II 

Calendar No. 421 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2872 

To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to reform the procedures provided under such Act for the initiation, investigation, and resolution of claims alleging that employing offices of the legislative branch 

have violated the rights and protections provided to their employees 

under such Act, including protections against sexual harassment and 

discrimination, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 17, 2018 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. HARRIS, 

Ms. WARREN, Mr. CRUZ, Ms. BALDWIN, and Ms. CORTEZ MASTO) introduced the following bill; which was read the first time 

MAY 21, 2018 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

A BILL 

To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to 

reform the procedures provided under such Act for the 

initiation, investigation, and resolution of claims alleging 

that employing offices of the legislative branch have violated the rights and protections provided to their employees under such Act, including protections against sexual 

harassment and discrimination, and for other purposes. 


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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; REFERENCES IN ACT; TABLE OF 

4 CONTENTS. 

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

6 ‘‘Congressional Accountability and Harassment Reform 

7 Act’’. 

8 (b) REFERENCES IN ACT.—Except as otherwise ex9 pressly provided in this Act, wherever an amendment or 

10 repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to or repeal 

11 of a section or other provision, the reference shall be con12 sidered to be made to that section or other provision of 

13 the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

14 1301 et seq.). 

15 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

16 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; references in Act; table of contents. 

TITLE I—REFORM OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEDURES 

Subtitle A—Reform of Procedures for Initiation, Investigation, and Resolution 

of Claims 

Sec. 101. Description of procedures available for consideration of alleged violations. 

Sec. 102. Reform of process for initiation of procedures. 

Sec. 103. Investigation of claims by General Counsel. 

Sec. 104. Availability of mediation during investigations. 

Subtitle B—Other Reforms 

Sec. 111. Personal liability of Members of Congress. 

Sec. 112. Automatic referral to congressional ethics committees of disposition 

of certain claims alleging violations of Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 involving Members of Congress and senior 

staff. 


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Sec. 113. Availability of remote work assignment or paid leave of absence during pendency of procedures. 

Sec. 114. Modification of rules on confidentiality of proceedings. 

Sec. 115. Reimbursement by other employing offices of legislative branch of 

payments of certain awards and settlements. 

TITLE II—IMPROVING OPERATIONS OF OFFICE OF 

CONGRESSIONAL WORKPLACE RIGHTS 

Sec. 201. Reports on claims, awards, and settlements. 

Sec. 202. Record retention. 

Sec. 203. Workplace climate surveys of employing offices. 

Sec. 204. Office of Employee Advocacy. 

Sec. 205. GAO study of management practices. 

Sec. 206. GAO audit of cybersecurity. 

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS REFORMS 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Application of Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008. 

Sec. 303. Extension to unpaid staff of rights and protections against employment discrimination. 

Sec. 304. Notices. 

Sec. 305. General provisions. 

Sec. 306. Clarification of coverage of employees of Stennis Center and Helsinki 

and China Commissions. 

Sec. 307. Training and education programs of other employing offices. 

Sec. 308. Support for out-of-area covered employees. 

Sec. 309. Renaming Office of Compliance as Office of Congressional Workplace 

Rights. 

TITLE IV—EFFECTIVE DATE 

Sec. 401. Effective date. 

1 TITLE I—REFORM OF DISPUTE 

2 RESOLUTION PROCEDURES 

3 Subtitle A—Reform of Procedures 

4 for Initiation, Investigation, and 

5 Resolution of Claims 

6 SEC. 101. DESCRIPTION OF PROCEDURES AVAILABLE FOR 

7 CONSIDERATION OF ALLEGED VIOLATIONS. 

8 (a) PROCEDURES DESCRIBED.—Section 401 (2 

9 U.S.C. 1401) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 401. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF ALLEGED 

2 VIOLATIONS. 

3 ‘‘(a) FILING AND INVESTIGATION OF CLAIMS.—Ex4 cept as otherwise provided in this Act, the procedure for 

5 consideration of an alleged violation of part A of title II 

6 consists of— 

7 ‘‘(1) the filing of a claim by the covered em8 ployee alleging the violation, as provided in section 

9 402, which may be followed, as described in that 

10 section, with pre-investigation mediation under sec11 tion 404; 

12 ‘‘(2) an investigation of the claim, to be con13 ducted by the General Counsel as provided in section 

14 403, which may be accompanied by mediation during 

15 the investigation under section 404; and 

16 ‘‘(3) a formal hearing as provided in section 

17 405, subject to Board review as provided in section 

18 406, and judicial review in the United States Court 

19 of Appeals for the Federal Circuit as provided in 

20 section 407, but only if, pursuant to an investigation 

21 conducted by the General Counsel as provided in 

22 section 403, the General Counsel finds either— 

23 ‘‘(A) that there is reasonable cause to be24 lieve that the employing office involved com25 mitted a violation of part A of title II as alleged 

26 in the covered employee’s claim; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) that the General Counsel cannot de2 termine whether or not there is reasonable 

3 cause to believe that the employing office com4 mitted a violation of part A of title II as alleged 

5 in the covered employee’s claim. 

6 ‘‘(b) RIGHT OF EMPLOYEE TO FILE CIVIL AC7 TION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) CIVIL ACTION.—A covered employee who 

9 files a claim as provided in section 402 may, during 

10 the period described in paragraph (3), file a civil ac11 tion in a district court of the United States with re12 spect to the alleged violation involved, as provided in 

13 section 408. 

14 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF FILING CIVIL ACTION.—Not15 withstanding paragraph (2) or paragraph (3) of sub16 section (a), if the covered employee files such a civil 

17 action— 

18 ‘‘(A) the investigation of the claim by the 

19 General Counsel as provided in section 403, or 

20 any subsequent formal hearing as provided in 

21 section 405, shall terminate upon the filing of 

22 the action by the covered employee; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the procedure for consideration of the 

24 alleged violation shall not include any further 

25 investigation of the claim by the General CounVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 21, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2872.PCS S2872

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1 sel as provided in section 403 or any subse2 quent formal hearing as provided in section 

3 405. 

4 ‘‘(3) PERIOD FOR FILING CIVIL ACTION.—The 

5 period described in this paragraph with respect to a 

6 claim is the period that begins on the date on which 

7 the covered employee files the claim under section 

8 402 and ends 90 days after the date the report de9 scribed in section 403(c)(1) is transmitted to the 

10 covered employee. 

11 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR ARCHITECT OF THE CAP12 ITOL AND CAPITOL POLICE.—In the case of an employee 

13 of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol or of the Cap14 itol Police, the Office, after receiving a claim filed under 

15 section 402, may recommend that the employee use, for 

16 a specific period of time, the grievance procedures of the 

17 Architect of the Capitol or the Capitol Police for resolution 

18 of the employee’s grievance. 

19 ‘‘(d) ELECTION OF REMEDIES FOR LIBRARY OF CON20 GRESS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

22 ‘‘(A) DIRECT ACT.—The term ‘direct Act’ 

23 means an Act (other than this Act), or provi24 sion of the Revised Statutes, that is specified in 

25 section 201, 202, or 203. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DIRECT PROVISION.—The term ‘di2 rect provision’ means a provision (including a 

3 definitional provision) of a direct Act that ap4 plies the rights or protections of a direct Act 

5 (including rights and protections relating to 

6 nonretaliation or noncoercion) to a Library 

7 claimant. 

8 ‘‘(C) LIBRARY CLAIMANT.—The term ‘Li9 brary claimant’ means, with respect to a direct 

10 provision, an employee of the Library of Con11 gress who is covered by that direct provision. 

12 ‘‘(2) ELECTION AFTER PROCEEDINGS INITIALLY

13 BROUGHT UNDER THIS ACT.—A Library claimant 

14 who initially files a claim for an alleged violation as 

15 provided in section 402 may, instead of proceeding 

16 with the claim in accordance with section 405 or fil17 ing a civil action in accordance with section 408, 

18 during the period described in subsection (b)(3) but 

19 before the Office commences a hearing under section 

20 405, elect to bring the claim for a proceeding before 

21 the corresponding Federal agency, under the cor22 responding direct provision. 

23 ‘‘(3) ELECTION AFTER PROCEEDINGS INITIALLY

24 BROUGHT UNDER OTHER CIVIL RIGHTS OR LABOR

25 LAW.—A Library claimant who initially brings a 


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1 claim, complaint, or charge under a direct provision 

2 for a proceeding before a Federal agency may, prior 

3 to requesting a hearing under the agency’s proce4 dures, elect to— 

5 ‘‘(A) bring any civil action relating to the 

6 claim, complaint, or charge, that is available to 

7 the Library claimant; 

8 ‘‘(B) file a claim with the Office under sec9 tion 402; or 

10 ‘‘(C) file a civil action in accordance with 

11 section 408 in the United States district court 

12 for the district in which the employee is em13 ployed or for the District of Columbia. 

14 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.—This subsection shall take 

15 effect and shall apply as described in section 153(c) 

16 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2018, 

17 except that it shall not apply to a violation of section 

18 210(b) or a public services and accommodations di19 rect provision (as defined in section 210(h)(1)). 

20 ‘‘(e) RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS TO RETAIN PRIVATE

21 COUNSEL.—Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit 

22 the authority of any particular individual, including a cov23 ered employee, or the head of an employing office, to re24 tain private counsel to protect the interests of the par25 ticular individual at any point during any of the proceVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 21, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2872.PCS S2872

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1 dures provided under this Act for the consideration of an 

2 alleged violation of part A of title II. 

3 ‘‘(f) STANDARDS FOR COUNSEL PROVIDING REP4 RESENTATION.—Any counsel who represents a party in 

5 any of the procedures provided under this Act shall have 

6 an obligation to ensure that, to the best of the counsel’s 

7 knowledge, information, and belief, as formed after an in8 quiry which is reasonable under the circumstances, each 

9 of the following is correct: 

10 ‘‘(1) No pleading, written motion, or other 

11 paper is presented for any improper purpose, such 

12 as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly 

13 increase the cost of resolution of the matter. 

14 ‘‘(2) The claims, defenses, and other legal con15 tentions the counsel advocates are warranted by ex16 isting law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extend17 ing, modifying, or reversing existing law or for es18 tablishing new law. 

19 ‘‘(3) The factual contentions have evidentiary 

20 support or, if specifically so identified, will likely 

21 have evidentiary support after a reasonable oppor22 tunity for further investigation or discovery. 

23 ‘‘(4) The denials of factual contentions are war24 ranted on the evidence or, if specifically so identiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 21, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2872.PCS S2872

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1 fied, are reasonably based on belief or a lack of in2 formation.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO CIVIL

4 ACTION.—Section 408(a) (2 U.S.C. 1408(a)) is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘section 404’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘section 401’’; 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘who has completed counseling 

9 under section 402 and mediation under section 403’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘who filed a timely claim under sec11 tion 402 and made a timely filing under this section 

12 as described in section 401(b)’’; and 

13 (3) by striking the second sentence. 

14 (c) AMENDMENTS RELATING TO LIBRARY CLAIM15 ANTS AND RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER THE AMER16 ICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990 RELATING TO

17 PUBLIC SERVICES AND ACCOMMODATIONS.—Section 210 

18 (2 U.S.C. 1331) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (d)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘section 

21 403’’ and inserting ‘‘section 404’’; and 

22 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘section 

23 405’’ and inserting ‘‘section 405 (notwith24 standing any requirement for a report by the 

25 General Counsel)’’; 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub2 section (i); and 

3 (3) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(h) ELECTION OF REMEDIES RELATING TO PUBLIC

6 SERVICES AND ACCOMMODATIONS FOR LIBRARY CLAIM7 ANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

9 ‘‘(A) LIBRARY CLAIMANT.—In this sub10 section, the term ‘Library claimant’ means an 

11 individual who is eligible to provide services for, 

12 or receive services from, the Library of Con13 gress and who is covered by a public services 

14 and accommodations direct provision. 

15 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC SERVICES AND ACCOMMODA16 TIONS DIRECT PROVISION.—The term ‘public 

17 services and accommodations direct provision’ 

18 means a provision (including a definitional pro19 vision or a provision relating to nonretaliation 

20 or noncoercion) of the Americans with Disabil21 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) 

22 that applies the rights or protections described 

23 in subsection (b) to a Library claimant. 

24 ‘‘(C) TRANSITION PERIOD.—The term 

25 ‘transition period’ means the period beginning 


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1 on the date of enactment of the Legislative 

2 Branch Appropriations Act, 2018, and ending 

3 on the day before the date of enactment of the 

4 Congressional Accountability and Harassment 

5 Reform Act. 

6 ‘‘(2) ELECTION AFTER PROCEEDINGS INITIALLY

7 BROUGHT UNDER THIS ACT.—A Library claimant 

8 who initially files a charge for an alleged violation 

9 under subsection (d)(1) may, instead of proceeding 

10 with the charge and before the General Counsel files 

11 a complaint under subsection (d)(3), elect to bring 

12 the charge for a proceeding before the Library of 

13 Congress under section 510 (other than paragraph 

14 (5)) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

15 (42 U.S.C. 12209), under the corresponding public 

16 services and accommodations direct provision. 

17 ‘‘(3) ELECTION AFTER PROCEEDINGS INITIALLY

18 BROUGHT UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABIL19 ITIES ACT OF 1990.—A Library claimant who ini20 tially brings a claim, complaint, or charge under sec21 tion 510 (other than paragraph (5)) of the Ameri22 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

23 12209) regarding a violation of a public services and 

24 accommodation direct provision may, prior to re25 questing a hearing under the procedures of the LiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 21, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2872.PCS S2872

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1 brary of Congress relating to that provision, elect to 

2 file a charge for an alleged violation of that provi3 sion under subsection (d)(1). 

4 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara6 graph (B), this subsection shall take effect and 

7 shall apply as described in section 153(c) of the 

8 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2018 

9 (Public Law 115–141) with respect to a viola10 tion of this section or a public services and ac11 commodations direct provision. 

12 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—Notwithstanding 

13 section 153(c) of the Legislative Branch Appro14 priations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115–141)— 

15 ‘‘(i) a Library claimant who brings a 

16 charge, complaint, or claim of a violation 

17 of a public services and accommodations 

18 direct provision during the transition pe19 riod shall— 

20 ‘‘(I) be subject to the election of 

21 proceeding provisions of this sub22 section; and 

23 ‘‘(II) be treated as if the Library 

24 claimant initially filed a charge as de25 scribed in paragraph (2) or initially 


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1 brought a claim, complaint, or charge 

2 as described in paragraph (3), as the 

3 case may be; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) any applicable filing deadlines, 

5 and deadlines based on the filing deadlines, 

6 with respect to a Library claimant de7 scribed in clause (i) shall be stayed for the 

8 duration of the transition period.’’. 

9 (d) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title IV is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by striking section 404 (2 U.S.C. 1404); 

12 and 

13 (2) by redesignating section 403 (2 U.S.C. 

14 1403) as section 404. 

15 (e) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

16 is amended— 

17 (1) by striking the item relating to section 404; 

18 and 

19 (2) by redesignating the item relating to section 

20 403 as relating to section 404. 

21 SEC. 102. REFORM OF PROCESS FOR INITIATION OF PROCE22 DURES. 

23 (a) INITIATION OF PROCEDURES.—Section 402 (2 

24 U.S.C. 1402) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 402. INITIATION OF PROCEDURES. 

2 ‘‘(a) INTAKE OF CLAIM BY OFFICE.—To commence 

3 a proceeding under this title, a covered employee alleging 

4 a violation of law made applicable under part A of title 

5 II shall file a claim with the Office. The claim shall be 

6 made in writing under oath or affirmation, and shall be 

7 in such form as the Office requires. 

8 ‘‘(b) INITIAL PROCESSING OF CLAIM.— 

9 ‘‘(1) INTAKE AND RECORDING; NOTIFICATION

10 TO EMPLOYING OFFICE.—Upon the filing of a claim 

11 by a covered employee under subsection (a), the Of12 fice shall take such steps as may be necessary for 

13 the initial intake and recording of the claim, includ14 ing providing the employee with all relevant informa15 tion with respect to the rights of the employee under 

16 this Act, and shall notify the head of the employing 

17 office of the claim. 

18 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

19 FOR CLAIMS BASED ON ACTS COMMITTED PERSON20 ALLY BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a claim 

22 alleging a violation described in subparagraph 

23 (B) by an individual, upon the filing of the 

24 claim under subsection (a), the Office shall no25 tify such individual of the claim, and the possi26 bility that the individual may be required to reVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 21, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2872.PCS S2872

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1 imburse the account described in section 415(a) 

2 for the amount of any award or settlement in 

3 connection with the claim. 

4 ‘‘(B) VIOLATIONS DESCRIBED.—A viola5 tion described in this subparagraph is covered 

6 discrimination or covered harassment com7 mitted personally by a Member of Congress, as 

8 defined in section 415(e)(4). 

9 ‘‘(c) PRE-INVESTIGATION MEDIATION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION OF RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF

11 PRE-INVESTIGATION MEDIATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—Upon receipt 

13 of a claim, the Office shall notify the covered 

14 employee about the process for pre-investigation 

15 mediation under section 404, the right to opt 

16 out of the pre-investigation mediation, and the 

17 deadline for opting out of the pre-investigation 

18 mediation. 

19 ‘‘(B) EMPLOYING OFFICE.—Upon notifica20 tion to the employing office of the claim pursu21 ant to subsection (b), the Office shall notify the 

22 employing office about the process for pre-in23 vestigation mediation under section 404, the 

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1 ation, and the deadline for opting out of the 

2 pre-investigation mediation. 

3 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE TO OPT OUT OF MEDIATION.— 

4 The deadline for opting out of the pre-investigation 

5 mediation shall be the tenth business day following 

6 the filing of the claim that would be the subject of 

7 the mediation. 

8 ‘‘(3) ASSIGNMENT OF MEDIATOR.—Unless ei9 ther the covered employee or the employing office 

10 opts out of the pre-investigation mediation by the 

11 deadline described in paragraph (2), the Office shall 

12 promptly assign a mediator to the claim. The medi13 ation shall be conducted as provided in subsections 

14 (b) through (d) of section 404. 

15 ‘‘(d) USE OF ELECTRONIC REPORTING AND TRACK16 ING SYSTEM.— 

17 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF SYS18 TEM.—The Office shall establish and operate an 

19 electronic reporting and tracking system through 

20 which a covered employee may initiate a proceeding 

21 under this title, and which will keep an electronic 

22 record of the date and time at which the proceeding 

23 is initiated and will track all subsequent actions or 

24 proceedings occurring with respect to the proceeding 

25 under this title. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ACCESSIBILITY TO ALL PARTIES.—The 

2 system shall be accessible to all parties to such ac3 tions or proceedings, but only until the completion of 

4 such actions or proceedings. 

5 ‘‘(3) ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTIVENESS OF PRO6 CEDURES.—The Office shall use the information 

7 contained in the system to make regular assessments 

8 of the effectiveness of the procedures under this title 

9 in providing for the timely resolution of claims, and 

10 shall submit semi-annual reports on such assess11 ments each year to the Committee on House Admin12 istration of the House of Representatives and the 

13 Committee on Rules and Administration of the Sen14 ate. 

15 ‘‘(e) DEADLINE.—A covered employee may not file a 

16 claim under this section with respect to an allegation of 

17 a violation of law after the expiration of the 180-day pe18 riod which begins on the date of the alleged violation. The 

19 Office shall not accept a claim that does not meet the re20 quirements of this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(f) NO EFFECT ON ABILITY OF COVERED EM22 PLOYEE TO SEEK INFORMATION FROM OFFICE OR PUR23 SUE RELIEF.—Nothing in this section may be construed 

24 to limit the ability of a covered employee— 


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1 ‘‘(1) to contact the Office or any other appro2 priate office prior to filing a claim under this title 

3 to seek information regarding the employee’s rights 

4 under this Act and the procedures available under 

5 this Act; 

6 ‘‘(2) in the case of a covered employee of an 

7 employing office described in subparagraph (A), (B), 

8 or (C) of section 101(9), to refer information re9 garding an alleged violation of part A of title II to 

10 the Committee on Ethics of the House of Represent11 atives or the Select Committee on Ethics of the Sen12 ate (as the case may be); or 

13 ‘‘(3) to file a civil action in accordance with sec14 tion 401(b).’’. 

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

16 is amended by amending the item relating to section 402 

17 to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 402. Initiation of procedures.’’. 

18 SEC. 103. INVESTIGATION OF CLAIMS BY GENERAL COUN19 SEL. 

20 (a) INVESTIGATIONS DESCRIBED.—Title IV (2 

21 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.), as amended by section 101(d), is 

22 further amended by inserting after section 402 the fol23 lowing new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 403. INVESTIGATION OF CLAIMS. 

2 ‘‘(a) INVESTIGATION.—Upon the completion of the 

3 initial processing of a claim under section 402(b) and (if 

4 pre-investigation mediation described in section 402(c) oc5 curs) the completion of that pre-investigation mediation 

6 without a resolution of the claim, the General Counsel 

7 shall conduct an investigation of the claim involved. 

8 ‘‘(b) SUBPOENAS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ISSUANCE.—To carry out an investigation 

10 under this section, the General Counsel may issue 

11 subpoenas to obtain witness testimony and for the 

12 production of correspondence, books, papers, docu13 ments, and other records, subject to the following 

14 conditions: 

15 ‘‘(A) INABILITY TO OBTAIN INFORMA16 TION.—The General Counsel shall not issue a 

17 subpoena to obtain testimony or records under 

18 this section unless the General Counsel has 

19 been unable to obtain the requested information 

20 through reasonable, noncompulsory methods. 

21 ‘‘(B) SERVICE.—Subpoenas shall be served 

22 in the manner provided under rule 45(b) of the 

23 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 

24 ‘‘(C) PROTECTED INFORMATION.—The 

25 General Counsel may not subpoena— 


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1 ‘‘(i) information in the possession of 

2 the Capitol Police that is security informa3 tion, as defined in section 1009 of the Leg4 islative Branch Appropriations Act, 2005 

5 (2 U.S.C. 1979); or 

6 ‘‘(ii) any information, data, estimates, 

7 or statistics that the Director of the Con8 gressional Budget Office is required to 

9 keep confidential under section 203(e) of 

10 the Congressional Budget of 1974 (2 

11 U.S.C. 603(e)). 

12 ‘‘(D) PRIVILEGES.—Nothing in this para13 graph shall constitute a waiver of the privileges 

14 of any Senator or Member of the House of Rep15 resentatives under article I, section 6, clause 1, 

16 of the Constitution of the United States, or a 

17 waiver of any power of either the Senate or the 

18 House of Representatives under the Constitu19 tion (including under article I, section 5, clause 

20 3 of the Constitution) or under the rules of ei21 ther House, relating to a record or other infor22 mation within its jurisdiction or the jurisdiction 

23 of any employing office, if the record or other 

24 information relates to serving a Member of 

25 Congress or an employing office described in 


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1 subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 

2 101(9)— 

3 ‘‘(i) with respect to policymaking; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) as an advisor with respect to the 

5 exercise of the constitutional or legal pow6 ers of the office. 

7 ‘‘(2) DISPUTE PROCEDURES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Disputes concerning a 

9 subpoena issued under paragraph (1) may be 

10 resolved in accordance with subparagraphs (B) 

11 and (C). 

12 ‘‘(B) SUBMISSION TO BOARD.—If the per13 son or entity subpoenaed refuses on the basis of 

14 relevance or privilege or other objection, to tes15 tify in response to a question or to produce 

16 records in response to a request for production 

17 of records, then the objection shall be submitted 

18 to the Board for review. The Board may modify 

19 the requests contained in the subpoena or may 

20 authorize the General Counsel to apply, in the 

21 name of the Office, to the appropriate district 

22 court of the United States for an order requir23 ing the person or entity to appear before the 

24 General Counsel to give testimony or produce 

25 records. 


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1 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION TO DISTRICT COURT.— 

2 The application to the court shall be made 

3 under seal and made within the judicial district 

4 where the person or entity is found, resides, or 

5 transacts business. Any failure to obey an order 

6 of the district court issued pursuant to this 

7 paragraph may be held by such court to be a 

8 civil contempt of court. 

9 ‘‘(D) PROCESS.—Process in an action or 

10 contempt proceeding pursuant to this para11 graph may be served in any judicial district in 

12 which the person or entity refusing or failing to 

13 comply, or threatening to refuse or not to com14 ply, is found, resides, or transacts business. 

15 Subpoenas for witnesses who are required to at16 tend such an action or proceeding may run into 

17 any other district. 

18 ‘‘(c) REPORT; FINDINGS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) REPORT.—Upon concluding an investiga20 tion of a claim under this section, the General Coun21 sel shall transmit a written report on the results of 

22 the investigation to the covered employee and the 

23 employing office involved. In the case of a finding 

24 under subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B) of 

25 paragraph (2), the General Counsel shall include in 


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1 the report the legal and factual bases for making 

2 such finding. 

3 ‘‘(2) INCLUSION OF FINDINGS.—The General 

4 Counsel shall include in the report transmitted 

5 under paragraph (1) one of the following findings: 

6 ‘‘(A) A finding that there is reasonable 

7 cause to believe that the employing office com8 mitted a violation of part A of title II, as al9 leged in the covered employee’s claim. 

10 ‘‘(B) A finding that there is no reasonable 

11 cause to believe that the employing office com12 mitted a violation of part A of title II, as al13 leged in the covered employee’s claim. 

14 ‘‘(C) A finding that the General Counsel 

15 cannot determine whether or not there is rea16 sonable cause to believe that the employing of17 fice committed a violation of part A of title II, 

18 as alleged in the covered employee’s claim. 

19 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF RIGHT TO FILE CIVIL AC20 TION.—If the General Counsel transmits a report 

21 with a finding under subparagraph (B) of paragraph 

22 (2), the General Counsel shall also transmit to the 

23 covered employee a written notice that the employee 

24 has the right to file a civil action with respect to the 

25 claim under section 408. 


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1 ‘‘(4) TRANSMISSION TO EXECUTIVE DIREC2 TOR.—If the General Counsel transmits a report 

3 with a finding under subparagraph (A) or subpara4 graph (C) of paragraph (2), the General Counsel 

5 shall also transmit the report to the Executive Di6 rector. 

7 ‘‘(5) TRANSMISSION OF REPORT ON INVESTIGA8 TION OF CERTAIN CLAIMS TO CONGRESSIONAL ETH9 ICS COMMITTEES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a report 

11 transmitted by the General Counsel under para12 graph (1) on the results of an investigation of 

13 a claim alleging a violation described in sub14 paragraph (B) by a Member of Congress, if 

15 such report includes a finding of reasonable 

16 cause under paragraph (2)(A) the General 

17 Counsel shall transmit the report to— 

18 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Ethics of the 

19 House of Representatives, in the case of a 

20 Member of the House (including a Dele21 gate or Resident Commissioner to the Con22 gress); or 

23 ‘‘(ii) the Select Committee on Ethics 

24 of the Senate, in the case of a Senator. 


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1 ‘‘(B) VIOLATIONS DESCRIBED.—A viola2 tion described in this subparagraph is covered 

3 discrimination or covered harassment com4 mitted personally by a Member of Congress, as 

5 defined in section 415(e)(4). 

6 ‘‘(d) RECOMMENDATION OF MEDIATION.—At any 

7 time during the investigation of a claim under this section, 

8 the General Counsel may make a recommendation that the 

9 covered employee and the employing office pursue medi10 ation under section 404 with respect to the claim. 

11 ‘‘(e) DEADLINE FOR CONCLUDING INVESTIGATION.— 

12 The General Counsel shall conclude the investigation of 

13 a claim under this section, and transmit the report on the 

14 results of the investigation, not later than 90 days after 

15 the claim is filed under section 402, except that— 

16 ‘‘(1) the General Counsel may (upon notice to 

17 the parties to the investigation) use an additional 

18 period not to exceed 30 days to conclude the inves19 tigation; and 

20 ‘‘(2) the 90-day investigation and reporting pe21 riod and the 30-day period of additional time to con22 clude the investigation shall be stayed pending medi23 ation conducted pursuant to section 404, if any.’’. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO

25 HEARINGS COMMENCED BY OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL


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1 WORKPLACE RIGHTS.—Section 405 (2 U.S.C. 1405) is 

2 amended as follows: 

3 (1) In the heading, by striking ‘‘COMPLAINT

4 AND’’. 

5 (2) By amending subsection (a) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT FOR HEARINGS TO COMMENCE

8 IN OFFICE.— 

9 ‘‘(1) HEARING REQUIRED UPON CERTAIN FIND10 INGS BY GENERAL COUNSEL.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the General Coun12 sel transmits to the Executive Director a report 

13 on the investigation of a claim under section 

14 403 which includes a finding described in sub15 paragraph (B), and if the covered employee 

16 does not withdraw the claim, the Executive Di17 rector shall appoint an independent hearing of18 ficer pursuant to subsection (c) to consider the 

19 claim and render a decision, and a hearing shall 

20 be commenced in the Office. 

21 ‘‘(B) FINDINGS DESCRIBED.—A finding 

22 described in this subparagraph is— 

23 ‘‘(i) a finding under section 

24 403(c)(2)(A) that there is reasonable cause 

25 to believe that an employing office comVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 21, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2872.PCS S2872

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1 mitted a violation of part A of title II, as 

2 alleged in a claim filed by a covered em3 ployee; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) a finding under section 

5 403(c)(2)(C) that the General Counsel 

6 cannot determine whether or not there is 

7 reasonable cause to believe that the em8 ploying office committed a violation of part 

9 A of title II, as alleged in the covered em10 ployee’s claim.’’. 

11 (3) In subsection (b), by striking ‘‘dismiss any 

12 claim’’ and inserting ‘‘dismiss any cause of action 

13 within a claim’’. 

14 (4) In subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘Upon the 

15 filing of a complaint’’ and inserting ‘‘Upon receipt 

16 by the Executive Director of the General Counsel’s 

17 report on the investigation of the claim transmitted 

18 under subsection (a)’’. 

19 (5) In subsection (d)— 

20 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

21 by striking ‘‘complaint’’ and inserting ‘‘claim’’; 

22 and 

23 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘no later 

24 than 60 days after filing of the complaint’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘no later than 60 days after the ExecVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 21, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2872.PCS S2872

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1 utive Director receives the General Counsel’s 

2 report on the investigation of the claim’’. 

3 (6) In subsection (g), by striking ‘‘complaint’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘claim’’. 

5 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The head6 ing of section 414 (2 U.S.C. 1414) is amended by striking 

7 ‘‘OF COMPLAINTS’’. 

8 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents, 

9 as amended by section 101(e), is further amended as fol10 lows: 

11 (1) By inserting after the item relating to sec12 tion 402 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 403. Investigation of claims.’’. 

13 (2) By amending the item relating to section 

14 405 to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 405. Hearing.’’. 

15 (3) By amending the item relating to section 

16 414 to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 414. Settlement.’’. 

17 SEC. 104. AVAILABILITY OF MEDIATION DURING INVES18 TIGATIONS. 

19 (a) OPTION TO REQUEST MEDIATION.—Section 

20 404(a) (2 U.S.C. 1403(a)), as redesignated by section 

21 101(d), is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY OF MEDIATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) BEFORE INVESTIGATION.—Unless either 

2 the covered employee or the employing office opts 

3 out of pre-investigation mediation by the deadline 

4 described in section 402(c)(2), the Office shall con5 duct such mediation under subsections (b) through 

6 (d). 

7 ‘‘(2) DURING INVESTIGATION.—At any time 

8 during the investigation of a covered employee’s 

9 claim under section 403, the covered employee and 

10 the employing office may jointly file a request for 

11 mediation with the Office.’’. 

12 (b) PERIOD OF MEDIATION.—Section 404(c) (2 

13 U.S.C. 1403(c)), as redesignated by section 101(d), is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘begin16 ning’’ and inserting ‘‘beginning (in the case of pre17 investigation mediation) on the first day after the 

18 deadline described in section 402(c)(2) and begin19 ning (in the case of mediation during the investiga20 tion)’’; and 

21 (2) by striking the second sentence and insert22 ing ‘‘The mediation period may be extended for one 

23 additional period of 30 days at the joint request of 

24 the covered employee and employing office.’’. 


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1 (c) REQUIRING PARTIES TO BE SEPARATED DURING

2 MEDIATION AT REQUEST OF EMPLOYEE.—Section 

3 404(b)(2) (2 U.S.C. 1403(b)(2)), as redesignated by sec4 tion 101(d), is amended by striking ‘‘meetings with the 

5 parties separately or jointly’’ and inserting ‘‘meetings with 

6 the parties during which, at the request of the covered 

7 employee, the parties shall be separated,’’. 

8 Subtitle B—Other Reforms 

9 SEC. 111. PERSONAL LIABILITY OF MEMBERS OF CON10 GRESS. 

11 Section 415 of the Congressional Accountability Act 

12 of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1415) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting after the first 

14 sentence the following: ‘‘Under no circumstances 

15 may an employing office use funds from the Mem16 bers’ Representational Allowance under section 101 

17 of the House of Representatives Administrative Re18 form Technical Corrections Act (2 U.S.C. 5341), the 

19 Senators’ Official Personnel and Office Expense Ac20 count, or any appropriated funds other than funds 

21 appropriated under this subsection, for the payment 

22 of awards and settlements under this Act.’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(d) COMMITTEE APPROVALS.—Before a payment is 

25 made from the account described in subsection (a) for a 


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1 settlement for covered discrimination or covered harass2 ment in an employing office described in subparagraph (A) 

3 or (B) of section 101(9), the chair and ranking member 

4 of the appropriate committee shall approve the payment. 

5 ‘‘(e) PERSONAL LIABILITY OF MEMBERS OF CON6 GRESS FOR PAYMENT OF SETTLEMENTS AND AWARDS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) REIMBURSEMENT.—If a payment is made 

8 from the account described in subsection (a) for an 

9 award or settlement that relates, in part or in whole, 

10 to an allegation of covered discrimination or covered 

11 harassment committed personally by a Member of 

12 Congress, the Member of Congress who is alleged to 

13 have committed the discrimination or harassment 

14 shall, except as provided in subparagraph (2), reim15 burse the account for the amount of the award or 

16 settlement. 

17 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—In the case of a settlement 

18 that relates, in part or in whole, to an allegation of 

19 covered discrimination or covered harassment com20 mitted personally by a Member of Congress, the 

21 Member may request a nonreimbursement deter22 mination. If the appropriate committee finds by a 

23 preponderance of the evidence, based on any record 

24 from a proceeding under this title that may have ex25 isted on the date of the payment, and using a rebutVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 21, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2872.PCS S2872

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1 table presumption in favor of requiring reimburse2 ment, that the Member of Congress has not engaged 

3 in the alleged violation, the committee shall issue a 

4 nonreimbursement determination. The committee 

5 shall issue the determination and the committee’s 

6 rationale for the determination in writing. Unless 

7 the settlement is not publicly disclosed, such deter8 mination and rationale shall be publicly disclosed by 

9 the Office. 

10 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 

11 shall be construed to require a Member of Congress 

12 to reimburse the account under paragraph (1), with 

13 respect to an allegation of covered discrimination, or 

14 covered harassment, that is wholly committed by an 

15 employee of the employing office involved. 

16 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In subsection (d) and this 

17 subsection— 

18 ‘‘(A) the term ‘appropriate committee’ 

19 means— 

20 ‘‘(i) if the personal office of a Member 

21 of, or a Committee of, the House of Rep22 resentatives, or a joint committee chaired 

23 by such a Member, seeks a payment under 

24 subsection (d), or a Member of the House 

25 of Representatives seeks a determination 


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1 under this subsection, the Committee on 

2 Ethics of the House of Representatives; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) if the personal office of a Sen5 ator, or a Committee of the Senate, or a 

6 joint committee chaired by a Senator, 

7 seeks a payment under subsection (d), or 

8 a Senator seeks a determination under this 

9 subsection, the Senate Select Committee 

10 on Ethics; 

11 ‘‘(B) the term ‘covered discrimination’ 

12 means— 

13 ‘‘(i) discrimination prohibited by sec14 tion 201(a) (including, in accordance with 

15 section 102(c), discrimination prohibited 

16 by title II of the Genetic Information Non17 discrimination Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 

18 2000ff et seq.)) or 206(a); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) a violation of section 207, or a 

20 violation of section 4311(b) of title 38, 

21 United States Code, that is related to dis22 crimination described in clause (i); 

23 ‘‘(C) the term ‘covered discrimination or 

24 covered harassment committed personally’, used 

25 with respect to a Member of Congress, means— 


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1 ‘‘(i) covered discrimination (other 

2 than covered harassment) that was com3 mitted personally by a Member of Con4 gress; 

5 ‘‘(ii) quid pro quo covered harassment 

6 that was committed personally by a Mem7 ber of Congress; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) hostile environment covered har9 assment if a Member of Congress com10 mitted personally— 

11 ‘‘(I) severe conduct that created 

12 a hostile environment; or 

13 ‘‘(II) at least one act that was 

14 part of pervasive conduct that created 

15 a hostile environment; 

16 ‘‘(D) the term ‘covered harassment’ means 

17 harassment prohibited by section 201(a) (in18 cluding, in accordance with section 102(c), har19 assment prohibited by title II of the Genetic In20 formation Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (42 

21 U.S.C. 2000ff et seq.)) or 206(a); and 

22 ‘‘(E) the term ‘nonreimbursement deter23 mination’ means a determination from the ap24 propriate committee that the Member shall not 


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1 be responsible for reimbursement under sub2 section (a).’’. 

3 SEC. 112. AUTOMATIC REFERRAL TO CONGRESSIONAL ETH4 ICS COMMITTEES OF DISPOSITION OF CER5 TAIN CLAIMS ALLEGING VIOLATIONS OF 

6 CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 

7 1995 INVOLVING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS 

8 AND SENIOR STAFF. 

9 Section 416(e) (2 U.S.C. 1416(e)) is amended to read 

10 as follows: 

11 ‘‘(e) AUTOMATIC REFERRALS TO CONGRESSIONAL

12 ETHICS COMMITTEES OF DISPOSITIONS OF CLAIMS IN13 VOLVING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND SENIOR STAFF.— 

14 ‘‘(1) REFERRAL.—Upon the final disposition 

15 under this title (as described in paragraph (5)) of a 

16 claim alleging covered harassment or covered dis17 crimination committed personally by a Member of 

18 Congress (as defined in section 415(e)), or covered 

19 harassment or covered discrimination (as those 

20 terms are defined in section 415(e)(4)) committed 

21 personally by a senior staffer of an employing office 

22 described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 

23 101(9), the Executive Director shall refer the claim 

24 to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Ethics of the 

2 House of Representatives, in the case of a 

3 Member or senior staffer of the House (includ4 ing a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the 

5 Congress); or 

6 ‘‘(B) the Select Committee on Ethics of 

7 the Senate, in the case of a Senator or senior 

8 staffer of the Senate. 

9 ‘‘(2) ACCESS TO RECORDS AND INFORMA10 TION.—If the Executive Director refers a claim to a 

11 Committee under paragraph (1), the Executive Di12 rector shall provide the Committee with access to the 

13 records of any investigations, hearings, or decisions 

14 of the hearing officers, General Council, and the 

15 Board under this title, and any information relating 

16 to an award or settlement paid, in response to such 

17 claim. 

18 ‘‘(3) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFI19 ABLE INFORMATION.—If a Committee to which a 

20 claim is referred under paragraph (1) issues a report 

21 with respect to the claim, the Committee shall en22 sure that the report does not directly disclose the 

23 identity or position of the individual who filed the 

24 claim. 


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1 ‘‘(4) AUTHORITY TO PROTECT IDENTITY OF A

2 CLAIMANT.— 

3 ‘‘(A) REDACTIONS.—If a Committee issues 

4 a report as described in paragraph (3), the 

5 Committee may, in accordance with subpara6 graph (B), make an appropriate redaction to 

7 the information or data included in the report 

8 if the Committee and the appropriate decision9 makers described in subparagraph (B) deter10 mine that including the information or data 

11 considered for redaction may lead to the unin12 tentional disclosure of the identity or position of 

13 a claimant. The report including any such re14 daction shall note each redaction and include a 

15 statement that the redaction was made solely 

16 for the purpose of avoiding such an uninten17 tional disclosure of the identity or position of a 

18 claimant. 

19 ‘‘(B) AGREEMENT ON REDACTIONS.—The 

20 Committee shall make a redaction under sub21 paragraph (A) only if agreement is reached on 

22 the precise information or data to be redacted 

23 by— 

24 ‘‘(i) the Chairman and Ranking Mem25 ber of the Committee on Ethics of the 


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1 House of Representatives, in the case of a 

2 report concerning a Member of the House 

3 of Representatives (including a Delegate or 

4 Resident Commissioner to the Congress) or 

5 a senior staffer who is an employee of the 

6 House of Representatives; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) the Chairman and Vice Chair8 man of the Select Committee on Ethics of 

9 the Senate, in the case of a report con10 cerning a Senator or senior staffer who is 

11 an employee of the Senate. 

12 ‘‘(C) RETENTION OF UNREDACTED RE13 PORTS.—Each committee described in subpara14 graph (B) shall retain a copy of the report, 

15 without redactions. 

16 ‘‘(5) FINAL DISPOSITION DESCRIBED.—In this 

17 subsection, the ‘final disposition’ of a claim means 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) An agreement to pay a settlement, in20 cluding an agreement reached pursuant to me21 diation under section 404. 

22 ‘‘(B) An order to pay an award that is 

23 final and not subject to appeal. 

24 ‘‘(6) SENIOR STAFFER DEFINED.—In this sub25 section, the term ‘senior staffer’ means any indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 21, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2872.PCS S2872

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1 vidual who, at the time a violation occurred, was re2 quired to file a report under title I of the Ethics in 

3 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).’’. 

4 SEC. 113. AVAILABILITY OF REMOTE WORK ASSIGNMENT 

5 OR PAID LEAVE OF ABSENCE DURING PEND6 ENCY OF PROCEDURES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV (2 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 417. OPTION TO REQUEST REMOTE WORK ASSIGN10 MENT OR PAID LEAVE OF ABSENCE DURING 

11 PENDENCY OF PROCEDURES. 

12 ‘‘(a) OPTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) REMOTE WORK ASSIGNMENT.—At the re14 quest of a covered employee who files a claim alleg15 ing a violation described in section 402(b)(2)(B) by 

16 the covered employee’s employing office, during the 

17 pendency of any of the procedures available under 

18 this title for consideration of the claim, the employ19 ing office may permit the covered employee to carry 

20 out the employee’s responsibilities from a remote lo21 cation (referred to in this section as ‘permitting a 

22 remote work assignment’) where such relocation 

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1 son alleged to have committed the violation, instead 

2 of from a location of the employing office. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR WORK ASSIGNMENTS RE4 QUIRED TO BE CARRIED OUT ONSITE.—If, in the de5 termination of the covered employee’s employing of6 fice, a covered employee who makes a request under 

7 this subsection cannot carry out the employee’s re8 sponsibilities from a remote location or such reloca9 tion would not have the effect described in para10 graph (1), the employing office may during the 

11 pendency of the procedures described in paragraph 

12 (1)— 

13 ‘‘(A) grant a paid leave of absence to the 

14 covered employee; 

15 ‘‘(B) permit a remote work assignment 

16 and grant a paid leave of absence to the covered 

17 employee; or 

18 ‘‘(C) make another workplace adjustment, 

19 or permit a remote work assignment, that 

20 would have the effect of reducing interactions 

21 between the covered employee and any person 

22 alleged to have committed the violation de23 scribed in section 402(b)(2)(B). 

24 ‘‘(3) ENSURING NO RETALIATION.—An employ25 ing office may not respond to a covered employee’s 


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1 request under this subsection in a manner which 

2 would constitute a violation of section 207. 

3 ‘‘(4) NO IMPACT ON VACATION OR PERSONAL

4 LEAVE.—In granting leave for a paid leave of ab5 sence under this section, an employing office shall 

6 not require the covered employee to substitute, for 

7 that leave, any of the accrued paid vacation or per8 sonal leave of the covered employee. 

9 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR ARRANGEMENTS SUBJECT TO

10 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.—Subsection (a) 

11 does not apply to the extent that it is inconsistent with 

12 the terms and conditions of any collective bargaining 

13 agreement which is in effect with respect to an employing 

14 office.’’. 

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

16 is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to 

17 tile IV the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 417. Option to request remote work assignment or paid leave of absence 

during pendency of procedures.’’. 

18 SEC. 114. MODIFICATION OF RULES ON CONFIDENTIALITY 

19 OF PROCEEDINGS. 

20 (a) CLAIMS AND INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 416(a) 

21 (2 U.S.C. 1416(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(a) CLAIMS AND INVESTIGATIONS.—Information re23 lating to the fact that a claim was filed under section 402, 

24 the information in the filing under section 402, and any 


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1 information resulting from the investigation of a claim 

2 under section 403, shall be confidential. Except as pro3 vided in section 403(c)(5), the report created by the Gen4 eral Counsel pursuant to section 403(c)(1) shall be con5 fidential. Nothing in this Act may be construed to prohibit 

6 a covered employee or an employing office from disclosing 

7 a factual allegation supporting the claim or any defense 

8 to the claim, if the information contained in the allegation 

9 was not obtained in a confidential proceeding.’’. 

10 (b) MEDIATION.—Section 416(b) (2 U.S.C. 1416(b)) 

11 is amended by striking ‘‘All mediation’’ and inserting ‘‘All 

12 information discussed or disclosed in the course of any me13 diation’’. 

14 SEC. 115. REIMBURSEMENT BY OTHER EMPLOYING OF15 FICES OF LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF PAY16 MENTS OF CERTAIN AWARDS AND SETTLE17 MENTS. 

18 (a) REQUIRING REIMBURSEMENT.—Section 415 (2 

19 U.S.C. 1415), as amended by section 111, is further 

20 amended by adding at the end the following new sub21 section: 

22 ‘‘(f) REIMBURSEMENT BY EMPLOYING OFFICES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION OF PAYMENTS MADE FROM

24 ACCOUNT.—As soon as practicable after the Execu25 tive Director is made aware that a payment of an 


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1 award or settlement under this Act has been made 

2 from the account described in subsection (a) in con3 nection with a claim alleging covered discrimination 

4 or covered harassment, as such terms are defined in 

5 subsection (e)(4) by an employing office (other than 

6 an employing office described in subparagraph (A), 

7 (B), or (C) of section 101(9)), the Executive Direc8 tor shall notify the head of the employing office as9 sociated with the claim that the payment has been 

10 made, and shall include in the notification a state11 ment of the amount of the payment. 

12 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT BY OFFICE.—Not later 

13 than 180 days after receiving a notification from the 

14 Executive Director under paragraph (1), the head of 

15 the employing office involved shall transfer to the ac16 count described in subsection (a), out of any funds 

17 available for operating expenses of the office, a pay18 ment equal to the amount specified in the notifica19 tion. 

20 ‘‘(3) TIMETABLE AND PROCEDURES FOR REIM21 BURSEMENT.—The head of an employing office shall 

22 transfer a payment under paragraph (2) in accord23 ance with such timetable and procedures as may be 

24 established under regulations promulgated by the 

25 Office.’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

2 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to payments made 

3 under section 415 of the Congressional Accountability Act 

4 of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1415) on or after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act. 

6 TITLE II—IMPROVING OPER7 ATIONS OF OFFICE OF CON8 GRESSIONAL WORKPLACE 

9 RIGHTS 

10 SEC. 201. REPORTS ON CLAIMS, AWARDS, AND SETTLE11 MENTS. 

12 (a) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS ON CLAIMS, AWARDS, 

13 AND SETTLEMENTS.— 

14 (1) REQUIRING SUBMISSION AND PUBLICATION

15 OF REPORTS.—Section 301 (2 U.S.C. 1381) is 

16 amended— 

17 (A) in subsection (h)(3), by striking ‘‘com18 plaint’’ each place it appears and inserting 

19 ‘‘claim’’; and 

20 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

21 subsection: 

22 ‘‘(l) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS ON CLAIMS, AWARDS, 

23 AND SETTLEMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days 

25 after the first 6-month period of each calendar year, 


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1 and not later than 45 days after the next 6-month 

2 period of each calendar year, the Office shall submit 

3 to Congress and publish on the Office’s public 

4 website a report listing each award or settlement 

5 which was paid during the previous 2 6-month peri6 ods from the account described in section 415(a) as 

7 the result of a claim alleging a violation of part A 

8 of title II, including the employing office involved, 

9 the amount of the award or settlement, the provision 

10 of part A of title II which was the subject of the 

11 claim, and (in the case of an award or settlement re12 sulting from covered discrimination or covered har13 assment committed personally by a Member of Con14 gress, as defined in section 415(e)(4)), whether the 

15 Member or former Member is in compliance with the 

16 requirement of section 415(e) to reimburse the ac17 count for the amount of the award or settlement. 

18 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION OF IDENTITY OF INDIVID19 UALS RECEIVING AWARDS AND SETTLEMENTS.—In 

20 preparing and submitting the reports required under 

21 paragraph (1), the Office shall ensure that the iden22 tity or position of any claimant is not disclosed. 

23 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY TO PROTECT THE IDENTITY

24 OF A CLAIMANT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out para2 graph (2), the Executive Director may make an 

3 appropriate redaction to the data included in 

4 the report described in paragraph (1) if the Ex5 ecutive Director determines that including the 

6 data considered for redaction may lead to the 

7 identity or position of a claimant unintention8 ally being disclosed. The report shall note each 

9 redaction and include a statement that the re10 daction was made solely for the purpose of 

11 avoiding such an unintentional disclosure of the 

12 identity or position of a claimant. 

13 ‘‘(B) RECORD-KEEPING.—the Executive 

14 Director shall retain a copy of the report de15 scribed in subparagraph (A), without 

16 redactions. 

17 ‘‘(4) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

18 ‘claimant’ means an individual who received an 

19 award or settlement, or who made an allegation of 

20 a violation against an employing office.’’. 

21 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

22 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to 2018 

23 and each succeeding year. 

24 (b) REPORT ON AMOUNTS PREVIOUSLY PAID.— 


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

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Office of 

3 Congressional Workplace Rights shall submit to 

4 Congress and make available to the public on the 

5 Office’s public website a report on all payments 

6 made with public funds prior to the date of the en7 actment of this Act for awards and settlements in 

8 connection with violations of section 201(a) of the 

9 Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

10 1311(a)), or related retaliation, as defined in section 

11 101 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1301), and shall include 

12 in the report the following information: 

13 (A) The amount paid for each such award 

14 or settlement. 

15 (B) The source of the public funds used 

16 for the award or settlement, without regard to 

17 whether the funds were paid from the account 

18 described in section 415(a) of such Act (2 

19 U.S.C. 1415(a)), an account of the House of 

20 Representatives or Senate, or any other account 

21 of the Federal Government. 

22 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING IDEN23 TIFICATION OF HOUSE AND SENATE ACCOUNTS.— 

24 Nothing in paragraph (1)(B) may be construed to 

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1 place Rights to report the account of any specific of2 fice of the House of Representatives or Senate as 

3 the source of funds used for an award or settlement. 

4 SEC. 202. RECORD RETENTION. 

5 Section 301 (2 U.S.C. 1381), as amended by section 

6 201(a), is further amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(m) RECORD RETENTION.—The Office shall estab9 lish and maintain a program for the permanent retention 

10 of its records, including the redacted and unredacted 

11 records described in section 301(l)(3) and the records of 

12 investigations, mediations, hearings, and other pro13 ceedings conducted under this Act.’’. 

14 SEC. 203. WORKPLACE CLIMATE SURVEYS OF EMPLOYING 

15 OFFICES. 

16 (a) REQUIRING SURVEYS.—Title III (2 U.S.C. 1381 

17 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 

18 new section: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 307. WORKPLACE CLIMATE SURVEYS OF EMPLOYING 

20 OFFICES. 

21 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT SURVEYS.—Not 

22 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

23 section, and every 2 years thereafter, the Office shall con24 duct a survey of employees of employing offices described 


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1 in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of section 101(9), re2 garding the workplace environment of such office. 

3 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON SEX4 UAL HARASSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION.—In each sur5 vey conducted under this section, the Office shall survey 

6 respondents on attitudes regarding sexual harassment and 

7 discrimination. 

8 ‘‘(c) METHODOLOGY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall conduct 

10 each survey under this section in accordance with 

11 methodologies established by the Office. 

12 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Under the meth13 odologies established under paragraph (1), all re14 sponses to all portions of the survey shall be anony15 mous and confidential, and each respondent shall be 

16 told throughout the survey that all responses shall 

17 be anonymous and confidential. 

18 ‘‘(d) USE OF RESULTS OF SURVEYS.—The Office 

19 shall furnish the information obtained from the surveys 

20 conducted under this section to the Committee on House 

21 Administration of the House of Representatives and the 

22 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af23 fairs, and the Committee on Rules and Administration, 

24 of the Senate. 


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1 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION WITH COMMITTEES.—The Of2 fice shall carry out this section, including establishment 

3 of methodologies and procedures under subsection (c), in 

4 consultation with the Committee on House Administration 

5 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

6 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the 

7 Committee on Rules and Administration, of the Senate. 

8 ‘‘(f) INCLUSION OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.—For 

9 purposes of this section, the Library of Congress shall be 

10 considered an employing office subject to subsection (a).’’. 

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

12 is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to 

13 title III the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 307. Workplace climate surveys of employing offices.’’. 

14 SEC. 204. OFFICE OF EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY. 

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

16 Office of the Secretary of the Senate the Office of Em17 ployee Advocacy (hereafter in this section referred to as 

18 the ‘‘Office’’). 

19 (b) COVERED EMPLOYEE OF THE SENATE.—In this 

20 section, the term ‘‘covered employee of the Senate’’— 

21 (1) means a covered employee (as defined in 

22 section 101 of the Congressional Accountability Act 

23 of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301)) who is an employee of the 

24 Senate (as defined in such section); and 


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1 (2) includes a staff member described in section 

2 201(d)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1311(d)(1)), as 

3 amended by section 303(a), of an employing office of 

4 the Senate (including a former staff member de5 scribed in such section 201(d)(1) who was such a 

6 staff member at the time of the alleged violation). 

7 (c) FUNCTIONS.— 

8 (1) LEGAL ASSISTANCE, CONSULTATION, AND

9 REPRESENTATION.—Subject to subsection (d), the 

10 Office shall carry out the following functions: 

11 (A) Providing legal assistance and con12 sultation to covered employees of the Senate re13 garding the procedures of the Congressional Ac14 countability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et 

15 seq.) and the procedures applicable to civil ac16 tions arising under such Act, including— 

17 (i) the roles and responsibilities of the 

18 Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, 

19 the Office of the Senate Chief Counsel for 

20 Employment, and similar authorities; 

21 (ii) any proceedings conducted under 

22 such Act; 

23 (iii) the authority of the Office of 

24 Congressional Workplace Rights to compel 

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1 tions and proceedings conducted under 

2 title IV of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1401 et 

3 seq.); and 

4 (iv) the employee’s duties relating to 

5 such proceedings, including the responsi6 bility to testify. 

7 (B) Providing legal assistance and rep8 resentation— 

9 (i) in personal civil legal matters re10 lated to a covered employee of the Senate’s 

11 initiation of, or participation in, pro12 ceedings under title IV of such Act (2 

13 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) (other than a civil ac14 tion filed under section 408 of such Act (2 

15 U.S.C. 1408)); and 

16 (ii) in any proceedings of the Office of 

17 Congressional Workplace Rights, the Select 

18 Committee on Ethics of the Senate, or any 

19 other administrative or judicial body re20 lated to the alleged violations of such Act 

21 which are the subject of the proceedings 

22 initiated by the covered employee of the 

23 Senate, or the proceedings in which the 

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1 pates, under title IV of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

2 1401 et seq.). 

3 (C) Operating a hotline through which cov4 ered employees of the Senate may contact the 

5 Office. 

6 (2) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IN

7 ANY JURISDICTION.—Notwithstanding any law re8 garding the licensure of attorneys, an attorney who 

9 is employed by the Office and is authorized to pro10 vide legal assistance and representation under this 

11 section is authorized to provide that assistance and 

12 representation in any jurisdiction, subject to such 

13 regulations as may be prescribed by the Office. 

14 (3) NATURE OF RELATIONSHIP.—The relation15 ship between the Office and an employee to whom 

16 the Office provides legal assistance, consultation, 

17 and representation under this section shall be the re18 lationship between an attorney and client. 

19 (4) PROHIBITING ACCEPTANCE OF AWARD OF

20 ATTORNEY FEES OR OTHER COSTS.—The Office may 

21 not accept any award of attorney fees or other litiga22 tion expenses and costs under any hearing or civil 

23 action brought under the Congressional Account24 ability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.). 


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1 (5) PROHIBITING ASSISTANCE IN OTHER MAT2 TERS OR PROCEEDINGS.—The Office may not pro3 vide any legal assistance, consultation, or represen4 tation with respect to any matter or proceeding 

5 which does not arise under the Congressional Ac6 countability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.). 

7 (d) PROHIBITING PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE UPON

8 FILING OF CIVIL ACTION.—If a covered employee of the 

9 Senate files a civil action with respect to an alleged viola10 tion of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 

11 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.), as provided in section 408 of such 

12 Act (2 U.S.C. 1408), the Office may not provide assist13 ance under this section to the covered employee with re14 spect to investigations or proceedings under such Act in 

15 connection with such alleged violation at any time after 

16 the employee files such action. 

17 (e) DIRECTOR.— 

18 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Office shall be headed 

19 by a Director who shall be appointed by the Sec20 retary of the Senate. 

21 (2) QUALIFICATIONS; NONPARTISANSHIP OF PO22 SITION.—The individual appointed as Director shall 

23 be a lawyer who is admitted to practice before the 

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1 lumbia and who has experience in representing em2 ployees in workplace discrimination cases. 

3 (3) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

4 paid at an annual rate established by the Secretary 

5 of the Senate. 

6 (4) REMOVAL.—The Director may be removed 

7 by the Secretary of the Senate only for cause. 

8 (f) OTHER PERSONNEL.—Subject to regulations of 

9 the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate 

10 and with the approval of the Secretary of the Senate, the 

11 Director may appoint and fix the compensation of such 

12 additional personnel as the Director determines to be nec13 essary to carry out the functions of the Office. 

14 (g) NONPARTISANSHIP OF POSITIONS.—The Director 

15 and the other personnel of the Office shall be appointed 

16 without regard to political affiliation and solely on the 

17 basis of fitness to perform the duties of the position. 

18 (h) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.—Congress 

19 adopts the provisions of this section— 

20 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

21 the Senate, and as such they shall be considered as 

22 part of the rules of the Senate and such rules shall 

23 supersede other rules only to the extent that they 

24 are inconsistent with such other rules; and 


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1 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

2 right of the Senate to change those rules at any 

3 time, in any manner, and to the same extent as is 

4 the case of any other rule of the Senate. 

5 SEC. 205. GAO STUDY OF MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. 

6 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

7 States shall conduct a study of the management practices 

8 of the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights. 

9 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp11 troller General of the United States shall submit to Con12 gress a report on the study conducted under subsection 

13 (a), and shall include in the report such recommendations 

14 as the Comptroller General considers appropriate for im15 provements to the management practices of the Office of 

16 Congressional Workplace Rights. 

17 SEC. 206. GAO AUDIT OF CYBERSECURITY. 

18 (a) AUDIT.—The Comptroller General of the United 

19 States shall conduct an audit of the cybersecurity systems 

20 and practices of the Office of Congressional Workplace 

21 Rights. 

22 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp24 troller General of the United States shall submit to Con25 gress a report on the audit conducted under subsection 


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1 (a), and shall include in the report such recommendations 

2 as the Comptroller General considers appropriate for im3 provements to the cybersecurity systems and practices of 

4 the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights. 

5 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

6 REFORMS 

7 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

8 Section 101 (2 U.S.C. 1301) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(13) COMMITTED PERSONALLY.—The term 

11 ‘committed personally’, used with respect to an act 

12 and an individual, does not include a practice com13 mitted by a second individual and attributed to the 

14 first individual or that individual’s employing office. 

15 ‘‘(14) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—The term 

16 ‘Member of Congress’ means a Member of the 

17 House of Representatives (including a Delegate or 

18 Resident Commissioner to the Congress) or a Sen19 ator. 

20 ‘‘(15) RELATED RETALIATION.—The term ‘re21 lated retaliation’, used with respect to a provision, 

22 means a response that is prohibited under section 

23 207, except that each reference in section 207 to 

24 ‘this Act’ shall be considered to be a reference to 

25 that provision.’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. APPLICATION OF GENETIC INFORMATION NON2 DISCRIMINATION ACT OF 2008. 

3 Section 102 of the Congressional Accountability Act 

4 of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1302) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) GENETIC INFORMATION NONDISCRIMINATION

7 ACT OF 2008.—The provisions of this Act that apply to 

8 a violation of section 201(a)(1) shall be considered to 

9 apply to a violation of title II of the Genetic Information 

10 Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 2000ff et seq.), 

11 consistent with section 207(c) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 2000ff–6(c)).’’. 

13 SEC. 303. EXTENSION TO UNPAID STAFF OF RIGHTS AND 

14 PROTECTIONS AGAINST EMPLOYMENT DIS15 CRIMINATION. 

16 (a) EXTENSION.—Section 201 (2 U.S.C. 1311) is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub19 section (e); and 

20 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol21 lowing new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION TO UNPAID STAFF.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsections (a) and (b) 

24 and section 207 regarding related retaliation shall 

25 apply with respect to any staff member of an em26 ploying office who carries out official duties of the 


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1 employing office but who is not paid by the employ2 ing office for carrying out such duties, including an 

3 intern, an individual detailed to an employing office, 

4 and an individual participating in a fellowship pro5 gram (including an applicant for an internship, a de6 tail position, or a fellowship and a former intern, 

7 detailee, or fellow), in the same manner and to the 

8 same extent as such subsections apply with respect 

9 to a covered employee. 

10 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

11 paragraph (1) may be construed to extend liability 

12 for a violation of subsection (a) or section 207 to an 

13 employing office on the basis of an action taken by 

14 any person who is not under the supervision or con15 trol of the employing office. 

16 ‘‘(3) INTERN DEFINED.—For purposes of this 

17 section, the term ‘intern’ means an individual who 

18 performs service for an employing office which is un19 compensated by the United States, who obtains an 

20 educational benefit, such as by earning credit award21 ed by an educational institution or learning a trade 

22 or occupation, and who is appointed on a temporary 

23 basis.’’. 

24 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTION RELATING TO OFFICE

25 RESPONSIBLE FOR DISBURSEMENT OF PAY TO HOUSE


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1 EMPLOYEES.—Section 101(7) (2 U.S.C. 1301(7)) is 

2 amended by striking ‘‘disbursed by the Clerk of the House 

3 of Representatives’’ and inserting ‘‘disbursed by the Chief 

4 Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives’’. 

5 SEC. 304. NOTICES. 

6 Part E of title II of the Congressional Accountability 

7 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1361) is amended by adding at 

8 the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 226. NOTICES. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Every employing office shall post 

11 and keep posted (in conspicuous places upon its premises 

12 where notices to covered employees are customarily post13 ed) a notice provided by the Office that— 

14 ‘‘(1) describes the rights, protections, and pro15 cedures applicable to covered employees of the em16 ploying office under this Act, concerning violations 

17 described in subsection (b); and 

18 ‘‘(2) includes contact information for the Office. 

19 ‘‘(b) VIOLATIONS.—A violation described in this sub20 section is— 

21 ‘‘(1) discrimination prohibited by section 201(a) 

22 (including, in accordance with section 102(c), dis23 crimination prohibited by title II of the Genetic In24 formation Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 

25 2000ff et seq.)), 206(a), or 210(b); and 


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1 ‘‘(2) a violation of section 207, or a violation of 

2 section 4311(b) of title 38, United States Code, that 

3 is related to discrimination described in paragraph 

4 (1).’’. 

5 SEC. 305. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

6 Section 225 (2 U.S.C. 1361) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking subsection (e); and 

8 (2) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub9 section (e). 

10 SEC. 306. CLARIFICATION OF COVERAGE OF EMPLOYEES 

11 OF STENNIS CENTER AND HELSINKI AND 

12 CHINA COMMISSIONS. 

13 (a) COVERAGE OF STENNIS CENTER, CHINA REVIEW

14 COMMISSION, CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE CHINA COM15 MISSION, AND HELSINKI COMMISSION.— 

16 (1) TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES AS COVERED

17 EMPLOYEES.—Section 101(3) (2 U.S.C. 1301(3)) is 

18 amended— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara20 graph (I); 

21 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

22 subparagraph (J) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(K) the John C. Stennis Center for Pub25 lic Service Training and Development; 


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1 ‘‘(L) the China Review Commission; 

2 ‘‘(M) the Congressional-Executive China 

3 Commission; and 

4 ‘‘(N) the Helsinki Commission.’’. 

5 (2) TREATMENT OF CENTER AND COMMISSIONS

6 AS EMPLOYING OFFICE.—Section 101(9)(D) (2 

7 U.S.C. 1301(9)(D)) is amended by striking ‘‘and the 

8 Office of Technology Assessment’’ and inserting the 

9 following: ‘‘the John C. Stennis Center for Public 

10 Service Training and Development, the China Re11 view Commission, the Congressional-Executive China 

12 Commission, and the Helsinki Commission.’’. 

13 (3) DEFINITIONS OF COMMISSIONS.—Section 

14 101 (2 U.S.C. 1301), as amended by section 301, is 

15 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(15) CHINA REVIEW COMMISSION.—The term 

17 ‘China Review Commission’ means the United 

18 States-China Economic and Security Review Com19 mission established under section 1238 of the Floyd 

20 D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for 

21 Fiscal Year 2001 (22 U.S.C. 7002), as enacted into 

22 law by section 1 of Public Law 106–398. 

23 ‘‘(16) CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE CHINA COM24 MISSION.—The term ‘Congressional-Executive China 

25 Commission’ means the Congressional-Executive 


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1 Commission on the People’s Republic of China es2 tablished under title III of the U.S.–China Relations 

3 Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–286; 22 U.S.C. 6911 

4 et seq.). 

5 ‘‘(17) HELSINKI COMMISSION.—The term ‘Hel6 sinki Commission’ means the Commission on Secu7 rity and Cooperation in Europe established under 

8 the Act entitled ‘An Act to establish a Commission 

9 on Security and Cooperation in Europe’, approved 

10 June 3, 1976 (Public Law 94–304; 22 U.S.C. 3001 

11 et seq.).’’. 

12 (b) LEGAL ASSISTANCE AND REPRESENTATION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title V (2 U.S.C. 1431 et 

14 seq.) is amended— 

15 (A) by redesignating section 509 as section 

16 512; and 

17 (B) by inserting after section 508 the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 509. LEGAL ASSISTANCE AND REPRESENTATION. 

20 ‘‘Legal assistance and representation under this Act, 

21 including assistance and representation with respect to the 

22 proposal or acceptance of the disposition of a claim under 

23 this Act, shall be provided to the China Review Commis24 sion, the Congressional-Executive China Commission, and 

25 the Helsinki Commission— 


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1 ‘‘(1) by the House Employment Counsel of the 

2 House of Representatives, in the case of assistance 

3 and representation in connection with a claim filed 

4 under title IV (including all subsequent proceedings 

5 under such title in connection with the claim) at a 

6 time when the chair of the Commission is a Member 

7 of the House, and in the case of assistance and rep8 resentation in connection with any subsequent claim 

9 related to the initial claim where the subsequent 

10 claim involves the same parties; or 

11 ‘‘(2) by the Senate Chief Counsel for Employ12 ment of the Senate, in the case of assistance and 

13 representation in connection with a claim filed under 

14 title IV (including all subsequent proceedings under 

15 such title in connection with the claim) at a time 

16 when the chair of the Commission is a Senator, and 

17 in the case of assistance and representation in con18 nection with any subsequent claim related to the ini19 tial claim where the subsequent claim involves the 

20 same parties.’’. 

21 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of 

22 contents is amended— 

23 (A) by redesignating the item relating to 

24 section 509 as relating to section 512; and 


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1 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

2 section 508 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 509. Legal assistance and representation.’’. 

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 101 (2 

4 U.S.C. 1301) is amended, in paragraphs (7) and (8), by 

5 striking ‘‘through (I)’’ and inserting ‘‘through (N)’’. 

6 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

7 subsections (a) through (c) shall apply with respect to 

8 claims alleging violations of the Congressional Account9 ability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) which are first 

10 made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 307. TRAINING AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS OF 

12 OTHER EMPLOYING OFFICES. 

13 (a) REQUIRING OFFICES TO DEVELOP AND IMPLE14 MENT PROGRAMS.—Title V (2 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), as 

15 amended by section 306(b), is further amended by adding 

16 at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 510. TRAINING AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS OF EM18 PLOYING OFFICES. 

19 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING OFFICES TO DEVELOP AND IMPLE20 MENT PROGRAMS.—Each employing office shall develop 

21 and implement a program to train and educate covered 

22 employees of the office in the rights and protections pro23 vided under this Act, including the procedures available 

24 under this Act to consider alleged violations of this Act. 

25 ‘‘(b) REPORT TO COMMITTEES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days 

2 after the beginning of each Congress (beginning with 

3 the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress), each employ4 ing office shall submit a report to the Committee on 

5 House Administration of the House of Representa6 tives and the Committee on Rules and Administra7 tion of the Senate on the implementation of the pro8 gram required under subsection (a). 

9 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR FIRST REPORT.—Not 

10 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

11 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Re12 form Act, each employing office shall submit the re13 port described in paragraph (1) to the Committees 

14 described in such paragraph. 

15 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION FOR OFFICES OF CONGRESS.—This 

16 section does not apply to an employing office described 

17 in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 101(9).’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

19 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

20 509, as inserted by section 307(b), the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 510. Training and education programs of employing offices.’’. 

21 SEC. 308. SUPPORT FOR OUT-OF-AREA COVERED EMPLOY22 EES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title V (2 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), 

24 as amended by section 307(a), is further amended by add25 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 511. SUPPORT FOR OUT-OF-AREA COVERED EMPLOY2 EES. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—All covered employees whose lo4 cation of employment is outside of the Washington, DC 

5 area (referred to in this section as ‘out-of-area covered em6 ployees’, shall have equitable access to the resources and 

7 services provided by the Office and under this Act as is 

8 provided to covered employees who work in the Wash9 ington, DC area. 

10 ‘‘(b) DUTIES OF OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL WORK11 PLACE RIGHTS.—The Office shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) establish a method by which out-of-area 

13 covered employees may communicate securely with 

14 the Office, which shall include an option for real15 time audiovisual communication; and 

16 ‘‘(2) provide guidance to employing offices re17 garding how each office can provide the resources 

18 and services provided under this Act to out-of-area 

19 covered employees, including information regarding 

20 the communication methods described in paragraph 

21 (1). 

22 ‘‘(c) DUTIES OF EMPLOYING OFFICES.—Each em23 ploying office shall ensure that any out-of-area covered 

24 employees of the employing office are provided the equi25 table access required under this section, including infor26 mation regarding how to communicate with the Office.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

2 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

3 510, as inserted by section 307(b), the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 511. Support for out-of-area employees.’’. 

4 SEC. 309. RENAMING OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE AS OFFICE 

5 OF CONGRESSIONAL WORKPLACE RIGHTS. 

6 (a) RENAMING.—Section 301 of the Congressional 

7 Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OFFICE OF

10 COMPLIANCE’’ and inserting ‘‘OFFICE OF CON11 GRESSIONAL WORKPLACE RIGHTS’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Office of 

13 Compliance’’ and inserting ‘‘Office of Congressional 

14 Workplace Rights’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO CONGRESSIONAL

16 ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.—The Congressional Ac17 countability Act of 1995 is amended as follows: 

18 (1) In section 101(1) (2 U.S.C. 1301(1)), by 

19 striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and inserting ‘‘Of20 fice of Congressional Workplace Rights’’. 

21 (2) In section 101(2) (2 U.S.C. 1301(2)), by 

22 striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and inserting ‘‘Of23 fice of Congressional Workplace Rights’’. 

24 (3) In section 101(3)(H) (2 U.S.C. 

25 1301(3)(H)), by striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘Office of Congressional Workplace 

2 Rights’’. 

3 (4) In section 101(9)(D) (2 U.S.C. 

4 1301(9)(D)), by striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘Office of Congressional Workplace 

6 Rights’’. 

7 (5) In section 101(10) (2 U.S.C. 1301(10)), by 

8 striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and inserting ‘‘Of9 fice of Congressional Workplace Rights’’. 

10 (6) In section 101(11) (2 U.S.C. 1301(11)), by 

11 striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and inserting ‘‘Of12 fice of Congressional Workplace Rights’’. 

13 (7) In section 101(12) (2 U.S.C. 1301(12)), by 

14 striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and inserting ‘‘Of15 fice of Congressional Workplace Rights’’. 

16 (8) In section 210(a)(9) (2 U.S.C. 1331(a)(9)), 

17 by striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘Office of Congressional Workplace Rights’’. 

19 (9) In section 215(e)(1) (2 U.S.C. 1341(e)(1)), 

20 by striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘Office of Congressional Workplace Rights’’. 

22 (10) In section 220(e)(2)(G) (2 U.S.C. 

23 1351(e)(2)(G)), by striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘Office of Congressional Workplace 

25 Rights’’. 


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1 (11) In the heading of title III, by striking 

2 ‘‘OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL WORK4 PLACE RIGHTS’’. 

5 (12) In section 304(c)(4) (2 U.S.C. 

6 1384(c)(4)), by striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘Office of Congressional Workplace 

8 Rights’’. 

9 (13) In section 304(c)(5) (2 U.S.C. 

10 1384(c)(5)), by striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘Office of Congressional Workplace 

12 Rights’’. 

13 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

14 is amended— 

15 (1) by amending the item relating to the title 

16 heading of title III to read as follows: 

‘‘TITLE III—OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL WORKPLACE RIGHTS’’; 

17 and 

18 (2) by amending the item relating to section 

19 301 to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 301. Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.’’. 

20 (d) REFERENCES IN OTHER LAWS, RULES, AND

21 REGULATIONS.—Any reference to the Office of Compli22 ance in any law, rule, regulation, or other official paper 

23 in effect as of the effective date of this Act shall be considVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 21, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2872.PCS S2872

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1 ered to refer and apply to the Office of Congressional 

2 Workplace Rights. 

3 TITLE IV—EFFECTIVE DATE 

4 SEC. 401. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 

6 this Act, this Act and the amendments made by this Act 

7 shall take effect upon the expiration of the 180-day period 

8 which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 (b) NO EFFECT ON PENDING PROCEEDINGS.—Noth10 ing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act may 

11 be construed to affect any proceeding or payment of an 

12 award or settlement relating to a claim under title IV of 

13 the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

14 1401 et seq.) which is pending as of the date of the enact15 ment of this Act. If, as of that date, an employee has 

16 begun any of the proceedings under that title that were 

17 available to the employee prior to that date, the employee 

18 may complete, or initiate and complete, all such pro19 ceedings, and such proceedings shall remain in effect with 

20 respect to, and provide the exclusive proceedings for, the 

21 claim involved until the completion of all such proceedings. 


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Calendar No. 421 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2872 

A BILL 

To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 

other purposes. sexual harassment and discrimination, and for under such Act, including protections against and protections provided to their employees of the legislative branch have violated the rights olution of claims alleging that employing offices such Act for the initiation, investigation, and res1995 to reform the procedures provided under 

MAY 21, 2018 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 


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