II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2952 

To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to establish protections against congressional sexual harassment and discrimination, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 24, 2018 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. SCHUMER, 

Mr. GRASSLEY, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mrs. CAPITO, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. 

ROBERTS, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. FISCHER, Ms. HEITKAMP, Mr. ENZI, 

Ms. BALDWIN, Mrs. ERNST, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. CRUZ, Mrs. SHAHEEN, 

Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. BROWN, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. SULLIVAN, 

Mr. CARPER, Mr. HELLER, Ms. SMITH, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. CASEY, Mr. 

KENNEDY, Mr. NELSON, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. CORNYN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. TESTER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MERKLEY, 

Mr. COONS, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. WARNER, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. 

REED, and Mr. MANCHIN) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice, considered, read the third time, and passed 

A BILL 

To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to 

establish protections against congressional sexual harassment and discrimination, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES IN ACT; TABLE OF 

2 CONTENTS. 

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

4 ‘‘Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act’’. 

5 (b) REFERENCES IN ACT.—Except as otherwise ex6 pressly provided in this Act, wherever an amendment or 

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

8 of a section or other provision, the reference shall be con9 sidered to be made to that section or other provision of 

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

11 1301 et seq.). 

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

13 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 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. Availability of mediation during process. 

Sec. 104. Hearings. 

Subtitle B—Other Reforms 

Sec. 111. Requiring Members of Congress to reimburse treasury for damages 

paid as settlements and awards for certain violations. 

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. 

Sec. 113. Availability of option to request 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 


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Sec. 201. Reports on awards and settlements. 

Sec. 202. Workplace climate surveys of employing offices. 

Sec. 203. Record retention. 

Sec. 204. Confidential Advisor. 

Sec. 205. GAO study of management practices. 

Sec. 206. GAO audit of cybersecurity. 

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS REFORMS 

Sec. 301. Application of Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008. 

Sec. 302. Extension to unpaid staff of rights and protections against employment discrimination. 

Sec. 303. Provisions relating to instrumentalities. 

Sec. 304. Notices. 

Sec. 305. Clarification of coverage of employees of Stennis Center and Helsinki 

and China Commissions. 

Sec. 306. Training and education programs of other employing offices. 

Sec. 307. Support for out-of-area covered employees. 

Sec. 308. 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 and Resolution of 

5 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: 

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

11 VIOLATIONS. 

12 ‘‘(a) FILING OF CLAIMS.—Except as otherwise pro13 vided in this Act, the procedure for consideration of an 

14 alleged violation of part A of title II consists of— 


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1 ‘‘(1) notification of intent to file, and filing of, 

2 a claim by the covered employee alleging the viola3 tion, as provided in section 402, which may be fol4 lowed, as described in section 403(a), with mediation 

5 under section 403; and 

6 ‘‘(2) an election of proceeding, as provided in 

7 this section, of— 

8 ‘‘(A) a formal hearing as provided in sec9 tion 405, subject to Board review as provided 

10 in section 406, and judicial review in the United 

11 States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 

12 as provided in section 407; 

13 ‘‘(B) a civil action in a district court of the 

14 United States as provided in section 408; or 

15 ‘‘(C) in the case of a Library claimant (as 

16 defined in subsection (d)(1)), a proceeding de17 scribed in subsection (d)(2) that relates to the 

18 violation at issue. 

19 ‘‘(b) ELECTION OF FORMAL HEARING OR CIVIL AC20 TION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered employee who 

22 seeks to make— 

23 ‘‘(A) the election described in subsection 

24 (a)(2)(A) shall file the request for the formal 


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1 hearing as provided in section 405(a)(1), by the 

2 deadline described in paragraph (2); or 

3 ‘‘(B) the election described in subsection 

4 (a)(2)(B) shall file the civil action as provided 

5 in section 408, by the deadline described in 

6 paragraph (2). 

7 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR ELECTION.—The deadline 

8 described in this paragraph shall be 90 days after 

9 the later of— 

10 ‘‘(A) the date on which either party opts 

11 out of mediation under section 402(c); or 

12 ‘‘(B) the end of the period of mediation 

13 under section 403(c). 

14 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF ELECTION.—If the covered 

15 employee— 

16 ‘‘(A) elects to file a request for a formal 

17 hearing as provided in section 405(a), the pro18 cedure for consideration of the claim shall not 

19 include a civil action or other proceeding de20 scribed in subparagraph (B) or (C) of sub21 section (a)(2); or 

22 ‘‘(B) elects to file a civil action as provided 

23 in section 408(a), the procedure for consider24 ation of the claim shall not include any formal 

25 hearing, review, or other proceeding described 


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1 in subparagraph (A) or (C) of subsection 

2 (a)(2). 

3 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR ARCHITECT OF THE CAP4 ITOL AND CAPITOL POLICE.—In the case of an employee 

5 of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol or of the Cap6 itol Police, the Office, after receiving a claim filed under 

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

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

9 Architect of the Capitol or the Capitol Police for resolution 

10 of the employee’s grievance. If the grievance procedures 

11 do not resolve the grievance, the employee may resume 

12 the procedure described in subsection (a), starting with 

13 section 403, except that the deadline for opting out of me14 diation under that section shall be 10 business days after 

15 the last day of the grievance procedures. 

16 ‘‘(d) ELECTION OF REMEDIES FOR LIBRARY OF CON17 GRESS.— 

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

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

20 means an Act (other than this Act), or provi21 sion of the Revised Statutes, that is specified in 

22 section 201, 202, or 203. 

23 ‘‘(B) DIRECT PROVISION.—The term ‘di24 rect provision’ means a provision (including a 

25 definitional provision) of a direct Act that apVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 May 25, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2952.CPS S2952

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1 plies the rights or protections of a direct Act 

2 (including rights and protections relating to 

3 nonretaliation or noncoercion) to a Library 

4 claimant. 

5 ‘‘(C) LIBRARY CLAIMANT.—The term ‘Li6 brary claimant’ means, with respect to a direct 

7 provision, an employee of the Library of Con8 gress who is covered by that direct provision. 

9 ‘‘(2) ELECTION AFTER PROCEEDINGS INITIALLY

10 BROUGHT UNDER THIS ACT.—A Library claimant 

11 who initially files a claim for an alleged violation as 

12 provided in section 402 may, instead of proceeding 

13 with the claim in accordance with sections 403 (if 

14 applicable) and 405 or filing a civil action in accord15 ance with section 408, during the period described 

16 in subsection (b)(2) but before the Office commences 

17 a formal hearing under section 405, elect to bring 

18 the claim for a proceeding before the corresponding 

19 Federal agency, under the corresponding direct pro20 vision. 

21 ‘‘(3) ELECTION AFTER PROCEEDINGS INITIALLY

22 BROUGHT UNDER OTHER CIVIL RIGHTS OR LABOR

23 LAW.—A Library claimant who initially brings a 

24 claim, complaint, or charge under a direct provision 

25 for a proceeding before a Federal agency may, prior 


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1 to requesting a hearing under the agency’s proce2 dures, elect to— 

3 ‘‘(A) continue with the agency’s procedures 

4 and preserve the option (if any) to bring any 

5 civil action relating to the claim, complaint, or 

6 charge, that is available to the Library claim7 ant; or 

8 ‘‘(B) file a claim with the Office under sec9 tion 402, make an election under subparagraph 

10 (A) or (B) of section 401(a)(2), and continue 

11 with the corresponding procedures of this sub12 title. 

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

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

15 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2018 

16 (Public Law 115–141) (except to the extent such 

17 section applies to any violation of section 210 or a 

18 provision of an Act specified in section 210). 

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

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

21 the authority of any particular individual, including a cov22 ered employee, the head of an employing office, or an indi23 vidual who has a right to intervene under section 

24 415(d)(6), to retain private counsel to protect the interests 

25 of the particular individual at any point during any of the 


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1 procedures provided under this Act for the consideration 

2 of an alleged violation of part A of title II, including proce3 dures described in section 415(d)(6). 

4 ‘‘(f) STANDARDS FOR DESIGNATED REPRESENTA5 TIVES OR UNREPRESENTED PARTIES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) STANDARDS.—Each designated represent7 ative of a party, and unrepresented party, partici8 pating in any of the procedures (including pro9 ceedings) provided under this Act shall have an obli10 gation to ensure that, to the best of that designated 

11 representative or unrepresented party’s knowledge, 

12 information, and belief, as formed after an inquiry 

13 which is reasonable under the circumstances, each of 

14 the following is correct: 

15 ‘‘(A) No pleading, written motion, or other 

16 paper is presented for any improper purpose, 

17 such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or 

18 needlessly increase the cost of resolution of the 

19 matter. 

20 ‘‘(B) The claims, defenses, and other legal 

21 contentions the designated representative or un22 represented party advocates are warranted by 

23 existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for 

24 extending, modifying, or reversing existing law 

25 or for establishing new law. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The factual contentions have evi2 dentiary support or, if specifically so identified, 

3 will likely have evidentiary support after a rea4 sonable opportunity for discovery. 

5 ‘‘(D) The denials of factual contentions are 

6 warranted on the evidence or, if specifically so 

7 identified, are reasonably based on belief or a 

8 lack of information. 

9 ‘‘(2) SANCTIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a decisionmaker de11 scribed in subparagraph (B) determines that a 

12 designated representative of a party, or unrep13 resented party, has failed to comply with the 

14 standards specified in paragraph (1), then that 

15 decisionmaker may impose appropriate sanc16 tions. 

17 ‘‘(B) DECISIONMAKER.—A decisionmaker 

18 described in subparagraph (A) is— 

19 ‘‘(i) a hearing officer or mediator cho20 sen from the list specified in section 

21 405(c)(2), who is not serving as a hearing 

22 officer or mediator to resolve any claim 

23 filed under section 402 that is associated 

24 with— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the designated representative 

2 or unrepresented party; or 

3 ‘‘(II) an individual identified in 

4 claim.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO CIVIL

6 ACTION.—Section 408(a) (2 U.S.C. 1408(a)) is amend7 ed— 

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

9 ‘‘section 401’’; 

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

11 under section 402 and mediation under section 403’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘who filed a timely claim under sec13 tion 402, elected to file a civil action under section 

14 401(a)(2)(B), and made a timely filing under this 

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

16 (3) by striking the second sentence. 

17 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title IV is 

18 amended by striking section 404 (2 U.S.C. 1404). 

19 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

20 is amended by striking the item 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.— 

3 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION OF INTENT TO FILE.—To 

4 commence a proceeding under this title, a covered 

5 employee alleging a violation of law made applicable 

6 under part A of title II shall notify the Office of in7 tent to file a claim with the Office. 

8 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION.—On receiving a notifica9 tion under paragraph (1), the Office shall provide to 

10 the covered employee all relevant information with 

11 respect to the employee’s and the employing office’s 

12 rights under this Act, the process for filing the 

13 claim, and the option for the employee to elect, if 

14 the employee so chooses, to file a civil action regard15 ing the alleged violation. The Office shall discuss the 

16 information and covered employee’s claim with the 

17 covered employee. The Office shall initiate the proce18 dures described in this paragraph on the date of the 

19 notification. 

20 ‘‘(3) FILING.—Upon providing the notification 

21 described in paragraph (1), and not later than the 

22 expiration of the 180-day period in subsection (e), 

23 the covered employee may file the claim. The claim 

24 shall be made in writing under oath or affirmation, 

25 shall describe the facts that form the basis of the 

26 claim and the violation that is being alleged, shall 


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1 identify the employing office alleged to have com2 mitted the violation or in which the violation is al3 leged to have occurred, and shall be in such form as 

4 the Office requires. 

5 ‘‘(b) INITIAL PROCESSING OF CLAIM.—Upon the fil6 ing of a claim by a covered employee under subsection (a), 

7 the Office shall take such steps as may be necessary for 

8 the initial intake and recording of the claim and shall 

9 transmit a copy of the claim to the head of the employing 

10 office not later than 3 business days after the date on 

11 which the claim is filed. 

12 ‘‘(c) MEDIATION.— 

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

14 MEDIATION.— 

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

16 of a claim, the Office shall notify the covered 

17 employee about the process for mediation under 

18 section 403, the right to opt out of the medi19 ation, and the deadline for opting out of the 

20 mediation. 

21 ‘‘(B) EMPLOYING OFFICE.—Upon trans22 mission to the employing office of the claim 

23 pursuant to subsection (b), the Office shall no24 tify the employing office about the process for 

25 mediation under section 403, the right to opt 


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1 out of the mediation, and the deadline for opt2 ing out of the mediation. 

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

4 Either party may opt out of the mediation. The 

5 deadline for opting out shall be 10 business days 

6 after the date on which the claim that would be the 

7 subject of the mediation is filed. 

8 ‘‘(d) USE OF ELECTRONIC REPORTING AND TRACK9 ING SYSTEM.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF SYS11 TEM.—The Office shall establish and operate an 

12 electronic reporting and tracking system through 

13 which a covered employee may initiate a proceeding 

14 under this title, and which will keep an electronic 

15 record of the date and time at which the proceeding 

16 is initiated and will track all subsequent actions or 

17 proceedings occurring with respect to the proceeding 

18 under this title. 

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

20 system shall be accessible to all parties to such ac21 tions or proceedings, but only until the completion of 

22 such actions or proceedings. 

23 ‘‘(3) ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTIVENESS OF PRO24 CEDURES.—The Office shall use the information 

25 contained in the system to make regular assessments 


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1 of the effectiveness of the procedures under this title 

2 in providing for the timely resolution of claims, and 

3 shall submit semiannual reports on such assessments 

4 each year to the Committee on House Administra5 tion and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

7 Rules and Administration and the Committee on Ap8 propriations of the Senate. 

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

10 claim under this section with respect to an allegation of 

11 a violation of law after the expiration of the 180-day pe12 riod which begins on the date of the alleged violation. The 

13 Office shall not accept a claim that does not meet the re14 quirements of this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(f) NO EFFECT ON ABILITY OF COVERED EM16 PLOYEE TO SEEK INFORMATION FROM OFFICE OR PUR17 SUE RELIEF.—Nothing in this section may be construed 

18 to limit the ability of a covered employee— 

19 ‘‘(1) to contact the Office or any other appro20 priate office prior to filing a claim under this title 

21 to seek information regarding the employee’s rights 

22 under this Act and the procedures available under 

23 this Act; or 

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

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


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1 or (C) of section 101(9), to refer information re2 garding an alleged violation of part A of title II to 

3 the Committee on Ethics of the House of Represent4 atives or the Select Committee on Ethics of the Sen5 ate (as the case may be).’’. 

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

7 is amended by amending the item relating to section 402 

8 to read as follows: 

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

9 SEC. 103. AVAILABILITY OF MEDIATION DURING PROCESS. 

10 (a) AVAILABILITY OF MEDIATION.—Section 403(a) 

11 (2 U.S.C. 1403(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY OF MEDIATION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Unless the covered em14 ployee who filed a claim under section 402 or the 

15 employing office named in the claim opts out of me16 diation by the deadline described in section 

17 402(c)(2), the Office shall promptly assign a medi18 ator to the claim, and conduct such mediation under 

19 this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) IMPACT OF DECISION.—A decision by a 

21 party to engage in or opt out of mediation as pro22 vided in this Act shall not be used for or against the 

23 party in any proceeding under this Act.’’. 

24 (b) REQUIRING PARTIES TO BE SEPARATED DURING

25 MEDIATION AT REQUEST OF EMPLOYEE.—Section 


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1 403(b)(2) (2 U.S.C. 1403(b)(2)) is amended by striking 

2 ‘‘meetings with the parties separately or jointly’’ and in3 serting ‘‘meetings with the parties during which, at the 

4 request of the covered employee, the parties shall be sepa5 rated,’’. 

6 (c) PERIOD OF MEDIATION.—Section 403(c) (2 

7 U.S.C. 1403(c)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘beginning 

9 on the date the request for mediation is received’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘beginning on the first day after the 

11 deadline described in section 402(c)(2)’’; and 

12 (2) by striking the second sentence and insert13 ing ‘‘The mediation period may be extended for one 

14 additional period of 30 days at the joint request of 

15 the covered employee and employing office.’’. 

16 SEC. 104. HEARINGS. 

17 (a) HEARINGS COMMENCED BY OFFICE OF CON18 GRESSIONAL WORKPLACE RIGHTS.—Section 405 (2 

19 U.S.C. 1405) is amended as follows: 

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

21 AND’’. 

22 (2) By amending subsection (a) to read as fol23 lows: 

24 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT FOR HEARINGS TO COMMENCE

25 IN OFFICE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) HEARING REQUIRED UPON REQUEST.—If 

2 a covered employee elects to file a request for a 

3 hearing under this section by the deadline described 

4 in paragraph (2), the Executive Director shall ap5 point an independent hearing officer pursuant to 

6 subsection (c) to consider the claim and render a de7 cision, and a hearing shall be commenced in the Of8 fice. 

9 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR REQUESTING HEARING.— 

10 The deadline described in this paragraph shall be 90 

11 days after the later of— 

12 ‘‘(A) the date on which either party opts 

13 out of mediation under section 402(c); or 

14 ‘‘(B) the end of the period of mediation 

15 under section 403(c). 

16 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF FILING CIVIL ACTION.—Not17 withstanding paragraph (1), if the covered employee 

18 files a civil action as provided in section 408 with re19 spect to a complaint, the provisions of section 

20 401(b)(3)(B) shall apply with regard to a hearing 

21 under this section.’’. 

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

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

24 within a claim’’. 


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

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

3 a request for a hearing in accordance with sub4 section (a)’’. 

5 (5) In subsection (d), in the matter preceding 

6 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘complaint’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘claim’’. 

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

9 and inserting ‘‘claim’’. 

10 (b) ADDITIONAL TIME TO COMMENCE A HEARING

11 BEFORE A HEARING OFFICER.—Section 405(d) (2 U.S.C. 

12 1405(d)), as amended by subsection (a), is further amend13 ed by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(2) commenced no later than 90 days after the 

15 Executive Director receives a request filed under 

16 subsection (a), except that, upon mutual agreement 

17 of the parties or for good cause, the Office shall ex18 tend the time for commencing a hearing for not 

19 more than an additional 30 days; and’’. 

20 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The head21 ing of section 414 (2 U.S.C. 1414) is amended by striking 

22 ‘‘OF COMPLAINTS’’. 

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

24 as amended by section 101(d), is further amended as fol25 lows: 


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1 (1) By amending the item relating to section 

2 405 to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 405. Hearing.’’. 

3 (2) By amending the item relating to section 

4 414 to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 414. Settlement.’’. 

5 Subtitle B—Other Reforms 

6 SEC. 111. REQUIRING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO REIM7 BURSE TREASURY FOR DAMAGES PAID AS 

8 SETTLEMENTS AND AWARDS FOR CERTAIN 

9 VIOLATIONS. 

10 (a) MANDATING REIMBURSEMENT OF AMOUNTS

11 PAID.—Section 415 (2 U.S.C. 1415) is amended by add12 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(d) REIMBURSEMENT BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

14 FOR DAMAGES PAID AS SETTLEMENTS AND AWARDS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) REIMBURSEMENT REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN

16 VIOLATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a payment is made 

18 from the account described in subsection (a) for 

19 an award or settlement in connection with a 

20 claim alleging a violation described in subpara21 graph (D) perpetrated directly against a cov22 ered employee by an individual who, at the time 

23 of committing the violation, was a Member of 

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1 gate or Resident Commissioner to the Con2 gress) or a Senator, that individual who com3 mitted the violation shall reimburse the account 

4 for the amount of compensatory damages in5 cluded in the award or settlement attributable 

6 to that violation. 

7 ‘‘(B) SEPARATE FINDING REQUIRED IN

8 CASE OF AWARD OR SETTLEMENT.—Personal li9 ability or a reimbursement requirement may not 

10 be imposed on an individual under this sub11 section unless the hearing officer, the court, or 

12 the corresponding committee described in sec13 tion 416(e)(1) (as the case may be) makes a 

14 finding, separate from the finding on the under15 lying claim, that the individual perpetrated a 

16 violation requiring reimbursement under this 

17 subsection. 

18 ‘‘(C) MULTIPLE CLAIMS.—If an award or 

19 settlement is made for multiple claims, some of 

20 which do not require reimbursement under this 

21 subsection, the Member or Senator shall only be 

22 required to reimburse for the amount of com23 pensatory damages included in the portion of 

24 the award or settlement attributable to a claim 

25 requiring reimbursement. 


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1 ‘‘(D) VIOLATION DESCRIBED.—A violation 

2 described in this subparagraph is— 

3 ‘‘(i) unwelcome harassment by an in4 dividual described in subparagraph (A) on 

5 any basis protected by section 201(a) or 

6 206(a) that has the purpose or effect of 

7 unreasonably interfering, and is suffi8 ciently severe or pervasive to unreasonably 

9 interfere, with a covered employee’s work 

10 performance or create an intimidating, 

11 hostile, or offensive working environment; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a violation of sec14 tion 201(a) on the basis of sex, conduct by 

15 an individual described in subparagraph 

16 (A) that is an unwelcome sexual advance 

17 or request for sexual favors, when— 

18 ‘‘(I) submission to such conduct 

19 is made either explicitly or implicitly a 

20 term or condition of the covered em21 ployee’s employment; or 

22 ‘‘(II) submission to or rejection 

23 of such conduct by the employee is 

24 used as the basis for an employment 

25 decision affecting such employee. 


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1 ‘‘(2) WITHHOLDING AMOUNTS FROM COM2 PENSATION.— 

3 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF TIMETABLE AND

4 PROCEDURES BY COMMITTEES.—For purposes 

5 of carrying out subparagraph (B), the applica6 ble Committee shall establish a timetable and 

7 procedures for the withholding of amounts from 

8 the compensation of an individual who is a 

9 Member of the House of Representatives or a 

10 Senator. 

11 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE.—The payroll adminis12 trator shall withhold from an individual’s com13 pensation and transfer to the account described 

14 in subsection (a) (after transferring to the ac15 count of the individual in the Thrift Savings 

16 Fund any amount that the individual had re17 quested to be so transferred) such amounts as 

18 may be necessary to reimburse the account de19 scribed in subsection (a) for the reimbursable 

20 portion of the award or settlement described in 

21 paragraph (1) if the individual has not reim22 bursed the account as required under para23 graph (1) prior to the expiration of the 90-day 

24 period which begins on the date a payment is 


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1 made from the account for such an award or 

2 settlement. 

3 ‘‘(C) APPLICABLE COMMITTEE DEFINED.— 

4 In this paragraph, the ‘applicable Committee’ 

5 means— 

6 ‘‘(i) the Committee on House Admin7 istration of the House of Representatives, 

8 in the case of an individual who, at the 

9 time of the withholding, is a Member of 

10 the House; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Rules and Ad12 ministration of the Senate, in the case of 

13 an individual who, at the time of the with14 holding, is a Senator. 

15 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE WAGE GARNISHMENT OR

16 OTHER COLLECTION OF WAGES FROM A SUBSE17 QUENT POSITION.— 

18 ‘‘(A) INDIVIDUAL SUBJECT TO GARNISH19 MENT OR OTHER COLLECTION.—Subparagraph 

20 (B) shall apply to an individual who is subject 

21 to the reimbursement requirement of this sub22 section if, by the expiration of the 180-day pe23 riod that begins on the date a payment is made 

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1 lating to an award or settlement described in 

2 paragraph (1), the individual— 

3 ‘‘(i) has not reimbursed the account 

4 for the entire reimbursable portion as re5 quired under paragraph (1); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) is not employed as a Member of 

7 the House of Representatives or a Senator 

8 but is employed in a subsequent non-Fed9 eral position. 

10 ‘‘(B) GARNISHMENT OR OTHER COLLEC11 TION OF WAGES.—On the expiration of that 

12 180-day period, the amount of the reimbursable 

13 portion of an award or settlement described in 

14 paragraph (1) (reduced by any amount the indi15 vidual has reimbursed, taking into account any 

16 amounts withheld under paragraph (2)) shall be 

17 treated as a delinquent nontax debt and trans18 ferred to the Secretary of the Treasury for col19 lection. Upon that transfer, the Secretary of the 

20 Treasury shall collect the debt, in accordance 

21 with section 3711 of title 31, United States 

22 Code, including by administrative wage garnish23 ment of the wages of the individual described in 

24 subparagraph (A) from the position described 

25 in subparagraph (A)(ii). The Secretary of the 


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1 Treasury shall transfer the collected amount to 

2 the account described in subsection (a). 

3 ‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION TO OFFICE OF PERSONNEL

4 MANAGEMENT AND SECRETARY OF THE TREAS5 URY.—If the individual does not obtain employment 

6 in a subsequent position referred to in paragraph 

7 (3)(A)(ii), not later than 90 days after the individual 

8 is first no longer receiving compensation as a Mem9 ber or a Senator, the amounts withheld or collected 

10 under this subsection have not been sufficient to re11 imburse the account described in subsection (a) for 

12 the reimbursable portion of the award or settlement 

13 described in paragraph (1), the payroll adminis14 trator— 

15 ‘‘(A) shall notify the Director of the Office 

16 of Personnel Management, who shall take such 

17 actions as the Director considers appropriate to 

18 withhold from any annuity payable to the indi19 vidual under chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 

20 5, United States Code, and transfer to the ac21 count described in subsection (a), such amounts 

22 as may be necessary to reimburse the account 

23 for the reimbursable portion of an award or set24 tlement described in paragraph (1); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) shall notify the Secretary of the 

2 Treasury, who (if necessary), notwithstanding 

3 section 207 of the Social Security Act (42 

4 U.S.C. 407), shall take such actions as the Sec5 retary of the Treasury considers appropriate to 

6 withhold from any payment to the individual 

7 under title II of the Social Security Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) and transfer to the account 

9 described in subsection (a), such amounts as 

10 may be necessary to reimburse the account for 

11 the reimbursable portion of an award or settle12 ment described in paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(5) COORDINATION BETWEEN OPM AND

14 TREASURY.—The Director of the Office of Personnel 

15 Management and the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

16 carry out paragraph (4) in a manner that ensures 

17 the coordination of the withholding and transferring 

18 of amounts under such paragraph, in accordance 

19 with regulations promulgated by the Director and 

20 the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(6) RIGHT TO INTERVENE.—An individual 

22 who is subject to the reimbursement requirement of 

23 this subsection shall have the unconditional right to 

24 intervene in any mediation, hearing, or civil action 

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1 vidual in the determination of whether an award or 

2 settlement described in paragraph (1) should be 

3 made, and the amount of any such award or settle4 ment, except that nothing in this paragraph may be 

5 construed to require the covered employee who filed 

6 the claim to be deposed by counsel for the individual 

7 in a deposition that is separate from any other depo8 sition taken from the employee in connection with 

9 the hearing or civil action. 

10 ‘‘(7) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

11 term ‘payroll administrator’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) in the case of an individual who is a 

13 Member of the House of Representatives, the 

14 Chief Administrative Officer of the House of 

15 Representatives, or an employee of the Office of 

16 the Chief Administrative Officer who is des17 ignated by the Chief Administrative Officer to 

18 carry out this subsection; or 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual who is a 

20 Senator, the Secretary of the Senate, or an em21 ployee of the Office of the Secretary of the Sen22 ate who is designated by the Secretary to carry 

23 out this subsection.’’. 


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

2 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to claims made on 

3 or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 112. AUTOMATIC REFERRAL TO CONGRESSIONAL ETH5 ICS COMMITTEES OF DISPOSITION OF CER6 TAIN CLAIMS ALLEGING VIOLATIONS OF 

7 CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 

8 1995 INVOLVING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS 

9 AND SENIOR STAFF. 

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

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘(e) AUTOMATIC REFERRALS TO CONGRESSIONAL

13 ETHICS COMMITTEES OF DISPOSITIONS OF CLAIMS IN14 VOLVING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND SENIOR STAFF.— 

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

16 under this title (as described in paragraph (6)) of a 

17 claim alleging a violation of section 201(a) or 206(a) 

18 that is perpetrated directly against a covered em19 ployee by a Member of the House of Representatives 

20 (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to 

21 the Congress) or a Senator, or by a senior staffer of 

22 an employing office described in subparagraph (A) 

23 or (B) of section 101(9), the Executive Director 

24 shall refer the claim 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 settlement documents in the case of a settlement 

14 and findings by the hearing officer involved in the 

15 case of an award under this title. 

16 ‘‘(3) REVIEW BY CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS COM17 MITTEES OF SETTLEMENTS OF CERTAIN CLAIMS.— 

18 After the receipt of a settlement agreement for a 

19 claim that includes an allegation of a violation of 

20 section 201(a) or 206(a) that is perpetrated directly 

21 against a covered employee as described in section 

22 415(d)(1)(D) by a Member of the House of Rep23 resentatives (including a Delegate or a Resident 

24 Commissioner to the Congress) or a Senator, the 


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1 corresponding committee described in paragraph (1) 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) not later than 90 days after that re4 ceipt, review the settlement agreement; 

5 ‘‘(B) determine whether an investigation of 

6 the claim is warranted; and 

7 ‘‘(C) if the committee determines, after the 

8 investigation, that the claim that resulted in the 

9 settlement involved an actual violation of sec10 tion 201(a) or 206(a) perpetrated directly 

11 against a covered employee as described in sec12 tion 415(d)(1)(D) by the Member or Senator, 

13 then the committee shall notify the Executive 

14 Director to request the reimbursement de15 scribed in section 415(d) and include the settle16 ment in the report required by section 301(l). 

17 ‘‘(4) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFI18 ABLE INFORMATION.—If a Committee to which a 

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

20 with respect to the claim, the Committee shall en21 sure that the report does not directly disclose the 

22 identity or position of the individual who filed the 

23 claim. 

24 ‘‘(5) AUTHORITY TO PROTECT IDENTITY OF A

25 CLAIMANT.— 


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

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

3 Committee may, in accordance with subpara4 graph (B), make an appropriate redaction to 

5 the information or data included in the report 

6 if the Committee and the appropriate decision7 makers described in subparagraph (B) deter8 mine that including the information or data 

9 considered for redaction may lead to the unin10 tentional disclosure of the identity or position of 

11 a claimant. The report including any such re12 daction shall note each redaction and include a 

13 statement that the redaction was made solely 

14 for the purpose of avoiding such an uninten15 tional disclosure of the identity or position of a 

16 claimant. 

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

18 Committee shall make a redaction under sub19 paragraph (A) only if agreement is reached on 

20 the precise information or data to be redacted 

21 by— 

22 ‘‘(i) the Chairman and Ranking Mem23 ber of the Committee on Ethics of the 

24 House of Representatives, in the case of a 

25 report concerning a Member of the House 


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1 of Representatives (including a Delegate or 

2 Resident Commissioner to the Congress) or 

3 a senior staffer who is an employee of the 

4 House of Representatives; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) the Chairman and Vice Chair6 man of the Select Committee on Ethics of 

7 the Senate, in the case of a report con8 cerning a Senator or senior staffer who is 

9 an employee of the Senate. 

10 ‘‘(C) RETENTION OF UNREDACTED RE11 PORTS.—Each committee described in subpara12 graph (B) shall retain a copy of the report, 

13 without redactions. 

14 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

15 ‘‘(A) FINAL DISPOSITION.—The ‘final dis16 position’ of a claim means the following: 

17 ‘‘(i) An agreement to pay a settle18 ment, including an agreement reached pur19 suant to mediation under section 403. 

20 ‘‘(ii) An order to pay an award that is 

21 final and not subject to appeal. 

22 ‘‘(B) SENIOR STAFFER.—The term ‘senior 

23 staffer’ means any individual who, at the time 

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1 port under title I of the Ethics in Government 

2 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).’’. 

3 SEC. 113. AVAILABILITY OF OPTION TO REQUEST REMOTE 

4 WORK ASSIGNMENT OR PAID LEAVE OF AB5 SENCE DURING PENDENCY OF PROCEDURES. 

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

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

8 ‘‘SEC. 417. OPTION TO REQUEST REMOTE WORK ASSIGN9 MENT OR PAID LEAVE OF ABSENCE DURING 

10 PENDENCY OF PROCEDURES. 

11 ‘‘(a) OPTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) REMOTE WORK ASSIGNMENT.—At the re13 quest of a covered employee who files a claim alleg14 ing a violation of part A of title II by the covered 

15 employee’s employing office, during the pendency of 

16 any of the procedures available under this title for 

17 consideration of the claim, the employing office may 

18 permit the covered employee to carry out the em19 ployee’s responsibilities from a remote location (re20 ferred to in this section as ‘permitting a remote 

21 work assignment’) where such relocation would have 

22 the effect of materially reducing interactions be23 tween the covered employee and any person alleged 

24 to have committed the violation, instead of from a 

25 location of the employing office. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR WORK ASSIGNMENTS RE2 QUIRED TO BE CARRIED OUT ONSITE.—If, in the de3 termination of the covered employee’s employing of4 fice, a covered employee who makes a request under 

5 this subsection cannot carry out the employee’s re6 sponsibilities from a remote location or such reloca7 tion would not have the effect described in para8 graph (1), the employing office may during the 

9 pendency of the procedures described in paragraph 

10 (1)— 

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

12 covered employee; 

13 ‘‘(B) permit a remote work assignment 

14 and grant a paid leave of absence to the covered 

15 employee; or 

16 ‘‘(C) make another workplace adjustment, 

17 or permit a remote work assignment, that 

18 would have the effect of reducing interactions 

19 between the covered employee and any person 

20 alleged to have committed the violation de21 scribed in paragraph (1). 

22 ‘‘(3) ENSURING NO RETALIATION.—An employ23 ing office may not grant a covered employee’s re24 quest under this subsection in a manner which 

25 would constitute a violation of section 207. 


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

2 LEAVE.—In granting leave for a paid leave of ab3 sence under this section, an employing office shall 

4 not require the covered employee to substitute, for 

5 that leave, any of the accrued paid vacation or per6 sonal leave of the covered employee. 

7 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR ARRANGEMENTS SUBJECT TO

8 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.—Subsection (a) 

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

10 the terms and conditions of any collective bargaining 

11 agreement which is in effect with respect to an employing 

12 office.’’. 

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

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

15 tile IV the following new item: 

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

during pendency of procedures.’’. 

16 SEC. 114. MODIFICATION OF RULES ON CONFIDENTIALITY 

17 OF PROCEEDINGS. 

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

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

20 information discussed or disclosed in the course of any me21 diation’’. 

22 (b) CLAIMS.—Section 416 (2 U.S.C. 1416), as 

23 amended by section 112, is further amended— 

24 (1) by striking subsection (a); 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) through (f) 

2 as subsections (a) through (e), respectively; 

3 (3) in subsection (b), as redesignated by para4 graph (2) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘subsections 

5 (d), (e), and (f)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (c), (d), 

6 and (e)’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(f) CLAIMS.—Nothing in this section may be con9 strued to prohibit a covered employee from disclosing the 

10 factual allegations supporting the covered employee’s 

11 claim, or to prohibit an employing office from disclosing 

12 the factual allegations supporting the employing office’s 

13 defense to the claim, in the course of any proceeding under 

14 this title.’’. 

15 SEC. 115. REIMBURSEMENT BY OTHER EMPLOYING OF16 FICES OF LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF PAY17 MENTS OF CERTAIN AWARDS AND SETTLE18 MENTS. 

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

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

21 amended by adding at the end the following new sub22 section: 

23 ‘‘(e) REIMBURSEMENT BY EMPLOYING OFFICES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION OF PAYMENTS MADE FROM

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1 tive Director is made aware that a payment of an 

2 award or settlement under this Act has been made 

3 from the account described in subsection (a) in con4 nection with a claim alleging a violation described in 

5 section 201(a) or 206(a) by an employing office 

6 (other than an employing office described in sub7 paragraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 101(9)), the 

8 Executive Director shall notify the head of the em9 ploying office associated with the claim that the pay10 ment has been made, and shall include in the notifi11 cation a statement 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) for an award or settlement for 

5 a claim that is filed on or after the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act. 

7 TITLE II—IMPROVING OPER8 ATIONS OF OFFICE OF CON9 GRESSIONAL WORKPLACE 

10 RIGHTS 

11 SEC. 201. REPORTS ON AWARDS AND SETTLEMENTS. 

12 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS ON AWARDS AND SETTLE13 MENTS.— 

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) ANNUAL REPORTS ON AWARDS AND SETTLE23 MENTS.— 

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

25 after the beginning of each calendar year, the Office 


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1 shall submit to Congress and publish on the Office’s 

2 public website a report listing each award that is the 

3 result of a violation of part A of title II or settle4 ment that is attributable to a finding described in 

5 section 415(d)(1)(B) and that was paid during the 

6 previous calendar year from the account described in 

7 section 415(a). The report shall include information 

8 on the employing office involved, the amount of the 

9 award or settlement, the provision that was the sub10 ject of the claim, and (in the case of an award or 

11 settlement resulting from a finding described in sec12 tion 415(d)(1)(B)), whether the Member or former 

13 Member is in compliance with the requirement of 

14 section 415(d) to reimburse the account for the re15 imbursable portion of the award or settlement. 

16 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION OF IDENTITY OF INDIVID17 UALS RECEIVING AWARDS AND SETTLEMENTS.—In 

18 preparing and submitting the reports required under 

19 paragraph (1), the Office shall ensure that the iden20 tity or position of any claimant is not disclosed. 

21 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY TO PROTECT THE IDENTITY

22 OF A CLAIMANT.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out para24 graph (2), the Executive Director may make an 

25 appropriate redaction to the data included in 


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1 the report described in paragraph (1) if the Ex2 ecutive Director determines that including the 

3 data considered for redaction may lead to the 

4 identity or position of a claimant unintention5 ally being disclosed. The report shall note each 

6 redaction and include a statement that the re7 daction was made solely for the purpose of 

8 avoiding such an unintentional disclosure of the 

9 identity or position of a claimant. 

10 ‘‘(B) RECORDKEEPING.—The Executive 

11 Director shall retain a copy of the report de12 scribed in subparagraph (A), without 

13 redactions. 

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

15 ‘claimant’ means an individual who received an 

16 award or settlement, or who made an allegation of 

17 a violation against an employing office.’’. 

18 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

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

20 and each succeeding year. 

21 (b) REPORT ON AMOUNTS PREVIOUSLY PAID.— 

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

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

24 Congressional Workplace Rights shall submit to 

25 Congress and make available to the public on the 


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1 Office’s public website a report on all payments 

2 made with public funds prior to the date of the en3 actment of this Act for awards and settlements in 

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

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

6 1311(a)), or section 207 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

7 1317) and shall include in the report the following 

8 information: 

9 (A) The amount paid for each such award 

10 or settlement. 

11 (B) The source of the public funds used 

12 for the award or settlement, without regard to 

13 whether the funds were paid from the account 

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

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

16 Representatives or Senate, or any other account 

17 of the Federal Government. 

18 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING IDEN19 TIFICATION OF HOUSE AND SENATE ACCOUNTS.— 

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

21 require or permit the Office of Congressional Work22 place Rights to report the account of any specific of23 fice of the House of Representatives or Senate as 

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


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1 SEC. 202. WORKPLACE CLIMATE SURVEYS OF EMPLOYING 

2 OFFICES. 

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

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

5 new section: 

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

7 OFFICES. 

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

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

10 section, and every 2 years thereafter, the Office shall con11 duct a survey of employees of employing offices described 

12 in subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (E) of section 101(9), 

13 regarding the workplace environment of such office. The 

14 Office shall make the survey available (which may include 

15 making the survey available electronically) to all such em16 ployees. Employee responses to the survey shall be vol17 untary. 

18 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON SEX19 UAL HARASSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION.—In each sur20 vey conducted under this section, the Office shall survey 

21 respondents on attitudes regarding sexual harassment and 

22 discrimination. 

23 ‘‘(c) METHODOLOGY.— 

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

25 each survey under this section in accordance with 

26 methodologies established by the Office. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Under the meth2 odologies established under paragraph (1), all re3 sponses to all portions of the survey shall be anony4 mous and confidential, and each respondent shall be 

5 told throughout the survey that all responses shall 

6 be anonymous and confidential. 

7 ‘‘(3) SURVEY FORM.—The Office shall not in8 clude any code or information on the survey form 

9 that makes a respondent to the survey, or the re10 spondent’s employing office, individually identifiable. 

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

12 shall furnish the information obtained from the surveys 

13 conducted under this section to the Committee on House 

14 Administration of the House of Representatives and the 

15 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af16 fairs, and the Committee on Rules and Administration, 

17 of the Senate. 

18 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION WITH COMMITTEES.—The Of19 fice shall carry out this section, including establishment 

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

21 consultation with the Committee on House Administration 

22 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

23 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the 

24 Committee on Rules and Administration, of the Senate.’’. 


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

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

3 title III the following new item: 

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

4 SEC. 203. 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.—Not later than 180 days 

9 following the date of enactment of the Congressional Ac10 countability Act of 1995 Reform Act, the Office, in con11 sultation with the Committee on House Administration of 

12 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Rules 

13 and Administration of the Senate, shall create a program 

14 to be enforced by the Office for the proper and timely dis15 position of confidential documents and data created or ob16 tained by mediators or hearing officers in connection with 

17 their service in confidential proceedings under this Act.’’. 

18 SEC. 204. CONFIDENTIAL ADVISOR. 

19 Section 302 (2 U.S.C. 1382) is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (f) 

21 as subsections (e) through (g), respectively; and 

22 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(d) CONFIDENTIAL ADVISOR.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Director 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) appoint, and fix the compensation of, 

4 and may remove, a Confidential Advisor; or 

5 ‘‘(B) designate an employee of the Office 

6 to serve as a Confidential Advisor. 

7 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) VOLUNTARY SERVICES.—The Con9 fidential Advisor shall offer to provide to cov10 ered employees described in paragraph (4) the 

11 services described in subparagraph (B), which a 

12 covered employee may accept or decline. 

13 ‘‘(B) SERVICES.—The services referred to 

14 in subparagraph (A) are— 

15 ‘‘(i) informing, on a privileged and 

16 confidential basis, a covered employee who 

17 has experienced a practice that may be a 

18 violation of part A of title II about the em19 ployee’s rights under this Act; 

20 ‘‘(ii) consulting, on a privileged and 

21 confidential basis, with a covered employee 

22 who has experienced a practice that may 

23 be a violation of part A of title II regard24 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the roles, responsibilities, 

2 and authority of the Office; and 

3 ‘‘(II) the relative merits of secur4 ing private counsel, designating a non5 attorney representative, or proceeding 

6 without representation during pro7 ceedings before the Office; 

8 ‘‘(iii) assisting, on a privileged and 

9 confidential basis, a covered employee who 

10 seeks consideration under title IV of an al11 legation of a violation of part A of title II 

12 in understanding the procedures, and the 

13 significance of the procedures, described in 

14 that title IV; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) informing, on a privileged and 

16 confidential basis, a covered employee who 

17 has experienced a practice that may be a 

18 violation of part A of title II about the op19 tion of pursuing, in appropriate cir20 cumstances, a complaint with the Com21 mittee on Ethics of the House of Rep22 resentatives or the Select Committee on 

23 Ethics of the Senate. 

24 ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Confidential Advi25 sor shall be a lawyer who— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is admitted to practice before, and is 

2 in good standing with, the bar of a State of the 

3 United States, the District of Columbia, or a 

4 territory of the United States; and 

5 ‘‘(B) has experience representing clients in 

6 cases involving the workplace laws incorporated 

7 by part A of title II. 

8 ‘‘(4) INDIVIDUALS COVERED.—The services de9 scribed in paragraph (2) are available to any covered 

10 employee (which, for purposes of this subsection, 

11 shall include any staff member described in section 

12 201(d) and any former covered employee (including 

13 any former staff member described in that section)), 

14 except that— 

15 ‘‘(A) a former covered employee may only 

16 request such services if the practice that may 

17 be a violation of part A of title II occurred dur18 ing the employment or service of the employee; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) a covered employee described in this 

21 paragraph may only request such services be22 fore the expiration of the 180-day period de23 scribed in section 402(e). 

24 ‘‘(5) RESTRICTIONS.—The Confidential Advi25 sor— 


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1 ‘‘(A) shall not provide legal advice to, or 

2 act as the designated representative for, any 

3 covered employee in connection with the covered 

4 employee’s participation in any proceeding, in5 cluding any proceeding under this Act, any ju6 dicial proceeding, or any proceeding before any 

7 committee of Congress; and 

8 ‘‘(B) shall not serve as a mediator in any 

9 mediation conducted pursuant to section 403.’’. 

10 SEC. 205. GAO STUDY OF MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. 

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

12 States shall conduct a study of the management practices 

13 of the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights. 

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

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp16 troller General of the United States shall submit to Con17 gress a report on the study conducted under subsection 

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

19 as the Comptroller General considers appropriate for im20 provements to the management practices of the Office of 

21 Congressional Workplace Rights. 

22 SEC. 206. GAO AUDIT OF CYBERSECURITY. 

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

24 States shall conduct an audit of the cybersecurity systems 


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1 and practices of the Office of Congressional Workplace 

2 Rights. 

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

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp5 troller General of the United States shall submit to Con6 gress a report on the audit conducted under subsection 

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

8 as the Comptroller General considers appropriate for im9 provements to the cybersecurity systems and practices of 

10 the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights. 

11 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

12 REFORMS 

13 SEC. 301. APPLICATION OF GENETIC INFORMATION NON14 DISCRIMINATION ACT OF 2008. 

15 Section 102 (2 U.S.C. 1302) is amended by adding 

16 at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(c) GENETIC INFORMATION NONDISCRIMINATION

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

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

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

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

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

23 2000ff–6(c)).’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. EXTENSION TO UNPAID STAFF OF RIGHTS AND 

2 PROTECTIONS AGAINST EMPLOYMENT DIS3 CRIMINATION. 

4 (a) EXTENSION.—Section 201(d) (2 U.S.C. 1311(d)) 

5 is amended to read as follows: 

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

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

8 and section 207 shall apply with respect to any staff 

9 member of an employing office who carries out offi10 cial duties of the employing office but who is not 

11 paid by the employing office for carrying out such 

12 duties, including an intern, an individual detailed to 

13 an employing office, and an individual participating 

14 in a fellowship program, in the same manner and to 

15 the same extent as such subsections and section 

16 apply with respect to a covered employee. 

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

18 paragraph (1) may be construed to extend liability 

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

20 employing office on the basis of an action taken by 

21 any person who is not under the supervision or con22 trol of the employing office. 

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

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

25 performs service for an employing office which is un26 compensated by the United States, who obtains an 


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1 educational benefit, such as by earning credit award2 ed by an educational institution or learning a trade 

3 or occupation, and who is appointed on a temporary 

4 basis.’’. 

5 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTION RELATING TO OFFICE

6 RESPONSIBLE FOR DISBURSEMENT OF PAY TO HOUSE

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

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

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

10 Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives’’. 

11 SEC. 303. PROVISIONS RELATING TO INSTRUMENTALITIES. 

12 (a) REFERENCES TO FORMER OFFICE OF TECH13 NOLOGY ASSESSMENT.— 

14 (1) PUBLIC SERVICES AND ACCOMMODATIONS

15 PROVISIONS.—Section 210(a) (2 U.S.C. 1331(a)) is 

16 amended— 

17 (A) in paragraph (9), by adding ‘‘and’’ at 

18 the end; 

19 (B) by striking paragraph (10); and 

20 (C) by redesignating paragraph (11) as 

21 paragraph (10). 

22 (2) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH PRO23 VISIONS.—Section 215(e)(1) (2 U.S.C. 1341(e)(1)) 

24 is amended by striking ‘‘the Office of Technology 

25 Assessment,’’. 


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1 (3) LABOR-MANAGEMENT PROVISIONS.—Section 

2 220(e)(2)(G) (2 U.S.C. 1351(e)(2)(G)) is amended 

3 by striking ‘‘, the Office of Technology Assess4 ment,’’. 

5 (b) AMENDMENTS RELATING TO LOC COVERAGE OF

6 LIBRARY VISITORS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 210 (2 U.S.C. 1331) 

8 is amended— 

9 (A) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub10 section (i); and 

11 (B) by inserting after subsection (g) the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(h) ELECTION OF REMEDIES RELATING TO RIGHTS

14 TO PUBLIC SERVICES AND ACCOMMODATIONS FOR LI15 BRARY VISITORS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF LIBRARY VISITOR.—In 

17 this subsection, the term ‘Library visitor’ means an 

18 individual who is eligible to bring a claim for a viola19 tion under title II or III of the Americans with Dis20 abilities Act of 1990 (other than a violation for 

21 which the exclusive remedy is under section 201) 

22 against the Library of Congress. 

23 ‘‘(2) ELECTION OF REMEDIES.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Library visitor who 

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1 brary of Congress may, subject to subparagraph 

2 (B)— 

3 ‘‘(i) file a charge against the Library 

4 of Congress under subsection (d); or 

5 ‘‘(ii) use the remedies and procedures 

6 set forth in section 717 of the Civil Rights 

7 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16), as pro8 vided under section 510 (other than para9 graph (5)) of the Americans with Disabil10 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12209). 

11 ‘‘(B) TIMING.—A Library visitor that has 

12 initiated proceedings under clause (i) or (ii) of 

13 subparagraph (A) may elect to change and ini14 tiate a proceeding under the other clause— 

15 ‘‘(i) in the case of a Library visitor 

16 who first filed a charge pursuant to sub17 paragraph (A)(i), before the General Coun18 sel files a complaint under subsection 

19 (d)(3); or 

20 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a Library visitor 

21 who first initiated a proceeding under sub22 paragraph (A)(ii), before the Library vis23 itor requests a hearing under the proce24 dures of the Library of Congress described 

25 in such subparagraph.’’. 


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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY.— 

2 The amendments made by this subsection shall take 

3 effect as if such amendments were included in sec4 tion 153 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations 

5 Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-141), and shall apply as 

6 specified in section 153(c) of such Act. 

7 SEC. 304. NOTICES. 

8 Part E of title II (2 U.S.C. 1361) is amended— 

9 (1) in section 225 (2 U.S.C. 1361)— 

10 (A) by striking subsection (e); and 

11 (B) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub12 section (e). 

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

14 ‘‘SEC. 226. NOTICES. 

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

16 and keep posted (in conspicuous places upon its premises 

17 where notices to covered employees are customarily post18 ed) a notice provided by the Office that— 

19 ‘‘(1) describes the rights, protections, and pro20 cedures applicable to covered employees of the em21 ploying office under this Act, concerning violations 

22 described in subsection (b); and 

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

24 ‘‘(b) VIOLATIONS.—A violation described in this sub25 section is— 


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

2 (including, in accordance with section 102(c), dis3 crimination prohibited by title II of the Genetic In4 formation Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 

5 2000ff et seq.)) or 206(a); and 

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

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

8 is related to discrimination described in paragraph 

9 (1).’’. 

10 SEC. 305. 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 subparagraph (I); 

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

21 subparagraph (J) and inserting a semicolon; 

22 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as 

23 subparagraph (I); and 

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


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1 ‘‘(J) the John C. Stennis Center for Public 

2 Service Training and Development; 

3 ‘‘(K) the China Review Commission; 

4 ‘‘(L) the Congressional-Executive China 

5 Commission; or 

6 ‘‘(M) the Helsinki Commission.’’. 

7 (2) TREATMENT OF CENTER AND COMMISSIONS

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

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

10 Office of Technology Assessment’’ and inserting the 

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

12 Service Training and Development, the China Re13 view Commission, the Congressional-Executive China 

14 Commission, and the Helsinki Commission’’. 

15 (3) DEFINITIONS OF COMMISSIONS.—Section 

16 101 (2 U.S.C. 1301) is amended by adding at the 

17 end the following: 

18 ‘‘(13) CHINA REVIEW COMMISSION.—The term 

19 ‘China Review Commission’ means the United 

20 States-China Economic and Security Review Com21 mission established under section 1238 of the Floyd 

22 D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for 

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

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


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1 ‘‘(14) CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE CHINA COM2 MISSION.—The term ‘Congressional-Executive China 

3 Commission’ means the Congressional-Executive 

4 Commission on the People’s Republic of China es5 tablished under title III of the U.S.–China Relations 

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

7 et seq.). 

8 ‘‘(15) HELSINKI COMMISSION.—The term ‘Hel9 sinki Commission’ means the Commission on Secu10 rity and Cooperation in Europe established under 

11 the Act entitled ‘An Act to establish a Commission 

12 on Security and Cooperation in Europe’, approved 

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

14 et seq.).’’. 

15 (b) LEGAL ASSISTANCE AND REPRESENTATION.— 

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

17 seq.) is amended— 

18 (A) by redesignating section 509 as section 

19 512; and 

20 (B) by inserting after section 508 the fol21 lowing: 

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

23 ‘‘Legal assistance and representation under this Act, 

24 including assistance and representation with respect to the 

25 proposal or acceptance of the disposition of a claim under 


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1 this Act, shall be provided to the China Review Commis2 sion, the Congressional-Executive China Commission, and 

3 the Helsinki Commission— 

4 ‘‘(1) by the Office of the House Employment 

5 Counsel of the House of Representatives, in the case 

6 of assistance and representation in connection with 

7 a claim filed under title IV (including all subsequent 

8 proceedings under such title in connection with the 

9 claim) at a time when the chair of the Commission 

10 is a Member of the House, and in the case of assist11 ance and representation in connection with any sub12 sequent claim related to the initial claim where the 

13 subsequent claim involves the same parties; or 

14 ‘‘(2) by the Office of the Senate Chief Counsel 

15 for Employment of the Senate, in the case of assist16 ance and representation in connection with a claim 

17 filed under title IV (including all subsequent pro18 ceedings under such title in connection with the 

19 claim) at a time when the chair of the Commission 

20 is a Senator, and in the case of assistance and rep21 resentation in connection with any subsequent claim 

22 related to the initial claim where the subsequent 

23 claim involves the same parties.’’. 

24 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of 

25 contents is amended— 


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1 (A) by redesignating the item relating to 

2 section 509 as relating to section 512; and 

3 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

4 section 508 the following new item: 

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

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

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

7 striking ‘‘through (I)’’ and inserting ‘‘through (M)’’. 

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

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

10 claims alleging violations of the Congressional Account11 ability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) which are first 

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

13 SEC. 306. TRAINING AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS OF 

14 OTHER EMPLOYING OFFICES. 

15 (a) REQUIRING OFFICES TO DEVELOP AND IMPLE16 MENT PROGRAMS.—Title V (2 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), as 

17 amended by section 305(b), is further amended by insert18 ing after section 509 the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 510. TRAINING AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS OF EM20 PLOYING OFFICES. 

21 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING OFFICES TO DEVELOP AND IMPLE22 MENT PROGRAMS.—Each employing office shall develop 

23 and implement a program to train and educate covered 

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1 vided under this Act, including the procedures available 

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

3 ‘‘(b) REPORT TO COMMITTEES.— 

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

5 after the beginning of each Congress (beginning with 

6 the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress), each employ7 ing office shall submit a report to the Committee on 

8 House Administration of the House of Representa9 tives and the Committee on Rules and Administra10 tion of the Senate on the implementation of the pro11 gram required under subsection (a). 

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

13 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

14 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Re15 form Act, each employing office shall submit the re16 port described in paragraph (1) to the Committees 

17 described in such paragraph. 

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

19 section does not apply to an employing office described 

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

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

22 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

23 509, as inserted by section 305(b), the following new item: 

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


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1 SEC. 307. SUPPORT FOR OUT-OF-AREA COVERED EMPLOY2 EES. 

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

4 as amended by section 306(a), is further amended by in5 serting after section 510 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 511. SUPPORT FOR OUT-OF-AREA COVERED EMPLOY7 EES. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—All covered employees whose lo9 cation of employment is outside of the Washington, DC 

10 area (referred to in this section as ‘out-of-area covered em11 ployees’, shall have equitable access to the resources and 

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

13 provided to covered employees who work in the Wash14 ington, DC area. 

15 ‘‘(b) OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL WORKPLACE

16 RIGHTS.—The Office shall— 

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

18 covered employees may communicate securely with 

19 the Office, which shall include an option for real20 time audiovisual communication; and 

21 ‘‘(2) provide guidance to employing offices re22 garding how each office can facilitate equitable ac23 cess to the resources and services provided under 

24 this Act for its out-of-area covered employees, in25 cluding information regarding the communication 

26 methods described in paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(c) EMPLOYING OFFICES.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that each employing office with out-of-area covered 

3 employees should use its best efforts to facilitate equitable 

4 access to the resources and services provided under this 

5 Act for those employees.’’. 

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

7 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

8 510, as inserted by section 306(b), the following new item: 

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

9 SEC. 308. RENAMING OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE AS OFFICE 

10 OF CONGRESSIONAL WORKPLACE RIGHTS. 

11 (a) RENAMING.—Section 301 (2 U.S.C. 1381) is 

12 amended— 

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

14 COMPLIANCE’’ and inserting ‘‘OFFICE OF CON15 GRESSIONAL WORKPLACE RIGHTS’’; and 

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

17 Compliance’’ and inserting ‘‘Office of Congressional 

18 Workplace Rights’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO CONGRESSIONAL

20 ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.—The Congressional Ac21 countability Act of 1995 is amended as follows: 

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

23 striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and inserting ‘‘Of24 fice of Congressional Workplace Rights’’. 


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

2 striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and inserting ‘‘Of3 fice of Congressional Workplace Rights’’. 

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

5 1301(3)(H)), by striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘Office of Congressional Workplace 

7 Rights’’. 

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

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

10 inserting ‘‘Office of Congressional Workplace 

11 Rights’’. 

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

13 striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and inserting ‘‘Of14 fice of Congressional Workplace Rights’’. 

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

16 striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and inserting ‘‘Of17 fice of Congressional Workplace Rights’’. 

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

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

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

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

23 ‘‘Office of Congressional Workplace Rights’’. 


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

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

3 ‘‘Office of Congressional Workplace Rights’’. 

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

5 1351(e)(2)(G)), by striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘Office of Congressional Workplace 

7 Rights’’. 

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

9 ‘‘OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL WORK11 PLACE RIGHTS’’. 

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

13 1384(c)(4)), by striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘Office of Congressional Workplace 

15 Rights’’. 

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

17 1384(c)(5)), by striking ‘‘Office of Compliance’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘Office of Congressional Workplace 

19 Rights’’. 

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

21 is amended— 

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

23 heading of title III to read as follows: 

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

24 and 


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1 (2) by amending the item relating to section 

2 301 to read as follows: 

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

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

4 REGULATIONS.—Any reference to the Office of Compli5 ance in any law, rule, regulation, or other official paper 

6 in effect as of the effective date specified in section 401(a) 

7 shall be considered to refer and apply to the Office of Con8 gressional Workplace Rights. 

9 TITLE IV—EFFECTIVE DATE 

10 SEC. 401. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

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

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

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

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

15 (b) NO EFFECT ON PENDING PROCEEDINGS.—Noth16 ing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act may 

17 be construed to affect any proceeding or payment of an 

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

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

20 1401 et seq.) which is pending as of the date of the enact21 ment of this Act. If, as of that date, an employee has 

22 begun any of the proceedings under that title that were 

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

24 may complete, or initiate and complete, all such pro25 ceedings, and such proceedings shall remain in effect with 


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

2 claim involved until the completion of all such proceedings. 

Æ 


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