I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2499

To make the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 applicable

to the House of Representatives and the instrumentalities of the Congress

and to allow House employees and employees of the instrumentalities

to bring a civil action in Federal court to vindicate their rights under

such Act and under the Americans with Disabilities Act, title VII of

the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 23, 1993

Mr. GOODLING (for himself, Mr. MICHEL, Mr. GINGRICH, Mr. ARMEY, Mr.

HYDE, Mr. PETRI, Mr. FAWELL, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr.

BARRETT of Nebraska, and Mr. HOEKSTRA) introduced the following bill;

which was referred jointly to the Committees on House Administration,

Education and Labor, and the Judiciary

A BILL

To make the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of

1967 applicable to the House of Representatives and

the instrumentalities of the Congress and to allow House

employees and employees of the instrumentalities to

bring a civil action in Federal court to vindicate their

rights under such Act and under the Americans with

Disabilities Act, title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act,

and the Family and Medical Leave Act.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congressional Cov3 erage for Discrimination and Family Leave Act’’.

4 TITLE I—AGE DISCRIMINATION

5 SEC. 101. COVERAGE OF EMPLOYEES OF THE HOUSE OF

6 REPRESENTATIVES.

7 The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

8 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) is amended—

9 (1) by redesignating sections 16 and 17 as sec10 tions 17 and 18, respectively, and

11 (2) by inserting after section 15 the following:

12 ‘‘COVERAGE OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES IN THE

13 LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

14 ‘‘SEC. 16. (a) For purposes of this section—

15 ‘‘(1) the term ‘employee’ means an individual

16 who is employed by, or who applies for employment

17 with, an employing authority;

18 ‘‘(2) the term ‘employing authority’ has the

19 meaning given it in the Fair Employment Practices

20 Resolution and also includes any agent of the em21 ploying authority and any Member who participates

22 in determining the terms and conditions applicable

23 to an employee’s employment and any agent of such

24 Member, but with respect to a position on the mi25 nority staff of a committee, such term does not in26 clude the Chairman of such committee;
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1 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Fair Employment Practices Res2 olution’ means—

3 ‘‘(A) House Resolution 558 of the One

4 Hundredth Congress, as adopted October 4,

5 1988, and incorporated into rule LI of the

6 Rules of the House of Representatives of the

7 One Hundred Second Congress; or

8 ‘‘(B) any other provision that continues in

9 effect the provisions of such resolution; and

10 ‘‘(4) the term ‘instrumentality of the Congress’

11 means a unit of the legislative branch (other than

12 the Congress) that does not have positions in the

13 competitive service and any agent of such unit.

14 ‘‘(b) Sections 4 and 7(f) shall apply to employees and

15 to employing authorities.

16 ‘‘(c)(1) The remedies and procedures under the Fair

17 Employment Practices Resolution shall apply with respect

18 to a violation of section 4 as such section is made applica19 ble by subsection (b).

20 ‘‘(2) Within 90 days of the exhaustion of all proce21 dures authorized under paragraph (1), or after 180 days

22 after the filing of a complaint in accordance with such pro23 cedures, an employee may bring a civil action in the appro24 priate United States district court against the employee’s

25 employing authority. In any such action, the court may
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1 order such relief, including damages, attorneys’ fees, and

2 other costs, as may be ordered by a court under section

3 7.

4 ‘‘(d) Section 4, as such section is made applicable by

5 subsection (b), does not prohibit the taking into consider6 ation of —

7 ‘‘(1) the domicile of an individual with respect

8 to a position under the clerk-hire allowance of the

9 House of Representatives; or

10 ‘‘(2) the political affiliation of an individual

11 with respect to a position under such clerk-hire al12 lowance or a position on the staff of a committee.

13 ‘‘(e) Not later than 60 days after any payment is

14 made under this section for the benefit of an aggrieved

15 employee out of a Federal account of the House of Rep16 resentatives and on behalf of the employing authority, the

17 employing authority shall reimburse such account with

18 non-Federal funds. The Committee on House Administra19 tion of the House of Representatives shall determine which

20 account shall be used for payments to an aggrieved em21 ployee under this section and shall issue guidelines to en22 sure such reimbursement.

23 ‘‘(f) Each employing authority shall post and keep

24 posted in conspicuous places on its premises a notice that

25 shall be prepared by the Office of Fair Employment Prac-
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1 tices, setting forth such information as the Office consid2 ers to be appropriate to carry out this section.

3 ‘‘(g) Subsection (c)(1) is enacted as an exercise of

4 the rulemaking power of the House of Representatives,

5 with full recognition of the right of the House of Rep6 resentatives to change its rules in the same manner, and

7 to the same extent, as in any other rule of the House of

8 Representatives.

9 ‘‘(h)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), sections 4 and 7(f)

10 shall apply with respect to individuals who are employed

11 by, or who apply for employment with, an instrumentality

12 of the Congress.

13 ‘‘(2) The chief official of each instrumentality of the

14 Congress shall establish remedies and procedures to pro15 tect the rights provided for in paragraph (1). Such rem16 edies and procedures shall apply exclusively with respect

17 to such rights and shall provide to such individual protec18 tion that is equal to or greater than the protection pro19 vided under this section to employees of an employing

20 authority.

21 ‘‘(3) The chief official of each instrumentality of the

22 Congress shall submit to the Congress a report describing

23 the remedies and procedures it has established to comply

24 with paragraph (2).
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1 ‘‘(4) Within 90 days of the exhaustion of all proce2 dures authorized under paragraph (2) or after 180 days

3 after the filing of a complaint in accordance with such pro4 cedures, an employee may bring a civil action in the appro5 priate United States district court against the employee’s

6 instrumentality. In any such action, the court may order

7 such relief, including damages, attorneys’ fees, and other

8 costs as may be ordered by a court under section 7.’’.

9 TITLE II—TITLE VII OF THE

10 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964

11 SEC. 201. REFERENCE.

12 Whenever in this title an amendment or repeal is ex13 pressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a sec14 tion or other provision, the reference shall be considered

15 to be made to a section or other provision of the Civil

16 Rights Act of 1991.

17 SEC. 202. APPLICATION TO CONGRESS.

18 (a) COVERAGE.—Section 117(a)(2)(A) (2 U.S.C.

19 60l(a)(2)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the follow20 ing: ‘‘For purposes of this section, the term ‘employee’

21 also includes an individual who applies for employment

22 and the term ‘employing authority’ also includes any agent

23 of the employing authority and any Member who partici24 pates in determining the terms and conditions applicable

25 to an employee’s employment and any agent of such Mem-
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1 ber but with respect to a position on the minority staff

2 of a committee such term does not include the Chairman

3 of such committee.’’.

4 (b) EMPLOYEE ACTIONS, PAYMENTS, CONSIDER5 ATIONS, AND NOTICE.—

6 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 117 (2 U.S.C. 60l)

7 is amended in subsection (b)(4), by inserting before

8 the period the following: ‘‘and includes any agent of

9 any of the foregoing entities’’, and

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

11 ‘‘(c) EMPLOYEE ACTIONS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 90 days of the ex13 haustion of all procedures authorized under sub14 section (a) or (b) or after 180 days after the filing

15 of a complaint in accordance with such procedures

16 an employee may bring a civil action in the appro17 priate United States district court against the em18 ployee’s employing authority or if employed by an in19 strumentality of Congress, against such instrumen20 tality. In any such action, the court may order such

21 relief as is provided under title VII of the Civil

22 Rights Act of 1964 and section 1977A of the Re23 vised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), except that the

24 sum of the amount of compensatory damages award25 ed for future pecuniary losses, emotional pain, suf-
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1 fering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoy2 ment of life, and other nonpecuniary losses and the

3 amount of punitive damages shall not exceed for

4 each complaining party $50,000 in an action against

5 an employing authority.

6 ‘‘(2) TRIAL.—In an action brought under para7 graph (1)—

8 ‘‘(A) any party may demand a trial by

9 jury, and

10 ‘‘(B) the court shall not inform the jury of

11 the dollar limitation prescribed by paragraph

12 (1).

13 ‘‘(3) FEES.—In an action brought under para14 graph (1), the court may allow the prevailing party

15 a reasonable attorney’s fees (including expert wit16 ness fees) as part of the costs.

17 ‘‘(d) PAYMENTS.—Not later than 60 days after any

18 payment is made under this section for the benefit of an

19 aggrieved employee out of a Federal account of the House

20 of Representatives and on behalf of an employing author21 ity, the employing authority shall reimburse such account

22 with non-Federal funds. The Committee on House Admin23 istration of the House of Representatives shall determine

24 which account shall be used for payments to an aggrieved
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1 employee under this section and shall issue guidelines to

2 ensure such reimbursement.

3 ‘‘(e) CONSIDERATIONS.—The rights and protections

4 provided by this section do not prohibit the taking into

5 consideration of:

6 ‘‘(1) the domicile of an individual with respect

7 to a position under the clerk-hire allowance of the

8 House of Representatives; or

9 ‘‘(2) the political affiliation of an individual

10 with respect to a position under such clerk-hire al11 lowance or a position on the staff of a committee.

12 ‘‘(f) NOTICE.—Each employing authority and instru13 mentality of Congress shall post and keep posted, in con14 spicuous places on its premises, a notice that shall be pre15 pared by the Office of Fair Employment Practices or the

16 instrumentality which sets forth such information as such

17 Office or instrumentality considers to be appropriate to

18 carry out this section.’’.

19 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

20 117(a)(2)(B)(i) (2 U.S.C. 60l(a)(2)(B)(i)) is amend21 ed by inserting before the period at the end the fol22 lowing: ‘‘, except as provided in subsections (c)

23 through (f)’’.
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1 TITLE III—DISABILITIES

2 SEC. 301. REFERENCE.

3 Whenever in this title an amendment or repeal is ex4 pressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a sec5 tion or other provision, the reference shall be considered

6 to be made to a section or other provision of the Ameri7 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

8 SEC. 302. APPLICATION TO CONGRESS.

9 (a) COVERAGE.—Section 509(b)(2)(A) (42 U.S.C.

10 12209(b)(2)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: ‘‘For purposes of this section, the term ‘employee’

12 also includes an individual who applies for employment

13 and the term ‘employing authority’ also includes any agent

14 of the employing authority and any Member who partici15 pates in determining the terms and conditions applicable

16 to an employee’s employment and any agent of such Mem17 ber but with respect to the minority staff of a committee

18 does not include the Chairman of such committee.’’.

19 (b) EMPLOYEE ACTIONS, PAYMENTS, CONSIDER20 ATIONS, AND NOTICE.—

21 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 509 (42 U.S.C.

22 12209) is amended—

23 (A) in subsection (c)(4), by adding before

24 the period the following: ‘‘and includes any

25 agent of any of the foregoing entities’’, and
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1 (B) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(d) EMPLOYEE ACTIONS.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 90 days of the ex4 haustion of all procedures authorized under sub5 section (b)(2) or (c)(2) or after 180 days after the

6 filing of a complaint in accordance with such proce7 dures, an employee may bring a civil action in the

8 appropriate United States district court against the

9 employee’s employing authority or if employed by an

10 instrumentality of Congress, against such instru11 mentality. In any such action, the court may order

12 such relief as is provided under title VII of the Civil

13 Rights Act of 1964 and section 1977A of the Re14 vised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), except that the

15 sum of the amount of compensatory damages award16 ed for future pecuniary losses, emotional pain, suf17 fering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoy18 ment of life, and other nonpecuniary losses and the

19 amount of punitive damages shall not exceed for

20 each complaining party $50,000 in an action against

21 an employing authority.

22 ‘‘(2) TRIAL.—In an action brought under para23 graph (1)—

24 ‘‘(A) any party may demand a trial by

25 jury, and
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1 ‘‘(B) the court shall not inform the jury of

2 the dollar limitation prescribed by paragraph

3 (1).

4 ‘‘(3) FEES.—In an action brought under para5 graph (1), the court may allow the prevailing party

6 a reasonable attorney’s fees (including expert wit7 ness fees) as part of the costs.

8 ‘‘(e) PAYMENTS.—Not later than 60 days after any

9 payment is made under this section for the benefit of an

10 aggrieved employee out of a Federal account of the House

11 of Representatives and on behalf of an employing author12 ity, the employing authority shall reimburse such account

13 with non-Federal funds. The Committee on House Admin14 istration of the House of Representatives shall determine

15 which account shall be used for payments to an aggrieved

16 employee under this section and shall issue guidelines to

17 ensure such reimbursement.

18 ‘‘(f) CONSIDERATIONS.—The rights and protections

19 provided by this section do not prohibit the taking into

20 consideration of:

21 ‘‘(1) the domicile of an individual with respect

22 to a position under the clerk-hire allowance of the

23 House of Representatives; or
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1 ‘‘(2) the political affiliation of an individual

2 with respect to a position under such clerk-hire al3 lowance or a position on the staff of a committee.

4 ‘‘(g) NOTICE.—Each employing authority and instru5 mentality of Congress shall post and keep posted, in con6 spicuous places on its premises, a notice that shall be pre7 pared by the Office of Fair Employment Practices or the

8 instrumentality which sets forth such information as such

9 Office or instrumentality considers to be appropriate to

10 carry out this section.’’.

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

12 509(b)(2)(B)(i) (42 U.S.C. 12209(b)(2)(B)(i)) is

13 amended by inserting before the period at the end

14 the following: ‘‘, except as provided in subsections

15 (d) through (g)’’.

16 TITLE IV—FAMILY AND MEDICAL

17 LEAVE

18 SEC. 401. ENFORCEMENT ACTION.

19 (a) EMPLOYING AUTHORITY.—Section 502(a) of the

20 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (2 U.S.C. 60n(a))

21 is amended by inserting before the period the following:

22 ‘‘, except that with respect to a position on the minority

23 staff of a committee, the term ‘employing authority’ does

24 not include the Chairman of such committee’’.
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1 (b) REMEDY.—Subsection (c) of section 502 of the

2 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (2 U.S.C. 60n)

3 is redesignated as subsection (f) and the following is in4 serted after subsection (b):

5 ‘‘(c) EMPLOYEE ACTION.— Within 90 days of the ex6 haustion of all procedures authorized under subsection (b),

7 or after 180 days after the timely filing of a complaint

8 in accordance with such procedures, an employee may

9 bring a civil action in the appropriate United States dis10 trict court against the employee’s employing authority. In

11 any such action, the court may order such relief, including

12 damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, expert witness fees, and

13 other costs, as may be ordered by a court under section

14 107.

15 ‘‘(d) PAYMENTS.—Not later than 60 days after any

16 payment is made under this section for the benefit of an

17 aggrieved employee out of a Federal account of the House

18 of Representatives and on behalf of an employing author19 ity, the employing authority shall reimburse such account

20 with non-Federal funds. The Committee on House Admin21 istration of the House of Representatives shall determine

22 which account shall be used for payments to an aggrieved

23 employee under this section and shall issue guidelines to

24 ensure such reimbursement.

25 ‘‘(e) INSTRUMENTALITIES OF CONGRESS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The rights and protections

2 under sections 102 through 105 (other than section

3 104(b)) shall, subject to paragraph (2), apply with

4 respect to the conduct of each instrumentality of the

5 Congress.

6 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF REMEDIES AND PRO7 CEDURES BY INSTRUMENTALITIES.—The chief offi8 cial of each instrumentality of the Congress shall es9 tablish remedies and procedures to protect the rights

10 provided for in paragraph (1).

11 ‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The chief official

12 of each instrumentality of the Congress shall, after

13 establishing remedies and procedures for purposes of

14 paragraph (2), submit to the Congress a report de15 scribing the remedies and procedures it has estab16 lished to comply with paragraph (2).

17 ‘‘(4) DEFINITION OF INSTRUMENTALITIES.—

18 For purposes of this section, instrumentalities of the

19 Congress include the Architect of the Capitol, the

20 Library of Congress, the Congressional Budget Of21 fice, the General Accounting Office, the Government

22 Printing Office, the Office of Technology Assess23 ment, and the United States Botanic Garden and in24 cludes any agent of any of the foregoing entities.
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1 ‘‘(5) CIVIL ACTION.—Within 90 days of the ex2 haustion of all procedures authorized under para3 graph (2) or after 180 days after the filing of a

4 complaint in accordance with such procedures, an

5 employee may bring a civil action in the appropriate

6 United States district court against the employee’s

7 instrumentality. In any such action, the court may

8 order such relief, including damages, attorneys’ fees,

9 and other costs as may be ordered by a court under

10 section 107.

11 ‘‘(f) NOTICE.—Each employing authority and instru12 mentality of Congress shall post and keep posted, in con13 spicuous places on its premises, a notice that shall be pre14 pared by the Office of Fair Employment Practices or the

15 instrumentality which sets forth such information as such

16 Office or instrumentality considers to be appropriate to

17 carry out this section.’’.

18 TITLE V—GUIDELINES

19 SEC. 501. GUIDELINES.

20 Any guidelines issued by any committee of the House

21 of Representatives to implement any provision of this Act

22 shall be published in the Congressional Record for a period

23 of at least 60 days before such implementation.
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1 TITLE VI—EFFECTIVE DATE

2 SEC. 601. EFFECTIVE DATE.

3 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect

4 upon the expiration of 3 months after the date of the

5 enactment of this Act.

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