I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2846

To clarify the application of certain employment protection laws to the

Congress, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 3, 1993

Mrs. SCHROEDER (for herself, Ms. SNOWE, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the

following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on House Administration, Rules, Education and Labor, Government Operations, and

the Judiciary

A BILL

To clarify the application of certain employment protection

laws to the Congress, 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 ‘‘Congressional Employ5 ees Fairness Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF FEDERAL LAWS.

7 (a) LAWS WHICH WILL APPLY.—Within 90 days

8 after the date final regulations take effect under section

9 4(a)(2), the following laws shall apply to the Congress:
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1 (1) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29

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

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

4 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.).

5 (3) Sections 102 through 104 of the Americans

6 With Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12112-

7 12114).

8 (4) Section 15 of the Age Discrimination in

9 Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 633a).

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

11 (29 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.).

12 (b) LAWS WHICH MAY BE MADE APPLICABLE.—Any

13 provision of Federal law shall, to the extent that it relates

14 to—

15 (1) the terms and conditions of employment (in16 cluding hiring, promotion or demotion, salary and

17 wages, overtime compensation, benefits, work assign18 ments or reassignments, and termination) of employ19 ees,

20 (2) protection from discrimination in personnel

21 actions,

22 (3) the health and safety of employees,

23 (4) the availability of information to the public,

24 or
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1 (5) other areas deemed appropriate by the

2 Independent Office of Compliance,

3 apply to the House of Representatives and the Senate

4 (hereinafter in this Act referred to jointly as the ‘‘Con5 gress’’) in accordance with approval of a recommendation

6 made under section 4(b).

7 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE.

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

9 legislative branch for the Congress an Independent Office

10 of Compliance (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the

11 ‘‘Office’’).

12 (b) COMPOSITION.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be com14 posed of a Board of Directors and staff. The Board

15 of Directors shall consist of 15 individuals appointed

16 jointly by the Speaker of the House of Representa17 tives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, and the

18 Minority Leaders of the House of Representatives

19 and the Senate after consultation with individuals

20 who represent the interests of congressional employ21 ees. Appointments to the Board of Directors shall be

22 completed not later than 120 days after the date of

23 the enactment of this Act.

24 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—
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1 (A) MEMBERS WITH GENERAL AUTHOR2 ITY.—The members of the Board of Directors

3 who shall have the authority to carry out the

4 functions of the Office under this Act shall be

5 9 individuals appointed under paragraph (1)

6 from nominations submitted by organizations

7 the membership of which are primarily com8 posed of individuals experienced in adjudicating

9 or arbitrating personnel matters. Individuals

10 nominated by such organizations shall be indi11 viduals with training or expertise in—

12 (i) the application of the laws referred

13 to in section 2 to employment, and

14 (ii) employment in the Congress.

15 (B) MEMBERS WITH LIMITED AUTHOR16 ITY.—The members of the Board of Directors

17 who shall have the authority to issue the regu18 lations, conduct the study, and take the con19 tinuing action referred to in subsections (a),

20 (b), and (c) of section 4 shall be 6 individuals

21 appointed under paragraph (1) of which 2 shall

22 be Members of the House of Representatives, 2

23 shall be Senators, 1 shall be an employee of the

24 House of Representatives, and 1 shall be an

25 employee of the Senate.
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1 (C) SPECIFIC QUALIFICATIONS.—

2 (i) LOBBYING.—No individual who en3 gages in, or is otherwise employed in, lob4 bying of the Congress shall be considered

5 eligible for appointment to, or service on,

6 the Board of Directors.

7 (ii) OFFICE.—No member appointed

8 under subparagraph (A) may hold the po9 sition of Member of the House of Rep10 resentatives, Senator, or employee of the

11 House of Representatives or the Senate.

12 (3) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than

13 one Member of the House of Representatives who is

14 a member of the Board of Directors and not more

15 than one Senator who is a member of the Board of

16 Directors may be of the same political party.

17 (4) HOLDING OFFICE.—If during a term of of18 fice a member of the Board of Directors no longer

19 holds the position qualifying such member or en20 gages in an activity described in paragraph

21 (2)(C)(i), such position shall be declared vacant and

22 a successor shall be selected in accordance with

23 paragraph (2). If the term of office of a member of

24 the Board of Directors expires and such member is

25 a member of a hearing board hearing a complaint
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1 under section 8, such member may continue in office

2 until the decision or order of the hearing board be3 comes final.

4 (5) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Board of

5 Directors shall be filled in the manner in which the

6 original appointment was made.

7 (c) AUTHORITY.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The 15 members of the

9 Board of Directors appointed under subsection

10 (b)(1) shall have the authority to carry out the func11 tions described in subsections (a) and (b) of section

12 4.

13 (2) OFFICE.—The 9 members of the Board of

14 Directors appointed under subsection (b)(2)(A) shall

15 have the authority to carry out the functions de16 scribed in sections 4 through 10.

17 (d) TERM OF OFFICE.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), membership on the Board of Directors

20 shall be for 5 years.

21 (2) FIRST APPOINTMENTS.—Of the members

22 first appointed to the Board of Directors—

23 (A) 5 shall have a term of office of one

24 year,
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1 (B) 5 shall have a term of office of 3

2 years, and

3 (C) 5 shall have a term of office of 5

4 years,

5 as designated at the time of appointment by the per6 sons specified in subsection (b)(1).

7 (3) REAPPOINTMENT.—A member of the Board

8 of Directors may not be reappointed.

9 (e) REMOVAL.—A member of the Board of Directors

10 may only be removed for cause, including malfeasance in

11 office, inefficiency, or a violation of subsection (b)(2)(C)(i)

12 by a vote of a majority of the Board of Directors.

13 (f) CHAIRMAN.—The Chairman of the Board of Di14 rectors shall be appointed from the members of the Board

15 of Directors by the members of the Board.

16 (g) BASIC PAY.—Members of the Board of Directors

17 shall serve without pay except that members of the Board

18 of Directors who serve as hearing officers under section

19 8 shall receive for each day engaged in the performance

20 of the duties of such an officer compensation at a rate

21 not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of

22 basic pay in effect for grade GS–15 of the General Sched23 ule under subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United

24 States Code.
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1 (h) STAFF.—The Board of Directors may appoint

2 and fix the compensation of such staff as are necessary

3 to carry out the Board of Director’s functions. Appoint4 ments to the staff shall be made on the basis of experience

5 in labor law and not on political affiliation. Current or

6 former employees of the Congress are not eligible for ap7 pointment to the staff.

8 (i) DETAILEES.—The Board of Directors may, with

9 the prior consent of the Government department or agency

10 concerned, use on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable

11 basis the services of any such department or agency, in12 cluding the services of members or personnel of the Gen13 eral Accounting Office Personnel Appeals Board.

14 (j) CONSULTANTS.—In carrying out the functions of

15 the Office, the Board of Directors may procure the tem16 porary (not to exceed 1 year) or intermittent services of

17 individual consultants, or organizations thereof.

18 SEC. 4. BOARD FUNCTIONS.

19 (a) REGULATIONS FOR THE APPLICATION OF LAWS

20 APPLICABLE TO CONGRESS.—The Board of Directors

21 shall issue regulations respecting the remedies available

22 under sections 5 through 10 of this Act to individuals cov23 ered under the laws referred to in section 2(a). Regula24 tions respecting such laws shall be issued within 120 days
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1 of the date of the first appointment of members of the

2 Board of Directors.

3 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR APPLICATION OF

4 LAWS.—

5 (1) STUDY.—The Board of Directors shall con6 duct a study of the application to Congress of the

7 laws referred to in section 2(b) and as amended by

8 section 15 The Board of Directors shall complete

9 such study and report the results to Congress not

10 later than 180 days after the date of the first ap11 pointment of the Board of Directors. Act.

12 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120

14 days after the date of the completion of the

15 study under subsection (a), the Board of Direc16 tors shall, in accordance with section 553 of

17 title 5, United States Code, make recommenda18 tions to the Congress which specify which of the

19 laws referred to in section 2(b) should apply to

20 Congress. Such recommendations—

21 (i) shall take into account the costs

22 associated with the application of such

23 laws to the Congress,

24 (ii) shall be consistent with the provi25 sion of law made applicable to Congress,
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1 except as otherwise specifically provided in

2 sections 5 through 13 of this Act, and

3 (iii) may specify specific dates for the

4 application of specific laws and may specify

5 specific means for the application of such

6 laws.

7 (B) APPROVAL.—When a recommendation

8 made under subparagraph (A) is received by

9 the Congress, it shall be introduced as a joint

10 resolution in the House of Representatives and

11 the Senate. Such a joint resolution shall be a

12 joint resolution which states after the resolving

13 clause that the Congress approves the rec14 ommendation and includes an appropriate iden15 tification of such recommendation. When such a

16 joint resolution is introduced in the House of

17 Representatives it shall be referred to the ap18 propriate committee and when it is introduced

19 in the Senate it shall be referred to the appro20 priate committee. Subsections (c), (d), (e), and

21 (f) of section 152 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19

22 U.S.C. 2912) shall be applicable to such a joint

23 resolution, except that final action on such rec24 ommendation shall be completed within 45 days
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1 of the date of the submission to Congress of the

2 joint resolution.

3 (3) REGULATIONS FOR ACTIONS ON REC4 OMMENDATIONS.—The Board of Directors shall

5 issue regulations respecting the remedies available

6 under sections 5 through 10 of this Act to individ7 uals covered under the laws made applicable to the

8 Congress by approval of a recommendation made

9 under paragraph (2). Regulations respecting such

10 laws shall be issued within 60 days of the date of

11 the enactment of a law in response to a rec12 ommendation made under paragraph (2).

13 (c) CONTINUING ACTION.—On an ongoing basis the

14 Board of Directors shall study the application to the Con15 gress of laws referred to in section 2(b) which are enacted

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act and may issue

17 recommendations and regulations with respect to such

18 laws in accordance with subsection (b).

19 (d) RULES OF THE OFFICE.—The Board of Directors

20 shall adopt rules governing the procedures of the Office,

21 including the procedures under sections 5 through 8,

22 which shall be submitted for publication in the Congres23 sional Record. The rules may be amended in the same

24 manner. The Board of Directors may consult with the
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1 Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United

2 States on the adoption of such rules.

3 (e) DUTIES.—The Office shall—

4 (1) carry out a program of education for Mem5 bers of Congress and other employing authorities of

6 the Congress respecting the laws made applicable to

7 them and a program to inform individuals of their

8 rights under laws applicable to Congress and under

9 sections 5 through 10,

10 (2) in carrying out the program under para11 graph (1), distribute the telephone number and ad12 dress of the Office, procedures for action under sec13 tions 5 through 10, and any other information the

14 Board of Directors deems appropriate for distribu15 tion, distribute such information to Members of Con16 gress and other employing authorities in a manner

17 suitable for posting, provide such information to new

18 Congressional employees, distribute such information

19 to the residences of Congressional employees, and

20 conduct seminars and other activities designed to

21 educate employers and employees in such informa22 tion,

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

24 the Office by Congressional employees, including the

25 number and type of contacts made with the Office,
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1 on the reason for such contacts, on the number of

2 employees who initiated proceedings with the Office

3 under sections 5 through 10 and the result of such

4 proceedings, on the number of employees who filed

5 a complaint under section 8, the basis for the com6 plaint, and the action taken on the complaint, and

7 (4) within 180 days of the initial appointment

8 of the members of the Board of Directors and in

9 conjunction with the Clerk of the House of Rep10 resentatives and the Secretary of the Senate, develop

11 a system for the collection of demographic data re12 specting the composition of the employees of the

13 Congress, including race, sex, and wages, and a sys14 tem for the collection of information on employment

15 practices, including family leave and flexible work

16 hours, in Congressional offices.

17 (f) REPORT.—Within one year of the date the system

18 referred to in subsection (e)(5) is developed and annually

19 thereafter, the Board of Directors shall submit to Con20 gress a report on the information collected under such sys21 tem. Each report after the first report shall contain a com22 parison and evaluation of data contained in the previous

23 report.

24 (g) IDENTIFICATION OF DISCRIMINATORY PRAC25 TICES.—From the information collected under subsection
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1 (e)(5) the Board of Directors shall identify discriminatory

2 wage setting practices in the Congress and promptly re3 port to the Congress such identification together with rec4 ommendations for corrective action.

5 SEC. 5. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF ALLEGED

6 VIOLATIONS.

7 The procedure for consideration of alleged violations

8 of laws made applicable to Congress under the regulation

9 promulgated under section 4(a) consists of 4 steps as fol10 lows:

11 (1) Step I, counseling, as set forth in section 6.

12 (2) Step II, mediation, as set forth in section

13 7.

14 (3) Step III, formal complaint and hearing by

15 a hearing board, as set forth in section 8.

16 (4) Step IV, judicial review of a hearing board

17 decision, as set forth in section 9.

18 SEC. 6. STEP I: COUNSELING.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—A Congressional employee alleg20 ing a violation of a law made applicable to Congress under

21 section 2(a) or 4(b) may request counseling by the Office.

22 The Office shall provide the employee with all relevant in23 formation with respect to the rights of the employee, in24 cluding the procedures (including deadlines) for claims

25 under section 8. A request for counseling shall be made
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1 not later than 180 days after the alleged violation forming

2 the basis of the request for counseling occurred.

3 (b) PERIOD OF COUNSELING.—The period for coun4 seling shall be 30 days unless the employee and the Office

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

6 date the request for counseling is received.

7 (c) EMPLOYEES OF THE ARCHITECT OF THE CAP8 ITOL AND CAPITOL POLICE.—In the case of an employee

9 of the Architect of the Capitol or an employee who is a

10 member of the Capitol Police, the Director may refer the

11 employee to the Architect of the Capitol or the Capitol

12 Police Board for resolution of the employee’s complaint

13 through the internal grievance procedures of the Architect

14 of the Capitol or the Capitol Police Board for a specific

15 period of time, which shall not count against the time

16 available for counseling or mediation under this Act.

17 SEC. 7. STEP II: MEDIATION.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days after the

19 end of the counseling period under section 6, the employee

20 who alleged a violation of a law made applicable to Con21 gress under section 4 may file a request for mediation with

22 the Office. Mediation—

23 (1) may include the Office, the employee, the

24 employing office, and individuals who are rec-
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1 ommended to the Director by the Federal Mediation

2 and Conciliation Service, and

3 (2) shall be a process involving meetings with

4 the parties separately or jointly for the purpose of

5 resolving the dispute between the employee and the

6 employing office.

7 (b) MEDIATION PERIOD.—The mediation period shall

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

9 is received and may be extended for an additional 30 days

10 at the discretion of the Office. The Office shall notify the

11 employee and the head of the employing office when the

12 mediation period has ended. For purposes of this section,

13 the term ‘‘head of employing office’’ means the individual

14 who has final authority to appoint, hire, discharge, and

15 set the terms, conditions or privileges of the Congressional

16 employment of an employee.

17 SEC. 8. STEP III: FORMAL COMPLAINT AND HEARING.

18 (a) FORMAL COMPLAINT AND REQUEST FOR HEAR19 ING.—Not later than 30 days after receipt by the Congres20 sional employee of notice from the Office of the end of

21 the mediation period under section 7, the Congressional

22 employee may file a formal complaint with the Office. No

23 complaint may be filed unless the employee has made a

24 timely request for counseling and has completed the proce25 dures set forth in sections 6 and 7.
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1 (b) HEARING OFFICERS.—A board of 3 hearing offi2 cers (hereinafter in this Act referred to as a ‘‘hearing

3 board’’), who are chosen by lot from the Board of Direc4 tors (one of whom shall be designated by the Board of

5 Directors as the presiding hearing officer) shall be as6 signed to consider each complaint filed under subsection

7 (a). A hearing board shall act by majority vote.

8 (c) DISMISSAL OF FRIVOLOUS CLAIMS.—Prior to a

9 hearing under subsection (d), a hearing board may dismiss

10 any claim that it finds to be frivolous.

11 (d) HEARING.—A hearing shall be conducted—

12 (1) in closed session on the record by a hearing

13 board,

14 (2) no later than 30 days after filing of the

15 complaint under subsection (a), except that the Of16 fice may, for good cause, extend up to an additional

17 60 days the time for conducting a hearing, and

18 (3) except as specifically provided in this Act

19 and to the greatest extent practicable, in accordance

20 with the principles and procedures set forth in sec21 tions 554 through 557 of title 5, United States

22 Code.

23 (e) DISCOVERY.—Reasonable prehearing discovery

24 shall be permitted at the discretion of the hearing board.

25 (f) SUBPOENA POWER.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A hearing board may au2 thorize subpoenas, which shall be issued by the pre3 siding hearing officer on behalf of the hearing board,

4 for the attendance of witnesses at proceedings of the

5 hearing board and for the production of correspond6 ence, books, papers, documents, and other records.

7 The attendance of witnesses and the production of

8 evidence may be required from any place within the

9 United States.

10 (2) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per11 son refuses to obey a subpoena issued under para12 graph (1), the hearing board may apply to a United

13 States district court for an order requiring that per14 son to appear before the hearing board to give testi15 mony, produce evidence, or both, relating to the

16 matter under investigation. The application may be

17 made within the judicial district where the hearing

18 is conducted or where that person is found, resides,

19 or transacts business. Any failure to obey the order

20 of the court may be punished by the court as civil

21 contempt.

22 (3) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The subpoenas

23 of the hearing board shall be served in the manner

24 provided for subpoenas issued by a United States
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1 district court under the Federal Rules of Civil Pro2 cedure for the United States district courts.

3 (4) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of any

4 court to which application is be made under para5 graph (2) may be served in the judicial district in

6 which the person required to be served resides or

7 may be found.

8 (5) IMMUNITY.—The hearing board is an agen9 cy of the United States for the purpose of part V

10 of title 18, United States Code (relating to immunity

11 of witnesses).

12 (g) DECISION.—As expeditiously as possible, but in

13 no case more than 45 days after the conclusion of the

14 hearing, the hearing board shall issue a decision in the

15 matter for which the hearing was held. The decision of

16 the hearing board shall be transmitted by the Office to

17 the employee and the employing office. The decision shall

18 state the issues raised by the complaint, describe the evi19 dence in the record, and contain a determination as to

20 whether a violation of a law made applicable to Congress

21 under section 4 has occurred. Any decision of the hearing

22 board shall contain a written statement of the reasons for

23 the Board’s decision.

24 (h) REMEDY ORDER.—If the hearing board deter25 mines that a violation of a law made applicable to Con-
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1 gress under section 2(a) or 4(b) has occurred, it shall

2 order such remedies as would be appropriate under the

3 law which has been violated, including attorneys’ fees. The

4 hearing board shall have no authority to award punitive

5 damages. The entry of an order under this subsection shall

6 constitute a final decision for purposes of review under

7 section 9.

8 SEC. 9. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any Congressional employee ag10 grieved by a dismissal under section 8(c), a final decision

11 under section 8(g), or an order under section 8(h), or any

12 Member of the House of Representatives or Senate ag13 grieved by a final decision under section 8(g) or who would

14 be subject to an order issued under section 8(h), may peti15 tion for review by the United States Court of Appeals for

16 the Federal Circuit.

17 (b) LAW APPLICABLE.—Chapter 158 of title 28,

18 United States Code, shall apply to a review under sub19 section (a) except that—

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

21 United States Code, service of the petition shall be

22 on the House or Senate Legal Counsel, as the case

23 may be, rather than on the Attorney General,
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1 (2) the provisions of section 2348 of title 28,

2 United States Code, on the authority of the Attorney

3 General, shall not apply,

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

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

6 a final decision under section 8(g) or order under

7 section 8(h),

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

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

10 States Code, and

11 (5) the Office shall be the respondent in any

12 proceeding under subsection (a).

13 (c) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—To the extent necessary

14 to decision and when presented, the court shall decide all

15 relevant questions of law and interpret constitutional and

16 statutory provisions. The court shall set aside a final deci17 sion under section 8(h) or order under section 8(g) if it

18 is determined that the decision or order was—

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

20 or otherwise not consistent with law;

21 (2) not made consistent with required proce22 dures; or

23 (3) unsupported by substantial evidence.

24 In making the foregoing determinations, the court shall

25 review the whole record, or those parts of it cited by a
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1 party, and due account shall be taken of the rule of preju2 dicial error. The record on review shall include the record

3 before the hearing board, the decision of the hearing

4 board, and the order of the hearing board.

5 (d) FEES.—In an action brought under subsection

6 (a), the court may allow the prevailing party a reasonable

7 attorney’s fees (including expert witness fees) as part of

8 the costs.

9 SEC. 10. OTHER REVIEW.

10 (a) PERSONNEL APPEALS BOARD.—If the judicial re11 view of a dismissal notice, decision, or order under section

12 8(c), 8(g), or 8(h) under section 9 is held to be unconstitu13 tional, the review of such notice, decision, or order shall

14 be conducted by the Personnel Appeals Board of the Gen15 eral Accounting Office (hereinafter in this section referred

16 to as the ‘‘Board’’).

17 (b) PETITION FOR REVIEW.—Any Congressional em18 ployee aggrieved by a dismissal under section 8(c), a final

19 decision under section 8(g), or an order under section

20 8(h), or any Member of the House of Representatives or

21 Senate aggrieved by a final decision under section 8(g)

22 or who would be subject to an order issued under section

23 8(h), may petition for review by the Board.

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

25 to decision and when presented, the Board shall decide
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1 all relevant questions of law and interpret constitutional

2 and statutory provisions. The Board shall set aside a final

3 decision under section 8(h) or order under section 8(g)

4 if it is determined that the decision or order was—

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

6 or otherwise not in accordance with law,

7 (2) made without observance of procedure re8 quired by law, or

9 (3) unsupported by substantial evidence.

10 In making the foregoing determinations, the Board shall

11 review the whole record, or those parts of it cited by a

12 party, and due account shall be taken of the rule of preju13 dicial error. The record on review shall include the record

14 before the hearing board, the decision of the hearing

15 board, and the order of the hearing board.

16 (d) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—If an employee is the pre17 vailing party in a proceeding under this section, attorney’s

18 fees may be allowed by the Board in accordance with the

19 standards prescribed under section 706(k) of the Civil

20 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5(k)).

21 SEC. 11. RESOLUTION OF COMPLAINT.

22 If, after a formal complaint is filed under section 8,

23 the employee and the head of the employing office resolve

24 the issues involved, the employee may withdraw the com-
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1 plaint or the parties may enter into a written agreement,

2 subject to the approval of the Board of Directors.

3 SEC. 12. COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF DOCU4 MENTS.

5 Beginning on the date a respondent receives a com6 plaint under section 8 and ending on the date final action

7 has been taken on the complaint, the respondent shall col8 lect and preserve all documents and other information rel9 evant to such complaint.

10 SEC. 13. PROHIBITION OF INTIMIDATION.

11 Any intimidation of, or reprisal against, any employee

12 by any Member, officer, or employee of the House of Rep13 resentatives or the Senate, or by the Architect of the Cap14 itol, or anyone employed by the Architect of the Capitol,

15 as the case may be, because of the exercise of a right

16 under this Act or because of appearance as a witness in

17 a case under this Act constitutes an unlawful employment

18 practice, which may be remedied in the same manner

19 under this Act as is a violation of a law made applicable

20 to Congress under section 2(a) or 4(b).

21 SEC. 14. CONFIDENTIALITY.

22 (a) COUNSELING.—All counseling shall be strictly

23 confidential except that the Office and the employee may

24 agree to notify the head of the employing office of the alle25 gations.
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1 (b) MEDIATION.—All mediation shall be strictly con2 fidential.

3 (c) HEARINGS.—Except as provided in subsection

4 (d), the hearings, deliberations, and decisions of the hear5 ing board shall be confidential.

6 (d) RELEASE OF RECORDS FOR REVIEW.—The

7 records and decisions of hearing boards may be made pub8 lic if required for the purpose of review under section 9

9 or 10.

10 SEC. 15. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

11 (a) LAWS REFERRED TO IN SECTION 2(a).—

12 (1) FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938.—

13 (A) DEFINITION.—Section 3(e)(2)(A)(iii)

14 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29

15 U.S.C. 203(e)(2)(A)(iii)) is amended to read as

16 follows:

17 ‘‘(iii) in the Congress or in any unit

18 of the judicial branch of the Government

19 which has positions in the competitive serv20 ice,’’.

21 (B) COVERAGE.—Section 8 of the Fair

22 Labor Standards Amendments of 1989 is re23 pealed.

24 (2) TITLE VII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF

25 1964.—
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1 (A) CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1991.—Section

2 117 and title III of the Civil Rights Act of

3 1991 (2 U.S.C. 60l, 120l et seq.) are repealed.

4 (B) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPOR5 TUNITY.—Section 717(a) of the Civil Rights

6 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16(a)) is amend7 ed by striking out ‘‘in those units of the legisla8 tive and judicial branches of the Federal Gov9 ernment having positions in the competitive

10 service’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘in all

11 units of the Congress and in those units of the

12 judicial branch of the Federal Government hav13 ing positions in the competitive service’’.

14 (3) AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF

15 1990.—Section 509 of the Americans with Disabil16 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12209) is repealed and

17 section 101 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12111) is

18 amended—

19 (A) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking out

20 ‘‘the United States’’ the first time it appears

21 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the United States

22 (except as provided in paragraph (11))’’, and

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

24 ‘‘(11) The Congress shall be deemed an employer en25 gaged in an industry affecting commerce.’’.
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1 (4) AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT

2 OF 1967.—Section 11(b) of the Age Discrimination

3 in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 630(b)) is

4 amended (A) by striking out ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘(2)’’,

5 (B) by inserting before ‘‘but’’ the following: ‘‘and (3)

6 the Congress’’, and (C) by striking out ‘‘the United

7 States, or’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the execu8 tive and judicial branch of the United States, or’’.

9 (5) FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT OF

10 1993.—Title V of the Family and Medical Leave Act

11 of 1993 (2 U.S.C. 60m, 60n) is repealed.

12 (b) LAWS REFERRED TO IN SECTION 2(b).—

13 (1) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH.—

14 (A) DEFINITION OF EMPLOYER.—Section

15 3(5) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act

16 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 652(5)) is amended by

17 striking out ‘‘, but does not include the United

18 States or’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘and in19 cludes the Congress (to the extent authorized

20 by a regulation of the Office of Compliance es21 tablished under section 4(c) of the Congres22 sional Accountability Act) but does not include

23 executive or judicial branch of the Federal Gov24 ernment or’’.
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1 (B) DEFINITION OF EMPLOYEE.—Section

2 3(6) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 652(6)) is amend3 ed by inserting before the period a comma and

4 the following: ‘‘and, to the extent authorized by

5 a regulation of the Office of Compliance estab6 lished under section 4(c) of the Congressional

7 Accountability Act, the employees of the Con8 gress shall be deemed to be employed in a busi9 ness affecting commerce for the purpose of this

10 Act’’.

11 (2) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION.—Section

12 552(f) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by

13 striking out ‘‘or’’ before ‘‘any independent’’ and by

14 inserting before the period a comma and the follow15 ing: ‘‘or the Congress (to the extent authorized by

16 a regulation of the Office of Compliance established

17 under section 4(c) of the Congressional Accountabil18 ity Act)’’.

19 (3) PRIVACY.—Section 552a(a)(1) of title 5,

20 United States Code, is amended by striking out

21 ‘‘552(e)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘552(f)’’.

22 (4) AGE DISCRIMINATION.—Section 309(3) of

23 the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C.

24 6107) is amended by inserting after ‘‘means’’ the

25 following: ‘‘the Congress (to the extent authorized by
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1 a regulation of the Office of Compliance established

2 under section 4(c) of the Congressional Accountabil3 ity Act) and’’.

4 (c) RULE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—

5 Rule LI of the House of Representatives is repealed.

6 SEC. 16. POLITICAL AFFILIATION AND PLACE OF RESI7 DENCE.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be a violation of a law

9 made applicable to Congress under section 4 to consider

10 the—

11 (1) party affiliation,

12 (2) domicile, or

13 (3) political compatibility with the employing

14 office,

15 of an employee with respect to employment decisions.

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

17 the term ‘‘employee’’ means—

18 (1) an employee on the staff of the House of

19 Representatives or Senate leadership;

20 (2) an employee on the staff of a committee or

21 subcommittee;

22 (3) an employee on the staff of a Member of

23 the House of Representatives or Senate;

24 (4) an officer or employee of the House of Rep25 resentatives or Senate elected by the House of Rep-
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1 resentatives or Senate or appointed by a Member of

2 the House of Representatives or Senate, other than

3 those described in paragraphs (1) through (3); or

4 (5) an applicant for a position that is to be oc5 cupied by an individual described in paragraphs (1)

6 through (4).

7 SEC. 17. REVIEW LIMIT.

8 No Congressional employee may commence a judicial

9 proceeding to redress practices prohibited under a law

10 made applicable to Congress under section 2(a) or 4(b)

11 except as provided in this Act.

Æ

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