Calendar No. 1

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 2

A BILL

To make certain laws applicable to the legislative

branch of the Federal Government.

JANUARY 4, 1995

Placed on the calendar
II

Calendar No. 1

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 2

To make certain laws applicable to the legislative branch of the Federal

Government.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 4, 1995

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. DOLE, Mr. NICKLES, Mr.

ROTH, Mr. GLENN, Mr. SMITH, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. BROWN, Mr. INHOFE,

Mr. THOMPSON, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CRAIG, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. ROBB, Mr. KOHL, Mr.

WARNER, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. HELMS, Mr. GREGG, Mr. DEWINE, Mr.

CAMPBELL, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. MACK, Mr. KERREY, Mrs. KASSEBAUM,

and Mr. LOTT) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

ordered placed on the calendar

A BILL

To make certain laws applicable to the legislative branch

of the Federal Government.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Congressional Accountability Act of 1995’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

TITLE I—GENERAL

Sec. 101. Definitions.

Sec. 102. Application of laws.

TITLE II—EXTENSION OF RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS

PART A—EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION, FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE,

FAIR LABOR STANDARDS, EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION, WORKER

ADJUSTMENT AND RETRAINING, EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT OF

VETERANS, AND INTIMIDATION

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, and title I of the Americans with

Disabilities Act of 1990.

Sec. 202. Rights and protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act of

1993.

Sec. 203. Rights and protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

Sec. 204. Rights and protections under the Employee Polygraph Protection Act

of 1988.

Sec. 205. Rights and protections under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining

Notification Act.

Sec. 206. Rights and protections relating to veterans’ employment and reemployment.

Sec. 207. Prohibition of intimidation or reprisal.

PART B—PUBLIC SERVICES AND ACCOMMODATIONS UNDER THE AMERICANS

WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990

Sec. 210. Rights and protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act of

1990 relating to public services and accommodations; procedures for remedy of violations.

PART C—OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT OF 1970

Sec. 215. Rights and protections under the Occupational Safety and Health Act

of 1970; procedures for remedy of violations.

PART D—LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS

Sec. 220. Application of chapter 71 of title 5, United States code, relating to

Federal service labor-management relations; procedures for

remedy of violations.

PART E—GENERAL

Sec. 225. Generally applicable remedies and limitations.

PART F—STUDY
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Sec. 230. Study and recommendations regarding General Accounting Office,

Government Printing Office, and Library of Congress.

TITLE III—OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE

Sec. 301. Establishment of Office of Compliance.

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. Counseling.

Sec. 403. Mediation.

Sec. 404. Election of proceeding.

Sec. 405. Complaint and 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. Privileges and immunities.

Sec. 414. Settlement of complaints.

Sec. 415. Payments.

Sec. 416. Confidentiality.

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 501. Exercise of rulemaking powers.

Sec. 502. Political affiliation and place of residence.

Sec. 503. Nondiscrimination rules of the House and Senate.

Sec. 504. Technical and conforming amendments.

Sec. 505. Judicial branch coverage study.

Sec. 506. Savings provisions.

Sec. 507. 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 Compliance.
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1 (2) CHAIR.—The term ‘‘Chair’’ means the

2 Chair of the Board of Directors of the Office of

3 Compliance.

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

5 employee’’ means any employee of—

6 (A) the House of Representatives;

7 (B) the Senate;

8 (C) the Capitol Guide Service;

9 (D) the Capitol Police;

10 (E) the Congressional Budget Office;

11 (F) the Office of the Architect of the

12 Capitol;

13 (G) the Office of the Attending Physician;

14 (H) the Office of Compliance; or

15 (I) the Office of Technology Assessment.

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

17 an applicant for employment and a former employee.

18 (5) EMPLOYEE OF THE OFFICE OF THE ARCHI19 TECT OF THE CAPITOL.—The term ‘‘employee of the

20 Office of the Architect of the Capitol’’ includes any

21 employee of the Office of the Architect of the Cap22 itol, the Botanic Garden, or the Senate Restaurants.

23 (6) EMPLOYEE OF THE CAPITOL POLICE.—The

24 term ‘‘employee of the Capitol Police’’ includes any

25 member or officer of the Capitol Police.
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1 (7) EMPLOYEE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENT2 ATIVES.—The term ‘‘employee of the House of Rep3 resentatives’’ includes an individual occupying a po4 sition the pay for which is disbursed by the Clerk of

5 the House of Representatives, or another official

6 designated by the House of Representatives, or any

7 employment position in an entity that is paid with

8 funds derived from the clerk-hire allowance of the

9 House of Representatives but not any such individ10 ual employed by any entity listed in subparagraphs

11 (C) through (I) of paragraph (3).

12 (8) EMPLOYEE OF THE SENATE.—The term

13 ‘‘employee of the Senate’’ includes any employee

14 whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary of the Sen15 ate, but not any such individual employed by any en16 tity listed in subparagraphs (C) through (I) of para17 graph (3).

18 (9) EMPLOYING OFFICE.—The term ‘‘employing

19 office’’ means—

20 (A) the personal office of a Member of the

21 House of Representatives or of a Senator;

22 (B) a committee of the House of Rep23 resentatives or the Senate or a joint committee;

24 (C) any other office headed by a person

25 with the final authority to appoint, hire, dis-
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1 charge, and set the terms, conditions, or privi2 leges of the employment of an employee of the

3 House of Representatives or the Senate; or

4 (D) the Capitol Guide Board, the Capitol

5 Police Board, the Congressional Budget Office,

6 the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, the

7 Office of the Attending Physician, the Office of

8 Compliance, and the Office of Technology As9 sessment.

10 (10) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Exec11 utive Director’’ means the Executive Director of the

12 Office of Compliance.

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

14 Counsel’’ means the General Counsel of the Office of

15 Compliance.

16 (12) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the

17 Office of Compliance.

18 SEC. 102. APPLICATION OF LAWS.

19 (a) LAWS MADE APPLICABLE.—The following laws

20 shall apply, as prescribed by this Act, to the legislative

21 branch of the Federal Government:

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

23 U.S.C. 201 et seq.).

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

25 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.).
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1 (3) The Americans with Disabilities Act of

2 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).

3 (4) The Age Discrimination in Employment Act

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

5 (5) The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

6 (29 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.).

7 (6) The Occupational Safety and Health Act of

8 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.).

9 (7) Chapter 71 (relating to Federal service

10 labor-management relations) of title 5, United

11 States Code.

12 (8) The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of

13 1988 (29 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.).

14 (9) The Worker Adjustment and Retraining

15 Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.).

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

17 701 et seq.).

18 (11) Chapter 43 (relating to veterans’ employ19 ment and reemployment) of title 38, United States

20 Code.

21 (b) LAWS WHICH MAY BE MADE APPLICABLE.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall review pro23 visions of Federal law (including regulations) relat24 ing to (A) the terms and conditions of employment

25 (including hiring, promotion, demotion, termination,
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1 salary, wages, overtime compensation, benefits, work

2 assignments or reassignments, grievance and dis3 ciplinary procedures, protection from discrimination

4 in personnel actions, occupational health and safety,

5 and family and medical and other leave) of employ6 ees, and (B) access to public services and accom7 modations,

8 (2) BOARD REPORT.—Beginning on December

9 31, 1996, and every 2 years thereafter, the Board

10 shall report on (A) whether or to what degree the

11 provisions described in paragraph (1) are applicable

12 or inapplicable to the legislative branch, and (B)

13 with respect to provisions inapplicable to the legisla14 tive branch, whether such provisions should be made

15 applicable to the legislative branch. The presiding of16 ficers of the House of Representatives and the Sen17 ate shall cause each such report to be printed in the

18 Congressional Record and each such report shall be

19 referred to the committees of the House of Rep20 resentatives and the Senate with jurisdiction.

21 (3) REPORTS OF CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT22 TEES.—Each report accompanying any bill or joint

23 resolution relating to terms and conditions of em24 ployment or access to public services or accommoda-
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1 tions reported by a committee of the House of Rep2 resentatives or the Senate shall—

3 (A) describe the manner in which the pro4 visions of the bill or joint resolution apply to

5 the legislative branch; or

6 (B) in the case of a provision not applica7 ble to the legislative branch, include a state8 ment of the reasons the provision does not

9 apply.

10 On the objection of any Member, it shall not be in

11 order for the Senate or the House of Representatives

12 to consider any such bill or joint resolution if the re13 port of the committee on such bill or joint resolution

14 does not comply with the provisions of this para15 graph. This paragraph may be waived in either

16 House by majority vote of that House.
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1 TITLE II—EXTENSION OF

2 RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS

3 PART A—EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION, FAM4 ILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE, FAIR LABOR

5 STANDARDS, EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PRO6 TECTION, WORKER ADJUSTMENT AND RE7 TRAINING, EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOY8 MENT OF VETERANS, AND INTIMIDATION

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

10 THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, THE AGE DIS11 CRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1967,

12 THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973, AND

13 TITLE I OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABIL14 ITIES ACT OF 1990.

15 (a) DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES PROHIBITED.—All

16 personnel actions affecting covered employees shall be

17 made free from any discrimination based on—

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

19 within the meaning of section 703 of the Civil

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

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

22 Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29

23 U.S.C. 633a); or

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

25 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791)
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1 and sections 102 through 104 of the Americans with

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

3 (b) REMEDY.—

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

5 of subsection (a)(1) shall be—

6 (A) such remedy as would be appropriate

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

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

9 and

10 (B) such compensatory damages as would

11 be appropriate if awarded under section 1977

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

13 would be appropriate if awarded under sections

14 1977A(a)(1), 1977A(b)(2), and irrespective of

15 the size of the employing office,

16 1977A(b)(3)(D) of the Revised Statutes (42

17 U.S.C. 1981a(a)(1), 1981a(b)(2), and

18 1981a(b)(3)(D)).

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

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

21 (A) such remedy as would be appropriate

22 if awarded under section 15(c) of the Age Dis23 crimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29

24 U.S.C. 633a(c)); and
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1 (B) such liquidated damages as would be

2 appropriate if awarded under section 7(b) of

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

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

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

6 employees.

7 (3) DISABILITIES DISCRIMINATION.—The rem8 edy for a violation of subsection (a)(3) shall be—

9 (A) such remedy as would be appropriate

10 if awarded under section 505(a)(1) of the Reha11 bilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794a(a)(1))

12 or section 107(a) of the Americans with Dis13 abilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12117(a)); and

14 (B) such compensatory damages as would

15 be appropriate if awarded under sections

16 1977A(a)(2), 1977A(a)(3), 1977A(b)(2), and,

17 irrespective of the size of the employing office,

18 1977A(b)(3)(D) of the Revised Statutes (42

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

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

21 (c) APPLICATION TO GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE,

22 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, AND LIBRARY OF CON23 GRESS.—
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1 (1) SECTION 717 OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF

2 1964.—Section 717(a) of the Civil Rights Act of

3 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16) is amended by—

4 (A) striking ‘‘legislative and’’;

5 (B) striking ‘‘branches’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘branch’’; and

7 (C) inserting ‘‘Government Printing Office,

8 the General Accounting Office, and the’’ after

9 ‘‘and in the’’.

10 (2) SECTION 15 OF THE AGE DISCRIMINATION

11 IN EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1967.—Section 15(a) of the

12 Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29

13 U.S.C. 633a(a)) is amended by—

14 (A) striking ‘‘legislative and’’;

15 (B) striking ‘‘branches’’ and inserting

16 ‘‘branch’’; and

17 (C) inserting ‘‘Government Printing Office,

18 the General Accounting Office, and the’’ after

19 ‘‘and in the’’.

20 (3) SECTION 509 OF THE AMERICANS WITH DIS21 ABILITIES ACT OF 1990.—Section 509 of the Ameri22 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.

23 12209) is amended—

24 (A) by striking subsections (a) and (b) of

25 section 509;
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1 (B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘(c) IN2 STRUMENTALITIES OF CONGRESS.—’’ and in3 serting ‘‘The General Accounting Office, the

4 Government Printing Office, and the Library of

5 Congress shall be covered as follows:’’;

6 (C) by striking the second sentence of

7 paragraph (2);

8 (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘the in9 strumentalities of the Congress include’’ and in10 serting ‘‘the term ‘instrumentality of the Con11 gress’ means’’, by striking ‘‘the Architect of the

12 Capitol, the Congressional Budget Office’’, by

13 inserting ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘the Library’’, and by

14 striking ‘‘the Office of Technology Assessment,

15 and the United States Botanic Garden’’;

16 (E) by redesignating paragraph (5) as

17 paragraph (7) and by inserting after paragraph

18 (4) the following new paragraph:

19 ‘‘(5) ENFORCEMENT OF EMPLOYMENT

20 RIGHTS.—The remedies and procedures set forth in

21 section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

22 U.S.C. 2000e–16) shall be available to any employee

23 of an instrumentality of the Congress who alleges a

24 violation of the rights and protections under sections

25 102 through 104 of this Act that are made applica-
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1 ble by this section, except that the authorities of the

2 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall

3 be exercised by the chief official of the instrumental4 ity of the Congress.’’; and

5 (F) by amending the title of the section to

6 read ‘‘INSTRUMENTALITIES OF THE CON7 GRESS’’.

8 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect

9 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

10 SEC. 202. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER THE FAMILY

11 AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT OF 1993.

12 (a) FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE RIGHTS AND PRO13 TECTIONS PROVIDED.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The rights and protections

15 established by sections 101 through 105 of the Fam16 ily and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611

17 through 2615) shall apply to covered employees.

18 (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of the applica19 tion described in paragraph (1)—

20 (A) the term ‘‘employer’’ as used in the

21 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 means

22 any employing office, and

23 (B) the term ‘‘eligible employee’’ as used

24 in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

25 means a covered employee who has been em-
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1 ployed in any employing office for 12 months

2 and for at least 1,250 hours of employment

3 during the previous 12 months.

4 (b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub5 section (a) shall be such remedy, including liquidated dam6 ages, as would be appropriate if awarded under paragraph

7 (1) of section 107(a) of the Family and Medical Leave

8 Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2617(a)(1)).

9 (c) APPLICATION TO GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE

10 AND LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.—

11 (1) AMENDMENTS TO THE FAMILY AND MEDI12 CAL LEAVE ACT OF 1993.—

13 (A) COVERAGE.—Section 101(4)(A) of the

14 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29

15 U.S.C. 2611(4)(A)) is amended by striking

16 ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (ii), by striking the

17 period at the end of clause (iii) and inserting ‘‘;

18 and’’, and by adding after clause (iii) the fol19 lowing:

20 ‘‘(iv) includes the General Accounting

21 Office and the Library of Congress.’’.

22 (B) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 107 of the

23 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29

24 U.S.C 2617) is amended by adding at the end

25 the following:
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1 ‘‘(f) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE AND LIBRARY

2 OF CONGRESS.—In the case of the General Accounting

3 Office and the Library of Congress, the authority of the

4 Secretary of Labor under this title shall be exercised re5 spectively by the Comptroller General of the United States

6 and the Librarian of Congress.’’.

7 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO TITLE 5,

8 UNITED STATES CODE.—Section 6381(1)(A) of title

9 5, United States Code, is amended by striking

10 ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘District of Columbia’’ and inserting

11 before the semicolon the following: ‘‘, and any em12 ployee of the General Accounting Office or the Li13 brary of Congress’’.

14 (d) REGULATIONS.—

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

16 to section 304, issue regulations to implement the

17 rights and protections under this section.

18 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations

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

20 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec21 retary of Labor to implement the statutory provi22 sions referred to in subsection (a) except insofar as

23 the Board may determine, for good cause shown and

24 stated together with the regulation, that a modifica25 tion of such regulations would be more effective for
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1 the implementation of the rights and protections

2 under this section.

3 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

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

5 be effective 1 year after the date of the enactment

6 of this Act.

7 (2) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE AND LI8 BRARY OF CONGRESS.—Subsection (c) shall be effec9 tive 1 year after transmission to the Congress of the

10 study under section 230.

11 SEC. 203. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER THE FAIR

12 LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938.

13 (a) FAIR LABOR STANDARDS.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The rights and protections

15 established by subsections (a)(1) and (d) of section

16 6, section 7, and section 12(c) of the Fair Labor

17 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206 (a)(1) and

18 (d), 207, 212(c)) shall apply to covered employees.

19 (2) INTERNS.—For the purposes of this section,

20 the term ‘‘covered employee’’ does not include an in21 tern as defined in regulations under subsection (c).

22 (3) COMPENSATORY TIME.—Except as provided

23 in regulations under subsection (c)(3), covered em24 ployees may not receive compensatory time in lieu of

25 overtime compensation.
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1 (b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub2 section (a) shall be such remedy, including liquidated dam3 ages, as would be appropriate if awarded under section

4 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.

5 216(b)).

6 (c) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.—

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

8 to section 304, issue regulations to implement this

9 section.

10 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—Except as pro11 vided in paragraph (3), the regulations issued under

12 paragraph (1) shall be the same as substantive regu13 lations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor to

14 implement the statutory provisions referred to in

15 subsection (a) except insofar as the Board may de16 termine, for good cause shown and stated together

17 with the regulation, that a modification of such reg18 ulations would be more effective for the implementa19 tion of the rights and protections under this section.

20 (3) IRREGULAR WORK SCHEDULES.—The

21 Board shall issue regulations for covered employees

22 whose work schedules directly depend on the sched23 ule of the House of Representatives or the Senate

24 that shall be comparable to the provisions in the
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1 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 that apply to em2 ployees who have irregular work schedules.

3 (d) APPLICATION TO THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING

4 OFFICE.—Section 3(e)(2)(A) of the Fair Labor Standards

5 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(e)(2)(A)) is amended—

6 (1) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘legislative or’’,

7 (2) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (iv),

8 and

9 (3) by striking the semicolon at the end of

10 clause (v) and inserting ‘‘, or’’ and by adding after

11 clause (v) the following:

12 ‘‘(vi) the Government Printing Office;’’.

13 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsections (a) and (b) shall

14 be effective 1 year after the date of the enactment of this

15 Act.

16 SEC. 204. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER THE EM17 PLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION ACT OF

18 1988.

19 (a) POLYGRAPH PRACTICES PROHIBITED.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—No employing office, irre21 spective of whether a covered employee works in that

22 employing office, may require a covered employee to

23 take a lie detector test where such a test would be

24 prohibited if required by an employer under para25 graph (1), (2), or (3) of section 3 of the Employee
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1 Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (29 U.S.C.

2 2002(1), (2), or (3)). In addition, the waiver provi3 sions of section 6(d) of such Act (29 U.S.C.

4 2005(d)) shall apply to covered employees.

5 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec6 tion, the term ‘‘covered employee’’ shall include em7 ployees of the General Accounting Office and the Li8 brary of Congress and the term ‘‘employing office’’

9 shall include the General Accounting Office and the

10 Library of Congress.

11 (3) CAPITOL POLICE.—Nothing in this section

12 shall preclude the Capitol Police from using lie de13 tector tests in accordance with regulations under

14 subsection (c).

15 (b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub16 section (a) shall be such remedy as would be appropriate

17 if awarded under section 6(c)(1) of the Employee Poly18 graph Protection Act of 1988 (29 U.S.C. 2005(c)(1)).

19 (c) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.—

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

21 to section 304, issue regulations to implement this

22 section.

23 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations

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

25 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec-
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1 retary of Labor to implement the statutory provi2 sions referred to in subsections (a) and (b) except

3 insofar as the Board may determine, for good cause

4 shown and stated together with the regulation, that

5 a modification of such regulations would be more ef6 fective for the implementation of the rights and pro7 tections under this section.

8 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), subsections (a) and (b) shall be effective

11 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

12 (2) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE AND LI13 BRARY OF CONGRESS.—This section shall be effec14 tive with respect to the General Accounting Office

15 and the Library of Congress 1 year after trans16 mission to the Congress of the study under section

17 230.

18 SEC. 205. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER THE WORKER

19 ADJUSTMENT AND RETRAINING NOTIFICA20 TION ACT.

21 (a) WORKER ADJUSTMENT AND RETRAINING NOTI22 FICATION RIGHTS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—No employing office shall be

24 closed or a mass layoff ordered within the meaning

25 of section 3 of the Worker Adjustment and Retrain-
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1 ing Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102) until the end

2 of a 60-day period after the employing office serves

3 written notice of such prospective closing or layoff to

4 representatives of covered employees or, if there are

5 no representatives, to covered employees.

6 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec7 tion, the term ‘‘covered employee’’ shall include em8 ployees of the General Accounting Office and the Li9 brary of Congress and the term ‘‘employing office’’

10 shall include the General Accounting Office and the

11 Library of Congress.

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

14 if awarded under paragraphs (1), (2), and (4) of section

15 5(a) of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifica16 tion Act (29 U.S.C. 2104(a)(1), (2), and (4)).

17 (c) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.—

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

19 to section 304, issue regulations to implement this

20 section.

21 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations

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

23 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec24 retary of Labor to implement the statutory provi25 sions referred to in subsection (a) except insofar as
24

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1 the Board may determine, for good cause shown and

2 stated together with the regulation, that a modifica3 tion of such regulations would be more effective for

4 the implementation of the rights and protections

5 under this section.

6 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), subsections (a) and (b) shall be effective

9 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

10 (2) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE AND LI11 BRARY OF CONGRESS.—This section shall be effec12 tive with respect to the General Accounting Office

13 and the Library of Congress 1 year after trans14 mission to the Congress of the study under section

15 230.

16 SEC. 206. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS RELATING TO VETER17 ANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT.

18 (a) EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF

19 MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES.—

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

21 employing office to—

22 (A) discriminate, within the meaning of

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

24 38, United States Code, against an eligible em25 ployee;
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1 (B) deny to an eligible employee reemploy2 ment rights within the meaning of sections

3 4312 and 4313 of title 38, United States Code;

4 or

5 (C) deny to an eligible employee benefits

6 within the meaning of sections 4316, 4317, and

7 4318 of title 38, United States Code.

8 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec9 tion—

10 (A) the term ‘‘eligible employee’’ means a

11 covered employee performing service in the uni12 formed services, within the meaning of section

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

14 service has not been terminated upon occur15 rence of any of the events enumerated in sec16 tion 4304 of title 38, United States Code,

17 (B) the term ‘‘covered employee’’ includes

18 employees of the General Accounting Office and

19 the Library of Congress, and

20 (C) the term ‘‘employing office’’ includes

21 the General Accounting Office and the Library

22 of Congress.

23 (b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub24 section (a) shall be such remedy as would be appropriate
26

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1 if awarded under paragraphs (1), (2)(A), and (3) of sec2 tion 4323(c) of title 38, United States Code.

3 (c) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.—

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

5 to section 304, issue regulations to implement this

6 section.

7 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations

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

9 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec10 retary of Labor to implement the statutory provi11 sions referred to in subsection (a) except to the ex12 tent that the Board may determine, for good cause

13 shown and stated together with the regulation, that

14 a modification of such regulations would be more ef15 fective for the implementation of the rights and pro16 tections under this section.

17 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), subsections (a) and (b) shall be effective

20 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

21 (2) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE AND LI22 BRARY OF CONGRESS.—This section shall be effec23 tive with respect to the General Accounting Office

24 and the Library of Congress 1 year after trans-
27

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1 mission to the Congress of the study under section

2 230.

3 SEC. 207. PROHIBITION OF INTIMIDATION OR REPRISAL.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for an em5 ploying office to intimidate, take reprisal against, or other6 wise discriminate against, any covered employee because

7 the covered employee has opposed any practice made un8 lawful by this Act, or because the covered employee has

9 initiated proceedings, made a charge, or testified, assisted,

10 or participated in any manner in a hearing or other pro11 ceeding under this Act.

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

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

14 as would be appropriate.

15 PART B—PUBLIC SERVICES AND ACCOMMODA16 TIONS UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DIS17 ABILITIES ACT OF 1990

18 SEC. 210. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER THE AMERI19 CANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990 RELAT20 ING TO PUBLIC SERVICES AND ACCOMMODA21 TIONS; PROCEDURES FOR REMEDY OF VIOLA22 TIONS.

23 (a) ENTITIES SUBJECT TO THIS SECTION.—The re24 quirements of this section shall apply to—
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1 (1) each office of the Senate, including each of2 fice of a Senator and each committee;

3 (2) each office of the House of Representatives,

4 including each office of a Member of the House of

5 Representatives and each committee;

6 (3) each joint committee of the Congress;

7 (4) the Capitol Guide Service;

8 (5) the Capitol Police;

9 (6) the Congressional Budget Office;

10 (7) the Office of the Architect of the Capitol

11 (including the Senate Restaurants and the Botanic

12 Garden);

13 (8) the Office of the Attending Physician;

14 (9) the Office of Compliance; and

15 (10) the Office of Technology Assessment.

16 (b) DISCRIMINATION IN PUBLIC SERVICES AND AC17 COMMODATIONS.—

18 (1) RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS.—The rights

19 and protections against discrimination in the provi20 sion of public services and accommodations estab21 lished by sections 201 through 230, 302, 303, and

22 309 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

23 (42 U.S.C. 12131–12150, 12182, 12183, and

24 12189) shall apply to the entities listed in subsection

25 (a).
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1 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of the appli2 cation of title II of the Americans with Disabilities

3 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.) under this

4 section, the term ‘‘public entity’’ means any entity

5 listed in subsection (a) that provides public services,

6 programs, or activities.

7 (c) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub8 section (b) shall be such remedy as would be appropriate

9 if awarded under section 203 or 308(a) of the Americans

10 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12133,

11 12188(a)), except that, with respect to any claim of em12 ployment discrimination asserted by any covered employee,

13 the exclusive remedy shall be under section 201 of this

14 title.

15 (d) AVAILABLE PROCEDURES.—

16 (1) CHARGE FILED WITH GENERAL COUN17 SEL.—A qualified individual with a disability, as de18 fined in section 201(2) of the Americans with Dis19 abilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131(2)), who al20 leges a violation of subsection (b) by an entity listed

21 in subsection (a), may file a charge against any en22 tity responsible for correcting the violation with the

23 General Counsel within 180 days of the occurrence

24 of the alleged violation. The General Counsel shall

25 investigate the charge.
30

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1 (2) MEDIATION.—If, upon investigation under

2 paragraph (1), the General Counsel believes that a

3 violation of subsection (b) may have occurred and

4 that mediation may be helpful in resolving the dis5 pute, the General Counsel may request, but not par6 ticipate in, mediation under section 403 between the

7 charging individual and any entity responsible for

8 correcting the alleged violation.

9 (3) COMPLAINT, HEARING, BOARD REVIEW.—If

10 mediation under paragraph (2) has not succeeded in

11 resolving the dispute, and if the General Counsel be12 lieves that a violation of subsection (b) may have oc13 curred, the General Counsel may file with the Office

14 a complaint against any entity responsible for cor15 recting the violation. The complaint shall be submit16 ted to a hearing officer for decision pursuant to sec17 tion 405 and any person who has filed a charge

18 under paragraph (1) may intervene as of right, with

19 the full rights of a party. The decision of the hear20 ing officer shall be subject to review by the Board

21 pursuant to section 406.

22 (4) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A charging individual

23 who has intervened under paragraph (3) or any re24 spondent to the complaint, if aggrieved by a final de25 cision of the Board under paragraph (3), may file a
31

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1 petition for review in the United States Court of Ap2 peals for the Federal Circuit, pursuant to section

3 407.

4 (e) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.—

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

6 to section 304, issue regulations to implement this

7 section.

8 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations

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

10 substantive regulations promulgated by the Attorney

11 General and the Secretary of Transportation to im12 plement the statutory provisions referred to in sub13 section (b) to the extent that the Board may deter14 mine, for good cause shown and stated together with

15 the regulation, that a modification of such regula16 tions would be more effective for the implementation

17 of the rights and protections under this section.

18 (f) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS; REPORT TO CONGRESS;

19 INITIAL STUDY.—

20 (1) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS.—On a regular

21 basis, and at least once each Congress, the General

22 Counsel shall inspect the facilities of the entities list23 ed in subsection (a) to ensure compliance with sub24 section (b).
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1 (2) REPORT.—On the basis of each periodic in2 spection, the General Counsel shall, at least once

3 every Congress, prepare and submit a report—

4 (A) to the Speaker of the House of Rep5 resentatives, the President pro tempore of the

6 Senate, the Architect of the Capitol, and to the

7 entity responsible, as determined under regula8 tions issued by the Board under section 304 of

9 this Act, for correcting the violation of this sec10 tion uncovered by such inspection, and

11 (B) containing the results of the periodic

12 inspection, describing any steps necessary to

13 correct any violation of this section, assessing

14 any limitations in accessibility to and usability

15 by individuals with disabilities associated with

16 each violation, and the estimated cost and time

17 needed for abatement.

18 (3) INITIAL PERIOD FOR STUDY AND CORREC19 TIVE ACTION.—The period from the date of the en20 actment of this Act until December 31, 1996, shall

21 be available to the Office of the Architect of the

22 Capitol and other entities subject to this section to

23 identify any violations of subsection (b), to deter24 mine the costs of compliance, and to take any nec25 essary corrective action to abate any violations. The
33

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1 Office shall assist the Office of the Architect of the

2 Capitol and other entities listed in subsection (a) by

3 arranging for inspections and other technical assist4 ance at their request. Prior to July 1, 1996, the

5 General Counsel shall conduct a thorough inspection

6 under paragraph (1) and shall submit the report

7 under paragraph (2) for the 104th Congress.

8 (4) DETAILED PERSONNEL.—The Attorney

9 General, the Secretary of Transportation, and the

10 Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compli11 ance Board may, on request of the Executive Direc12 tor, detail to the Office such personnel as may be

13 necessary to advise and assist the Office in carrying

14 out its duties under this section.

15 (g) APPLICATION OF AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES

16 ACT OF 1990 TO THE PROVISION OF PUBLIC SERVICES

17 AND ACCOMMODATIONS BY THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING

18 OFFICE, THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, AND THE

19 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.—Section 509 of the Americans

20 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12209)), as

21 amended by section 201(c) of this Act, is amended by add22 ing the following new paragraph:

23 ‘‘(6) ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS TO PUBLIC

24 SERVICES AND ACCOMMODATIONS.—The remedies

25 and procedures set forth in section 717 of the Civil
34

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1 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16) shall be

2 available to any qualified person with a disability

3 who is a visitor, guest, or patron of an instrumental4 ity of Congress and who alleges a violation of the

5 rights and protections under sections 201 through

6 230 or section 302 or 303 of this Act that are made

7 applicable by this section, except that the authorities

8 of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

9 shall be exercised by the chief official of the instru10 mentality of the Congress.’’.

11 (h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsections (b), (c), and (d)

13 shall be effective on January 1, 1997.

14 (2) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE, GOVERN15 MENT PRINTING OFFICE, AND LIBRARY OF CON16 GRESS.—Subsection (g) shall be effective 1 year

17 after transmission to the Congress of the study

18 under section 230.

19 PART C—OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

20 ACT OF 1970

21 SEC. 215. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER THE OCCUPA22 TIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT OF 1970;

23 PROCEDURES FOR REMEDY OF VIOLATIONS.

24 (a) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH PROTEC25 TIONS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each employing office and

2 each covered employee shall comply with the provi3 sions of section 5 of the Occupational Safety and

4 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 654).

5 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of the appli6 cation under this section of the Occupational Safety

7 and Health Act of 1970—

8 (A) the term ‘‘employer’’ as used in such

9 Act means an employing office;

10 (B) the term ‘‘employee’’ as used in such

11 Act means a covered employee;

12 (C) the term ‘‘employing office’’ includes

13 the General Accounting Office and the Library

14 of Congress; and

15 (D) the term ‘‘employee’’ includes employ16 ees of the General Accounting Office and the

17 Library of Congress.

18 (b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub19 section (a) shall be an order to correct the violation, in20 cluding such order as would be appropriate if issued under

21 section 13(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act

22 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 662(a)).

23 (c) PROCEDURES.—

24 (1) REQUESTS FOR INSPECTIONS.—Upon writ25 ten request of any employing office or covered em-
36

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1 ployee, the General Counsel shall exercise the au2 thorities granted to the Secretary of Labor by sub3 sections (a) and (f) of section 8 of the Occupational

4 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 657(a)

5 and (f)) to inspect and investigate places of employ6 ment under the jurisdiction of employing offices.

7 (2) CITATIONS, NOTICES, AND NOTIFICA8 TIONS.—For purposes of this section, the General

9 Counsel shall exercise the authorities granted to the

10 Secretary of Labor in sections 9 and 10 of the Occu11 pational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C.

12 658 and 659), to issue—

13 (A) a citation or notice to any employing

14 office responsible for correcting a violation of

15 subsection (a), as determined appropriate by

16 the General Counsel pursuant to regulations is17 sued by the Board pursuant to section 304; or

18 (B) a notification to any employing office

19 that the General Counsel believes has failed to

20 correct a violation for which a citation has been

21 issued within the period permitted for its cor22 rection.

23 (3) HEARINGS AND REVIEW.—If after issuing a

24 citation or notification, the General Counsel deter25 mines that a violation has not been corrected, the
37

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1 General Counsel may file a complaint with the Office

2 against the employing office named in the citation or

3 notification. The complaint shall be submitted to a

4 hearing officer for decision pursuant to section 405,

5 subject to review by the Board pursuant to section

6 406.

7 (4) VARIANCE PROCEDURES.—An employing of8 fice may request from the Board an order granting

9 a variance from a standard made applicable by this

10 section. For the purposes of this section, the Board

11 shall exercise the authorities granted to the Sec12 retary of Labor in section 6(b)(6) of the Occupa13 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C.

14 655(b)(6)) to act on any employing office’s request

15 for a variance. The Board shall refer the matter to

16 a hearing officer pursuant to section 405, subject to

17 review by the Board pursuant to section 406.

18 (5) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—The General Counsel

19 or employing office aggrieved by a final decision of

20 the Board under paragraph (3) or (4), may file a pe21 tition for review with the United States Court of Ap22 peals for the Federal Circuit pursuant to section

23 407.

24 (6) COMPLIANCE DATE.—If a citation of a vio25 lation under this section is received and new appro-
38

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1 priated funds are necessary to abate the violation,

2 abatement shall take place as soon as possible, but

3 no later than the fiscal year following the fiscal year

4 in which the citation is issued.

5 (d) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.—

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

7 to section 304, issue regulations to implement this

8 section.

9 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations

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

11 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec12 retary of Labor to implement the statutory provi13 sions referred to in subsection (a) except to the ex14 tent that the Board may determine, for good cause

15 shown and stated together with the regulation, that

16 a modification of such regulations would be more ef17 fective for the implementation of the rights and pro18 tections under this section.

19 (e) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS; REPORT TO CON20 GRESS.—

21 (1) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS.—On a regular

22 basis, and at least once each Congress, the General

23 Counsel shall conduct periodic inspections of all fa24 cilities of the House of Representatives, the Senate,

25 the Capitol Guide Service, the Capitol Police, the
39

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1 Congressional Budget Office, the Office of the Ar2 chitect of the Capitol, the Office of the Attending

3 Physician, the Office of Compliance, and the Office

4 of Technology Assessment to report on compliance

5 with subsection (a).

6 (2) REPORT.—On the basis of each periodic in7 spection, the General Counsel shall prepare and sub8 mit a report—

9 (A) to the Speaker of the House of Rep10 resentatives, the President pro tempore of the

11 Senate, and the Office of the Architect of the

12 Capitol or other employing office responsible, as

13 determined under regulations issued by the

14 Board under section 304 of this Act, for cor15 recting the violation of this section uncovered

16 by such inspection, and

17 (B) containing the results of the periodic

18 inspection, identifying the employing office re19 sponsible for correcting the violation of this sec20 tion uncovered by such inspection, describing

21 any steps necessary to correct any violation of

22 this section, and assessing any risks to em23 ployee health and safety associated with any

24 violation.
40

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1 (3) ACTION AFTER REPORT.—If a report identi2 fies any violation of this section, the General Coun3 sel shall issue a citation or notice in accordance with

4 subsection (c)(2)(A).

5 (4) DETAILED PERSONNEL.—The Secretary of

6 Labor may, on request of the Executive Director,

7 detail to the Office such personnel as may be nec8 essary to advise and assist the Office in carrying out

9 its duties under this section.

10 (f) INITIAL PERIOD FOR STUDY AND CORRECTIVE

11 ACTION.—The period from the date of the enactment of

12 this Act until December 31, 1996, shall be available to

13 the Office of the Architect of the Capitol and other em14 ploying offices to identify any violations of subsection (a),

15 to determine the costs of compliance, and to take any nec16 essary corrective action to abate any violations. The Office

17 shall assist the Office of the Architect of the Capitol and

18 other employing offices by arranging for inspections and

19 other technical assistance at their request. Prior to July

20 1, 1996, the General Counsel shall conduct a thorough in21 spection under subsection (e)(1) and shall submit the re22 port under subsection (e)(2) for the 104th Congress.

23 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—
41

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), subsections (a), (b), (c), and (e)(3) shall

3 be effective on January 1, 1997.

4 (2) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE AND LI5 BRARY OF CONGRESS.—This section shall be effec6 tive with respect to the General Accounting Office

7 and the Library of Congress 1 year after trans8 mission to the Congress of the study under section

9 230.

10 PART D—LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS

11 SEC. 220. APPLICATION OF CHAPTER 71 OF TITLE 5,

12 UNITED STATES CODE, RELATING TO FED13 ERAL SERVICE LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELA14 TIONS; PROCEDURES FOR REMEDY OF VIOLA15 TIONS.

16 (a) LABOR-MANAGEMENT RIGHTS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (d),

18 the rights, protections, and responsibilities estab19 lished under sections 7102, 7106, 7111 through

20 7117, 7119 through 7122, and 7131 of title 5,

21 United States Code, shall apply to employing offices

22 and to covered employees and representatives of

23 those employees.

24 (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of the applica25 tion under this section of the sections referred to in
42

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1 paragraph (1), the term ‘‘agency’’ shall be deemed

2 to include an employing office.

3 (b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub4 section (a) shall be such remedy, including a remedy under

5 section 7118(a)(7) of title 5, United States Code, as would

6 be appropriate if awarded by the Federal Labor Relations

7 Authority to remedy a violation of any provision made ap8 plicable by subsection (a).

9 (c) AUTHORITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMEN10 TATION AND ENFORCEMENT.—

11 (1) GENERAL AUTHORITIES OF THE BOARD;

12 PETITIONS.—For purposes of this section and except

13 as otherwise provided in this section, the Board shall

14 exercise the authorities of the Federal Labor Rela15 tions Authority under sections 7105, 7111, 7112,

16 7113, 7115, 7117, 7118, and 7122 of title 5, United

17 States Code, and of the President under section

18 7103(b) of title 5, United States Code. For purposes

19 of this section, any petition or other submission that,

20 under chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code,

21 would be submitted to the Federal Labor Relations

22 Authority shall, if brought under this section, be

23 submitted to the Board. The Board shall refer any

24 matter under this paragraph to a hearing officer for

25 decision pursuant to section 405, subject to review
43

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1 by the Board pursuant to section 406. The Board

2 may direct that the General Counsel carry out the

3 Board’s investigative authorities under this para4 graph.

5 (2) GENERAL AUTHORITIES OF THE GENERAL

6 COUNSEL; CHARGES OF UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE.—

7 For purposes of this section and except as otherwise

8 provided in this section, the General Counsel shall

9 exercise the authorities of the General Counsel of

10 the Federal Labor Relations Authority under sec11 tions 7104 and 7118 of title 5, United States Code.

12 For purposes of this section, any charge or other

13 submission that, under chapter 71 of title 5, United

14 States Code, would be submitted to the General

15 Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority

16 shall, if brought under this section, be submitted to

17 the General Counsel. If any person charges an em18 ploying office or a labor organization with having en19 gaged in or engaging in an unfair labor practice and

20 makes such charge within 180 days of the occur21 rence of the alleged unfair labor practice, the Gen22 eral Counsel shall investigate the charge and may

23 file a complaint with the Office. The complaint shall

24 be submitted to a hearing officer for decision pursu-
44

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1 ant to section 405, subject to review by the Board

2 pursuant to section 406.

3 (3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Except for matters re4 ferred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section

5 7123(a) of title 5, United States Code, the General

6 Counsel or the respondent to the complaint, if ag7 grieved by a final decision of the Board under para8 graphs (1) and (2) of this subsection may file a peti9 tion for judicial review in the United States Court

10 of Appeals for the Federal Circuit pursuant to sec11 tion 407.

12 (4) EXERCISE OF IMPASSES PANEL AUTHORITY;

13 REQUESTS.—For purposes of this section and except

14 as otherwise provided in this section, the Board shall

15 exercise the authorities of the Federal Service Im16 passes Panel under section 7119 of title 5, United

17 States Code. For purposes of this section, any re18 quest that, under chapter 71 of title 5, United

19 States Code, would be presented to the Federal

20 Service Impasses Panel shall, if made under this sec21 tion, be presented to the Board. At the request of

22 the Board, the Executive Director shall appoint a

23 mediator or mediators to perform the functions of

24 the Federal Service Impasses Panel under section

25 7119 of title 5, United States Code.
45

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1 (c) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.—

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

3 to section 304, issue regulations to implement this

4 section.

5 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—Except as pro6 vided in subsection (d), the regulations issued under

7 paragraph (1) shall be the same as substantive regu8 lations promulgated by the Federal Labor Relations

9 Authority to implement the statutory provisions re10 ferred to in subsection (a) except—

11 (A) to the extent that the Board may de12 termine, for good cause shown and stated to13 gether with the regulation, that a modification

14 of such regulations would be more effective for

15 the implementation of the rights and protec16 tions under this section; or

17 (B) as the Board deems necessary to avoid

18 a conflict of interest or appearance of a conflict

19 of interest.

20 (d) SPECIFIC REGULATIONS REGARDING APPLICA21 TION TO CERTAIN OFFICES OF CONGRESS.—

22 (1) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—The Board

23 shall issue regulations pursuant to section 304 on

24 the manner and extent to which the requirements

25 and exemptions of chapter 71 of title 5, United
46

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1 States Code, should apply to covered employees who

2 are employed in the offices listed in paragraph (2).

3 The regulations shall, to the greatest extent prac4 ticable, be consistent with the provisions and pur5 poses of chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code

6 and of this Act, and shall be the same as substantive

7 regulations issued by the Federal Labor Relations

8 Authority under such chapter, except—

9 (A) to the extent that the Board may de10 termine, for good cause shown and stated to11 gether with the regulation, that a modification

12 of such regulations would be more effective for

13 the implementation of the rights and protec14 tions under this section; and

15 (B) that the Board shall exclude from cov16 erage under this section any covered employees

17 who are employed in offices listed in paragraph

18 (2) if the Board determines that such exclusion

19 is required because of—

20 (i) a conflict of interest or appearance

21 of a conflict of interest; or

22 (ii) Congress’ constitutional respon23 sibilities.

24 (2) OFFICES REFERRED TO.—The offices re25 ferred to in paragraph (1) include—
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1 (A) the personal office of any Member of

2 the House of Representatives or of any Senator;

3 (B) a standing, select, special, permanent,

4 temporary, or other committee of the Senate or

5 House of Representatives, or a joint committee

6 of Congress;

7 (C) the Office of the Vice President (as

8 President of the Senate), the Office of the

9 President pro tempore of the Senate, the Office

10 of the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Office

11 of the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Office

12 of the Majority Whip of the Senate, the Office

13 of the Minority Whip of the Senate, the Con14 ference of the Majority of the Senate, the Con15 ference of the Minority of the Senate, the Office

16 of the Secretary of the Conference of the Ma17 jority of the Senate, the Office of the Secretary

18 of the Conference of the Minority of the Senate,

19 the Office of the Secretary for the Majority of

20 the Senate, the Office of the Secretary for the

21 Minority of the Senate, the Majority Policy

22 Committee of the Senate, the Minority Policy

23 Committee of the Senate, and the following of24 fices within the Office of the Secretary of the

25 Senate: Offices of the Parliamentarian, Bill
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1 Clerk, Legislative Clerk, Journal Clerk, Execu2 tive Clerk, Enrolling Clerk, Official Reporters

3 of Debate, Daily Digest, Printing Services, Cap4 tioning Services, and Senate Chief Counsel for

5 Employment;

6 (D) the Office of the Speaker of the House

7 of Representatives, the Office of the Majority

8 Leader of the House of Representatives, the Of9 fice of the Minority Leader of the House of

10 Representatives, the Offices of the Chief Dep11 uty Majority Whips, the Offices of the Chief

12 Deputy Minority Whips and the following of13 fices within the Office of the Clerk of the House

14 of Representatives: Offices of Legislative Oper15 ations, Official Reporters of Debate, Official

16 Reporters to Committees, Printing Services,

17 and Legislative Information;

18 (E) the Office of the Legislative Counsel of

19 the Senate, the Office of the Senate Legal

20 Counsel, the Office of the Legislative Counsel of

21 the House of Representatives, the Office of the

22 General Counsel of the House of Representa23 tives, the Office of the Parliamentarian of the

24 House of Representatives, and the Office of the

25 Law Revision Counsel;
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1 (F) the offices of any caucus or party or2 ganization;

3 (G) the Congressional Budget Office, the

4 Office of Technology Assessment, and the Of5 fice of Compliance; and

6 (H) such other offices that perform com7 parable functions which are identified under

8 regulations of the Board.

9 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), subsections (a) and (b) shall be effective

12 on October 1, 1996.

13 (2) CERTAIN OFFICES.—With respect to the of14 fices listed in subsection (d)(2), to the covered em15 ployees of such offices, and to representatives of

16 such employees, subsections (a) and (b) shall be ef17 fective on the effective date of regulations under

18 subsection (d).

19 PART E—GENERAL

20 SEC. 225. GENERALLY APPLICABLE REMEDIES AND LIMITA21 TIONS.

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

23 respect to any claim under this Act, or a qualified person

24 with a disability, with respect to any claim under section

25 210, is a prevailing party in any proceeding under section
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1 405, 406, 407, or 408, the hearing officer, Board, or

2 court, as the case may be, may award attorney’s fees, ex3 pert witness fees, and any other costs as would be appro4 priate if awarded under section 706(k) of the Civil Rights

5 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5(k)).

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

7 405, 406, 407, or 408, the same interest to compensate

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

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

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

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

12 civil penalty or punitive damages may be awarded with

13 respect to any claim under this Act.

14 (d) EXCLUSIVE PROCEDURE.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), no person may commence an administra17 tive or judicial proceeding to seek a remedy for the

18 rights and protections afforded by this Act except as

19 provided in this Act.

20 (2) VETERANS.—A covered employee under sec21 tion 206 may also utilize any provisions of chapter

22 43 of title 38, United States Code, that are applica23 ble to that employee.

24 (e) SCOPE OF REMEDY.—Only a covered employee

25 who has undertaken and completed the procedures de-
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1 scribed in sections 402 and 403 may be granted a remedy

2 under part A of this title.

3 (f) CONSTRUCTION.—

4 (1) DEFINITIONS AND EXEMPTIONS.—Except

5 where inconsistent with definitions and exemptions

6 provided in this Act, the definitions and exemptions

7 in the laws made applicable by this Act shall apply

8 under this Act.

9 (2) SIZE LIMITATIONS.—Notwithstanding para10 graph (1), provisions in the laws made applicable

11 under this Act (other than the Worker Adjustment

12 and Retraining Notification Act) determining cov13 erage based on size, whether expressed in terms of

14 numbers of employees, amount of business trans15 acted, or other measure, shall not apply in determin16 ing coverage under this Act.

17 (3) EXECUTIVE BRANCH ENFORCEMENT.—This

18 Act shall not be construed to authorize enforcement

19 by the executive branch of this Act.
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1 PART F—STUDY

2 SEC. 230. STUDY AND RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING

3 GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE, GOVERN4 MENT PRINTING OFFICE, AND LIBRARY OF

5 CONGRESS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrative Conference of

7 the United States shall undertake a study of—

8 (1) the application of the laws listed in sub9 section (b) to—

10 (A) the General Accounting Office;

11 (B) the Government Printing Office; and

12 (C) the Library of Congress; and

13 (2) the regulations and procedures used by the

14 entities referred to in paragraph (1) to apply and

15 enforce such laws to themselves and their employees.

16 (b) APPLICABLE STATUTES.—The study under this

17 section shall consider the application of the following laws:

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

19 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), and related provisions of

20 section 2302 of title 5, United States Code.

21 (2) The Age Discrimination in Employment Act

22 of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.), and related provi23 sions of section 2302 of title 5, United States Code.

24 (3) The Americans with Disabilities Act of

25 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), and related provi26 sions of section 2302 of title 5, United States Code.
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1 (4) The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

2 (29 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.), and related provisions of

3 sections 6381 through 6387 of title 5, United States

4 Code.

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

6 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), and related provisions of sec7 tions 5541 through 5550a of title 5, United States

8 Code.

9 (6) The Occupational Safety and Health Act of

10 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.), and related provisions

11 of section 7902 of title 5, United States Code.

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

13 701 et seq.).

14 (8) Chapter 71 (relating to Federal service

15 labor-management relations) of title 5, United

16 States Code.

17 (9) The General Accounting Office Personnel

18 Act of 1980 (31 U.S.C. 731 et seq.).

19 (10) The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of

20 1988 (29 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.).

21 (11) The Worker Adjustment and Retraining

22 Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.).

23 (12) Chapter 43 (relating to veterans’ employ24 ment and reemployment) of title 38, United States

25 Code.
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1 (c) CONTENTS OF STUDY AND RECOMMENDA2 TIONS.—The study under this section shall evaluate

3 whether the rights, protections, and procedures, including

4 administrative and judicial relief, applicable to the entities

5 listed in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) and their employ6 ees are comprehensive and effective and shall include

7 recommendations for any improvements in regulations or

8 legislation, including proposed regulatory or legislative

9 language.

10 (d) DEADLINE AND DELIVERY OF STUDY.—Not later

11 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act—

12 (1) the Administrative Conference of the United

13 States shall prepare and complete the study and rec14 ommendations required under this section and shall

15 submit the study and recommendations to the

16 Board; and

17 (2) the Board shall transmit such study and

18 recommendations (with the Board’s comments) to

19 the head of each entity considered in the study, and

20 to the Congress by delivery to the Speaker of the

21 House of Representatives and President pro tempore

22 of the Senate for referral to the appropriate commit23 tees of the House of Representatives and of the

24 Senate.
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1 TITLE III—OFFICE OF

2 COMPLIANCE

3 SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE.

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

5 independent office within the legislative branch of the Fed6 eral Government, the Office of Compliance.

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

8 a Board of Directors. The Board shall consist of 5 individ9 uals appointed jointly by the Speaker of the House of Rep10 resentatives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, and the

11 Minority Leaders of the House of Representatives and the

12 Senate. Appointments of the first 5 members of the Board

13 shall be completed not later than 90 days after the date

14 of the enactment of this Act.

15 (c) CHAIR.—The Chair shall be appointed from mem16 bers of the Board jointly by the Speaker of the House

17 of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, and

18 the Minority Leaders of the House of Representatives and

19 the Senate.

20 (d) BOARD OF DIRECTORS QUALIFICATIONS.—

21 (1) SPECIFIC QUALIFICATIONS.—Selection and

22 appointment of members of the Board shall be with23 out regard to political affiliation and solely on the

24 basis of fitness to perform the duties of the Office.

25 Members of the Board shall have training or experi-
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1 ence in the application of the rights, protections, and

2 remedies under one or more of the laws made appli3 cable under section 102.

4 (2) DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR APPOINTMENTS.—

5 (A) LOBBYING.—No individual who en6 gages in, or is otherwise employed in, lobbying

7 of the Congress and who is required under the

8 Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act to register

9 with the Clerk of the House of Representatives

10 or the Secretary of the Senate shall be eligible

11 for appointment to, or service on, the Board.

12 (B) INCOMPATIBLE OFFICE.—No member

13 of the Board appointed under subsection (b)

14 may hold or may have held the position of

15 Member of the House of Representatives or

16 Senator, may hold the position of officer or em17 ployee of the House of Representatives, Senate,

18 or instrumentality or other entity of the legisla19 tive branch, or may have held such a position

20 (other than the position of an officer or em21 ployee of the General Accounting Office Person22 nel Appeals Board, an officer or employee of

23 the Office of Fair Employment Practices of the

24 House of Representatives, or officer or em25 ployee of the Office of Fair Employment Prac-
57

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1 tices of the Senate) within 4 years of the date

2 of appointment.

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

4 be filled in the manner in which the original appoint5 ment was made.

6 (e) TERM OF OFFICE.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), membership on the Board shall be for 5

9 years. A member of the Board who is appointed to

10 a term of office of more than 3 years shall only be

11 eligible for appointment for a single term of office.

12 (2) FIRST APPOINTMENTS.—Of the members

13 first appointed to the Board—

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

15 years,

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

17 years, and

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

19 years, 1 of whom shall be the Chair,

20 as designated at the time of appointment by the per21 sons specified in subsection (b).

22 (f) REMOVAL.—

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

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

2 (b), but only for—

3 (A) disability that substantially prevents

4 the member from carrying out the duties of the

5 member,

6 (B) incompetence,

7 (C) neglect of duty,

8 (D) malfeasance, including a felony or con9 duct involving moral turpitude, or

10 (E) holding an office or employment or en11 gaging in an activity that disqualifies the indi12 vidual from service as a member of the Board

13 under subsection (d)(2).

14 (2) STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR REMOVAL.—

15 In removing a member of the Board, the Speaker of

16 the House of Representatives and the President pro

17 tempore of the Senate shall state in writing to the

18 member of the Board being removed the specific rea19 sons for the removal.

20 (g) COMPENSATION.—

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

22 shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily

23 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed

24 for level V of the Executive Schedule under section

25 5316 of title 5, United States Code, for each day
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1 (including travel time) during which such member

2 is engaged in the performance of the duties of the

3 Board. The rate of pay of a member may be pro4 rated based on the portion of the day during which

5 the member is engaged in the performance of Board

6 duties.

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

8 Board shall receive travel expenses, including per

9 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for

10 employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter

11 57 of title 5, United States Code, for each day the

12 member is engaged in the performance of duties

13 away from the home or regular place of business of

14 the member.

15 (h) DUTIES.—The Office shall—

16 (1) carry out a program of education for Mem17 bers of Congress and other employing authorities of

18 the legislative branch of the Federal Government re19 specting the laws made applicable to them and a

20 program to inform individuals of their rights under

21 laws applicable to the legislative branch of the Fed22 eral Government;

23 (2) in carrying out the program under para24 graph (1), distribute the telephone number and ad25 dress of the Office, procedures for action under title
60

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1 IV, and any other information appropriate for dis2 tribution, distribute such information to employing

3 offices in a manner suitable for posting, provide

4 such information to new employees of employing of5 fices, distribute such information to the residences of

6 covered employees, and conduct seminars and other

7 activities designed to educate employing offices and

8 covered employees; and

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

10 the Office by covered employees, including the num11 ber and type of contacts made with the Office, on

12 the reason for such contacts, on the number of cov13 ered employees who initiated proceedings with the

14 Office under this Act and the result of such proceed15 ings, and on the number of covered employees who

16 filed a complaint, the basis for the complaint, and

17 the action taken on the complaint.

18 (i) CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.—The Board and

19 the Office shall be subject to oversight (except with respect

20 to the disposition of individual cases) by the Committee

21 on Rules and Administration and the Committee on Gov22 ernmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on

23 House Oversight of the House of Representatives.

24 (j) OPENING OF OFFICE.—The Office shall be open

25 for business, including receipt of requests for counseling
61

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1 under section 402, not later than 1 year after the date

2 of the enactment of this Act.

3 (k) FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS.—Members of

4 the Board and officers and employees of the Office shall

5 file the financial disclosure reports required under title I

6 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 with the Clerk

7 of the House of Representatives.

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

9 (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—

10 (1) APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL.—

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

12 the approval of the Board, shall appoint and

13 may remove an Executive Director. Selection

14 and appointment of the Executive Director shall

15 be without regard to political affiliation and

16 solely on the basis of fitness to perform the du17 ties of the Office. The first Executive Director

18 shall be appointed no later than 90 days after

19 the initial appointment of the Board of Direc20 tors.

21 (B) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Executive Di22 rector shall be an individual with training or ex23 pertise in the application of laws referred to in

24 section 102(a).
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1 (C) DISQUALIFICATIONS.—The disquali2 fications in section 301(d)(2) shall apply to the

3 appointment of the Executive Director.

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

5 compensation of the Executive Director. The rate of

6 pay for the Executive Director may not exceed the

7 annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the

8 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,

9 United States Code.

10 (3) TERM.—The term of office of the Executive

11 Director shall be a single term of 5 years, except

12 that the first Executive Director shall have a single

13 term of 7 years.

14 (4) DUTIES.—The Executive Director shall

15 serve as the chief operating officer of the Office. Ex16 cept as otherwise specified in this Act, the Executive

17 Director shall carry out all of the responsibilities of

18 the Office under this Act.

19 (b) DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS.—

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

21 approval of the Board, shall appoint and may re22 move a Deputy Executive Director for the Senate

23 and a Deputy Executive Director for the House of

24 Representatives. Selection and appointment of a

25 Deputy Executive Director shall be without regard
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1 to political affiliation and solely on the basis of fit2 ness to perform the duties of the office. The dis3 qualifications in section 301(d)(2) shall apply to the

4 appointment of a Deputy Executive Director.

5 (2) TERM.—The term of office of a Deputy Ex6 ecutive Director shall be a single term of 5 years, ex7 cept that the first Deputy Executive Directors shall

8 have a single term of 6 years.

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

10 compensation of the Deputy Executive Directors.

11 The rate of pay for a Deputy Executive Director

12 may not exceed 96 percent of the annual rate of

13 basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive

14 Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United

15 States Code.

16 (4) DUTIES.—The Deputy Executive Director

17 for the Senate shall recommend to the Board regula18 tions under section 304(a)(2)(B)(i), maintain the

19 regulations and all records pertaining to the regula20 tions, and shall assume such other responsibilities as

21 may be delegated by the Executive Director. The

22 Deputy Executive Director for the House of Rep23 resentatives shall recommend to the Board the regu24 lations under section 304(a)(2)(B)(ii), maintain the

25 regulations and all records pertaining to the regula-
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1 tions, and shall assume such other responsibilities as

2 may be delegated by the Executive Director.

3 (c) GENERAL COUNSEL.—

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

5 approval of the Board, shall appoint a General

6 Counsel. Selection and appointment of the General

7 Counsel shall be without regard to political affili8 ation and solely on the basis of fitness to perform

9 the duties of the Office. The disqualifications in sec10 tion 301(d)(2) shall apply to the appointment of a

11 General Counsel.

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

13 compensation of the General Counsel. The rate of

14 pay for the General Counsel may not exceed the an15 nual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the

16 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,

17 United States Code.

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

19 (A) exercise the authorities and perform

20 the duties of the General Counsel as specified

21 in this Act; and

22 (B) otherwise assist the Board and the Ex23 ecutive Director in carrying out their duties and

24 powers, including representing the Office in any

25 judicial proceeding under this Act.
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1 (4) ATTORNEYS IN THE OFFICE OF THE GEN2 ERAL COUNSEL.—The General Counsel shall ap3 point, and fix the compensation of, and may remove,

4 such additional attorneys as may be necessary to en5 able the General Counsel to perform the General

6 Counsel’s duties.

7 (5) TERM.—The term of office of the General

8 Counsel shall be a single term of 5 years.

9 (6) REMOVAL.—

10 (A) AUTHORITY.—The General Counsel

11 may be removed from office by the Chair but

12 only for—

13 (i) disability that substantially pre14 vents the General Counsel from carrying

15 out the duties of the General Counsel,

16 (ii) incompetence,

17 (iii) neglect of duty,

18 (iv) malfeasance, including a felony or

19 conduct involving moral turpitude, or

20 (v) holding an office or employment or

21 engaging in an activity that disqualifies the

22 individual from service as the General

23 Counsel under paragraph (1).

24 (B) STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR RE25 MOVAL.—In removing the General Counsel, the
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1 Speaker of the House of Representatives and

2 the President pro tempore of the Senate shall

3 state in writing to the General Counsel the spe4 cific reasons for the removal.

5 (d) OTHER STAFF.—The Executive Director shall ap6 point, and fix the compensation of, and may remove, such

7 other additional staff, including hearing officers, but not

8 including attorneys employed in the office of the General

9 Counsel, as may be necessary to enable the Office to per10 form its duties.

11 (e) DETAILED PERSONNEL.—The Executive Director

12 may, with the prior consent of the department or agency

13 of the Federal Government concerned, use on a reimburs14 able or nonreimbursable basis the services of personnel of

15 any such department or agency, including the services of

16 members or personnel of the General Accounting Office

17 Personnel Appeals Board.

18 (f) CONSULTANTS.—In carrying out the functions of

19 the Office, the Executive Director may procure the tem20 porary (not to exceed 1 year) or intermittent services of

21 consultants.

22 SEC. 303. PROCEDURAL RULES.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Director shall, sub24 ject to the approval of the Board, adopt rules governing

25 the procedures of the Office, including the procedures of
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1 hearing officers, which shall be submitted for publication

2 in the Congressional Record. The rules may be amended

3 in the same manner.

4 (b) PROCEDURE.—The Executive Director shall

5 adopt rules referred to in subsection (a) in accordance

6 with the principles and procedures set forth in section 553

7 of title 5, United States Code. The Executive Director

8 shall publish a general notice of proposed rulemaking

9 under section 553(b) of title 5, United States Code, but,

10 instead of publication of a general notice of proposed rule11 making in the Federal Register, the Executive Director

12 shall transmit such notice to the Speaker of the House

13 of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the

14 Senate for publication in the Congressional Record on the

15 first day on which both Houses are in session following

16 such transmittal. Before issuing rules, the Executive Di17 rector shall provide a comment period of at least 30 days

18 after publication of a general notice of proposed rule19 making. Upon adopting rules, the Executive Director shall

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

21 rules to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and

22 the President pro tempore of the Senate for publication

23 in the Congressional Record on the first day on which both

24 Houses are in session following such transmittal. Rules

25 shall be considered issued by the Executive Director as
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1 of the date on which they are published in the Congres2 sional Record.

3 SEC. 304. SUBSTANTIVE REGULATIONS.

4 (a) REGULATIONS.—

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

6 the regulations of the Board issued for the imple7 mentation of this Act, which shall include regula8 tions the Board is required to issue under title II

9 (including regulations on the appropriate application

10 of exemptions under the laws made applicable in

11 title II) are as prescribed in this section.

12 (2) RULEMAKING PROCEDURE.—Such regula13 tions of the Board—

14 (A) shall be adopted, approved, and issued

15 in accordance with subsection (b);

16 (B) shall consist of 3 separate bodies of

17 regulations, which shall apply, respectively, to—

18 (i) the Senate and employees of the

19 Senate;

20 (ii) the House of Representatives and

21 employees of the House of Representatives;

22 and

23 (iii) all other covered employees and

24 employing offices.
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1 (b) ADOPTION BY THE BOARD.—The Board shall

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

3 accordance with the principles and procedures set forth

4 in section 553 of title 5, United States Code, and as pro5 vided in the following provisions of this subsection:

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

7 general notice of proposed rulemaking under section

8 553(b) of title 5, United States Code, but, instead

9 of publication of a general notice of proposed rule10 making in the Federal Register, the Board shall

11 transmit such notice to the Speaker of the House of

12 Representatives and the President pro tempore of

13 the Senate for publication in the Congressional

14 Record on the first day on which both Houses are

15 in session following such transmittal. Such notice

16 shall set forth the recommendations of the Deputy

17 Director for the Senate in regard to regulations

18 under subsection (a)(2)(B)(i), the recommendations

19 of the Deputy Director for the House of Representa20 tives in regard to regulations under subsection

21 (a)(2)(B)(ii), and the recommendations of the Exec22 utive Director for regulations under subsection

23 (a)(2)(B)(iii).

24 (2) COMMENT.—Before adopting regulations,

25 the Board shall provide a comment period of at least
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1 30 days after publication of a general notice of pro2 posed rulemaking.

3 (3) ADOPTION.—After considering comments,

4 the Board shall adopt regulations and shall transmit

5 notice of such action together with a copy of such

6 regulations to the Speaker of the House of Rep7 resentatives and the President pro tempore of the

8 Senate for publication in the Congressional Record

9 on the first day on which both Houses are in session

10 following such transmittal.

11 (4) RECOMMENDATION AS TO METHOD OF AP12 PROVAL.—The Board shall include a recommenda13 tion in the general notice of proposed rulemaking

14 and in the regulations as to whether the regulations

15 should be approved by resolution of the Senate, by

16 resolution of the House of Representatives, by con17 current resolution, or by joint resolution.

18 (c) APPROVAL OF REGULATIONS.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Regulations referred to in

20 paragraph (2)(B)(i) of subsection (a) may be ap21 proved by the Senate by resolution or by the Con22 gress by concurrent resolution or by joint resolution.

23 Regulations referred to in paragraph (2)(B)(ii) of

24 subsection (a) may be approved by the House of

25 Representatives by resolution or by the Congress by
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1 concurrent resolution or by joint resolution. Regula2 tions referred to in paragraph (2)(B)(iii) may be ap3 proved by Congress by concurrent resolution or by

4 joint resolution.

5 (2) REFERRAL.—Upon receipt of a notice of

6 adoption of regulations under subsection (b)(3), the

7 presiding officers of the House of Representatives

8 and the Senate shall refer such notice, together with

9 a copy of such regulations, to the appropriate com10 mittee or committees of the House of Representa11 tives and of the Senate. The purpose of the referral

12 shall be to consider whether such regulations should

13 be approved, and, if so, whether such approval

14 should be by resolution of the House of Representa15 tives or of the Senate, by concurrent resolution or by

16 joint resolution.

17 (3) JOINT REFERRAL AND DISCHARGE IN THE

18 SENATE.—The presiding officer of the Senate may

19 refer the notice of issuance of regulations, or any

20 resolution of approval of regulations, to one commit21 tee or jointly to more than one committee. If a com22 mittee of the Senate acts to report a jointly referred

23 measure, any other committee of the Senate must

24 act within 30 calendar days of continuous session, or

25 be automatically discharged.
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1 (4) ONE-HOUSE RESOLUTION OR CONCURRENT

2 RESOLUTION.—In the case of a resolution of the

3 House of Representatives or the Senate or a concur4 rent resolution referred to in paragraph (1), the

5 matter after the resolving clause shall be the follow6 ing: ‘‘The following regulations issued by the Office

7 of Compliance on ll are hereby approved:’’ (the

8 blank space being appropriately filled in, and the

9 text of the regulations being set forth).

10 (5) JOINT RESOLUTION.—In the case of a joint

11 resolution referred to in paragraph (1), the matter

12 after the resolving clause shall be the following:

13 ‘‘The following regulations issued by the Office of

14 Compliance on ll are hereby approved and shall

15 have the force and effect of law:’’ (the blank space

16 being appropriately filled in, and the text of the reg17 ulations being set forth).

18 (d) ISSUANCE AND EFFECTIVE DATE.—

19 (1) PUBLICATION.—After approval of regula20 tions under subsection (c), the Board shall submit

21 the regulations to the Speaker of the House of Rep22 resentatives and the President pro tempore of the

23 Senate for publication in the Congressional Record

24 on the first day on which both Houses are in session

25 following such transmittal.
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1 (2) DATE OF ISSUANCE.—The date of issuance

2 of regulations shall be the date on which they are

3 published in the Congressional Record.

4 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Regulations shall be5 come effective not less than 60 days after the regu6 lations are issued, except that the Board may pro7 vide for an earlier effective date for good cause

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

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

10 regulation.

11 (e) AMENDMENT OF REGULATIONS.—Regulations

12 may be amended in the same manner as is described in

13 this section for the adoption, approval, and issuance of

14 regulations, except that the Board may, in its discretion,

15 dispense with publication of a general notice of proposed

16 rulemaking of minor, technical, or urgent amendments

17 that satisfy the criteria for dispensing with publication of

18 such notice pursuant to section 553(b)(B) of title 5,

19 United States Code.

20 (f) RIGHT TO PETITION FOR RULEMAKING.—Any in21 terested party may petition to the Board for the issuance,

22 amendment, or repeal of a regulation.

23 (g) CONSULTATION.—The Executive Director, the

24 Deputy Directors, and the Board—
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1 (1) shall consult, with regard to the develop2 ment of regulations, with—

3 (A) the Chair of the Administrative Con4 ference of the United States;

5 (B) the Secretary of Labor;

6 (C) the Federal Labor Relations Authority;

7 and

8 (D) the Director of the Office of Personnel

9 Management; and

10 (2) may consult with any other persons with

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

12 Executive Director, or Deputy Directors, may be

13 helpful.

14 SEC. 305. EXPENSES.

15 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Begin16 ning in fiscal year 1995, and for each fiscal year there17 after, there are authorized to be appropriated for the ex18 penses of the Office such sums as may be necessary to

19 carry out the functions of the Office. Until sums are first

20 appropriated pursuant to the preceding sentence, but for

21 a period not exceeding 12 months following the date of

22 the enactment of this Act—

23 (1) one-half of the expenses of the Office shall

24 be paid from funds appropriated for allowances and

25 expenses of the House of Representatives, and
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1 (2) one-half of the expenses of the Office shall

2 be paid from funds appropriated for allowances and

3 expenses of the Senate,

4 upon vouchers approved by the Executive Director.

5 (b) WITNESS FEES AND ALLOWANCES.—Except for

6 covered employees, witnesses before a hearing officer or

7 the Board in any proceeding under this Act other than

8 rulemaking shall be paid the same fee and mileage allow9 ances as are paid subpoenaed witnesses in the courts of

10 the United States. Covered employees who are summoned,

11 or are assigned by their employer, to testify in their offi12 cial capacity or to produce official records in any proceed13 ing under this Act shall be entitled to travel expenses

14 under subchapter I and section 5751 of chapter 57 of title

15 5, United States Code.

16 TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND

17 JUDICIAL DISPUTE-RESOLU18 TION PROCEDURES

19 SEC. 401. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF ALLEGED

20 VIOLATIONS.

21 Except as otherwise provided, the procedure for con22 sideration of alleged violations of part A of title II consists

23 of—

24 (1) counseling as provided in section 402;

25 (2) mediation as provided in section 403; and
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1 (3) election, as provided in section 404, of ei2 ther—

3 (A) a formal complaint and hearing as pro4 vided in section 405, subject to Board review as

5 provided in section 406, and judicial review in

6 the United States Court of Appeals for the

7 Federal Circuit as provided in section 407, or

8 (B) a civil action in a district court of the

9 United States as provided in section 408.

10 In the case of an employee of the Office of the Architect

11 of the Capitol or of the Capitol Police, the Executive Di12 rector, after receiving a request for counseling under sec13 tion 402, may recommend that the employee use the griev14 ance procedures of the Architect of the Capitol or the Cap15 itol Police for resolution of the employee’s grievance for

16 a specific period of time, which shall not count against

17 the time available for counseling or mediation.

18 SEC. 402. COUNSELING.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—To commence a proceeding, a cov20 ered employee alleging a violation of a law made applicable

21 under part A of title II shall request counseling by the

22 Office. The Office shall provide the employee with all rel23 evant information with respect to the rights of the em24 ployee. A request for counseling shall be made not later

25 than 180 days after the date of the alleged violation.
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1 (b) PERIOD OF COUNSELING.—The period for coun2 seling shall be 30 days unless the employee and the Office

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

4 date the request for counseling is received.

5 (c) NOTIFICATION OF END OF COUNSELING PE6 RIOD.—The Office shall notify the employee in writing

7 when the counseling period has ended.

8 SEC. 403. MEDIATION.

9 (a) INITIATION.—Not later than 15 days after the

10 end of the counseling period under section 402, but prior

11 to and as a condition of making an election under section

12 404, the covered employee who alleged a violation of a law

13 shall file a request for mediation with the Office.

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

15 (1) may include the Office, the covered em16 ployee, the employing office, and one or more indi17 viduals appointed by the Executive Director after

18 considering recommendations by organizations com19 posed primarily of individuals experienced in adju20 dicating or arbitrating personnel matters, and

21 (2) shall involve meetings with the parties sepa22 rately or jointly for the purpose of resolving the dis23 pute between the covered employee and the employ24 ing office.
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1 (c) MEDIATION PERIOD.—The mediation period shall

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

3 is received. The mediation period may be extended for ad4 ditional periods at the joint request of the covered em5 ployee and the employing office. The Office shall notify

6 in writing the covered employee and the employing office

7 when the mediation period has ended.

8 (d) INDEPENDENCE OF MEDIATION PROCESS.—No

9 individual, who is appointed by the Executive Director to

10 mediate, may conduct or aid in a hearing conducted under

11 section 405 with respect to the same matter or shall be

12 subject to subpoena or any other compulsory process with

13 respect to the same matter.

14 SEC. 404. ELECTION OF PROCEEDING.

15 Not later than 90 days after a covered employee re16 ceives notice of the end of the period of mediation, but

17 no sooner than 30 days after receipt of such notification,

18 such covered employee may either—

19 (1) file a complaint with the Office in accord20 ance with section 405, or

21 (2) file a civil action in accordance with section

22 408 in the United States district court for the dis23 trict in which the employee is employed or for the

24 District of Columbia.
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1 SEC. 405. COMPLAINT AND HEARING.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—A covered employee may, upon

3 the completion of mediation under section 403, file a com4 plaint with the Office. The respondent to the complaint

5 shall be the employing office—

6 (1) involved in the violation, or

7 (2) in which the violation is alleged to have oc8 curred,

9 and about which mediation was conducted.

10 (b) DISMISSAL.—A hearing officer may dismiss any

11 claim that the hearing officer finds to be frivolous or that

12 fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.

13 (c) HEARING OFFICER.—

14 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Upon the filing of a com15 plaint, the Executive Director shall appoint an inde16 pendent hearing officer to consider the complaint

17 and render a decision. No Member of the House of

18 Representatives, Senator, officer of either the House

19 of Representatives or the Senate, head of an employ20 ing office, member of the Board, or covered em21 ployee may be appointed to be a hearing officer. The

22 Executive Director shall select hearing officers on a

23 rotational or random basis from the lists developed

24 under paragraph (2). Nothing in this section shall

25 prevent the appointment of hearing officers as full26 time employees of the Office or the selection of hear-
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1 ing officers on the basis of specialized expertise

2 needed for particular matters.

3 (2) LISTS.—The Executive Director shall de4 velop master lists, composed of—

5 (A) members of the bar of a State or the

6 District of Columbia and retired judges of the

7 United States courts who are experienced in ad8 judicating or arbitrating the kinds of personnel

9 and other matters for which hearings may be

10 held under this Act, and

11 (B) individuals expert in technical matters

12 relating to accessibility and usability by persons

13 with disabilities or technical matters relating to

14 occupational safety and health.

15 In developing lists, the Executive Director shall con16 sider candidates recommended by the Federal Medi17 ation and Conciliation Service or the Administrative

18 Conference of the United States.

19 (d) HEARING.—Unless a complaint is dismissed be20 fore a hearing, a hearing shall be—

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

22 the hearing officer;

23 (2) commenced no later than 60 days after fil24 ing of the complaint under subsection (b), except

25 that the Office may, for good cause, extend up to an
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1 additional 30 days the time for commencing a hear2 ing; and

3 (3) conducted, except as specifically provided in

4 this Act and to the greatest extent practicable, in ac5 cordance with the principles and procedures set

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

7 States Code.

8 (e) DISCOVERY.—Reasonable prehearing discovery

9 may be permitted at the discretion of the hearing officer.

10 (f) SUBPOENAS.—

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

12 hearing officer may issue subpoenas for the attend13 ance of witnesses and for the production of cor14 respondence, books, papers, documents, and other

15 records. The attendance of witnesses and the pro16 duction of records may be required from any place

17 within the United States. Subpoenas shall be served

18 in the manner provided under rule 45(b) of the Fed19 eral Rules of Civil Procedure.

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

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

22 testify in response to a question or to produce

23 records in connection with a proceeding before a

24 hearing officer, the hearing officer shall rule on the

25 objection. At the request of the witness or any party,
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1 the hearing officer shall (or on the hearing officer’s

2 own initiative, the hearing officer may) refer the rul3 ing to the Board for review.

4 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—

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

6 comply with a subpoena, the Board may au7 thorize the General Counsel to apply, in the

8 name of the Office, to an appropriate United

9 States district court for an order requiring that

10 person to appear before the hearing officer to

11 give testimony or produce records. The applica12 tion may be made within the judicial district

13 where the hearing is conducted or where that

14 person is found, resides, or transacts business.

15 Any failure to obey a lawful order of the district

16 court issued pursuant to this section may be

17 held by such court to be a civil contempt there18 of.

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

20 action or contempt proceeding pursuant to sub21 paragraph (A) may be served in any judicial

22 district in which the person refusing or failing

23 to comply, or threatening to refuse or not to

24 comply, resides, transacts business, or may be

25 found, and subpoenas for witnesses who are re-
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1 quired to attend such proceedings may run into

2 any other district.

3 (g) DECISION.—The hearing officer shall issue a

4 written decision as expeditiously as possible, but in no case

5 more than 90 days after the conclusion of the hearing.

6 The written decision shall be transmitted by the Office to

7 the parties. The decision shall state the issues raised in

8 the complaint, describe the evidence in the record, contain

9 findings of fact and conclusions of law, contain a deter10 mination of whether a violation has occurred, and order

11 such remedies as are appropriate pursuant to title II. The

12 decision shall be entered in the records of the Office. If

13 a decision is not appealed under section 406 to the Board,

14 the decision shall be considered the final decision of the

15 Office.

16 (h) PRECEDENTS.—A hearing officer who conducts

17 a hearing under this section shall be guided by judicial

18 decisions under the laws made applicable by section 102

19 and by Board decisions under this Act.

20 SEC. 406. APPEAL TO THE BOARD.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any party aggrieved by the deci22 sion of a hearing officer under section 405(g) may file a

23 petition for review by the Board not later than 30 days

24 after entry of the decision in the records of the Office.
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1 (b) PARTIES’ OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT ARGU2 MENT.—The parties to the hearing upon which the deci3 sion of the hearing officer was made shall have a reason4 able opportunity to be heard, through written submission

5 and, in the discretion of the Board, through oral argu6 ment.

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

8 aside a decision of a hearing officer if the Board deter9 mines that the decision was—

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

11 or otherwise not consistent with law;

12 (2) not made consistent with required proce13 dures; or

14 (3) unsupported by substantial evidence.

15 (d) RECORD.—In making determinations under sub16 section (c), the Board shall review the whole record, or

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

18 be taken of the rule of prejudicial error.

19 (e) DECISION.—The Board shall issue a written deci20 sion setting forth the reasons for its decision. The decision

21 may affirm, reverse, or remand to the hearing officer for

22 further proceedings. A decision that does not require fur23 ther proceedings before a hearing officer shall be entered

24 in the records of the Office as a final decision.
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1 SEC. 407. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF BOARD DECISIONS AND EN2 FORCEMENT.

3 (a) JURISDICTION.—

4 (1) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—The United States

5 Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit shall have

6 jurisdiction over any proceeding commenced by a pe7 tition of—

8 (A) a party aggrieved by a final decision of

9 the Board under section 406(e) in cases arising

10 under part A of title II,

11 (B) a charging individual or a respondent

12 before the Board who files a petition under sec13 tion 210(d)(4),

14 (C) the General Counsel or a respondent

15 before the Board who files a petition under sec16 tion 215(c)(5), or

17 (D) the General Counsel or a respondent

18 before the Board who files a petition under sec19 tion 220(c)(3).

20 The court of appeals shall have exclusive jurisdiction

21 to set aside, suspend (in whole or in part), to deter22 mine the validity of, or otherwise review the decision

23 of the Board.

24 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—The United States Court

25 of Appeals for the Federal Circuit shall have juris26 diction over any petition of the General Counsel,
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1 filed in the name of the Office and at the direction

2 of the Board, to enforce a final decision under sec3 tion 405(g) or 406(e) with respect to a violation of

4 part A, B, C, or D of title II.

5 (b) PROCEDURES.—

6 (1) RESPONDENTS.—(A) In any proceeding

7 commenced by a petition filed under subsection

8 (a)(1) (A) or (B), or filed by a party other than the

9 General Counsel under subsection (a)(1) (C) or (D),

10 the Office shall be named respondent and any party

11 before the Board may be named respondent by filing

12 a notice of election with the court within 30 days

13 after service of the petition.

14 (B) In any proceeding commenced by a petition

15 filed by the General Counsel under subsection (a)(1)

16 (C) or (D), the prevailing party in the final decision

17 entered under section 406(e) shall be named re18 spondent, and any other party before the Board may

19 be named respondent by filing a notice of election

20 with the court within 30 days after service of the pe21 tition.

22 (C) In any proceeding commenced by a petition

23 filed under subsection (a)(2), the party under sec24 tion 405 or 406 that the General Counsel deter25 mines has failed to comply with a final decision
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1 under section 405(g) or 406(e) shall be named re2 spondent.

3 (2) INTERVENTION.—Any party that partici4 pated in the proceedings before the Board under sec5 tion 406 and that was not made respondent under

6 paragraph (1) may intervene as of right.

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

8 United States Code, shall apply to judicial review under

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

10 (1) with respect to section 2344 of title 28,

11 United States Code, service of a petition in any pro12 ceeding in which the Office is a respondent shall be

13 on the General Counsel rather than on the Attorney

14 General;

15 (2) the provisions of section 2348 of title 28,

16 United States Code, on the authority of the Attorney

17 General, shall not apply;

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

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

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

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

22 term is used in chapter 158 of title 28, United

23 States Code.

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

25 for decision in a proceeding commenced under subsection
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1 (a)(1) and when presented, the court shall decide all rel2 evant questions of law and interpret constitutional and

3 statutory provisions. The court shall set aside a final deci4 sion of the Board if it is determined that the decision

5 was—

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

7 or otherwise not consistent with law;

8 (2) not made consistent with required proce9 dures; or

10 (3) unsupported by substantial evidence.

11 (e) RECORD.—In making determinations under sub12 section (d), the court shall review the whole record, or

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

14 be taken of the rule of prejudicial error.

15 SEC. 408. CIVIL ACTION.

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

17 States shall have jurisdiction over any civil action com18 menced under this section by a covered employee who has

19 completed counseling under section 402 and mediation

20 under section 403. A civil action may be commenced by

21 a covered employee only to seek redress for a violation for

22 which the employee has completed counseling and medi23 ation.
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1 (b) PARTIES.—The defendant shall be the employing

2 office alleged to have committed the violation, or in which

3 the violation is alleged to have occurred.

4 (c) JURY TRIAL.—Any party may demand a jury trial

5 where a jury trial would be available in an action against

6 a private defendant under the relevant law made applica7 ble by this Act. In any case in which a violation of section

8 201 is alleged, the court shall not inform the jury of the

9 maximum amount of compensatory damages available

10 under section 201(b)(1) or 201(b)(3).

11 SEC. 409. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.

12 In any proceeding brought under section 407 or 408

13 in which the application of a regulation issued under this

14 Act is at issue, the court may review the validity of the

15 regulation in accordance with the provisions of subpara16 graphs (A) through (D) of section 706(2) of title 5, United

17 States Code, except that with respect to regulations ap18 proved by a joint resolution under section 304(c), only the

19 provisions of section 706(2)(B) of title 5, United States

20 Code, shall apply. If the court determines that the regula21 tion is invalid, the court may apply, to the extent nec22 essary and appropriate, the most relevant substantive ex23 ecutive agency regulation promulgated to implement the

24 statutory provisions with respect to which the invalid regu25 lation was issued. Except as provided in this section, the
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1 validity of regulations issued under this Act is not subject

2 to judicial review.

3 SEC. 410. OTHER JUDICIAL REVIEW PROHIBITED.

4 Except as expressly authorized by sections 407, 408,

5 and 409, the compliance or noncompliance with the provi6 sions of this Act and any action taken pursuant to this

7 Act shall not be subject to judicial review.

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

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

10 408, except a proceeding to enforce section 220 with re11 spect to offices listed under section 220(d)(2), if the Board

12 has not issued a regulation on a matter for which this

13 Act requires a regulation to be issued, the hearing officer,

14 Board, or court, as the case may be, may apply, to the

15 extent necessary and appropriate, the most relevant sub16 stantive executive agency regulation promulgated to imple17 ment the statutory provision at issue in the proceeding.

18 SEC. 412. EXPEDITED REVIEW OF CERTAIN APPEALS.

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

20 to the Supreme Court of the United States from any inter21 locutory or final judgment, decree, or order of a court

22 upon the constitutionality of any provision of this Act.

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

24 has not previously ruled on the question, accept jurisdic25 tion over the appeal referred to in paragraph (1), advance
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1 the appeal on the docket, and expedite the appeal to the

2 greatest extent possible.

3 SEC. 413. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.

4 The authorization to bring judicial proceedings under

5 sections 407 and 408 shall not constitute a waiver of sov6 ereign immunity for any other purpose, or of the privileges

7 of any Senator or Member of the House of Representatives

8 under article I, section 6, clause 1, of the Constitution,

9 or a waiver of any power of either the Senate or the House

10 of Representatives under the Constitution, including under

11 article I, section 5, clause 3, or under the rules of either

12 House relating to records and information within its juris13 diction.

14 SEC. 414. SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS.

15 Any settlement entered into by the parties to a proc16 ess described in section 210, 215, 220, or 401 shall be

17 in writing and not become effective unless it is approved

18 by the Executive Director. Nothing in this Act shall affect

19 the power of the Senate and the House of Representatives,

20 respectively, to establish rules governing the process by

21 which a settlement may be entered into by such House

22 or by any employing office of such House.

23 SEC. 415. PAYMENTS.

24 (a) AWARDS AND SETTLEMENTS.—Except as pro25 vided in subsection (c), only funds which are appropriated
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1 to an account of the Office in the Treasury of the United

2 States for the payment of awards and settlements may

3 be used for the payment of awards and settlements under

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

5 account such sums as may be necessary to pay such

6 awards and settlements. Funds in the account are not

7 available for awards and settlements involving the General

8 Accounting Office, the Government Printing Office, or the

9 Library of Congress.

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

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

12 may be necessary for administrative, personnel, and simi13 lar expenses of employing offices which are needed to com14 ply with this Act.

15 (c) OSHA, ACCOMMODATION, AND ACCESS REQUIRE16 MENTS.—Funds to correct violations of section 201(a)(3),

17 210, or 215 of this Act may be paid only from funds ap18 propriated to the employing office or entity responsible for

19 correcting such violations. There are authorized to be ap20 propriated such sums as may be necessary for such funds.

21 SEC. 416. CONFIDENTIALITY.

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

23 confidential, except that the Office and a covered employee

24 may agree to notify the employing office of the allegations.
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1 (b) MEDIATION.—All mediation shall be strictly con2 fidential.

3 (c) HEARINGS AND DELIBERATIONS.—Except as

4 provided in subsections (d) and (e), the hearings and de5 liberations of hearing officers and of the Board and of its

6 officers and employees on complaints, charges, proposed

7 citations, and other pleadings under this Act shall be con8 fidential.

9 (d) RELEASE OF RECORDS FOR JUDICIAL ACTION.—

10 The records of hearing officers and the Board may be

11 made public if required for the purpose of judicial review

12 under section 407.

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

14 discretion of the Executive Director, the Executive Direc15 tor may provide to the Committee on Standards of Official

16 Conduct of the House of Representatives and the Select

17 Committee on Ethics of the Senate access to the records

18 of the hearings and decisions of the hearing officers and

19 the Board, including all written and oral testimony in the

20 possession of the Office. The Executive Director shall not

21 provide such access until the Executive Director has con22 sulted with the individual filing the complaint at issue, and

23 until a final decision has been entered under section

24 405(g) or 406(e).
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1 (f) FINAL DECISIONS.—A final decision entered

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

3 is in favor of the complaining covered employee, or in favor

4 of the charging party under section 210, or if the decision

5 reverses a decision of a hearing officer which had been

6 in favor of the covered employee or charging party. The

7 Board may make public any other decision at its discre8 tion.

9 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS

10 PROVISIONS

11 SEC. 501. EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.

12 The provisions of sections 102(b)(2) and 304(c) are

13 enacted—

14 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of

15 the House of Representatives and the Senate, re16 spectively, and as such they shall be considered as

17 part of the rules of such House, respectively, and

18 such rules shall supersede other rules only to the ex19 tent that they are inconsistent therewith; and

20 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

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

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

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

24 any other rule of each House.
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1 SEC. 502. POLITICAL AFFILIATION AND PLACE OF RESI2 DENCE.

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

4 provision of section 201 to consider the—

5 (1) party affiliation;

6 (2) domicile; or

7 (3) political compatibility with the employing

8 office;

9 of an employee referred to in subsection (b) with respect

10 to employment decisions.

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

12 the term ‘‘employee’’ means—

13 (1) an employee on the staff of the leadership

14 of the House of Representatives or the leadership of

15 the Senate;

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

17 subcommittee of—

18 (A) the House of Representatives;

19 (B) the Senate; or

20 (C) a joint committee of the Congress;

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

22 the House of Representatives or on the staff of a

23 Senator;

24 (4) an officer of the House of Representatives

25 or the Senate or a congressional employee who is

26 elected by the House of Representatives or Senate or
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1 is appointed by a Member of the House of Rep2 resentatives or by a Senator (in addition an em3 ployee described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3)); or

4 (5) an applicant for a position that is to be oc5 cupied by an individual described in any of para6 graphs (1) through (4).

7 SEC. 503. NONDISCRIMINATION RULES OF THE HOUSE AND

8 SENATE.

9 The Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate and

10 the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the

11 House of Representatives retain full power, in accordance

12 with the authority provided to them by the Senate and

13 the House, with respect to the discipline of Members, offi14 cers, and employees for violating rules of the Senate and

15 the House on nondiscrimination in employment.

16 SEC. 504. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

17 (a) CIVIL RIGHTS REMEDIES.—

18 (1) Sections 301 and 302 of the Government

19 Employee Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1201 and

20 1202) are amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘SEC. 301. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE RIGHTS ACT OF 1991.

22 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the

23 ‘Government Employee Rights Act of 1991’.

24 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to pro25 vide procedures to protect the rights of certain government
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1 employees, with respect to their public employment, to be

2 free of discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion,

3 sex, national origin, age, or disability.

4 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this title, the

5 term ‘violation’ means a practice that violates section

6 302(a) of this title.

7 ‘‘SEC. 302. DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES PROHIBITED.

8 ‘‘(a) PRACTICES.—All personnel actions affecting the

9 Presidential appointees described in section 303 or the

10 State employees described in section 304 shall be made

11 free from any discrimination based on—

12 ‘‘(1) race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,

13 within the meaning of section 717 of the Civil

14 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16);

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

16 the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

17 (29 U.S.C. 633a); or

18 ‘‘(3) disability, within the meaning of section

19 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.

20 791) and sections 102 through 104 of the Americans

21 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12112–14).

22 ‘‘(b) REMEDIES.—The remedies referred to in sec23 tions 303(a)(1) and 304(a)—

24 ‘‘(1) may include, in the case of a determina25 tion that a violation of subsection (a)(1) or (a)(3)
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1 has occurred, such remedies as would be appropriate

2 if awarded under sections 706(g), 706(k), and

3 717(d) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.

4 2000e–5(g), 2000e–5(k), 2000e–16(d)), and such

5 compensatory damages as would be appropriate if

6 awarded under section 1977 or sections 1977A(a)

7 and 1977A(b)(2) of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C.

8 1981 and 1981a(a) and (b)(2));

9 ‘‘(2) may include, in the case of a determina10 tion that a violation of subsection (a)(2) has oc11 curred, such remedies as would be appropriate if

12 awarded under section 15(c) of the Age Discrimina13 tion in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C.

14 633a(c)); and

15 ‘‘(3) may not include punitive damages.’’.

16 (2) Sections 303 through 319, and sections

17 322, 324, and 325 of the Government Employee

18 Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1203–1218, 1221,

19 1223, and 1224) are repealed, except as provided in

20 section 506 of this Act.

21 (3) Sections 320 and 321 of the Government

22 Employee Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1219 and

23 1220) are redesignated as sections 303 and 304, re24 spectively.
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1 (4) Sections 303 and 304 of the Government

2 Employee Rights Act of 1991, as so redesignated,

3 are each amended by striking ‘‘and 307(h) of this

4 title’’.

5 (5) Section 1205 of the Supplemental Appro6 priations Act of 1993 (2 U.S.C. 1207a) is repealed,

7 except as provided in section 506 of this Act.

8 (b) FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT OF 1993.—

9 Title V of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (2

10 U.S.C. 60m et seq.) is repealed, except as provided in sec11 tion 506 of this Act.

12 (c) ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL.—

13 (1) REPEAL.—Section 312(e) of the Architect

14 of the Capitol Human Resources Act (Public Law

15 103–283; 108 Stat. 1444) is repealed, except as pro16 vided in section 506 of this Act.

17 (2) APPLICATION OF GENERAL ACCOUNTING

18 OFFICE PERSONNEL ACT OF 1980.—The provisions of

19 sections 751, 753, and 755 of title 31, United States

20 Code, amended by section 312(e) of the Architect of

21 the Capitol Human Resources Act, shall be applied

22 and administered as if such section 312(e) (and the

23 amendments made by such section) had not been

24 enacted.
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1 SEC. 505. JUDICIAL BRANCH COVERAGE STUDY.

2 The Judicial Conference of the United States shall

3 prepare a report for submission by the Chief Justice of

4 the United States to the Congress on the application to

5 the judicial branch of the Federal Government of—

6 (1) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29

7 U.S.C. 201 et seq.);

8 (2) title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

9 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.);

10 (3) the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

11 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.);

12 (4) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act

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

14 (5) the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

15 (29 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.);

16 (6) the Occupational Safety and Health Act of

17 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.);

18 (7) chapter 71 (relating to Federal service

19 labor-management relations) of title 5, United

20 States Code;

21 (8) the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of

22 1988 (29 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.);

23 (9) the Worker Adjustment and Retraining No24 tification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.);

25 (10) the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.

26 701 et seq.); and
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1 (11) chapter 43 (relating to veterans’ employ2 ment and reemployment) of title 38, United States

3 Code.

4 The report shall be submitted to Congress not later than

5 December 31, 1996, and shall include any recommenda6 tions the Judicial Conference may have for legislation to

7 provide to employees of the judicial branch the rights, pro8 tections, and procedures under the listed laws, including

9 administrative and judicial relief, that are comparable to

10 those available to employees of the legislative branch

11 under titles I through IV of this Act.

12 SEC. 506. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

13 (a) TRANSITION PROVISIONS FOR EMPLOYEES OF

14 THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND OF THE SEN15 ATE.—

16 (1) CLAIMS ARISING BEFORE EFFECTIVE

17 DATE.—If, as of the date on which section 201 takes

18 effect, an employee of the Senate or the House of

19 Representatives has or could have requested counsel20 ing under section 305 of the Government Employees

21 Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1205) or Rule LI of

22 the House of Representatives, including counseling

23 for alleged violations of family and medical leave

24 rights under title V of the Family and Medical

25 Leave Act of 1993, the employee may complete, or
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1 initiate and complete, all procedures under the Gov2 ernment Employees Rights Act of 1991 and Rule

3 LI, and the provisions of that Act and Rule shall re4 main in effect with respect to, and provide the exclu5 sive procedures for, those claims until the completion

6 of all such procedures.

7 (2) CLAIMS ARISING BETWEEN EFFECTIVE

8 DATE AND OPENING OF OFFICE.—If a claim by an

9 employee of the Senate or House of Representatives

10 arises under section 201 or 202 after the effective

11 date of such sections, but before the opening of the

12 Office for receipt of requests for counseling or medi13 ation under sections 402 and 403, the provisions of

14 the Government Employees Rights Act of 1991 (2

15 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) and Rule LI of the House of

16 Representatives relating to counseling and mediation

17 shall remain in effect, and the employee may com18 plete under that Act or Rule the requirements for

19 counseling and mediation under sections 402 and

20 403. If, after counseling and mediation is completed,

21 the Office has not yet opened for the filing of a

22 timely complaint under section 405, the employee

23 may elect—

24 (A) to file a complaint under section 307

25 of the Government Employees Rights Act of
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1 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1207) or Rule LI of the House

2 of Representatives, and thereafter proceed ex3 clusively under that Act or Rule, the provisions

4 of which shall remain in effect until the comple5 tion of all proceedings in relation to the com6 plaint, or

7 (B) to commence a civil action under sec8 tion 408.

9 (3) SECTION 1205 OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL AP10 PROPRIATIONS ACT OF 1993.—With respect to pay11 ments of awards and settlements relating to Senate

12 employees under paragraph (1) of this subsection,

13 section 1205 of the Supplemental Appropriations

14 Act of 1993 (2 U.S.C. 1207a) remains in effect.

15 (b) TRANSITION PROVISIONS FOR EMPLOYEES OF

16 THE ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL.—–

17 (1) CLAIMS ARISING BEFORE EFFECTIVE

18 DATE.—If, as of the date on which section 201 takes

19 effect, an employee of the Architect of the Capitol

20 has or could have filed a charge or complaint regard21 ing an alleged violation of section 312(e)(2) of the

22 Architect of the Capitol Human Resources Act

23 (Public Law 103–283), the employee may complete,

24 or initiate and complete, all procedures under section

25 312(e) of that Act, the provisions of which shall re-
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1 main in effect with respect to, and provide the exclu2 sive procedures for, that claim until the completion

3 of all such procedures.

4 (2) CLAIMS ARISING BETWEEN EFFECTIVE

5 DATE AND OPENING OF OFFICE.—If a claim by an

6 employee of the Architect of the Capitol arises under

7 section 201 or 202 after the effective date of those

8 provisions, but before the opening of the Office for

9 receipt of requests for counseling or mediation under

10 sections 402 and 403, the employee may satisfy the

11 requirements for counseling and mediation by ex12 hausting the requirements prescribed by the Archi13 tect of the Capitol in accordance with section

14 312(e)(3) of the Architect of the Capitol Human Re15 sources Act (Public Law 103–283). If, after exhaus16 tion of those requirements the Office has not yet

17 opened for the filing of a timely complaint under

18 section 405, the employee may elect—

19 (A) to file a charge with the General Ac20 counting Office Personnel Appeals Board pur21 suant to section 312(e)(3) of the Architect of

22 the Capitol Human Resources Act (Public Law

23 103–283), and thereafter proceed exclusively

24 under section 312(e) of that Act, the provisions

25 of which shall remain in effect until the comple-
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1 tion of all proceedings in relation to the charge,

2 or

3 (B) to commence a civil action under sec4 tion 408.

5 (c) TRANSITION PROVISION RELATING TO MATTERS

6 OTHER THAN EMPLOYMENT UNDER SECTION 509 OF

7 THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT.—With respect

8 to matters other than employment under section 509 of

9 the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12209),

10 the rights, protections, remedies, and procedures of sec11 tion 509 of such Act shall remain in effect until section

12 210 of this Act takes effect with respect to each of the

13 entities covered by section 509 of such Act.

14 SEC. 507. SEVERABILITY.

15 If any provision of this Act or the application of such

16 provision to any person or circumstance is held to be in17 valid, the remainder of this Act and the application of the

18 provisions of the remainder to any person or circumstance

19 shall not be affected thereby.

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