COMPLAINT TRACKING. 

9 ‘‘Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

10 of the Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2019, 

11 each Federal agency shall establish a system to track each 

12 complaint of discrimination arising under section 

13 2302(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, and adjudicated 

14 through the Equal Employment Opportunity process from 

15 inception to resolution of the complaint, including whether 

16 a decision has been made regarding necessary disciplinary 

17 action as the result of a finding of discrimination. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 208. NOTATION IN PERSONNEL RECORD. 

19 ‘‘If a Federal agency takes an adverse action covered 

20 under section 7512 of title 5, United States Code, against 

21 a Federal employee for an act of discrimination or retalia22 tion prohibited by a provision of law covered by paragraph 

23 (1) or (2) of section 201(a), the agency shall, after all 

24 appeals relating to such action have been exhausted, in25 clude a notation of the adverse action and the reason for 

26 the action in the employee’s personnel record.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•HR 135 IH

1 (b) PROCESSING AND REFERRAL.—The Notification 

2 and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation 

3 Act of 2002 (5 U.S.C. 2301 note) is amended by adding 

4 at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘TITLE IV—PROCESSING AND 

6 REFERRAL 

7 ‘‘SEC. 401. PROCESSING AND RESOLUTION OF COMPLAINTS. 

8 ‘‘Each Federal agency is responsible for the fair, im9 partial processing and resolution of complaints of employ10 ment discrimination and retaliation arising in the Federal 

11 administrative process and shall establish a model Equal 

12 Employment Opportunity Program that— 

13 ‘‘(1) is not under the control, either structurally 

14 or practically, of a Human Capital or General Coun15 sel office; 

16 ‘‘(2) is devoid of internal conflicts of interest 

17 and ensures fairness and inclusiveness within the or18 ganization; and 

19 ‘‘(3) ensures the efficient and fair resolution of 

20 complaints alleging discrimination or retaliation. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 402. NO LIMITATION ON HUMAN CAPITAL OR GEN22 ERAL COUNSEL ADVICE. 

23 ‘‘Nothing in this title shall prevent a Federal agency’s 

24 Human Capital or General Counsel office from providing 

25 advice or counsel to Federal agency personnel on the procVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Jan 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H135.IH H135

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•HR 135 IH

1 essing and resolution of a complaint, including providing 

2 legal representation to a Federal agency in any pro3 ceeding. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 403. HEAD OF PROGRAM REPORTS TO HEAD OF 

5 AGENCY. 

6 ‘‘The head of each Federal agency’s Equal Employ7 ment Opportunity Program shall report directly to the 

8 head of the agency. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 404. REFERRALS OF FINDINGS OF DISCRIMINATION. 

10 ‘‘(a) EEOC FINDINGS OF DISCRIMINATION.—Not 

11 later than 30 days after the Equal Employment Oppor12 tunity Commission issues an appellate decision involving 

13 a finding of discrimination or retaliation within a Federal 

14 agency, the Commission shall refer the matter to the Of15 fice of Special Counsel. 

16 ‘‘(b) REFERRALS TO SPECIAL COUNSEL.—The Office 

17 of Special Counsel shall accept and review a referral from 

18 the Commission under subsection (a) for purposes of seek19 ing disciplinary action under its authority against a Fed20 eral employee who commits an act of discrimination or re21 taliation. 

22 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION.—The Office of Special Counsel 

23 shall notify the Commission in a case in which the Office 

24 of Special Counsel initiates disciplinary action. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•HR 135 IH

1 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL COUNSEL APPROVAL.—A Federal 

2 agency may not take disciplinary action against a Federal 

3 employee for an alleged act of discrimination or retaliation 

4 referred by the Commission under this section except in 

5 accordance with the requirements of section 1214(f) of 

6 title 5, United States Code.’’. 

7 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of con8 tents in section 1(b) of the Notification and Federal Em9 ployee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (5 

10 U.S.C. 2301 note) is amended— 

11 (1) by inserting after the item relating to sec12 tion 206 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 207. Complaint tracking. 

‘‘Sec. 208. Notation in personnel record.’’; 

13 and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘TITLE IV—PROCESSING AND REFERRAL 

‘‘Sec. 401. Processing and resolution of complaints. 

‘‘Sec. 402. No limitation on Human Capital or General Counsel advice. 

‘‘Sec. 403. Head of Program reports to head of agency. 

‘‘Sec. 404. Referrals of findings of discrimination.’’. 

15 SEC. 8. NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENT LIMITATION. 

16 Section 2302(b) of title 5, United States Code, is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (13)— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘or the Office of Special 

20 Counsel’’ after ‘‘Inspector General’’; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
11 

•HR 135 IH

1 (B) by striking ‘‘implement’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘(A) implement’’; and 

3 (C) by striking the period that follows the 

4 quoted material and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

5 (2) by adding after subparagraph (A), as added 

6 by paragraph (1)(B), and preceding the flush left 

7 matter that follows paragraph (13), the following: 

8 ‘‘(B) implement or enforce any nondisclo9 sure policy, form, or agreement, if such policy, 

10 form, or agreement prohibits or restricts an em11 ployee from disclosing to Congress, the Office of 

12 Special Counsel, or an Office of the Inspector 

13 General any information that relates to any vio14 lation of any law, rule, or regulation, or mis15 management, a gross waste of funds, an abuse 

16 of authority, or a substantial, and specific dan17 ger to public health or safety, or any other 

18 whistleblower protection.’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS