Union Calendar No. 389

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2721

[Report No. 103–599, Parts I and II]

A BILL

To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

purposes.claims made by Federal employees, and for othertrative review of employment discriminationsof 1967 to improve the effectiveness of adminisand the Age Discrimination in Employment Act

AUGUST 19, 1994

Reported from the Committee on Post Office and Civil

ordered to be printedtee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, andService with an amendment, committed to the Commit-
IB

Union Calendar No. 389

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2721

[Report No. 103–599, Parts I and II]

To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to improve the effectiveness of administrative review of employment discriminations claims made by Federal

employees, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 23, 1993

Mr. MARTINEZ (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. FORD of Michigan, Mr. CLAY,

Mr. OWENS, Mr. MCCLOSKEY, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Mr. MILLER of California, Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. SAWYER, Mrs. MINK, Mr. DELLUMS, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. STOKES, Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. TOWNS, Mr.

OLVER, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. BLACKWELL, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. FILNER, and Mr. RUSH) introduced the following bill; which

was referred jointly to the Committees on Education and Labor and Post

Office and Civil Service

JULY 13, 1994

Reported from the Committee on Education and Labor with an amendment

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

AUGUST 19, 1994

Additional sponsors: Mr. BAESLER, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. MINETA, Mr. STARK, Ms.

FURSE, Mr. WYNN, Mr. JACOBS, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. BROWN

of Florida, Mrs. MEEK, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO ́, Mr. DIXON, Mr. FROST,

Mr. EVANS, Mr. HOCHBRUECKNER, Mr. BORSKI, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. DICKS, Mr. KREIDLER, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms.

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. PENNY, Mr. TORRES, Mr.

BROWN of California, and Mrs. UNSOELD

AUGUST 19, 1994

Reported from the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service with an amend-
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ment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of

the Union, and ordered to be printed

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 23, 1993]

A BILL

To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and

the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to

improve the effectiveness of administrative review of employment discriminations claims made by Federal employees, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Employee Fair5 ness Act of 1994’’.

6 TITLE I—ADMINISTRATIVE RE7 VIEW OF DISCRIMINATION

8 CLAIMS

9 SEC. 101. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO ADMINISTRATIVE

10 DETERMINATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEE

11 DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS.

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 701 of the Civil Rights Act

13 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e) is amended—

14 (1) in paragraph (f) by striking ‘‘The term’’ and

15 inserting ‘‘Except when it appears as part of the term

16 ‘Federal employee’, the term’’, and
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1 (2) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(o) The term ‘Commission’ means the Equal Employ3 ment Opportunity Commission.

4 ‘‘(p) The term ‘entity of the Federal Government’

5 means an entity to which section 717(a) applies, except that

6 such term does not include the Library of Congress.

7 ‘‘(q) The term ‘Federal employee’ means an individual

8 employed by, or who applies for employment with, an entity

9 of the Federal Government.

10 ‘‘(r) The term ‘Federal employment’ means employ11 ment by an entity of the Federal Government.

12 ‘‘(s) The terms ‘government’, ‘government agency’, and

13 ‘political subdivision’ do not include an entity of the Fed14 eral Government.’’.

15 (b) EEOC DETERMINATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOY16 MENT DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS.—Section 717 of the Civil

17 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16) is amended—

18 (1) in subsection (b)—

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’,

20 (B) in the second sentence—

21 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (1),

22 (2), and (3), as subparagraphs (A), (B),

23 and (C), respectively,

24 (ii) in the subparagraph (B), as so re25 designated, by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end,
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1 (iii) in subparagraph (C), as so redes2 ignated, by striking the period at the end

3 and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and

4 (iv) by inserting after subparagraph

5 (C), as so redesignated, the following:

6 ‘‘(D) require each entity of the Federal Govern7 ment—

8 ‘‘(i) to make counseling available to Federal

9 employees who choose to notify such entity that

10 they believe such entity has discriminated

11 against them in violation of subsection (a), for

12 the purpose of trying to resolve the matters with

13 respect to which such discrimination is alleged

14 (Such entity shall assist such employee to iden15 tify the respondent required by subsection (c)(1)

16 to be named in a complaint alleging such viola17 tion, shall inform such Federal employee indi18 vidually of the procedures and deadlines that

19 apply under this section to a claim alleging such

20 discrimination, and shall make such counseling

21 available throughout the administrative proc22 ess.);

23 ‘‘(ii) to establish a voluntary alternative

24 dispute resolution process to resolve complaints,

25 except that a Federal employee’s decision to forgo
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1 such process shall not affect the rights of such

2 employee under this title;

3 ‘‘(iii) not to discourage Federal employees

4 from filing complaints on any matter relating to

5 discrimination in violation of this section; and

6 ‘‘(iv) not to require Federal employees to

7 participate in counseling made available under

8 clause (i) or in a dispute resolution process made

9 available under clause (ii).’’,

10 (C) in the third sentence by striking ‘‘The’’

11 and inserting the following:

12 ‘‘(2) The’’,

13 (D) in the fourth sentence by redesignating

14 paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A)

15 and (B), respectively,

16 (E) in the last sentence by striking ‘‘With’’

17 and inserting the following:

18 ‘‘(3) With’’, and

19 (F) by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(4)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), an unlawful em21 ployment practice of the kind described in section 704(a)

22 is established under this section if an employee or applicant

23 for employment demonstrates that his opposing any prac24 tice made an unlawful employment practice by this title,

25 his making a charge, testifying, assisting, or participating
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1 in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing

2 under this title, or his communicating with the Congress

3 regarding discrimination in violation of this section was

4 a contributing factor in an adverse personnel action that

5 was taken or is to be taken against such employee or appli6 cant.

7 ‘‘(B) Relief under this section may not be granted if

8 the respondent demonstrates, on the basis of the evidentiary

9 standard specified in section 1221(e)(2) of title 5 of the

10 United States Code, that it would have taken the same per11 sonnel action in the absence of the conduct described in sub12 paragraph (A).’’,

13 (2) by striking subsection (c),

14 (3) in subsection (d)—

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(d)’’,

16 (B) by striking ‘‘(k)’’ and inserting ‘‘(j)’’,

17 (C) by striking ‘‘brought hereunder’’ and in18 serting ‘‘commenced under this section’’, and

19 (D) by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(2) The head of the department, agency, or unit in

21 which discrimination in violation of subsection (a) is al22 leged to have occurred shall be the defendant in a civil ac23 tion alleging such violation. If a department, unit, or agen24 cy is named as the defendant, the court shall freely grant
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1 leave to amend the complaint to name the head of such de2 partment, agency, or unit.

3 ‘‘(3)(A) In any action or proceeding under this section,

4 the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party

5 (other than an entity of the Federal Government) a reason6 able attorney’s fee (including expert fees) and costs as a

7 court has authority to award under section 706(k), as

8 amended from time to time, and the same interest to com9 pensate for delay in payment as in cases involving

10 nonpublic parties.

11 ‘‘(B) If an action or proceeding brought under this sec12 tion by or on behalf of a Federal employee is found by the

13 court to be unreasonable, groundless, or vexatious, the court,

14 in its discretion, may allow the respondent a reasonable at15 torney’s fee (including expert fees), costs, and interest as

16 a court has authority to award to a prevailing party under

17 subparagraph (A).’’,

18 (4) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as

19 subsections (o) and (p), respectively, and

20 (5) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow21 ing:

22 ‘‘(c)(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B),

23 (C), and (D), a complaint filed by or on behalf of a Federal

24 employee or a class of Federal employees and alleging a

25 claim of discrimination arising under subsection (a) shall
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1 name as the respondent, and be filed with, the head of the

2 department, agency, or unit in which such discrimination

3 is alleged to have occurred, or with the Commission, not

4 later than 180 days after the alleged discrimination occurs.

5 ‘‘(B) If, not later than 180 days after the alleged dis6 crimination occurs, the complaint is filed—

7 ‘‘(i) except as provided in subparagraph (D),

8 with such department, agency, or unit and fails to

9 name the head of the department, agency, or unit as

10 the respondent; or

11 ‘‘(ii) with any other entity of the Federal Gov12 ernment, regardless of the respondent named;

13 the complaint shall be considered to be filed in compliance

14 with subparagraph (A).

15 ‘‘(C) A complaint filed under this section with respect

16 to a claim of discrimination arising under subsection (a)

17 shall be dismissed if—

18 ‘‘(i) such claim is a grievance that is subject to

19 section 7121 of title 5, United States Code; and

20 ‘‘(ii) the aggrieved Federal employee has, in the

21 discretion of the Federal employee, exercised the op22 tion under section 7121(d) of such title to raise the

23 matter under the negotiated grievance procedure be24 fore filing the complaint.
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1 ‘‘(D) A complaint filed by or on behalf of a Federal

2 employee, or a class of Federal employees, employed by a

3 department, agency, or unit in the intelligence community

4 (as defined by Executive Order 12333 or any successor to

5 such order) and alleging a claim of discrimination arising

6 under subsection (a) shall name as the respondent, and be

7 filed with the head of the department, agency, or unit in

8 which such discrimination is alleged to have occurred not

9 later than 180 days after the alleged discrimination occurs.

10 ‘‘(2) If the complaint is filed with an entity of the Fed11 eral Government other than the department, agency, or unit

12 in which such discrimination is alleged to have occurred,

13 then—

14 ‘‘(A) such entity (other than the Commission)

15 shall transmit the complaint to the Commission, not

16 later than 10 days after receiving the complaint; and

17 ‘‘(B) the Commission shall transmit a copy of

18 the complaint, not later than 10 days after receiving

19 the complaint, to the head of the department, agency,

20 or unit in which such discrimination is alleged to

21 have occurred (hereinafter in this section referred to

22 as the ‘respondent’).

23 ‘‘(3) Not later than 10 days after the respondent re24 ceives the complaint from a source other than the Commis-
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1 sion, the respondent shall transmit to the Commission a

2 copy of the complaint.

3 ‘‘(d) Throughout the period beginning on the date the

4 respondent receives the complaint and ending on the latest

5 date by which all administrative and judicial proceedings

6 available under this section have been concluded with re7 spect to such claim, the respondent shall collect and preserve

8 documents and information (including the complaint) that

9 are relevant to such claim, including the documents and

10 information that comply with rules issued by the Commis11 sion.

12 ‘‘(e)(1) The respondent shall make reasonable efforts to

13 conciliate each claim alleged in the complaint during the

14 90-day period beginning on the date the complaint is filed

15 under subsection (c).

16 ‘‘(2)(A) With respect to such claim, the respondent

17 may enter into a settlement agreement with such Federal

18 employee.

19 ‘‘(B) The entity of the Federal Government with which

20 the complaint is filed under subsection (c) shall imme21 diately give formal written notice to such Federal employee

22 that such Federal employee may either—

23 ‘‘(i) before the expiration of the 90-day period

24 beginning on the date such Federal employee receives

25 such notice, file with the Commission—
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1 ‘‘(I) a written request for a determination

2 of such claim under subsection (f) by an admin3 istrative judge of the Commission, together with,

4 at the option of such Federal employee, a request

5 that the administrative judge request a stay de6 scribed in subsection (f)(3)(A);

7 ‘‘(II) if such claim alleges discrimination in

8 the Commission or alleges an action appealable

9 to the Merit Systems Protection Board, a written

10 request electing that a determination of such

11 claim be made under the procedures specified in

12 either subparagraph (A) or (B) of section

13 7702(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, or a

14 request described in subclause (I); or

15 ‘‘(III) if such claim alleges a grievance that

16 is subject to section 7121 of title 5, United States

17 Code, but not appealable to the Merit Systems

18 Protection Board, a written request to raise such

19 claim under the administrative and judicial pro20 cedures provided in such section 7121 or a re21 quest described in subclause (I); or

22 ‘‘(ii) in the 90-day period beginning 90 days

23 after the complaint is filed under subsection (c) or in

24 the 90-day period beginning on the date such Federal

25 employee receives such notice (whichever 90-day pe-
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1 riod begins later), commence a civil action in an ap2 propriate district court of the United States for de

3 novo review of such claim.

4 ‘‘(3)(A) Such Federal employee may either—

5 ‘‘(i) file a written request described in clause (i)

6 of paragraph (2)(B) at any time before the expiration

7 of the 90-day period specified in clause (i) of such

8 paragraph; or

9 ‘‘(ii) commence a civil action described in clause

10 (ii) of such paragraph before the expiration of the ap11 plicable 90-day period specified in clause (ii) of such

12 paragraph.

13 ‘‘(B) If such Federal employee files a written request

14 under subclause (II) or (III) of paragraph (2)(B)(i) and

15 in accordance with subparagraph (A), the Commission shall

16 transmit the complaint, in the 10-day period beginning 90

17 days after the complaint is filed under subsection (c), to

18 the appropriate agency for determination.

19 ‘‘(f)(1) If such Federal employee files a written request

20 under subsection (e)(2)(B)(i)(I) and in accordance with

21 subsection (e)(3)(A) with the Commission for a determina22 tion under this subsection of a claim with respect to which

23 notice is required by subsection (e)(2), then the Commission

24 shall transmit a copy of such request to the respondent and,

25 not later than 10 days after receiving such request, shall
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1 appoint an administrative judge of the Commission to de2 termine such claim. If such request includes a request for

3 a stay described in paragraph (3)(A), then the Commission

4 shall appoint an administrative judge immediately after re5 ceiving such request.

6 ‘‘(2) Not later than 5 days after receiving a copy of

7 a request under subsection (e)(2)(B)(i), the respondent shall

8 transmit—

9 ‘‘(A) to the Commission if such request is for a

10 determination under this subsection; or

11 ‘‘(B) to the Merit Systems Protection Board if

12 such request is for a determination be made under the

13 procedures specified in section 7702(a)(2)(A) of title

14 5, United States Code;

15 a copy of all documents and information collected by the

16 respondent under subsection (d) with respect to such claim.

17 ‘‘(3)(A)(i) If the administrative judge determines there

18 are reasonable grounds to believe that to carry out the pur19 poses of this section it is necessary to stay a personnel ac20 tion by the respondent against the aggrieved Federal em21 ployee, the administrative judge may request any member

22 of the Commission to issue a stay against such personnel

23 action for 15 days.

24 ‘‘(ii) A stay requested under clause (i) shall take effect

25 on the earlier of—
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1 ‘‘(I) the order of such member; and

2 ‘‘(II) the fourth day (excluding Saturday, Sun3 day, and any legal public holiday) following the date

4 on which such stay is requested unless the request is

5 denied before the expiration of the 15-day period be6 ginning on such fourth day.

7 ‘‘(B) The administrative judge may request any mem8 ber of the Commission to extend, for a period not to exceed

9 30 days, a stay issued under subparagraph (A).

10 ‘‘(C) The administrative judge may request the Com11 mission to extend such stay for any period the Commission

12 considers to be appropriate beyond the period in effect

13 under subparagraph (A) or (B).

14 ‘‘(D)(i) Members of the Commission shall have author15 ity to issue and extend a stay for the periods referred to

16 in subparagraphs (A) and (B). The Commission shall have

17 authority to extend a stay in accordance with subparagraph

18 (C) for any period.

19 ‘‘(ii) The respondent shall comply with a stay in effect

20 under this paragraph.

21 ‘‘(4) The administrative judge shall determine whether

22 the documents and information received under paragraph

23 (2) comply with subsection (d) and are complete and accu24 rate. If the administrative judge finds that the respondent

25 has failed to produce the documents and information nec-
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1 essary to comply with such subsection, the administrative

2 judge shall, in the absence of good cause shown by the re3 spondent, impose any of the sanctions specified in para4 graph (6)(C) and shall require the respondent—

5 ‘‘(A) to obtain any additional documents and in6 formation necessary to comply with such subsection;

7 and

8 ‘‘(B) to correct any inaccuracy in the documents

9 and information so received.

10 ‘‘(5)(A) After examining the documents and informa11 tion received under paragraph (4), the administrative judge

12 shall issue an order dismissing—

13 ‘‘(i) any frivolous claim alleged in the com14 plaint; and

15 ‘‘(ii) the complaint if it fails to state a

16 nonfrivolous claim for which relief may be granted

17 under this section.

18 ‘‘(B)(i) If a claim or the complaint is dismissed under

19 subparagraph (A), the administrative judge shall give for20 mal written notice to the aggrieved Federal employee that

21 such Federal employee may, before the expiration of the 90-

22 day period beginning on the date such Federal employee

23 receives such notice—

24 ‘‘(I) file with the Commission a written request

25 for appellate review of such order; or
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1 ‘‘(II) commence a civil action in an appropriate

2 district court of the United States for de novo review

3 of such claim or the complaint.

4 ‘‘(ii) Such Federal employee may commence such civil

5 action in the 90-day period specified in clause (i).

6 ‘‘(6)(A)(i) If the complaint is not dismissed under

7 paragraph (5)(A), the administrative judge shall make a

8 determination, after an opportunity for a hearing, on the

9 merits of each claim that is not dismissed under such para10 graph. The administrative judge shall make a determina11 tion on the merits of any other nonfrivolous claim under

12 this title, and on any action such Federal employee may

13 appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board, reasonably

14 expected to arise from the facts on which the complaint is

15 based.

16 ‘‘(ii) On the request of the aggrieved Federal employee,

17 the administrative judge shall—

18 ‘‘(I) determine whether the administrative pro19 ceeding with respect to such claim may be main20 tained as a class proceeding; and

21 ‘‘(II) if the administrative proceeding may be so

22 maintained, shall describe those whom the adminis23 trative judge finds to be members of such class.

24 ‘‘(B) With respect to such claim, a party may conduct

25 discovery by such means as may be available in a civil ac-
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1 tion to the extent deemed appropriate by the administrative

2 judge.

3 ‘‘(C) If the aggrieved Federal employee or the respond4 ent fails without good cause to respond fully and in a time5 ly fashion to a request made or approved by the administra6 tive judge for information or the attendance of a witness,

7 and if such information or such witness is solely in the con8 trol of the party who so fails to respond, then the adminis9 trative judge shall—

10 ‘‘(i) draw an adverse inference that the requested

11 information, or the testimony of the requested witness,

12 would have reflected unfavorably on the party who so

13 fails to respond;

14 ‘‘(ii) consider the matters to which such informa15 tion or such testimony pertains to be established in

16 favor of the opposing party;

17 ‘‘(iii) exclude other evidence offered by the party

18 who so fails to respond;

19 ‘‘(iv) grant full or partial relief, including—

20 ‘‘(I) relief of the kinds described in section

21 706(g); and

22 ‘‘(II) compensatory damages for unlawful

23 intentional discrimination (not an employment

24 practice that is unlawful because of its disparate

25 impact) prohibited under this section, subject to
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1 the limitations specified in section 1977A(b)(3)

2 of the Revised Statutes of the United States;

3 to the aggrieved Federal employee; or

4 ‘‘(v) take such other action the administrative

5 judge considers to be appropriate.

6 ‘‘(D) In a hearing on a claim, the administrative judge

7 shall—

8 ‘‘(i) limit attendance to persons who have a di9 rect connection with such claim;

10 ‘‘(ii) bring out pertinent facts and relevant em11 ployment practices and policies, and ensure that the

12 record is developed for a full and fair determination

13 of such claim, but—

14 ‘‘(I) exclude irrelevant or unduly repetitious

15 information; and

16 ‘‘(II) apply the Federal Rules of Evidence

17 equitably;

18 ‘‘(iii) permit all parties to examine and cross ex19 amine witnesses; and

20 ‘‘(iv) require that testimony be given under oath

21 or affirmation.

22 ‘‘(E) At the request of any party or the administrative

23 judge, a transcript of all or part of such hearing shall be

24 provided in a timely manner and simultaneously to the
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1 parties and the Commission. The respondent shall bear the

2 cost of providing such transcript.

3 ‘‘(F) The administrative judge shall have authority—

4 ‘‘(i) to administer oaths and affirmations;

5 ‘‘(ii) to regulate the course of hearings;

6 ‘‘(iii) to rule on offers of proof and receive evi7 dence;

8 ‘‘(iv) to issue subpoenas to compel—

9 ‘‘(I) the production of documents or infor10 mation by the entity of the Federal Government

11 in which discrimination is alleged to have oc12 curred; and

13 ‘‘(II) the attendance of witnesses who are

14 Federal officers or employees of such entity;

15 ‘‘(v) to request the Commission to issue subpoe16 nas to compel the production of documents or infor17 mation by any other entity of the Federal Govern18 ment and the attendance of other witnesses, except

19 that any witness who is not an officer or employee of

20 an entity of the Federal Government may be com21 pelled only to attend any place—

22 ‘‘(I) less than 100 miles from the place

23 where such witness resides, is employed, trans24 acts business in person, or is served; or
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1 ‘‘(II) at such other convenient place as is

2 fixed by the administrative judge;

3 and shall be paid fees and allowances, by the party

4 that requests the subpoena, to the same extent that

5 fees and allowances are paid to witnesses under chap6 ter 119 of title 28, United States Code, as amended

7 from time to time;

8 ‘‘(vi) to exclude witnesses whose testimony would

9 be unduly repetitious;

10 ‘‘(vii) to exclude any person from a hearing for

11 contumacious conduct, or for misbehavior, that ob12 structs such hearing; and

13 ‘‘(viii) to grant full or partial relief, including—

14 ‘‘(I) relief of the kinds described in section

15 706(g); and

16 ‘‘(II) compensatory damages for unlawful

17 intentional discrimination (not an employment

18 practice that is unlawful because of its disparate

19 impact) prohibited under this section, subject to

20 the limitations specified in section 1977A(b)(3)

21 of the Revised Statutes of the United States.

22 ‘‘(G) The administrative judge and the Commission

23 shall have authority to award to a prevailing party (other

24 than an entity of the Federal Government)—
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1 ‘‘(i) a reasonable attorney’s fee (including expert

2 fees) and costs as a court has authority to award

3 under section 706(k), as amended from time to time;

4 and

5 ‘‘(ii) the same interest to compensate for delay in

6 payment as in cases involving nonpublic parties.

7 ‘‘(H) The Commission shall have authority to issue

8 subpoenas described in subparagraph (F)(v).

9 ‘‘(I) In the case of contumacy or failure to obey a sub10 poena issued under subparagraph (F) or (H), the United

11 States district court for the judicial district in which the

12 person to whom the subpoena is addressed resides or is

13 served may issue an order requiring such person to appear

14 at any designated place to testify or to produce documen15 tary or other evidence.

16 ‘‘(7)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the

17 administrative judge shall issue a written order making the

18 determination required by paragraph (6)(A), and granting

19 or denying relief, not later than—

20 ‘‘(i)(I) 300 days after the complaint containing

21 such claim is filed by or on behalf of a Federal em22 ployee if such complaint is filed in the 1-year period

23 beginning on the effective date of this subsection;
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1 ‘‘(II) except as provided in subclause (I), 210

2 days after the complaint containing such claim is

3 filed by or on behalf of a Federal employee; or

4 ‘‘(ii) 2 years and 30 days after the complaint

5 containing such claim is filed on behalf of a class of

6 Federal employees;

7 except that these time periods shall not begin running until

8 30 days after the administrative judge is assigned to make

9 a determination under paragraph (6)(A)(i) in the case if

10 the administrative judge certifies, in writing, that such 30-

11 day period is needed to secure additional documents or in12 formation from the respondent to have a complete adminis13 trative record.

14 ‘‘(B) The administrative judge shall issue such order

15 not later than 30 days after the applicable period specified

16 in subparagraph (A) if the administrative judge certifies

17 in writing, before the expiration of such applicable period—

18 ‘‘(i) that such 30-day period is necessary to

19 make such determination; and

20 ‘‘(ii) the particular and unusual circumstances

21 that prevent the administrative judge from complying

22 with the applicable period specified in subparagraph

23 (A).

24 ‘‘(C) The administrative judge may apply to the Com25 mission to extend any period applicable under subpara-
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1 graph (A) or (B) if manifest injustice would occur in the

2 absence of such an extension.

3 ‘‘(D) The Commission—

4 ‘‘(i) may not grant such extension; or

5 ‘‘(ii) shall terminate such extension;

6 if the aggrieved Federal employee shows that such extension

7 would prejudice a claim of, or otherwise harm, such Federal

8 employee.

9 ‘‘(E) In addition to findings of fact and conclusions

10 of law, such order shall include formal written notice to

11 each party that before the expiration of the 90-day period

12 beginning on the date such party receives such order—

13 ‘‘(i) the aggrieved Federal employee may com14 mence a civil action in an appropriate district court

15 of the United States for de novo review of a claim

16 with respect to which such order is issued; and

17 ‘‘(ii) unless and until a civil action is com18 menced in such 90-day period under clause (i) with

19 respect to such claim, any party may file with the

20 Commission a written request for appellate review of

21 the determination made, and relief granted or denied,

22 in such order with respect to such claim.

23 ‘‘(F) Such Federal employee may commence such civil

24 action at any time—
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1 ‘‘(i) after the expiration of the applicable period

2 specified in subparagraph (A) or (B); and

3 ‘‘(ii) before the expiration of the 90-day period

4 beginning on the date such Federal employee receives

5 an order described in subparagraph (A).

6 ‘‘(G) If such order applies to more than one claim and

7 if such employee neither—

8 ‘‘(i) commences a civil action in accordance with

9 subparagraph (E)(i); nor

10 ‘‘(ii) requests appellate review in accordance

11 with subparagraph (E)(ii);

12 with respect to a particular claim, then the determination

13 made, and relief granted, in such order with respect to such

14 particular claim shall be enforceable immediately.

15 ‘‘(g)(1) If a party files timely a written request in ac16 cordance with subsection (f)(5)(B)(i) or (f)(7)(E)(ii) with

17 the Commission for appellate review of the determination

18 made, and relief granted or denied, with respect to a claim

19 in such order, then the Commission shall immediately

20 transmit a copy of such request to the other parties involved

21 and to the administrative judge who issued such order.

22 ‘‘(2) Not later than 7 days after receiving a copy of

23 such request, the administrative judge shall transmit to the

24 Commission the record of the proceeding on which such
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1 order is based, including all documents and information

2 collected by the respondent under subsection (d).

3 ‘‘(3)(A) After allowing the parties to file briefs with

4 respect to such determination, the Commission shall issue

5 an order with respect to such claim affirming, reversing,

6 or modifying the applicable provisions of the order of the

7 administrative judge not later than—

8 ‘‘(i) 150 days after receiving such request; or

9 ‘‘(ii) 30 days after such 150-day period if the

10 Commission certifies in writing, before the expiration

11 of such 150-day period—

12 ‘‘(I) that such 30-day period is necessary to

13 review such claim; and

14 ‘‘(II) the particular and unusual cir15 cumstances that prevent the Commission from

16 complying with clause (i).

17 ‘‘(B) The Commission shall affirm the determination

18 made, and relief granted or denied, by the administrative

19 judge with respect to such claim if such determination and

20 such relief are supported by substantial evidence in the

21 record taken as a whole and are otherwise in accordance

22 with law. The findings of fact of the administrative judge

23 shall be conclusive unless the Commission determines that

24 they are clearly erroneous.
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1 ‘‘(C) In addition to findings of fact and conclusions

2 of law, the Commission shall include in its order formal

3 written notice to the aggrieved Federal employee that, before

4 the expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the date

5 such Federal employee receives such order, such Federal em6 ployee may commence a civil action in an appropriate dis7 trict court of the United States for de novo review of a claim

8 with respect to which such order is issued.

9 ‘‘(D) Such Federal employee may commence such civil

10 action at any time—

11 ‘‘(i) after the expiration of the applicable period

12 specified in subparagraph (A); and

13 ‘‘(ii) before the expiration of the 90-day period

14 specified in subparagraph (C).

15 ‘‘(h)(1) In addition to the periods authorized by sub16 sections (f)(7)(F) and (g)(3)(D)—

17 ‘‘(A)(i) during the period beginning 390 days

18 after an aggrieved Federal employee timely requests

19 an administrative determination under subsection (f)

20 with respect to a claim and ending on the date the

21 administrative judge issues under such subsection an

22 order that is subject to subsection (f)(7)(A)(i)(I) with

23 respect to such claim; and

24 ‘‘(ii) during the period beginning 300 days after

25 an aggrieved Federal employee timely requests an ad-
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1 ministrative determination under subsection (f) with

2 respect to a claim and ending on the date the admin3 istrative judge issues under such subsection an order

4 that is subject to subsection (f)(7)(A)(i)(II) with re5 spect to such claim;

6 ‘‘(B) during the period beginning 2 years and

7 120 days after an aggrieved Federal employee timely

8 requests an administrative determination under sub9 section (f) with respect to a claim and ending on the

10 date the administrative judge issues under such sub11 section an order that is subject to subsection

12 (f)(7)(A)(ii) with respect to such claim; and

13 ‘‘(C) during the period beginning 210 days after

14 such Federal employee timely requests appellate re15 view under subsection (g) of such determination with

16 respect to such claim and ending on the date the

17 Commission issues an order under such subsection

18 with respect to such claim;

19 such Federal employee may commence a civil action in an

20 appropriate district court of the United States for de novo

21 review of such claim.

22 ‘‘(2) Whenever a civil action is commenced timely and

23 otherwise in accordance with this section to determine the

24 merits of a claim arising under this section, the jurisdiction

25 of the administrative judge or the Commission (as the case
28

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1 may be) to determine the merits of such claim shall termi2 nate.

3 ‘‘(i) A Federal employee who prevails on a claim aris4 ing under this section, or the Commission, may bring a

5 civil action in an appropriate district court of the United

6 States to enforce—

7 ‘‘(1) the provisions of a settlement agreement ap8 plicable to such claim;

9 ‘‘(2) the provisions of an order issued by an ad10 ministrative judge under subsection (f)(7)(A) applica11 ble to such claim if—

12 ‘‘(A) a request is not filed timely under sub13 section (g)(1) for appellate review by the Com14 mission; and

15 ‘‘(B) a civil action is not commenced timely

16 under subsection (g)(3)(D) for de novo review;

17 of such claim; or

18 ‘‘(3) the provisions of an order issued by the

19 Commission under subsection (g)(3)(A) applicable to

20 such claim if a civil action is not commenced timely

21 under subsection (g)(3)(D) for de novo review of such

22 claim.

23 ‘‘(j) Any amount awarded under this section (includ24 ing fees, costs, and interest awarded under subsection

25 (f)(6)(G)), or under title 28 of the United States Code, with
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1 respect to a violation of subsection (a), shall be paid by

2 the entity of the Federal Government that violated such sub3 section from any funds made available to such entity by

4 appropriation or otherwise.

5 ‘‘(k)(1) An entity of the Federal Government against

6 which a claim of discrimination is alleged in a complaint

7 filed in an administrative proceeding or a civil action

8 under this section shall grant the aggrieved Federal em9 ployee paid administrative leave if otherwise on duty, for

10 time expended in accordance with regulations issued by the

11 Commission to carry out this subsection, except that such

12 leave shall include reasonable time for—

13 ‘‘(A) preparation of a complaint based on such

14 allegation;

15 ‘‘(B) responding to requests made by the Com16 mission or the respondent for information; and

17 ‘‘(C) attendance at such proceeding or action.

18 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (1), an entity

19 of the Federal Government shall grant a Federal employee

20 official leave or paid administrative leave to participate for

21 the benefit of a claimant in an administrative proceeding

22 or civil action commenced under this section to the same

23 extent and under such circumstances as such entity would

24 grant such employee official leave or paid administrative

25 leave to participate for the benefit of a Federal entity in
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1 an administrative proceeding or civil action commenced

2 under this section against such entity.

3 ‘‘(l)(1) In enforcing compliance with an order issued

4 by an administrative judge or the Commission, the Com5 mission may make a written determination that—

6 ‘‘(A) any officer or employee of the agency, de7 partment, or unit charged with complying with such

8 order, or

9 ‘‘(B) any officer or employee of the United States

10 determined to be responsible for the failure of the

11 agency, department, or unit to comply with such

12 order,

13 who is not an officer or employee appointed by the Presi14 dent by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall

15 not be entitled to receive payment for service as an officer

16 or employee for the period during which such order has not

17 been complied with. The Commission shall certify to the

18 Comptroller General of the United States that a determina19 tion under this paragraph has been made, and no payment

20 shall be made out of the Treasury of the United States for

21 any service specified in such determination.

22 ‘‘(2) In enforcing compliance with such order with re23 spect to any officer or employee described in subparagraph

24 (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) who is an officer or employee

25 appointed by the President by and with the advice and con-
31

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1 sent of the Senate, the Commission may notify the President

2 that such officer or employee has failed to obey such order.

3 ‘‘(m) If with respect to the merits of a claim of inten4 tional discrimination (other than an employment practice

5 that is unlawful because of its disparate impact) prohibited

6 by this section, a Federal employee prevails in a proceeding

7 under subsection (f) or a civil action commenced under this

8 section, the finder of fact in such proceeding shall identify

9 each individual believed to have engaged in conduct that

10 is the basis of such discrimination. Not later than 15 days

11 after issuing an order finding liability under this section,

12 the administrative judge or the district court involved shall

13 notify the Office of Special Counsel of the identity of such

14 individual and the fact that such individual is believed to

15 have engaged in conduct that is the basis of liability found

16 on such claim in such proceeding or action.

17 ‘‘(n) This section, as in effect immediately before the

18 effective date of the Federal Employee Fairness Act of 1994,

19 shall apply with respect to employment in the Library of

20 Congress.’’.
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1 SEC. 102. AMENDMENTS TO THE AGE DISCRIMINATION IN

2 EMPLOYMENT ACT AND THE REHABILITA3 TION ACT OF 1973.

4 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY EEOC.—(1) Section 15 of the

5 Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C.

6 633a) is amended—

7 (A) by striking subsections (c) and (d),

8 (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow9 ing:

10 ‘‘(c)(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B),

11 any individual aggrieved by a violation of subsection (a)

12 of this section may file a complaint with the Commission

13 in accordance with section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of

14 1964.

15 ‘‘(B) Subsections (c) and (d) of this section, as in effect

16 immediately before the effective date of the Federal Em17 ployee Fairness Act of 1994, shall apply with respect to em18 ployment in the Library of Congress.

19 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (1)(B) and sub20 section (d), such section 717 shall apply to a violation al21 leged in a complaint filed under paragraph (1) in the same

22 manner as such section applies to a claim arising under

23 section 717 of such Act.

24 ‘‘(d)(1) If an individual aggrieved by a violation of

25 this section does not file a complaint under subsection

26 (c)(1), such individual may commence a civil action—
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1 ‘‘(A) not less than 30 days after filing with the

2 Commission a notice of intent to commence such ac3 tion; and

4 ‘‘(B) not more than 2 years after the alleged vio5 lation of this section occurs;

6 in an appropriate district court of the United States for

7 de novo review of such violation.

8 ‘‘(2) On receiving such notice, the Commission shall—

9 ‘‘(A) promptly notify all persons named in such

10 notice as prospective defendants in such action; and

11 ‘‘(B) take any appropriate action to ensure the

12 elimination of any unlawful practice.

13 ‘‘(3) Section 717(o) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

14 U.S.C. 2000e–16(o)) shall apply to civil actions commenced

15 under this subsection in the same manner as such section

16 applies to civil actions commenced under section 717 of the

17 Civil Rights Act of 1964.’’,

18 (C) in subsection (f)—

19 (i) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(f)’’,

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘section 12(b)’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘sections 12(b) and 4(d)’’, and

22 (iii) by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), an unlawful per24 sonnel action of the kind described in section 4(d) is estab25 lished under subsection (a) if an employee or applicant for
34

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1 employment demonstrates that his opposing any practice

2 made an unlawful employment practice by subsection (a),

3 his making a charge, testifying, assisting, or participating

4 in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing

5 under this section, or his communicating with the Congress

6 regarding discrimination in violation of subsection (a) was

7 a contributing factor in an adverse personnel action that

8 was taken or is to be taken against such employee or appli9 cant.

10 ‘‘(B) Relief under this section may not be granted if

11 the respondent demonstrates by clear and convincing evi12 dence that it would have taken the same personnel action

13 in the absence of such disclosure.’’.

14 (2) Section 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29

15 U.S.C. 794a) is amended—

16 (A) in subsection (a)(1)—

17 (i) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(a)(1)’’,

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘706(k)’’ and inserting

19 ‘‘706(j)’’,

20 (iii) by striking ‘‘through (k)’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘through (j)’’, and

22 (iv) by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(B) The first sentence of this paragraph, as in effect

24 immediately before the effective date of the Federal Em-
35

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1 ployee Fairness Act of 1994, shall apply with respect to em2 ployment in the Library of Congress.’’, and

3 (B) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘In’’ and in4 serting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (a)(1), in’’.

5 (b) OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENCE CIVIL ACTION.—If

6 a complaint filed under section 15 of the Age Discrimina7 tion in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 633a), or sec8 tion 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791)),

9 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is

10 pending in the period beginning on the date of the enact11 ment of this Act and ending on December 31, 1995, the in12 dividual who filed such complaint may commence a civil

13 action under such section not later than June 30, 1996.

14 SEC. 103. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 5 OF THE UNITED STATES

15 CODE.

16 (a) GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES.—Section 7121 of title

17 5, United States Code, is amended—

18 (1) in subsection (a)(1) by inserting ‘‘adminis19 trative’’ after ‘‘exclusive’’, and

20 (2) in subsection (d)—

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(d)’’,

22 (B) in the first sentence by inserting ‘‘, in

23 the discretion of the aggrieved employee,’’ after

24 ‘‘may’’, and
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1 (C) in the last sentence by striking ‘‘Selec2 tion’’ and all that follows through ‘‘any other’’,

3 and inserting the following:

4 ‘‘(2) An employee may commence, not later than 120

5 days after a final decision, a civil action in an appropriate

6 district court of the United States for de novo review of

7 a’’.

8 (b) ACTIONS INVOLVING DISCRIMINATION.—Section

9 7702 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as

10 follows:

11 ‘‘§ 7702. Actions involving discrimination

12 ‘‘(a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

13 in the case of any employee or applicant for employment

14 who—

15 ‘‘(A) is affected by—

16 ‘‘(i) an action which the employee or appli17 cant may appeal to the Merit Systems Protection

18 Board, or

19 ‘‘(ii) an action, not described in clause

20 (i)—

21 ‘‘(I) on the part the Equal Employ22 ment Opportunity Commission, and

23 ‘‘(II) with respect to which the em24 ployee or applicant makes an election under
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1 section 717(e)(2)(B)(i)(II) of the Civil

2 Rights Act of 1964, and

3 ‘‘(B) alleges that a basis for the action was dis4 crimination prohibited by—

5 ‘‘(i) section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of

6 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a–16),

7 ‘‘(ii) section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Stand8 ards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)),

9 ‘‘(iii) section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act

10 of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791),

11 ‘‘(iv) sections 12 and 15 of the Age Dis12 crimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29

13 U.S.C. 631, 633a), or

14 ‘‘(v) any rule, regulation, or policy directive

15 prescribed under any provision of law described

16 in clauses (i) through (iv) of this subparagraph,

17 the employee or applicant may raise the action as provided

18 in paragraph (2).

19 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the employee shall

20 raise the action by filing a complaint with the Equal Em21 ployment Opportunity Commission in accordance with sec22 tion 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and shall make

23 a request under section 717(e)(2)(B)(i) selecting the proce24 dures specified in one of the following subparagraphs:
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1 ‘‘(A) The administrative and judicial procedures

2 provided under sections 7701 and 7703.

3 ‘‘(B) The administrative and judicial procedures

4 provided under section 7121.

5 ‘‘(C) The administrative and judicial procedures

6 provided under section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of

7 1964.

8 ‘‘(3) The agency (including the Board and the Equal

9 Employment Opportunity Commission) that carries out

10 such procedures shall apply the substantive law that is ap11 plied by the agency that administers the particular law re12 ferred to in subsection (a)(1) that prohibits the conduct al13 leged to be the basis of the action referred to in subsection

14 (a)(1)(A).

15 ‘‘(b) If—

16 ‘‘(1) an employee elects the procedures specified

17 in subsection (a)(2)(C), and

18 ‘‘(2) the Equal Employment Opportunity Com19 mission dismisses under section 717(f)(5)(A) of the

20 Civil Rights Act of 1964 a claim that is based on the

21 action raised by the employee,

22 then the employee shall have 20 days in which to raise the

23 action under the procedures specified in subparagraph (A)

24 or (B) of subsection (a)(2), except that no allegation of a
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1 kind described in subsection (a)(1)(B) may be raised under

2 this subsection.

3 ‘‘(c) If at any time after the 120th day following the

4 receipt under section 717(e)(3)(B) of the Civil Rights Act

5 of 1964 of a complaint as a result of an election made under

6 section 717(e)(2)(B)(i) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to

7 raise an action under the procedures specified in subsection

8 (a)(2)(A) there is no judicially reviewable action, an em9 ployee shall be entitled to file, not later than 240 days after

10 making such election, a civil action in an appropriate dis11 trict court of the United States for de novo review of the

12 action raised under subsection (a).

13 ‘‘(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect

14 the right to trial de novo under any provision of law de15 scribed in subsection (a)(1) after a judicially reviewable ac16 tion.’’.

17 (c) DISCIPLINARY ACTION.—(1) Section 1214 of title

18 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

19 the following:

20 ‘‘(g)(1) Whenever the Office of Special Counsel receives

21 any notification, in accordance with section 717(m) of the

22 Civil Rights Act of 1964, with respect to a claim arising

23 under section 717(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, section

24 15(a) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of

25 1967, or section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the
40

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1 Special Counsel shall investigate the matter to the extent

2 necessary to determine whether there are reasonable grounds

3 to believe that a prohibited personnel practice described in

4 section 2302(b)(1) has occurred and, if so, shall seek the

5 appropriate disciplinary action under section 1215.

6 ‘‘(2) A determination under this subsection shall be

7 made not later than 180 days after the appropriate date

8 under paragraph (3) for the last applicable event described

9 in such paragraph.

10 ‘‘(3)(A) With respect to a claim—

11 ‘‘(i) to which an order issued by an administra12 tive judge of the Equal Employment Opportunity

13 Commission applies, and

14 ‘‘(ii) with respect to which the aggrieved em15 ployee neither—

16 ‘‘(I) commences a civil action in accordance

17 with section 717(f)(7)(E)(i) of the Civil Rights

18 Act of 1964, nor

19 ‘‘(II) requests appellate review in accord20 ance with section 717(f)(7)(E)(ii) of the Civil

21 Rights Act of 1964,

22 the appropriate date is the date on which the Office of Spe23 cial Counsel receives notification (referred to in paragraph

24 (1)) from the administrative judge.

25 ‘‘(B) With respect to a claim—
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1 ‘‘(i) to which an order issued by the Equal Em2 ployment Opportunity Commission applies, and

3 ‘‘(ii) with respect to which the aggrieved em4 ployee does not commence a civil action in accordance

5 with section 717(g)(3)(D),

6 the appropriate date is the date on which the Office of Spe7 cial Counsel receives notification (referred to in paragraph

8 (1)) from the Commission.

9 ‘‘(C) With respect to a claim to which a final judgment

10 issued by a court of the United States applies, the appro11 priate date is the date on which the Office of Special Coun12 sel receives notification (referred to in paragraph (1)) from

13 such court.

14 ‘‘(4) For the purpose of this subsection—

15 ‘‘(A) the term ‘order’ means an order issued on

16 the merits;

17 ‘‘(B) the term ‘judgment’ means a judgment is18 sued on the merits; and

19 ‘‘(C) the term ‘final judgment’ means a judgment

20 that is either—

21 ‘‘(i) not reviewed by any other court that

22 has authority to review such judgment; or

23 ‘‘(ii) not reviewable by any other court.’’.

24 (2) Section 1218 of title 5, United States Code, is

25 amended—
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before the first sentence;

2 and

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

4 ‘‘(b) Any statistical or other information provided

5 under the first sentence of subsection (a) shall specify the

6 extent to which such information relates to any matter re7 ferred to in section 1214(g).’’.

8 (d) RECORDKEEPING.—(1) Chapter 23 of title 5,

9 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

10 following:

11 ‘‘§ 2306. Federal personnel records

12 ‘‘(a) For the purpose of this section—

13 ‘‘(1) the term ‘personnel action’ has the meaning

14 given such term in section 2302(a)(2)(A);

15 ‘‘(2) the term ‘record’ has the meaning given

16 such term in section 552a(a)(4); and

17 ‘‘(3) the term ‘employee’ means—

18 ‘‘(A) an employee as defined by section

19 2105; and

20 ‘‘(B) an employee of the United States Post21 al Service or the Postal Rate Commission;

22 but does not include any employee with respect to

23 whom section 117, or title III (excluding section 320),

24 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 applies.
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1 ‘‘(b) Records relating to any personnel action taken

2 with respect to an employee shall be maintained by the em3 ploying authority for at least the greater of—

4 ‘‘(1) 270 days after the effective date of the per5 sonnel action to which they relate; or

6 ‘‘(2) the period of time otherwise required under

7 applicable provisions of law, rule, or regulation, if

8 any.

9 ‘‘(c) The Office of Personnel Management shall pre10 scribe regulations for the implementation of this section by

11 an Executive agency.’’.

12 (2) The table of sections for chapter 23 of title 5,

13 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

14 following:

‘‘2306. Federal personnel records.’’.

15 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 7703(b) of

16 title 5, United States Code, is amended—

17 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘(1) Except as

18 provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a’’ and

19 inserting ‘‘A’’, and

20 (2) by striking paragraph (2).

21 (f) RIGHT TO INTERVENE.—Section 1212(c)(2) of title

22 5, United States Code, is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)(A)’’;

24 and

25 (2) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(B) Consent under subparagraph (A) shall not be re2 quired, in the case of an appeal from an action, if—

3 ‘‘(i) section 7513(d) is the provision making the

4 action appealable to the Board;

5 ‘‘(ii) the appeal is brought by an individual with

6 respect to whom notification has been received by the

7 Office of Special Counsel under section 717(m) of the

8 Civil Rights Act of 1964; and

9 ‘‘(iii) 1 of the grounds for the action being ap10 pealed is discrimination of a type described in section

11 2302(b)(1).’’.

12 SEC. 104. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

13 Section 717(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

14 U.S.C. 2000e–16(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘Civil Service

15 Commission’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Com16 mission’’.

17 SEC. 105. ISSUANCE OF PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES AND NO18 TICE RULES.

19 After providing notice in accordance with section

20 553(b) of title 5, United States Code, and not later than

21 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Equal

22 Employment Opportunity Commission shall issue—

23 (1) rules to assist entities of the Federal Govern24 ment to comply with section 717(d) of the Civil
45

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1 Rights Act of 1964, as added by section 101 of this

2 Act,

3 (2) rules establishing—

4 (A) a uniform written official notice to be

5 used to comply with section 717 of such Act, as

6 added by section 101 of this Act, and

7 (B) detailed requirements applicable to col8 lecting and preserving documents and informa9 tion under section 717(d), as added by section

10 101 of this Act, and

11 (3) guidelines describing in detail an alternative

12 dispute resolution process that may be used by enti13 ties of the Federal Government (as defined in section

14 701(p) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (7 U.S.C.

15 2000e(p)) consistent with the administrative process

16 applicable to claims under section 717 of such Act.

17 SEC. 106. ISSUANCE OF RULES REGARDING CLASSIFIED IN18 FORMATION.

19 (a) RULES REQUIRED.—The Equal Employment Op20 portunity Commission, in consultation with the Director

21 of Central Intelligence, the Secretary of Defense, and the

22 Director of the Information Security Oversight Office of the

23 General Services Administration, shall issue rules to ensure

24 the protection of classified information and national secu25 rity information in administrative proceedings under sec-
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1 tion 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–

2 16). Such rules shall include a requirement that complaints

3 filed under section 717(c) of such Act that bear on classified

4 information shall be handled only by administrative judges,

5 and other commission personnel, who have appropriate se6 curity clearances.

7 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of subsection (a), the

8 term ‘‘classified information’’ has the meaning given such

9 term in section 6096(1) of the National Security Act of

10 1947 (50 U.S.C. 426(1)).

11 SEC. 107. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

12 Any reference in any law (other than title VII of the

13 Civil Rights Act of 1964) to any provision of title VII of

14 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 amended by this title shall

15 be deemed to be a reference to such provision as amended

16 by this title.

17 SEC. 108. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

18 It is the sense of the Congress that because the amend19 ments made by this title—

20 (1) impose on the Equal Employment Oppor21 tunity Commission additional administrative respon22 sibility in the processing of claims of Federal employ23 ees based on discrimination in employment,

24 (2) increase the financial burden on the Commis25 sion to carry out such responsibility, and
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1 (3) lessen the responsibility of Federal agencies

2 in the processing of such claims,

3 the amount appropriated to the Commission to carry out

4 laws prohibiting discrimination in Federal employment

5 should be increased to enable the Commission to carry out

6 its additional responsibility.

7 SEC. 109. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMEND8 MENTS.

9 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as provided in sub10 sections (b) and (c), this title and the amendments made

11 by this title shall take effect on January 1, 1996.

12 (b) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.—Except as pro13 vided in section 107, the amendments made by this title

14 (other than sections 102 and 103) shall apply only with

15 respect to complaints filed under section 717 of the Civil

16 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16) on or after the

17 effective date of this Act.

18 (c) SECTIONS 105 AND 106.—Sections 105 and 106

19 shall take effect on the date of the enactment.

20 TITLE II—AGE DISCRIMINATION

21 SEC. 201. COVERAGE OF EMPLOYEES OF THE HOUSE OF

22 REPRESENTATIVES.

23 The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

24 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating sections 16 and 17 as sec2 tions 17 and 18, respectively, and

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

4 ‘‘COVERAGE OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES IN THE LEGISLATIVE

5 BRANCH OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

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

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

8 who is employed by, or who applies for employment

9 with, an employing authority;

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

11 meaning given it in the Fair Employment Practices

12 Resolution and also includes any agent of the employ13 ing authority and any Member who participates in

14 determining the terms and conditions applicable to

15 an employee’s employment and any agent of such

16 Member, but with respect to a position on the minor17 ity staff of a committee, such term does not include

18 the Chairman of such committee;

19 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Fair Employment Practices Reso20 lution’ means—

21 ‘‘(A) House Resolution 558 of the One Hun22 dredth Congress, as adopted October 4, 1988, and

23 incorporated into rule LI of the Rules of the

24 House of Representatives of the One Hundred

25 Third Congress; or
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1 ‘‘(B) any other provision that continues in

2 effect the provisions of such resolution; and

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

4 means a unit of the legislative branch (other than the

5 Congress) that does not have positions in the competi6 tive service and any agent of such unit.

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

8 to employing authorities.

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

10 Employment Practices Resolution shall apply with respect

11 to a violation of section 4 as such section is made applicable

12 by subsection (b).

13 ‘‘(2) Within 90 days of the exhaustion of all procedures

14 authorized under paragraph (1) or after 180 days after the

15 filing of a complaint in accordance with such procedures,

16 an employee may bring a civil action in the appropriate

17 United States district court against the employee’s employ18 ing authority. In any such action, the court may order such

19 relief, including damages, attorneys’ fees, and other costs,

20 as may be ordered by a court under section 7.

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

22 subsection (b), does not prohibit the taking into consider23 ation of —
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1 ‘‘(1) the domicile of an individual with respect

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

3 House of Representatives; or

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

5 with respect to a position under such clerk-hire allow6 ance or a position on the staff of a committee.

7 ‘‘(e) The Committee on House Administration of the

8 House of Representatives shall determine which account

9 shall be used for payments to an aggrieved employee under

10 this section.

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

12 posted in conspicuous places on its premises a notice that

13 shall be prepared by the Office of Fair Employment Prac14 tices, setting forth such information as the Office considers

15 to be appropriate to carry out this section.

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

17 rulemaking power of the House of Representatives, with full

18 recognition of the right of the House of Representatives to

19 change its rules in the same manner, and to the same extent,

20 as in any other rule of the House of Representatives.

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

22 shall apply with respect to individuals who are employed

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

24 of the Congress.
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1 ‘‘(2) The chief official of each instrumentality of the

2 Congress shall establish remedies and procedures to protect

3 the rights provided for in paragraph (1). Such remedies and

4 procedures shall apply exclusively with respect to such

5 rights and shall provide to such individual protection that

6 is equal to or greater than the protection provided under

7 this section to employees of an employing authority.

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

9 Congress shall submit to the Congress a report describing

10 the remedies and procedures it has established to comply

11 with paragraph (2).

12 ‘‘(4) Within 90 days of the exhaustion of all procedures

13 in effect under paragraph (2) or after 180 days after the

14 filing of a complaint in accordance with such procedures

15 (or, if no applicable procedures are in effect under para16 graph (2), within 180 days after the alleged violation), an

17 employee may bring a civil action in the appropriate Unit18 ed States district court against the employee’s instrumen19 tality. In any such action, the court may order such relief,

20 including damages, attorneys’ fees, and other costs as may

21 be ordered by a court under section 7.’’.
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1 TITLE III—TITLE VII OF THE

2 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964

3 SEC. 301. REFERENCE.

4 Whenever in this title an amendment or repeal is ex5 pressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section

6 or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be

7 made to a section or other provision of the Civil Rights

8 Act of 1991.

9 SEC. 302. APPLICATION TO CONGRESS.

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

11 60l(a)(2)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the follow12 ing: ‘‘For purposes of this section, the term ‘employee’ also

13 includes an individual who applies for employment and the

14 term ‘employing authority’ also includes any agent of the

15 employing authority and any Member who participates in

16 determining the terms and conditions applicable to an em17 ployee’s employment and any agent of such Member but

18 with respect to a position on the minority staff of a commit19 tee such term does not include the Chairman of such com20 mittee.’’.

21 (b) EMPLOYEE ACTIONS, PAYMENTS, CONSIDER22 ATIONS, AND NOTICE.—

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

24 amended in subsection (b)(4)—
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1 (A) by inserting before the period the follow2 ing: ‘‘and includes any agent of any of the fore3 going entities’’, and

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

5 ‘‘(c) EMPLOYEE ACTIONS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 90 days of the ex7 haustion of all procedures in effect under subsection

8 (a) or (b) or after 180 days after the filing of a com9 plaint in accordance with such procedures (or, if no

10 applicable procedures are in effect under such sub11 section, within 180 days after the alleged violation),

12 an employee may bring a civil action in the appro13 priate United States district court against the em14 ployee’s employing authority or if employed by an in15 strumentality of Congress, against such instrumental16 ity. In any such action, the court may order such re17 lief as is provided under title VII of the Civil Rights

18 Act of 1964 and section 1977A of the Revised Statutes

19 (42 U.S.C. 1981a), except that—

20 ‘‘(A) the sum of the amount of compen21 satory damages awarded for future pecuniary

22 losses, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience,

23 mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and

24 other nonpecuniary losses and the amount of pu25 nitive damages shall not exceed, in the aggregate,
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1 for each complaining party $300,000 in an ac2 tion against an employing authority, and

3 ‘‘(B) the amount of punitive damages may

4 not exceed $50,000.

5 ‘‘(2) TRIAL.—In an action brought under para6 graph (1)—

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

8 jury, and

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

10 the dollar limitation prescribed by paragraph

11 (1).

12 ‘‘(3) FEES.—In an action brought under para13 graph (1), the court may allow the prevailing party

14 a reasonable attorney’s fees (including expert witness

15 fees) as part of the costs.

16 ‘‘(d) PAYMENTS.—(1) The Committee on House Ad17 ministration of the House of Representatives shall deter18 mine which account shall be used for payments (other than

19 punitive damages) to an aggrieved employee under this sec20 tion.

21 ‘‘(2) Punitive damages, if any, shall be assessed only

22 against the employing authority personally. No entity of

23 the Federal Government shall be liable for punitive damages

24 assessed under this section.
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1 ‘‘(e) CONSIDERATIONS.—The rights and protections

2 provided by this section do not prohibit the taking into con3 sideration of—

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

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

6 House of Representatives; or

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

8 with respect to a position under such clerk-hire allow9 ance or a position on the staff of a committee.

10 ‘‘(f) NOTICE.—Each employing authority and instru11 mentality of Congress shall post and keep posted, in con12 spicuous places on its premises, a notice that shall be pre13 pared by the Office of Fair Employment Practices or the

14 instrumentality which sets forth such information as such

15 Office or instrumentality considers to be appropriate to

16 carry out this section.’’.

17 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

18 117(a)(2)(B)(i) (2 U.S.C. 60l(a)(2)(B)(i)) is amended

19 by inserting before the period at the end the following:

20 ‘‘, except as provided in subsections (c) through (f)’’.

21 TITLE IV—DISABILITIES

22 SEC. 401. REFERENCE.

23 Whenever in this title an amendment or repeal is ex24 pressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section

25 or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be
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1 made to a section or other provision of the Americans with

2 Disabilities Act of 1990.

3 SEC. 402. APPLICATION TO CONGRESS.

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

5 12209(b)(2)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the follow6 ing: ‘‘For purposes of this section, the term ‘employee’ also

7 includes an individual who applies for employment and the

8 term ‘employing authority’ also includes any agent of the

9 employing authority and any Member who participates in

10 determining the terms and conditions applicable to an em11 ployee’s employment and any agent of such Member but

12 with respect to the minority staff of a committee does not

13 include the Chairman of such committee.’’.

14 (b) EMPLOYEE ACTIONS, PAYMENTS, CONSIDER15 ATIONS, AND NOTICE.—

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

17 12209) is amended—

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

19 the period the following: ‘‘and includes any agent

20 of any of the foregoing entities’’, and

21 (B) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(d) EMPLOYEE ACTIONS.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 90 days of the ex24 haustion of all procedures in effect under subsection

25 (b)(2) or (c)(2) or after 180 days after the filing of
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1 a complaint in accordance with such procedures (or,

2 if no applicable procedures are in effect under such

3 subsection, within 180 days after the alleged viola4 tion), an employee may bring a civil action in the

5 appropriate United States district court against the

6 employee’s employing authority or if employed by an

7 instrumentality of Congress, against such instrumen8 tality. In any such action, the court may order such

9 relief as is provided under title VII of the Civil

10 Rights Act of 1964 and section 1977A of the Revised

11 Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), except that—

12 ‘‘(A) the sum of the amount of compen13 satory damages awarded for future pecuniary

14 losses, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience,

15 mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and

16 other nonpecuniary losses and the amount of pu17 nitive damages shall not exceed, in the aggregate,

18 for each complaining party $300,000 in an ac19 tion against an employing authority, and

20 ‘‘(B) the amount of punitive damages may

21 not exceed $50,000.

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 reasonable attorney’s fees (including expert witness

7 fees) as part of the costs.

8 ‘‘(e) PAYMENTS.—(1) The Committee on House Ad9 ministration of the House of Representatives shall deter10 mine which account shall be used for payments (other than

11 punitive damages) to an aggrieved employee under this sec12 tion and shall issue guidelines to ensure such reimburse13 ment.

14 ‘‘(2) Punitive damages, if any, shall be assessed only

15 against the employing authority personally. No entity of

16 the Federal Government shall be liable for punitive damages

17 assessed under this section.

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

19 provided by this section do not prohibit the taking into con20 sideration 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 allow3 ance 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 the

14 following: ‘‘, except as provided in subsections (d)

15 through (g)’’.

16 TITLE V—GUIDELINES

17 SEC. 501. GUIDELINES.

18 Any guidelines issued by any committee of the House

19 of Representatives to implement any provision of this Act

20 (other than title I) shall be published in the Congressional

21 Record for a period of at least 60 days before such imple22 mentation.
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1 TITLE VI—EFFECTIVE DATE

2 SEC. 601. EFFECTIVE DATE.

3 The amendments made by titles II, III, and IV of this

4 Act shall take effect upon the expiration of 3-month period

5 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.

6 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

7 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Em8 ployee Fairness Act of 1994’’.

9 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO ADMINISTRATIVE DE10 TERMINATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEE DIS11 CRIMINATION CLAIMS.

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 701 of the Civil

13 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e) is amend14 ed—

15 (1) in paragraph (f) by striking ‘‘The

16 term’’ and inserting ‘‘Except when it ap17 pears as part of the term ‘Federal em18 ployee’, the term’’, and

19 (2) by adding at the end the follow20 ing:

21 ‘‘(o) The term ‘administrative judge’ in22 cludes an administrative law judge appointed

23 under section 3105 of title 5 of the United

24 States Code.
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1 ‘‘(p) The term ‘Commission’ means the

2 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

3 ‘‘(q) The term ‘entity of the Federal Gov4 ernment’ means an entity to which section

5 717(a) applies, except that such term does not

6 include the Library of Congress.

7 ‘‘(r) The term ‘Federal employee’ means an

8 individual employed by, or who applies for

9 employment with, an entity of the Federal

10 Government.

11 ‘‘(s) The term ‘Federal employment’ means

12 employment by an entity of the Federal Gov13 ernment.

14 ‘‘(t) The terms ‘government’, ‘government

15 agency’, and ‘political subdivision’ do not in16 clude an entity of the Federal Government.’’.

17 (b) EEOC DETERMINATION OF FEDERAL EM18 PLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS.—Section

19 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.

20 2000e–16) is amended—

21 (1) in subsection (b)—

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’,

23 (B) in the second sentence—

24 (i) by redesignating para25 graphs (1), (2), and (3), as sub-
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1 paragraphs (A), (B), and (C), re2 spectively,

3 (ii) in the subparagraph (B),

4 as so redesignated, by striking

5 ‘‘and’’ at the end,

6 (iii) in subparagraph (C), as so

7 redesignated, by striking the pe8 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘;

9 and’’, and

10 (iv) by inserting after sub11 paragraph (C), as so redesignated,

12 the following:

13 ‘‘(D) require each entity of the Fed14 eral Government—

15 ‘‘(i) to make counseling available

16 to Federal employees who believe

17 such entity has discriminated against

18 them in violation of this section, for

19 the purpose of trying to resolve the

20 matters with respect to which such

21 discrimination is alleged (Such entity

22 shall assist such employee to identify

23 the respondent required by sub24 section (c)(1) to be named in a com25 plaint alleging such violation, shall
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1 inform such Federal employee indi2 vidually of the procedures and dead3 lines that apply under this section to

4 a claim alleging such discrimination,

5 and shall make such counseling avail6 able throughout the administrative

7 process.);

8 ‘‘(ii) to establish a voluntary alter9 native dispute resolution process to

10 resolve complaints, except that a Fed11 eral employee’s decision to forgo such

12 process shall not affect the rights of

13 such employee under this title;

14 ‘‘(iii) not to discourage Federal

15 employees from filing complaints on

16 any matter relating to discrimination

17 in violation of this section;

18 ‘‘(iv) not to require Federal em19 ployees to participate in conciliation

20 made available under subsection

21 (c)(1)(A)(ii) unless such entity has an

22 alternative dispute resolution process

23 approved by the Commission as de24 scribed in such subsection; and
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1 ‘‘(v) not to require Federal em2 ployees to participate in a dispute

3 resolution process made available

4 under clause (ii).

5 ‘‘(2)(A) A Federal employee who believes

6 that an entity of the Federal Government has

7 discriminated against such employee in viola8 tion of this section, to whom subsection

9 (c)(1)(A)(ii) applies, who has requested such

10 entity to provide the conciliation described in

11 subsection (c)(1)(A)(ii), and who is the subject

12 of, or about to be the subject of, a personnel

13 action to be taken against such employee as

14 a result of expressing that belief or requesting

15 such conciliation may file with the Commis16 sion a request for a stay of such personnel ac17 tion, together with an affidavit made by such

18 employee in support of such request.

19 ‘‘(B) Immediately after receiving such re20 quest so supported, the Commission shall ap21 point an administrative judge to review such

22 request. Subsection (f)(3) shall apply with re23 spect to such review and to the issuance of a

24 stay requested under subparagraph (A).’’,
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1 (C) in the third sentence by strik2 ing ‘‘The’’ and inserting the following:

3 ‘‘(3) The’’,

4 (D) in the fourth sentence by re5 designating paragraphs (1) and (2) as

6 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respec7 tively,

8 (E) in the last sentence by strik9 ing ‘‘With’’ and inserting the follow10 ing:

11 ‘‘(4) With’’, and

12 (F) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘(5)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), an

15 unlawful employment practice of the kind de16 scribed in section 704(a) is established under

17 this section if an employee or applicant for

18 employment demonstrates that his opposing

19 any practice made an unlawful employment

20 practice by this title, his making a charge, tes21 tifying, assisting, or participating in any man22 ner in an investigation, proceeding, or hear23 ing under this title, or his communicating

24 with the Congress regarding discrimination

25 in violation of this section was a contributing
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1 factor in an adverse personnel action that

2 was taken or is to be taken against such em3 ployee or applicant.

4 ‘‘(B) On a claim in which a Federal em5 ployee proves a violation under subparagraph

6 (A) and a respondent demonstrates, on the

7 basis of the evidentiary standard specified in

8 section 1221(e)(2) of title 5 of the United

9 States Code, that the respondent would have

10 taken the same personnel action in the ab11 sence of the impermissible motivating factor,

12 the court—

13 ‘‘(i) may grant declaratory relief, in14 junctive relief (except as provided in

15 clause (ii)), and attorney’s fees and costs

16 demonstrated to be directly attributable

17 only to the pursuit of a claim under sub18 paragraph (A); and

19 ‘‘(ii) shall not award damages or issue

20 an order requiring any admission, rein21 statement, hiring, promotion, or payment

22 not described in clause (i).’’,

23 (2) by striking subsection (c),

24 (3) in subsection (d)—

25 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(d)’’,
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘(k)’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘(j)’’,

3 (C) by striking ‘‘brought here4 under’’ and inserting ‘‘commenced

5 under this section’’, and

6 (D) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘(2) The head of the department, agency,

9 or unit in which discrimination in violation of

10 this section is alleged to have occurred shall

11 be the defendant in a civil action alleging

12 such violation. If a department, unit, or agen13 cy is named as the defendant, the court shall

14 freely grant leave to amend the complaint to

15 name the head of such department, agency, or

16 unit.

17 ‘‘(3)(A) In any action or proceeding under

18 this section, the court, in its discretion, may

19 allow the prevailing party (other than an en20 tity of the Federal Government) a reasonable

21 attorney’s fee (including expert fees) and

22 costs as a court has authority to award under

23 section 706(k), as amended from time to time,

24 and the same interest to compensate for delay
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1 in payment as in cases involving nonpublic

2 parties.

3 ‘‘(B) If an action brought under this sec4 tion by or on behalf of a Federal employee is

5 found by the court to be unreasonable,

6 groundless, or vexatious, the court, in its dis7 cretion, may allow the respondent a reason8 able attorney’s fee (including expert fees),

9 costs, and interest as a court has authority to

10 award in an action to a prevailing party

11 under subparagraph (A).’’,

12 (4) by redesignating subsections (d)

13 and (e) as subsections (o) and (p), respec14 tively, and

15 (5) by inserting after subsection (b)

16 the following:

17 ‘‘(c)(1)(A) Except as provided in subpara18 graphs (B), (C), (D), and (E), a complaint filed

19 by or on behalf of a Federal employee or a

20 class of Federal employees and alleging a

21 claim of discrimination arising under this sec22 tion shall name as the respondent, and be

23 filed with, the head of the department, agen24 cy, or unit in which such discrimination is al-
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1 leged to have occurred, or with the Commis2 sion—

3 ‘‘(i) not later than 180 days after the

4 alleged discrimination occurs, except as

5 provided in clause (ii); and

6 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a respondent that

7 provides to such employee a voluntary al8 ternative dispute resolution process ap9 proved by the Commission in accordance

10 with rules issued by the Commission

11 under section 6(a)(4) of the Federal Em12 ployee Fairness Act of 1994, after the ex13 piration of the 20-day period beginning

14 on the date the Federal employee specifi15 cally named in the complaint (or an indi16 vidual authorized to represent such Fed17 eral employee or both) requests and of18 fers to meet once with an individual au19 thorized to represent the respondent in

20 accordance with subparagraph (B) to en21 gage in the precomplaint conciliation ap22 proved under such section by the Com23 mission to be provided by the respond24 ent, except that such 20-day period shall
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1 be excluded for purposes calculating

2 such 180 days.

3 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph

4 (A)(ii)—

5 ‘‘(i) conciliation shall occur during

6 the regular working hours of such Fed7 eral employee; and

8 ‘‘(ii) an individual may not be author9 ized to represent the respondent if such

10 individual—

11 ‘‘(I) has or has had any involve12 ment in the circumstances relating to

13 any of such claims; or

14 ‘‘(II) has or has had supervisory

15 authority over such Federal em16 ployee.

17 ‘‘(C) If, not later than 180 days (deter18 mined under subparagraph (A)) after the al19 leged discrimination occurs, the complaint is

20 filed—

21 ‘‘(i) with such department, agency, or

22 unit and fails to name the head of the de23 partment, agency, or unit as the respond24 ent; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) except as provided in subpara2 graph (E), with any other entity of the

3 Federal Government, regardless of the re4 spondent named;

5 the complaint shall be considered to be filed

6 in compliance with subparagraph (A).

7 ‘‘(D) A complaint filed under this section

8 with respect to a claim of discrimination aris9 ing under this section shall be dismissed if—

10 ‘‘(i) such claim is a grievance that is

11 subject to section 7121 of title 5, United

12 States Code; and

13 ‘‘(ii) the aggrieved Federal employee

14 has, in the discretion of the Federal em15 ployee, exercised the option under sec16 tion 7121(d) of such title to raise the mat17 ter under the negotiated grievance proce18 dure before filing the complaint.

19 ‘‘(E) A complaint filed by or on behalf of

20 a Federal employee, or a class of Federal em21 ployees, employed by a department, agency,

22 or unit in the intelligence community (as de23 fined by Executive Order 12333 or any succes24 sor to such order) and alleging a claim of dis25 crimination arising under this section shall
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1 be filed with the department, agency, or unit

2 in which such discrimination is alleged to

3 have occurred not later than 180 days (deter4 mined under subparagraph (A)) after the al5 leged discrimination occurs.

6 ‘‘(2) If the complaint is filed with an entity

7 of the Federal Government other than the de8 partment, agency, or unit in which such dis9 crimination is alleged to have occurred,

10 then—

11 ‘‘(A) such entity (other than the Com12 mission) shall transmit the complaint to

13 the Commission, not later than 10 days

14 after receiving the complaint; and

15 ‘‘(B) the Commission shall transmit a

16 copy of the complaint, not later than 10

17 days after receiving the complaint, to the

18 head of the department, agency, or unit

19 in which such discrimination is alleged to

20 have occurred (hereinafter in this section

21 referred to as the ‘respondent’).

22 ‘‘(3) Not later than 10 days after the re23 spondent receives the complaint from a

24 source other than the Commission, the re-
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1 spondent shall transmit to the Commission a

2 copy of the complaint.

3 ‘‘(d) Throughout the period beginning on

4 the date the respondent receives the com5 plaint and ending on the latest date by which

6 all administrative and judicial proceedings

7 available under this section have been con8 cluded with respect to such claim, the re9 spondent shall collect and preserve docu10 ments and information (including the com11 plaint) that are relevant to such claim, includ12 ing the documents and information that com13 ply with rules issued by the Commission.

14 ‘‘(e)(1) The respondent shall make reason15 able efforts to conciliate each claim alleged in

16 the complaint beginning on the date the com17 plaint is filed under subsection (c). After the

18 complaint is filed, the respondent shall

19 promptly inform such Federal employee indi20 vidually of the procedures and deadlines that

21 apply under this section to a claim alleging

22 such discrimination.

23 ‘‘(2)(A) With respect to such claim, the re24 spondent may enter into a settlement agree25 ment with such Federal employee.
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1 ‘‘(B) The entity of the Federal Government

2 with which the complaint is filed under sub3 section (c) shall immediately give formal writ4 ten notice to such Federal employee that such

5 Federal employee may either—

6 ‘‘(i) before the expiration of the 90-

7 day period beginning on the date such

8 Federal employee receives such notice,

9 file with the Commission—

10 ‘‘(I) a written request for a deter11 mination of such claim under sub12 section (f) by an administrative judge

13 of the Commission, together with, at

14 the option of such Federal employee,

15 a request that the administrative

16 judge request a stay described in sub17 section (f)(3)(A);

18 ‘‘(II) if such claim alleges dis19 crimination in the Commission or al20 leges an action appealable to the

21 Merit Systems Protection Board, a

22 written request electing that a deter23 mination of such claim be made

24 under the procedures specified in ei25 ther subparagraph (A) or (B) of sec-
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1 tion 7702(a)(2) of title 5, United States

2 Code, or a request described in

3 subclause (I); or

4 ‘‘(III) if such claim alleges a griev5 ance that is subject to section 7121 of

6 title 5, United States Code, but not

7 appealable to the Merit Systems Pro8 tection Board, a written request to

9 raise such claim under the adminis10 trative and judicial procedures pro11 vided in such section 7121 or a re12 quest described in subclause (I); or

13 ‘‘(ii) in the 90-day period beginning

14 on the date the complaint is filed under

15 subsection (c) or in the 90-day period be16 ginning on the date such Federal em17 ployee receives such notice (whichever

18 90-day period begins later), commence a

19 civil action in an appropriate district

20 court of the United States for de novo re21 view of such claim.

22 ‘‘(3)(A) Such Federal employee may ei23 ther—

24 ‘‘(i) file a written request described in

25 clause (i) of paragraph (2)(B) at any time
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1 before the expiration of the 90-day period

2 specified in clause (i) of such paragraph;

3 or

4 ‘‘(ii) commence a civil action de5 scribed in clause (ii) of such paragraph

6 before the expiration of the applicable 90-

7 day period specified in paragraph

8 (2)(B)(ii).

9 ‘‘(B) If such Federal employee files a writ10 ten request under subclause (II) or (III) of

11 paragraph (2)(B)(i) and in accordance with

12 subparagraph (A)(i), the Commission shall

13 transmit the complaint, not later than 10 days

14 after the Commission receives the complaint,

15 to the appropriate agency for determination.

16 ‘‘(f)(1) If such Federal employee files a

17 written request under subsection

18 (e)(2)(B)(i)(I) and in accordance with sub19 section (e)(3)(A) with the Commission for a de20 termination under this subsection of a claim

21 with respect to which notice is required by

22 subsection (e)(2), then the Commission shall

23 transmit a copy of such request to the re24 spondent and, not later than 10 days after re25 ceiving such request, shall appoint an admin-
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1 istrative judge of the Commission to deter2 mine such claim. If such request includes a re3 quest for a stay described in paragraph (3)(A),

4 then the Commission shall appoint an admin5 istrative judge immediately after receiving

6 such request.

7 ‘‘(2) Not later than 5 days after receiving

8 a copy of a request under subsection

9 (e)(2)(B)(i), the respondent shall transmit—

10 ‘‘(A) to the Commission if such re11 quest is for a determination under this

12 subsection; or

13 ‘‘(B) to the Merit Systems Protection

14 Board if such request is for a determina15 tion be made under the procedures speci16 fied in section 7702(a)(2)(A) of title 5,

17 United States Code;

18 a copy of all documents and information col19 lected by the respondent under subsection (d)

20 with respect to such claim.

21 ‘‘(3)(A) The administrative judge, in ac22 cordance with rules issued by the Commis23 sion, may request any member of the Commis24 sion to order a stay of any personnel action

25 for 45 days if the administrative judge deter-
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1 mines that there are reasonable grounds to

2 believe that the personnel action was taken

3 for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons pro4 hibited under this section.

5 ‘‘(B)(i) Any member of the Commission re6 quested under subparagraph (A) to order a

7 stay shall order such stay unless the member

8 determines that, under the facts and cir9 cumstances involved, such a stay does not

10 comply with such rules or otherwise would

11 not be appropriate.

12 ‘‘(ii) Unless denied under clause (i), any

13 stay requested under subparagraph (A) shall

14 be deemed to be ordered on the third cal15 endar day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays,

16 and legal holidays) after the date of the re17 quest.

18 ‘‘(C) If a stay is ordered under subpara19 graph (B), the member who received the re20 quest for such stay may terminate such stay

21 at any time after giving notice, and an oppor22 tunity for oral or written comments, to the ag23 grieved Federal employee on whose behalf

24 such stay was ordered.
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1 ‘‘(D)(i) The Commission may extend the

2 period of any stay granted under subpara3 graph (B) for any period that the Commission

4 considers appropriate.

5 ‘‘(ii) Members of the Commission shall

6 allow any entity of the Federal Government

7 that would be subject to a stay, or to the ex8 tension of a stay, to comment to such mem9 bers and the Commission on the request for

10 such stay and on a request for such extension.

11 ‘‘(iii) The respondent shall comply with a

12 stay in effect under this section.

13 ‘‘(4) The administrative judge shall deter14 mine whether the documents and information

15 received under paragraph (2) comply with

16 subsection (d) and are complete and accurate.

17 If the administrative judge finds that the re18 spondent has failed to produce the documents

19 and information necessary to comply with

20 such subsection, the administrative judge

21 shall, in the absence of good cause shown by

22 the respondent, impose any of the sanctions

23 specified in paragraph (6)(C) and shall re24 quire the respondent—
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1 ‘‘(A) to obtain any additional docu2 ments and information necessary to com3 ply with such subsection; and

4 ‘‘(B) to correct any inaccuracy in the

5 documents and information so received.

6 ‘‘(5)(A) After examining the documents

7 and information received under paragraph

8 (4), the administrative judge shall issue an

9 order dismissing—

10 ‘‘(i) any frivolous claim alleged in the

11 complaint;

12 ‘‘(ii) any claim of a Federal employee

13 who fails to comply with subsection

14 (c)(1)(A)(ii) if applicable to such em15 ployee; and

16 ‘‘(iii) the complaint if it fails to state

17 a nonfrivolous claim for which relief may

18 be granted under this section.

19 ‘‘(B)(i) If a claim or the complaint is dis20 missed under subparagraph (A), the adminis21 trative judge shall give formal written notice

22 to the aggrieved Federal employee that such

23 Federal employee may, before the expiration

24 of the 90-day period beginning on the date

25 such Federal employee receives such notice—
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1 ‘‘(I) file with the Commission a writ2 ten request for appellate review of such

3 order; or

4 ‘‘(II) commence a civil action in an

5 appropriate district court of the United

6 States for de novo review of such claim

7 or the complaint.

8 ‘‘(ii) Such Federal employee may com9 mence such civil action after the dismissal of

10 such claim or the complaint and before the

11 expiration of the 90-day period specified in

12 clause (i).

13 ‘‘(6)(A)(i) If the complaint is not dismissed

14 under paragraph (5)(A), the administrative

15 judge shall make a determination, after an op16 portunity for a hearing, on the merits of each

17 claim that is not dismissed under such para18 graph. The administrative judge shall make a

19 determination on the merits of any other

20 nonfrivolous claim under this section, and on

21 the merits of any action such Federal em22 ployee may appeal to the Merit Systems Pro23 tection Board, reasonably expected to arise

24 from the facts on which the complaint is

25 based.
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1 ‘‘(ii) On the request of the aggrieved Fed2 eral employee, the administrative judge

3 shall—

4 ‘‘(I) determine whether the adminis5 trative proceeding with respect to such

6 claim may be maintained as a class pro7 ceeding; and

8 ‘‘(II) if the administrative proceeding

9 may be so maintained, shall describe

10 those whom the administrative judge

11 finds to be members of such class.

12 ‘‘(B) With respect to such claim, a party

13 may conduct discovery by such means as may

14 be available in a civil action to the extent

15 deemed appropriate by the administrative

16 judge.

17 ‘‘(C) If the aggrieved Federal employee or

18 the respondent fails without good cause to re19 spond fully and in a timely fashion to a re20 quest made or approved by the administrative

21 judge for information or the attendance of a

22 witness, and if such information or such wit23 ness is solely in the control of the party who

24 so fails to respond, then the administrative

25 judge shall—
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1 ‘‘(i) draw an adverse inference that

2 the requested information, or the testi3 mony of the requested witness, would

4 have reflected unfavorably on the party

5 who so fails to respond;

6 ‘‘(ii) consider the matters to which

7 such information or such testimony per8 tains to be established in favor of the op9 posing party;

10 ‘‘(iii) exclude other evidence offered

11 by the party who so fails to respond;

12 ‘‘(iv) grant full or partial relief, in13 cluding—

14 ‘‘(I) relief of the kinds described

15 in section 706(g); and

16 ‘‘(II) compensatory damages for

17 unlawful intentional discrimination

18 (not an employment practice that is

19 unlawful because of its disparate im20 pact) prohibited under this section,

21 subject to the limitations specified in

22 section 1977A(b)(3) of the Revised

23 Statutes of the United States;

24 to the aggrieved Federal employee; or
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1 ‘‘(v) take such other action the admin2 istrative judge considers to be appro3 priate.

4 ‘‘(D) In a hearing on a claim, the adminis5 trative judge shall—

6 ‘‘(i) limit attendance to persons who

7 have a direct connection with such claim;

8 ‘‘(ii) bring out pertinent facts and rel9 evant employment practices and policies,

10 and ensure that the record is developed

11 for a full and fair determination of such

12 claim, but exclude irrelevant or unduly

13 repetitious information;

14 ‘‘(iii) permit all parties to examine

15 and cross examine witnesses; and

16 ‘‘(iv) require that testimony be given

17 under oath or affirmation.

18 ‘‘(E) At the request of any party or the ad19 ministrative judge, a transcript of all or part

20 of such hearing shall be provided in a timely

21 manner and simultaneously to the parties and

22 the Commission. The respondent shall bear

23 the cost of providing such transcript.

24 ‘‘(F) The administrative judge shall have

25 authority—
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1 ‘‘(i) to administer oaths and affirma2 tions;

3 ‘‘(ii) to regulate the course of hear4 ings;

5 ‘‘(iii) to rule on offers of proof and re6 ceive evidence;

7 ‘‘(iv) to issue subpoenas to compel—

8 ‘‘(I) the production of documents

9 or information by the entity of the

10 Federal Government in which dis11 crimination is alleged to have oc12 curred; and

13 ‘‘(II) the attendance of witnesses

14 who are Federal officers or employ15 ees of such entity;

16 ‘‘(v) to request the Commission to

17 issue subpoenas to compel the production

18 of documents or information by any other

19 entity of the Federal Government or by

20 the aggrieved Federal employee, and the

21 attendance of other witnesses, except

22 that any witness who is not an officer or

23 employee of an entity of the Federal Gov24 ernment may be compelled only to attend

25 any place—
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1 ‘‘(I) less than 100 miles from the

2 place where such witness resides, is

3 employed, transacts business in per4 son, or is served; or

5 ‘‘(II) at such other convenient

6 place as is fixed by the administrative

7 judge;

8 and shall be paid fees and allowances, by

9 the party that requests the subpoena, to

10 the same extent that fees and allowances

11 are paid to witnesses under chapter 119

12 of title 28, United States Code, as amend13 ed from time to time;

14 ‘‘(vi) to exclude witnesses whose testi15 mony would be unduly repetitious;

16 ‘‘(vii) to exclude any person from a

17 hearing for contumacious conduct, or for

18 misbehavior, that obstructs such hearing;

19 and

20 ‘‘(viii) to grant full or partial relief,

21 including—

22 ‘‘(I) relief of the kinds described

23 in section 706(g); and

24 ‘‘(II) compensatory damages for

25 unlawful intentional discrimination
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1 (not an employment practice that is

2 unlawful because of its disparate im3 pact) prohibited under this section,

4 subject to the limitations specified in

5 section 1977A(b)(3) of the Revised

6 Statutes of the United States.

7 ‘‘(G) The administrative judge and the

8 Commission shall have authority to award to

9 a prevailing party (other than an entity of the

10 Federal Government)—

11 ‘‘(i) a reasonable attorney’s fee (in12 cluding expert fees) and costs as a court

13 has authority to award under section

14 706(k), as amended from time to time;

15 and

16 ‘‘(ii) the same interest to compensate

17 for delay in payment as in cases involv18 ing nonpublic parties.

19 ‘‘(H) The Commission shall have authority

20 to issue subpoenas described in subparagraph

21 (F)(v).

22 ‘‘(I) In the case of contumacy or failure to

23 obey a subpoena issued under subparagraph

24 (F) or (H), the United States district court for

25 the judicial district in which the person to
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1 whom the subpoena is addressed resides or is

2 served may issue an order requiring such per3 son to appear at any designated place to tes4 tify or to produce documentary or other evi5 dence.

6 ‘‘(7)(A) Except as provided in subpara7 graph (B), the administrative judge shall issue

8 a written order making the determination re9 quired by paragraph (6)(A), and granting or

10 denying relief, not later than—

11 ‘‘(i)(I) 300 days after the complaint

12 containing such claim is filed by or on be13 half of a Federal employee if such com14 plaint is filed in the 1-year period begin15 ning on the effective date of this sub16 section;

17 ‘‘(II) except as provided in subclause

18 (I), 210 days after the complaint contain19 ing such claim is filed by or on behalf of

20 a Federal employee; or

21 ‘‘(ii) 2 years and 30 days after the

22 complaint containing such claim is filed

23 on behalf of a class of Federal employees;

24 except that these time periods shall be ex25 tended for 30 days if the administrative judge
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1 certifies, in writing, that such 30-day period

2 is needed to secure additional documents or

3 information from the respondent to have a

4 complete administrative record.

5 ‘‘(B) The administrative judge shall issue

6 such order not later than 30 days after the ap7 plicable period specified in subparagraph (A)

8 if the administrative judge certifies in writ9 ing, before the expiration of such applicable

10 period—

11 ‘‘(i) that such 30-day period is nec12 essary to make such determination; and

13 ‘‘(ii) the particular and unusual cir14 cumstances that prevent the administra15 tive judge from complying with the appli16 cable period specified in subparagraph

17 (A).

18 ‘‘(C) The administrative judge may apply

19 to the Commission to extend any period appli20 cable under subparagraph (A) or (B) if mani21 fest injustice would occur in the absence of

22 such an extension.

23 ‘‘(D) The Commission—

24 ‘‘(i) may not grant such extension; or

25 ‘‘(ii) shall terminate such extension;
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1 if the aggrieved Federal employee shows that

2 such extension would prejudice a claim of, or

3 otherwise harm, such Federal employee.

4 ‘‘(E) In addition to findings of fact and

5 conclusions of law, such order shall include

6 formal written notice to each party that be7 fore the expiration of the 90-day period begin8 ning on the date such party receives such

9 order—

10 ‘‘(i) the aggrieved Federal employee

11 may commence a civil action in an appro12 priate district court of the United States

13 for de novo review of a claim with re14 spect to which such order is issued; and

15 ‘‘(ii) unless and until a civil action is

16 commenced in such 90-day period under

17 clause (i) with respect to such claim, any

18 party may file with the Commission a

19 written request for appellate review of

20 the determination made, and relief grant21 ed or denied, in such order with respect

22 to such claim.

23 ‘‘(F) Such Federal employee may com24 mence such civil action at any time before the

25 expiration of the 90-day period beginning on
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1 the date such Federal employee receives an

2 order described in subparagraph (A).

3 ‘‘(G) If such order applies to more than

4 one claim and if—

5 ‘‘(i) such employee does not com6 mence a civil action in accordance with

7 subparagraph (E)(i); and

8 ‘‘(ii) neither party requests appellate

9 review in accordance with subparagraph

10 (E)(ii);

11 with respect to a particular claim, then the

12 determination made, and relief granted, in

13 such order with respect to such particular

14 claim shall be enforceable immediately.

15 ‘‘(g)(1) If a party files timely a written re16 quest in accordance with subsection

17 (f)(5)(B)(i) or (f)(7)(E)(ii) with the Commission

18 for appellate review of the determination

19 made, and relief granted or denied, with re20 spect to a claim in such order, then the Com21 mission shall immediately transmit a copy of

22 such request to the other parties involved and

23 to the administrative judge who issued such

24 order.
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1 ‘‘(2) Not later than 7 days after receiving

2 a copy of such request, the administrative

3 judge shall transmit to the Commission the

4 record of the proceeding on which such order

5 is based, including all documents and infor6 mation collected by the respondent under

7 subsection (d).

8 ‘‘(3)(A) After allowing the parties to file

9 briefs with respect to such determination, the

10 Commission shall issue a written order with

11 respect to such claim affirming, reversing, or

12 modifying the applicable provisions of the

13 order of the administrative judge not later

14 than—

15 ‘‘(i) 150 days after receiving such re16 quest; or

17 ‘‘(ii) 30 days after such 150-day period

18 if the Commission certifies in writing, be19 fore the expiration of such 150-day pe20 riod—

21 ‘‘(I) that such 30-day period is

22 necessary to review such claim; and

23 ‘‘(II) the particular and unusual

24 circumstances that prevent the Com-
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1 mission from complying with clause

2 (i).

3 ‘‘(B) The Commission shall affirm the de4 termination made, and relief granted or de5 nied, by the administrative judge with respect

6 to such claim if such determination and such

7 relief are supported by a preponderance of

8 the evidence in the record taken as a whole

9 and are otherwise in accordance with law.

10 The Commission shall accord substantial def11 erence to the findings of fact of the adminis12 trative judge.

13 ‘‘(C) In addition to findings of fact and

14 conclusions of law, the Commission shall in15 clude in its order formal written notice to the

16 aggrieved Federal employee that, before the

17 expiration of the 90-day period beginning on

18 the date such Federal employee receives such

19 order, such Federal employee may commence

20 a civil action in an appropriate district court

21 of the United States for de novo review of a

22 claim with respect to which such order is is23 sued.

24 ‘‘(D) Such Federal employee may com25 mence such civil action at any time before the
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1 expiration of the 90-day period beginning on

2 the date such Federal employee receives an

3 order described in subparagraph (A).

4 ‘‘(h)(1) In addition to the periods author5 ized by subsections (f)(7)(F) and (g)(3)(D)—

6 ‘‘(A) during the period beginning 20

7 days after the expiration of the applica8 ble period specified in subparagraph (A)

9 or (B) of subsection (f)(7) and ending on

10 the date the administrative judge issues

11 under such subsection an order with re12 spect to such claim; and

13 ‘‘(B) during the period beginning 20

14 days after the expiration of the applica15 ble period specified in subsection

16 (g)(3)(A) and ending on the date the Com17 mission issues under such subsection an

18 order with respect to such claim;

19 such Federal employee may commence a civil

20 action in an appropriate district court of the

21 United States for de novo review of such

22 claim.

23 ‘‘(2) Whenever a civil action is commenced

24 timely and otherwise in accordance with this

25 section to determine the merits of a claim
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1 arising under this section, the jurisdiction of

2 the administrative judge or the Commission

3 (as the case may be) to determine the merits

4 of such claim shall terminate.

5 ‘‘(i) A Federal employee who prevails on a

6 claim arising under this section may bring a

7 civil action in an appropriate district court of

8 the United States to enforce—

9 ‘‘(1) the provisions of a settlement

10 agreement applicable to such claim;

11 ‘‘(2) the provisions of an order issued

12 by an administrative judge under sub13 section (f)(7)(A) applicable to such claim

14 if—

15 ‘‘(A) a request is not filed timely

16 under subsection (g)(1) for appellate

17 review by the Commission; and

18 ‘‘(B) a civil action is not com19 menced timely under subsection

20 (g)(3)(D) for de novo review;

21 of such claim; or

22 ‘‘(3) the provisions of an order issued

23 by the Commission under subsection

24 (g)(3)(A) applicable to such claim if a civil

25 action is not commenced timely under
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1 subsection (g)(3)(D) for de novo review of

2 such claim.

3 ‘‘(j) Any amount awarded under this sec4 tion (including fees, costs, and interest award5 ed under subsection (f)(6)(G)), or under title

6 28 of the United States Code, with respect to

7 a violation of this section, shall be paid by the

8 entity of the Federal Government that vio9 lated such subsection from any funds made

10 available to such entity by appropriation or

11 otherwise.

12 ‘‘(k)(1) An entity of the Federal Govern13 ment against which a claim of discrimination

14 is alleged in a complaint filed in an adminis15 trative proceeding or a civil action under this

16 section shall grant the aggrieved Federal em17 ployee paid administrative leave if otherwise

18 on duty, for time expended in accordance

19 with rules issued by the Commission to carry

20 out this section, except that such leave shall

21 include reasonable time for—

22 ‘‘(A) preparation of a complaint based

23 on such allegation;

24 ‘‘(B) conciliation required by sub25 section (c)(1)(A)(ii);
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1 ‘‘(C) responding to requests made by

2 the Commission (including administra3 tive judges) or the respondent for infor4 mation; and

5 ‘‘(D) attendance at such proceeding or

6 action.

7 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (1),

8 an entity of the Federal Government shall

9 grant a Federal employee—

10 ‘‘(A) paid administrative leave to par11 ticipate for the benefit of a claimant in

12 an administrative proceeding or civil ac13 tion commenced under this section to the

14 same extent and under such cir15 cumstances as such entity would grant

16 an employee official duty or paid admin17 istrative leave to participate for the bene18 fit of a Federal entity in an administra19 tive proceeding or civil action com20 menced under this section against such

21 entity; and

22 ‘‘(B) other leave to participate for the

23 benefit of a claimant in an administrative

24 proceeding or civil action commenced

25 under this section to the same extent and
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1 under such circumstances as such entity

2 would grant an employee other leave to

3 participate for the benefit of a Federal

4 entity in an administrative proceeding or

5 civil action commenced under this sec6 tion against such entity.

7 ‘‘(l)(1) In enforcing compliance with an

8 order issued by an administrative judge or

9 the Commission, the Commission may make a

10 written determination that—

11 ‘‘(A) any officer or employee of the

12 agency, department, or unit charged with

13 complying with such order; or

14 ‘‘(B) any officer or employee of the

15 United States determined to be respon16 sible for the failure of the agency, depart17 ment, or unit to comply with such order;

18 who is not an officer or employee appointed

19 by the President by and with the advice and

20 consent of the Senate, shall not be entitled to

21 receive payment for service as an officer or

22 employee for the period during which such

23 order has not been complied with. The Com24 mission shall certify to the Comptroller Gen25 eral of the United States that a determination
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1 under this paragraph has been made, and no

2 payment shall be made out of the Treasury of

3 the United States for any service specified in

4 such determination.

5 ‘‘(2) In enforcing compliance with such

6 order with respect to any officer or employee

7 described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of para8 graph (1) who is an officer or employee ap9 pointed by the President by and with the ad10 vice and consent of the Senate, the Commis11 sion shall notify the President that such offi12 cer or employee has failed to obey such order.

13 ‘‘(m) If with respect to the merits of a

14 claim of intentional discrimination (other

15 than an employment practice that is unlawful

16 because of its disparate impact) prohibited by

17 this section, a Federal employee prevails in a

18 proceeding under subsection (f) or a civil ac19 tion commenced under this section, then not

20 later than 15 days after issuing an order find21 ing liability under this section, the adminis22 trative judge or the district court involved

23 shall transmit to the Office of Special Counsel

24 a copy of such order.
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1 ‘‘(n) This section, as in effect immediately

2 before the effective date of the Federal Em3 ployee Fairness Act of 1994, shall apply with

4 respect to employment in the Library of Con5 gress.’’.

6 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EM7 PLOYMENT ACT AND THE REHABILITATION

8 ACT OF 1973.

9 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY EEOC.—(1) Section 15

10 of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act

11 of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 633a) is amended—

12 (A) by striking subsections (c) and (d),

13 (B) by inserting after subsection (b)

14 the following:

15 ‘‘(c)(1)(A) Except as provided in subpara16 graph (B), any individual aggrieved by a vio17 lation of subsection (a) of this section may file

18 a complaint with the Commission in accord19 ance with section 717 of the Civil Rights Act

20 of 1964.

21 ‘‘(B) Subsections (c) and (d) of this section,

22 as in effect immediately before the effective

23 date of the Federal Employee Fairness Act of

24 1994, shall apply with respect to employment

25 in the Library of Congress.
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1 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph

2 (1)(B) and subsection (d), such section 717

3 shall apply to a violation alleged in a com4 plaint filed under paragraph (1) in the same

5 manner as such section applies to a claim

6 arising under section 717 of such Act.

7 ‘‘(d)(1) If an individual aggrieved by a vio8 lation of this section does not file a complaint

9 under subsection (c)(1), such individual may

10 commence a civil action—

11 ‘‘(A) not less than 30 days after filing

12 with the Commission a notice of intent to

13 commence such action; and

14 ‘‘(B) not more than 2 years after the

15 alleged violation of this section occurs;

16 in an appropriate district court of the United

17 States for de novo review of such violation.

18 ‘‘(2) On receiving such notice, the Commis19 sion shall—

20 ‘‘(A) promptly notify all persons

21 named in such notice as prospective de22 fendants in such action; and

23 ‘‘(B) take any appropriate action to

24 ensure the elimination of any unlawful

25 practice.
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1 ‘‘(3) Section 717(o) of the Civil Rights Act

2 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16(o)) shall apply to

3 civil actions commenced under this sub4 section in the same manner as such section

5 applies to civil actions commenced under sec6 tion 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.’’,

7 (C) in subsection (f)—

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(f)’’,

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘section 12(b)’’ and

10 inserting ‘‘sections 4(d) and 12(b)’’,

11 and

12 (iii) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), an

15 unlawful personnel action of the kind de16 scribed in section 4(d) is established under

17 subsection (a) if an employee or applicant for

18 employment demonstrates that his opposing

19 any practice made an unlawful employment

20 practice by subsection (a), his making a

21 charge, testifying, assisting, or participating

22 in any manner in an investigation, proceed23 ing, or hearing under this section, or his com24 municating with the Congress regarding dis25 crimination in violation of subsection (a) was
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1 a contributing factor in an adverse personnel

2 action that was taken or is to be taken against

3 such employee or applicant.

4 ‘‘(B) On a claim in which a Federal em5 ployee proves a violation under subparagraph

6 (A) and a respondent demonstrates, on the

7 basis of the evidentiary standard specified in

8 section 1221(e)(2) of title 5 of the United

9 States Code, that the respondent would have

10 take the same personnel action in the absence

11 of the impermissible motivating factor, the

12 court—

13 ‘‘(i) may grant declaratory relief, in14 junctive relief (except as provided in

15 clause (ii)), and attorney’s fees and costs

16 demonstrated to be directly attributable

17 only to the pursuit of a claim under sub18 paragraph (A); and

19 ‘‘(ii) shall not award damages or issue

20 an order requiring any admission, rein21 statement, hiring, promotion, or payment

22 not described in clause (i).’’,

23 (2) Section 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of

24 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794a) is amended—

25 (A) in subsection (a)(1)—
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1 (i) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(a)(1)’’,

2 (ii) by striking ‘‘706(k)’’ and in3 serting ‘‘706(j)’’,

4 (iii) by striking ‘‘through (k)’’ and

5 inserting ‘‘through (j)’’, and

6 (iv) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘(B) The first sentence of this paragraph,

9 as in effect immediately before the effective

10 date of the Federal Employee Fairness Act of

11 1994, shall apply with respect to employment

12 in the Library of Congress.’’, and

13 (B) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘In’’

14 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub15 section (a)(1), in’’.

16 (b) OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENCE CIVIL AC17 TION.—If a complaint filed under section 15 of

18 the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of

19 1967 (29 U.S.C. 633a), or section 501 of the Re20 habilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791), with

21 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis22 sion is pending in the period beginning on the

23 date of the enactment of this Act and ending

24 on December 31, 1996, the individual who

25 filed such complaint may commence a civil ac-
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1 tion under such section not later than June

2 30, 1997.

3 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 5 OF THE UNITED STATES

4 CODE.

5 (a) GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES.—Section 7121

6 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—

7 (1) in subsection (a)(1) by inserting

8 ‘‘administrative’’ after ‘‘exclusive’’, and

9 (2) in subsection (d)—

10 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(d)’’,

11 (B) in the first sentence by insert12 ing ‘‘, in the discretion of the ag13 grieved employee,’’ after ‘‘may’’, and

14 (C) in the last sentence by strik15 ing ‘‘Selection’’ and all that follows

16 through ‘‘any other’’, and inserting

17 the following:

18 ‘‘(2) An employee may commence, not later

19 than 120 days after a final decision, a civil ac20 tion in an appropriate district court of the

21 United States for de novo review of a’’.

22 (b) ACTIONS INVOLVING DISCRIMINATION.—

23 Section 7702 of title 5, United States Code, is

24 amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘§ 7702. Actions involving discrimination

2 ‘‘(a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law, in the case of any employee or ap4 plicant for employment who—

5 ‘‘(A) is affected by—

6 ‘‘(i) an action which the employee

7 or applicant may appeal to the Merit

8 Systems Protection Board, or

9 ‘‘(ii) an action, not described in

10 clause (i)—

11 ‘‘(I) on the part the Equal Em12 ployment Opportunity Commis13 sion, and

14 ‘‘(II) with respect to which the

15 employee or applicant makes an

16 election under section

17 717(e)(2)(B)(i)(II) of the Civil

18 Rights Act of 1964, and

19 ‘‘(B) alleges that a basis for the action

20 was discrimination prohibited by—

21 ‘‘(i) section 717 of the Civil Rights

22 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a–16),

23 ‘‘(ii) section 6(d) of the Fair Labor

24 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.

25 206(d)),
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1 ‘‘(iii) section 501 of the Rehabilita2 tion Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791),

3 ‘‘(iv) sections 12 and 15 of the Age

4 Discrimination in Employment Act of

5 1967 (29 U.S.C. 631, 633a), or

6 ‘‘(v) any rule, regulation, or policy

7 directive prescribed under any provi8 sion of law described in clauses (i)

9 through (iv) of this subparagraph,

10 the employee or applicant may raise the ac11 tion as provided in paragraph (2).

12 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the

13 employee shall raise the action by filing a

14 complaint in accordance with section 717 of

15 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and shall make a

16 request described in section 717(e)(2)(B)(i) se17 lecting the procedures specified in one of the

18 following subparagraphs:

19 ‘‘(A) The administrative and judicial

20 procedures provided under sections 7701

21 and 7703.

22 ‘‘(B) The administrative and judicial

23 procedures provided under section 7121.
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1 ‘‘(C) The administrative and judicial

2 procedures provided under section 717 of

3 the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

4 ‘‘(3) The agency (including the Board and

5 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis6 sion) that carries out such procedures shall

7 apply the substantive law that is applied by

8 the agency that administers the particular

9 law referred to in subsection (a)(1) that pro10 hibits the conduct alleged to be the basis of

11 the action referred to in subsection (a)(1)(A).

12 ‘‘(b) If—

13 ‘‘(1) an employee elects the proce14 dures specified in subsection (a)(2)(C),

15 and

16 ‘‘(2) the Equal Employment Oppor17 tunity Commission dismisses under sec18 tion 717(f)(5)(A) of the Civil Rights Act of

19 1964 a claim that is based on the action

20 raised by the employee,

21 then the employee shall have 20 days in which

22 to raise the action under the procedures spec23 ified in subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection

24 (a)(2), except that no allegation of a kind de-
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1 scribed in subsection (a)(1)(B) may be raised

2 under this subsection.

3 ‘‘(c) If at any time after the 120th day fol4 lowing the receipt under section 717(e)(3)(B)

5 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 of a complaint

6 as a result of an election made under section

7 717(e)(2)(B)(i) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

8 to raise an action under the procedures speci9 fied in subsection (a)(2)(A) there is no judi10 cially reviewable action, an employee shall be

11 entitled to file, not later than 240 days after

12 making such election, a civil action in an ap13 propriate district court of the United States

14 for de novo review of the action raised under

15 subsection (a).

16 ‘‘(d) Nothing in this section shall be con17 strued to affect the right to trial de novo

18 under any provision of law described in sub19 section (a)(1) after a judicially reviewable ac20 tion.’’.

21 (c) DISCIPLINARY ACTION.—(1) Section 1214

22 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by

23 adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(g)(1) Whenever the Office of Special

25 Counsel receives any copy of an order, in ac-
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1 cordance with section 717(m) of the Civil

2 Rights Act of 1964, with respect to a claim

3 arising under section 717 of the Civil Rights

4 Act of 1964, section 15(a) of the Age Discrimi5 nation in Employment Act of 1967, or section

6 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Spe7 cial Counsel shall investigate the matter to

8 the extent necessary to determine whether

9 there are reasonable grounds to believe that

10 a prohibited personnel practice described in

11 section 2302(b)(1) has occurred and, if so,

12 shall seek the appropriate disciplinary action

13 under section 1215.

14 ‘‘(2) A determination under this sub15 section shall be made not later than 180 days

16 after the appropriate date under paragraph

17 (3) for the last applicable event described in

18 such paragraph.

19 ‘‘(3)(A) With respect to a claim—

20 ‘‘(i) to which an order issued by an

21 administrative judge of the Equal Em22 ployment Opportunity Commission ap23 plies, and

24 ‘‘(ii) with respect to which the ag25 grieved employee neither—
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1 ‘‘(I) commences a civil action in

2 accordance with section 717(f)(7)(E)(i)

3 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, nor

4 ‘‘(II) requests appellate review in

5 accordance with section

6 717(f)(7)(E)(ii) of the Civil Rights Act

7 of 1964,

8 the appropriate date is the date on which the

9 Office of Special Counsel receives a copy of an

10 order (referred to in paragraph (1)) from the

11 administrative judge.

12 ‘‘(B) With respect to a claim—

13 ‘‘(i) to which an order issued by the

14 Equal Employment Opportunity Commis15 sion applies, and

16 ‘‘(ii) with respect to which the ag17 grieved employee does not commence a

18 civil action in accordance with section

19 717(g)(3)(D),

20 the appropriate date is the date on which the

21 Office of Special Counsel receives a copy of an

22 order (referred to in paragraph (1)) from the

23 Commission.

24 ‘‘(C) With respect to a claim to which a

25 final judgment issued by a court of the United
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1 States applies, the appropriate date is the

2 date on which the Office of Special Counsel

3 receives a copy of an order (referred to in

4 paragraph (1)) from such court.

5 ‘‘(4) For the purpose of this subsection—

6 ‘‘(A) the term ‘order’ means an order

7 issued on the merits;

8 ‘‘(B) the term ‘judgment’ means a

9 judgment issued on the merits; and

10 ‘‘(C) the term ‘final judgment’ means a

11 judgment that is either—

12 ‘‘(i) not reviewed by any other

13 court that has authority to review

14 such judgment; or

15 ‘‘(ii) not reviewable by any other

16 court.’’.

17 (2) Section 1218 of title 5, United States

18 Code, is amended—

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before the first

20 sentence; and

21 (B) by adding at the end the follow22 ing:

23 ‘‘(b) Any statistical or other information

24 provided under the first sentence of sub25 section (a) shall specify with respect to each
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1 particular prohibited personnel practice, the

2 extent to which such information relates to

3 any matter referred to in section 1214(g), the

4 disposition of such practice, and the basis for

5 such disposition.’’.

6 (d) RECORDKEEPING.—(1) Chapter 23 of

7 title 5, United States Code, is amended by

8 adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘§ 2306. Federal personnel records

10 ‘‘(a) For the purpose of this section—

11 ‘‘(1) the term ‘personnel action’ has

12 the meaning given such term in section

13 2302(a)(2)(A);

14 ‘‘(2) the term ‘record’ has the meaning

15 given such term in section 552a(a)(4); and

16 ‘‘(3) the term ‘employee’ means an em17 ployee or applicant for employment in

18 any entity of the Federal Government to

19 which—

20 ‘‘(A) section 717(a) of the Civil

21 Rights Act of 1964 applies;

22 ‘‘(B) section 501 of the Rehabilita23 tion Act of 1973 applies; or
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1 ‘‘(C) sections 12 and 15 of the Age

2 Discrimination in Employment Act of

3 1967 apply;

4 but does not include any employee or ap5 plicant for employment with respect to

6 whom section 117, or title III (excluding

7 section 320), of the Civil Rights Act of

8 1991 applies.

9 ‘‘(b) Records relating to any personnel ac10 tion taken with respect to an employee shall

11 be maintained by the employing authority for

12 at least the greater of—

13 ‘‘(1) 270 days after the effective date

14 of the personnel action to which such

15 records relate; or

16 ‘‘(2) the period of time otherwise re17 quired under applicable provisions of

18 law, rule, or regulation, if any.

19 ‘‘(c) The Office of Personnel Management,

20 in consultation with the Equal Employment

21 Opportunity Commission, shall issue guide22 lines for the implementation of this section by

23 an entity of the Federal Government (as de24 fined in section 701 of the Civil Rights Act of

25 1964).’’.
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1 (2) The table of sections for chapter 23 of

2 title 5, United States Code, is amended by

3 adding at the end the following:

‘‘2306. Federal personnel records.’’.

4 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section

5 7703 of title 5, United States Code, is amend6 ed—

7 (1) in subsection (b)—

8 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking

9 ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph

10 (2) of this subsection, a’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘A’’, and

12 (B) by striking paragraph (2), and

13 (2) in subsection (c)—

14 (A) in paragraph (3) by striking

15 the semicolon at the end and insert16 ing a period, and

17 (B) by striking ‘‘except’’ and all

18 that follows through the period at the

19 end.

20 (f) RIGHT TO INTERVENE.—Section

21 1212(c)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is

22 amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘(2)(A)’’; and
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1 (2) by adding at the end the follow2 ing:

3 ‘‘(B) Consent under subparagraph (A)

4 shall not be required, in the case of an appeal

5 from an action, if—

6 ‘‘(i) section 7513(d) is the provision

7 making the action appealable to the

8 Board;

9 ‘‘(ii) the appeal is brought in a matter

10 with respect to which a copy of an order

11 has been received by the Office of Special

12 Counsel under section 717(m) of the Civil

13 Rights Act of 1964; and

14 ‘‘(iii) 1 of the grounds for the action

15 being appealed is discrimination of a

16 type described in section 2302(b)(1).’’.

17 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

18 Section 717(b) of the Civil Rights Act of

19 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16(b)) is amended by

20 striking ‘‘Civil Service Commission’’ each

21 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Commission’’.

22 SEC. 6. ISSUANCE OF PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES AND NO23 TICE RULES.

24 (a) ISSUANCE OF CERTAIN RULES AND GUIDE25 LINES.—After providing notice in accordance
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1 with section 553(b) of title 5, United States

2 Code, and not later than 1 year after the date

3 of the enactment of this Act, the Equal Em4 ployment Opportunity Commission shall

5 issue—

6 (1) rules to assist entities of the Fed7 eral Government to comply with section

8 717(d) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as

9 added by section 2 of this Act,

10 (2) rules establishing—

11 (A) a uniform written official no12 tice to be used to comply with section

13 717 of such Act, as added by section 2

14 of this Act, and

15 (B) detailed requirements applica16 ble to collecting and preserving docu17 ments and information under section

18 717(d), as added by section 2 of this

19 Act,

20 (3) guidelines describing an alter21 native dispute resolution process that

22 may be used by entities of the Federal

23 Government (as defined in section 701(p)

24 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (7 U.S.C.

25 2000e(p))), in their discretion, consistent
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1 with the administrative process applica2 ble to claims under section 717 of such

3 Act, and

4 (4) rules establishing the criteria,

5 standards, and process for obtaining

6 Commission simultaneous approval of—

7 (A) a process for precomplaint

8 conciliation of the kind required by

9 section 717(c)(1)(A)(i) of the Civil

10 Rights Act of 1964, and

11 (B) an alternative dispute resolu12 tion process for purposes of such sec13 tion.

14 (b) PUBLICATION OF PROPOSED GUIDE15 LINES.—Not later than 180 days after the date

16 of the enactment of this Act, the Equal Em17 ployment Opportunity Commission shall pub18 lish in the Federal Register proposed guide19 lines of the kind described in subsection (a)(3)

20 and proposed rules of the kind described in

21 subsection (a)(4), and allow not less than 30

22 days for public comment before issuing guide23 lines and rules under paragraphs (3) and (4)

24 of subsection (a).
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1 (c) STANDARDS FOR ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE

2 RESOLUTION PROCESSES.—The guidelines re3 quired by subsections (a) and (b) shall provide

4 for alternative dispute resolution processes

5 that include—

6 (1) procedural rules applicable to the

7 operation of such processes, including a

8 description of the roles of Federal em9 ployees and the authorized representa10 tives of such employees in such proc11 esses,

12 (2) an opportunity for meaningful

13 participation by Federal employees, and

14 their authorized representatives if appro15 priate, in the design and development of

16 such processes and such rules,

17 (3) methods for selecting and training

18 qualified facilitators, including the use of

19 nonparty neutrals not from the employ20 ing activities,

21 (4) providing to the parties access to

22 relevant documents and witnesses,

23 (5) application of decisional law and

24 legal principles,
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1 (6) periodic evaluation of the efficacy

2 of facilitators,

3 (7) periodic evaluation of the efficacy

4 of the alternative dispute resolution proc5 ess and conciliation (including

6 precomplaint conciliation), and reporting

7 on the resolution and settlement of dis8 putes under such process, and

9 (8) confidentiality of communications

10 (including offers of settlement) among

11 participants in such process.

12 (d) IDENTIFICATION OF APPROVED ALTER13 NATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESSES.—Not

14 later than 21 months after the date of the en15 actment of this Act, and annually thereafter,

16 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis17 sion shall publish in the Federal Register the

18 names of the entities of the Federal Govern19 ment (as defined in section 701 of the Civil

20 Rights Act of 1964) that provide a voluntary

21 alternative dispute resolution process ap22 proved by the Commission in accordance with

23 the rules in effect under subsection (a)(4).

24 (e) VOLUNTARY SETTLEMENT PROGRAM.—

25 The Equal Employment Opportunity Commis-
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1 sion shall issue rules establishing a program

2 and procedures, consistent with the adminis3 trative adjudication of claims under section

4 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended

5 by this Act, to foster the voluntary settlement

6 of such claims.

7 (f) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Section 705

8 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.

9 2000e–4) is amended by adding at the end the

10 following:

11 ‘‘(l) The Commission shall include in each

12 report made under subsection (e) the follow13 ing information separately identified with re14 spect to each entity of the Federal Govern15 ment for the period for which such report is

16 made:

17 ‘‘(1) The number of Federal employees

18 who participated in conciliation provided

19 under section 717(c)(1)(A)(ii) as added by

20 the Federal Employee Fairness Act of

21 1994.

22 ‘‘(2) The number of such employees

23 who entered into a settlement under sec24 tion 717, as amended by such Act, for re25 lief of any kind.
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1 ‘‘(3) The number of such employees

2 who filed complaints under such section

3 717.

4 ‘‘(4) The number of other Federal em5 ployees who filed complaints under such

6 section.

7 The head of each such entity shall provide

8 such information timely to the Commission to

9 enable the Commission to comply with this

10 subsection.’’.

11 SEC. 7. ISSUANCE OF RULES REGARDING CLASSIFIED IN12 FORMATION.

13 (a) RULES REQUIRED.—The Equal Employ14 ment Opportunity Commission, in consulta15 tion with the Director of Central Intelligence,

16 the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of

17 the Information Security Oversight Office of

18 the General Services Administration, shall

19 issue rules to ensure the protection of classi20 fied information and national security infor21 mation in administrative proceedings under

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

23 U.S.C. 2000e–16). Such rules shall include a re24 quirement that complaints filed under section

25 717(c) of such Act that bear on classified in-
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1 formation shall be handled only by adminis2 trative judges, and other personnel, who have

3 appropriate security clearances.

4 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of sub5 section (a), the term ‘‘classified information’’

6 has the meaning given such term in section

7 606(1) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50

8 U.S.C. 426(1)).

9 SEC. 8. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

10 Any reference in any law (other than title

11 VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) to any pro12 vision of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of

13 1964 amended by this Act shall be deemed to

14 be a reference to such provision as amended

15 by this Act.

16 SEC. 9. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

17 (a) APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS.—It is the

18 sense of the Congress that because the

19 amendments made by this Act—

20 (1) impose on the Equal Employment

21 Opportunity Commission additional ad22 ministrative responsibility in the process23 ing of claims of Federal employees based

24 on discrimination in employment, and
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1 (2) increase the financial burden on

2 the Commission to carry out such respon3 sibility,

4 the amount appropriated to the Commission

5 to carry out laws prohibiting discrimination

6 in Federal employment should be increased

7 accordingly to enable the Commission to

8 carry out its additional responsibility.

9 (b) PAYMENT OF RELIEF AWARDED.—It is the

10 sense of the Congress that the payment of any

11 relief awarded under section 717 of the Civil

12 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 20003–16) should

13 not be made by any Federal agency out of any

14 funds appropriated to such agency for the sal15 aries and expenses.

16 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATES; APPLICATION OF AMEND17 MENTS.

18 (a) GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as

19 provided in subsections (b) and (c), this Act

20 and the amendments made by this Act shall

21 take effect on January 1, 1997.

22 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE OF SECTIONS 6 AND 7.—

23 Sections 6 and 7 shall take effect on the date

24 of the enactment of this Act.
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1 (c) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.—The

2 amendments made by this Act shall not apply

3 with respect to—

4 (1) complaints filed under section 717

5 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.

6 2000e–16) before the effective date of this

7 Act; and

8 (2) proceedings pending under title 5

9 of the United States Code before the ef10 fective date of this Act.

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