II 

Calendar No. 330 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 135 

[Report No. 116–176] 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 16, 2019 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

DECEMBER 16, 2019 

Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

AN ACT 

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’’. 


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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 21:35 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H135.RS H135

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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 


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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 


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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 


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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)’’. 


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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.’’. 


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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 

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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. 


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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’’; 


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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.’’. 

19 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

20 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Elijah E. Cummings 

21 Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2019’’. 

22 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

23 Section 102 of the Notification and Federal Employee 

24 Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (5 U.S.C. 

25 2301 note) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(4) accountability in the enforcement of the 

4 rights of Federal employees is furthered when Federal 

5 agencies agree to take appropriate disciplinary action 

6 against Federal employees who are found to have in7 tentionally committed discriminatory (including re8 taliatory) acts;’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (5)(A)— 

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

11 inserting ‘‘accountability is not’’; and 

12 (B) by inserting ‘‘for what, by law, the 

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

14 SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION OF VIOLATION. 

15 Section 202 of the Notification and Federal Employee 

16 Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (5 U.S.C. 

17 2301 note) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

20 the date on which an event described in paragraph 

21 (2) occurs with respect to a finding of discrimination 

22 (including retaliation), the head of the Federal agency 

23 subject to the finding shall provide notice— 


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1 ‘‘(A) on the public internet website of the 

2 agency, in a clear and prominent location linked 

3 directly from the home page of that website; 

4 ‘‘(B) stating that a finding of discrimina5 tion (including retaliation) has been made; and 

6 ‘‘(C) which shall remain posted for not less 

7 than 1 year. 

8 ‘‘(2) EVENTS DESCRIBED.—An event described in 

9 this paragraph is any of the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) All appeals of a final action by a Fed11 eral agency involving a finding of discrimina12 tion (including retaliation) prohibited by a pro13 vision of law covered by paragraph (1) or (2) of 

14 section 201(a) have been exhausted. 

15 ‘‘(B) All appeals of a final decision by the 

16 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 

17 involving a finding of discrimination (including 

18 if the finding included a finding of retaliation) 

19 prohibited by a provision of law covered by 

20 paragraph (1) or (2) of section 201(a) have been 

21 exhausted. 

22 ‘‘(C) A court of jurisdiction issues a final 

23 judgment involving a finding of discrimination 

24 (including retaliation) prohibited by a provision 


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1 of law covered by paragraph (1) or (2) of section 

2 201(a). 

3 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—A notification provided under 

4 paragraph (1) with respect to a finding of discrimi5 nation (including retaliation) shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) identify the date on which the finding 

7 was made, the date on which each discrimina8 tory act occurred, and the law violated by each 

9 such discriminatory act; and 

10 ‘‘(B) advise Federal employees of the rights 

11 and protections available under the provisions of 

12 law covered by paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 

13 201(a).’’. 

14 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

15 (a) ELECTRONIC FORMAT REQUIREMENT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(a) of the Notifica17 tion and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and 

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

19 amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

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

21 before ‘‘Governmental Affairs’’; 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘on Government Reform’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘on Oversight and Reform’’; and 


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

2 prescribed by the Director of the Office of Per3 sonnel Management),’’ after ‘‘an annual report’’. 

4 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

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

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

7 (3) TRANSITION PERIOD.—Notwithstanding the 

8 requirements of section 203(a) of the Notification and 

9 Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retalia10 tion Act of 2002 (5 U.S.C. 2301 note), the report re11 quired under such section 203(a) may be submitted in 

12 an electronic format, as prescribed by the Director of 

13 the Office of Personnel Management, during the pe14 riod beginning on the date of enactment of this Act 

15 and ending on the effective date in paragraph (2). 

16 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT FOR DISCIPLINARY AC17 TION.—Section 203 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 fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(c) DISCIPLINARY ACTION REPORT.—Not later than 

22 120 days after the date on which a Federal agency takes 

23 final action, or a Federal agency receives a final decision 

24 issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 

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1 tion) in violation of a provision of law covered by para2 graph (1) or (2) of section 201(a), as applicable, the appli3 cable Federal agency shall submit to the Commission a re4 port stating— 

5 ‘‘(1) whether disciplinary action has been pro6 posed against a Federal employee as a result of the 

7 violation; and 

8 ‘‘(2) the reasons for any disciplinary action pro9 posed under paragraph (1).’’. 

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

11 AGENCIES. 

12 Section 301(b) of the Notification and Federal Em13 ployee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (5 

14 U.S.C. 2301 note) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (9)— 

16 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

17 at the end; 

18 (B) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking the 

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

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

21 ‘‘(C) with respect to each finding described 

22 in subparagraph (A)— 

23 ‘‘(i) the date of the finding, 

24 ‘‘(ii) the affected Federal agency, 

25 ‘‘(iii) the law violated, and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) whether a decision has been made 

2 regarding disciplinary action as a result of 

3 the finding.’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(11) Data regarding each class action com6 plaint filed against the agency alleging discrimina7 tion (including retaliation), including— 

8 ‘‘(A) information regarding the date on 

9 which each complaint was filed, 

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

11 alleged in the complaint, 

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

13 plaintiffs joined in the complaint, if known, 

14 ‘‘(D) the current status of the complaint, in15 cluding whether the class has been certified, and 

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

17 in which discrimination (including retaliation) 

18 has been found.’’. 

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

20 OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION. 

21 Section 302(b) of the Notification and Federal Em22 ployee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (5 

23 U.S.C. 2301 note) is amended by striking ‘‘(10)’’ and in24 serting ‘‘(11)’’. 


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

3 2002 AMENDMENTS. 

4 (a) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Title II of the 

5 Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and 

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

7 by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 207. COMPLAINT TRACKING. 

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

10 the Elijah E. Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimi11 nation Act of 2019, each Federal agency shall establish a 

12 system to track each complaint of discrimination arising 

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

14 adjudicated through the Equal Employment Opportunity 

15 process from the filing of a complaint with the Federal 

16 agency to resolution of the complaint, including whether a 

17 decision has been made regarding disciplinary action as the 

18 result of a finding of discrimination. 

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

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

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

22 a Federal employee for an act of discrimination (including 

23 retaliation) prohibited by a provision of law covered by 

24 paragraph (1) or (2) of section 201(a), the agency shall, 

25 after all appeals relating to that action have been exhausted, 


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1 include a notation of the adverse action and the reason for 

2 the action in the personnel record of the employee.’’. 

3 (b) PROCESSING AND REFERRAL.—The Notification 

4 and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation 

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

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘TITLE IV—PROCESSING AND 

8 REFERRAL 

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

10 ‘‘Each Federal agency shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) be responsible for the fair and impartial 

12 processing and resolution of complaints of employ13 ment discrimination (including retaliation) prohib14 ited by a provision of law covered by paragraph (1) 

15 or (2) of section 201(a); and 

16 ‘‘(2) establish a model Equal Employment Op17 portunity Program that— 

18 ‘‘(A) is not under the control, either struc19 turally or practically, of the agency’s Office of 

20 Human Capital or Office of the General Counsel 

21 (or the equivalent); 

22 ‘‘(B) is devoid of internal conflicts of inter23 est and ensures fairness and inclusiveness within 

24 the agency; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) ensures the efficient and fair resolution 

2 of complaints alleging discrimination (including 

3 retaliation). 

4 ‘‘SEC. 402. NO LIMITATION ON ADVICE OR COUNSEL. 

5 ‘‘Nothing in this title shall prevent a Federal agency 

6 or a subcomponent of a Federal agency, or the Department 

7 of Justice, from providing advice or counsel to employees 

8 of that agency (or subcomponent, as applicable) in the reso9 lution of a complaint. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 403. HEAD OF PROGRAM SUPERVISED BY HEAD OF 

11 AGENCY. 

12 ‘‘The head of each Federal agency’s Equal Employ13 ment Opportunity Program shall report directly to the head 

14 of the agency. 

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

16 ‘‘(a) EEOC FINDINGS OF DISCRIMINATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

18 the date on which the Equal Employment Oppor19 tunity Commission (referred to in this section as the 

20 ‘Commission’) receives, or should have received, a 

21 Federal agency report required under section 203(c), 

22 the Commission may refer the matter to which the re23 port relates to the Office of Special Counsel if the 

24 Commission determines that the Federal agency did 


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1 not take appropriate action with respect to the find2 ing that is the subject of the report. 

3 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATIONS.—The Commission shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) notify the applicable Federal agency if 

5 the Commission refers a matter to the Office of 

6 Special Counsel under paragraph (1); and 

7 ‘‘(B) with respect to a fiscal year, include 

8 in the Annual Report of the Federal Workforce 

9 of the Commission covering that fiscal year— 

10 ‘‘(i) the number of referrals made 

11 under paragraph (1) during that fiscal 

12 year; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) a brief summary of each referral 

14 described in clause (i). 

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

16 of Special Counsel shall accept and review a referral from 

17 the Commission under subsection (a)(1) for purposes of pur18 suing disciplinary action under the authority of the Office 

19 against a Federal employee who commits an act of dis20 crimination (including retaliation). 

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

22 shall notify the Commission and the applicable Federal 

23 agency in a case in which— 

24 ‘‘(1) the Office of Special Counsel pursues dis25 ciplinary action under subsection (b); and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the Federal agency imposes some form of 

2 disciplinary action against a Federal employee who 

3 commits an act of discrimination (including retalia4 tion). 

5 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL COUNSEL APPROVAL.—A Federal agen6 cy may not take disciplinary action against a Federal em7 ployee for an alleged act of discrimination (including retal8 iation) referred by the Commission under this section, ex9 cept in accordance with the requirements of section 1214(f) 

10 of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

12 in section 1(b) of the Notification and Federal Employee 

13 Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (5 U.S.C. 

14 2301 note) is amended— 

15 (1) by inserting after the item relating to section 

16 206 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 207. Complaint tracking. 

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

17 (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 advice or counsel. 

‘‘Sec. 403. Head of Program supervised by head of agency. 

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

18 SEC. 8. NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENT LIMITATION. 

19 Section 2302(b)(13) of title 5, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘agreement does not’’ and insert2 ing the following: ‘‘agreement— 

3 ‘‘(A) does not’’; 

4 (2) in subparagraph (A), as so designated, by in5 serting ‘‘or the Office of Special Counsel’’ after ‘‘In6 spector General’’; and 

7 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(B) prohibits or restricts an employee or 

9 applicant for employment from disclosing to 

10 Congress, the Special Counsel, the Inspector Gen11 eral of an agency, or any other agency compo12 nent responsible for internal investigation or re13 view any information that relates to any viola14 tion of any law, rule, or regulation, or mis15 management, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of 

16 authority, or a substantial and specific danger 

17 to public health or safety, or any other whistle18 blower protection; or’’. 


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Calendar No. 330 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 135 

[Report No. 116–176] 

AN ACT 

To amend the Notification and Federal Employee 

Federal Government, and for other purposes. Commission and expand accountability within the forced by the Equal Employment Opportunity to strengthen Federal antidiscrimination laws enAntidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 

DECEMBER 16, 2019 

Reported with an amendment 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS