plaint under chapter 16 of title 28, United 
States Code; or 
(C) to file a civil action in accordance with 
section 401(b). 
(b) INITIAL PROCESSING OF CLAIM.— 
(1) INTAKE AND RECORDING; NOTIFICATION TO 
EMPLOYING UNIT.—Upon the filing of a claim by a 
covered employee under subsection (a), the Office 
shall take such steps as may be necessary for the 
initial intake and recording of the claim, including 
providing each party with all relevant information 
respect to the rights of the party under this Act, and 
shall transmit immediately a copy of the claim to the 
head of the employing unit and the designated rep-
resentative of that unit. 
(2) SPECIAL
NOTIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS 
FOR CLAIMS BASED ON ACTS BY JUDGES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a claim 
alleging a violation described in subparagraph 
(B) which consists of a violation described in 
section 415(d)(1)(A) by an individual, upon the 
filing of the claim under subsection (a), the Of-
fice shall notify immediately such individual of 
the claim, the possibility that the individual 
may be required to reimburse the account de-
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scribed in section 415(a) for the reimbursable 
portion of any award or settlement in connec-
tion with the claim, and the right of the indi-
vidual under section 415(d)(2) to intervene in 
any mediation, hearing, or civil action under 
this title with respect to the claim. 
(B) VIOLATIONS DESCRIBED.—A violation 
described in this subparagraph is— 
(i) harassment that is unlawful under 
section 201(a) or 202(a); or 
(ii) intimidation, reprisal, or discrimi-
nation that is unlawful under section 203 
and is taken against a covered employee 
because of a claim alleging a violation de-
scribed in clause (i). 
(c) USE OF SECURE ELECTRONIC REPORTING AND 
TRACKING SYSTEM.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF SE-
CURE SYSTEM.—The Office shall establish and oper-
ate a secure electronic reporting system through 
which a covered employee may initiate a proceeding 
under this title, and which will keep an electronic 
record of the date and time at which the proceeding 
is initiated and will track all subsequent actions or 
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proceedings occurring with respect to the proceeding 
under this title. 
(2) ACCESSIBILITY TO ALL PARTIES.—The sys-
tem shall be accessible to all parties to such actions 
or proceedings, but only until the completion of such 
actions or proceedings. 
(3) ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTIVENESS OF PRO-
CEDURES.—The Office shall use the information 
contained in the system to make regular assessments 
of the effectiveness of the procedures under this title 
in providing for the timely resolution of claims, and 
shall submit annual reports on such assessments 
each year to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives. 
(d) DEADLINE.—A covered employee may not file a 
claim under this section with respect to an allegation of 
a violation of law after the expiration of the 365-day pe-
riod which begins on the date of the alleged violation. 
SEC. 403. PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF CLAIMS. 
(a) PRELIMINARY REVIEW BY PRELIMINARY HEAR-
ING OFFICER.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 7 days 
after transmission to the employing unit of a claim 
pursuant to section 402(b), the Judicial Integrity 
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Officer shall appoint a Preliminary Hearing Officer 
to conduct a preliminary review of the claim. 
(2) PROCESS FOR APPOINTMENT.—The Judicial 
Integrity Officer shall appoint a Preliminary Hear-
ing Officer under this subsection in the same man-
ner and in accordance with the same requirements 
and procedures applicable to the appointment of a 
Merits Hearing Officer under section 405(c). 
(b) ASSESSMENTS REQUIRED.—In conducting a pre-
liminary review of a claim under this section, the Prelimi-
nary Hearing Officer shall assess each of the following: 
(1) Whether the claimant is a covered employee 
authorized to obtain relief relating to the claim 
under this title. 
(2) Whether the entity which is the subject of 
the claim is an employing unit under this Act. 
(3) Whether the individual filing the claim has 
met the applicable deadlines for filing the claim 
under this title. 
(4) The identification of factual and legal issues 
involved with respect to the claim. 
(5) The specific relief sought by the individual. 
(6) Whether, on the basis of the assessments 
made under paragraphs (1) through (5), the indi-
vidual filing the claim is a covered employee who has 
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stated a claim for which, if the allegations contained 
in the claim are true, relief may be granted under 
this title. 
(7) The potential for the settlement of the claim 
without a hearing as provided under section 405 or 
a civil action as provided under section 408. 
(c) REPORT ON REVIEW.— 
(1) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after a 
claim is filed under section 402, the Preliminary 
Hearing Officer shall submit to the individual filing 
the claim and the unit which is the subject of the 
claim a report on the preliminary review conducted 
under this section, and shall include in the report 
the hearing officer’s determination as to whether the 
individual is a covered employee who has stated a 
claim for which relief may be granted under this 
title (as described in paragraph (6) of subsection 
(b)). The submission of the report shall conclude the 
preliminary review. 
(2) EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.—The Prelimi-
nary Hearing Officer may (upon notice to the indi-
vidual filing the claim and the employing unit which 
is the subject of the claim) use an additional period 
of not to exceed 30 days to conclude the preliminary 
review. 
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(d) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION OF FAILURE TO 
STATE CLAIM FOR WHICH RELIEF MAY BE GRANTED.— 
If the Preliminary Hearing Officer’s report on the prelimi-
nary review of a claim under subsection (c) includes the 
determination that the individual filing the claim is not 
a covered employee or has not stated a claim for which 
relief may be granted under this title— 
(1) the individual may not obtain a hearing 
with respect to the claim as provided under section 
405; and 
(2) the Preliminary Hearing Officer shall pro-
vide the individual and the Judicial Integrity Officer 
with a written notice that the individual may file a 
civil action with respect to the claim in accordance 
with sections 401(b) and 408. 
SEC. 404. MEDIATION. 
(a) AVAILABILITY OF MEDIATION.— 
(1) NOTIFICATION REGARDING MEDIATION.— 
(A) COVERED
EMPLOYEE.—Upon receipt 
of a claim under section 402, the Office shall 
notify the covered employee who filed the claim 
about the process for mediation under this sec-
tion and the deadlines applicable to such medi-
ation. 
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405(g) or the covered employee files a civil ac-
tion with respect to the claim in accordance 
with sections 401(b) and 408, as applicable. 
(3) FAILURE TO REQUEST OR ACCEPT MEDI-
ATION
TO
HAVE
NO
EFFECT
ON
TREATMENT
OF 
CLAIM.—The failure of a party to request mediation 
under this section with respect to a claim, or the 
failure of a party to agree to a request for mediation 
under this section, may not be taken into consider-
ation under any procedure under this title with re-
spect to the claim, including a preliminary review 
under section 403, a hearing under section 405, or 
a civil action under section 408. 
(b) PROCESS.—Mediation under this section— 
(1) may include the Office, the covered em-
ployee, the employing unit, and 1 or more individ-
uals appointed by the Judicial Integrity Officer from 
the master list developed and maintained under sub-
section (e); and 
(2) shall involve meetings with the parties dur-
ing which, at the request of any of the parties, the 
parties shall be separate, for the purpose of resolv-
ing the dispute between the covered employee and 
the employing unit. 
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(c) MEDIATION PERIOD.—The mediation period shall 
be 30 days, beginning on the first day after the second 
party agrees to the request for mediation. The mediation 
period may be extended for 1 additional period of 30 days 
at the joint request of the covered employee and the em-
ploying unit. Any deadline in this Act relating to a claim 
for which mediation has been agreed to in this section, 
that has not already passed by the first day of the medi-
ation period, shall be stayed during the mediation period. 
The Office shall notify in writing the covered employee and 
the employing unit when the mediation period has ended. 
(d) INDEPENDENCE OF MEDIATION PROCESS.—No 
individual who is appointed by the Judicial Integrity Offi-
cer to mediate may conduct or aid in a hearing conducted 
under section 405 with respect to the same matter or shall 
be subject to subpoena or any other compulsory process 
with respect to the same matter. 
(e) MASTER LIST OF MEDIATORS.— 
(1) DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF MAS-
TER LIST.—The Judicial Integrity Officer shall de-
velop and maintain a master list of individuals who 
are experienced in adjudicating, arbitrating, or medi-
ating the kinds of personnel and other matters for 
which mediation may be held under this section. 
Such list may include, but not be limited to, mem-
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bers of the bar of a State of the United States, the 
District of Columbia, or a territory of the United 
States. 
(2) CONSIDERATION OF CANDIDATES.—In de-
veloping the master list under this subsection, the 
Judicial Integrity Officer shall consider candidates 
recommended by the Federal Mediation and Concil-
iation Service or the Administrative Conference of 
the United States. 
SEC. 405. HEARING. 
(a) REQUIREMENT FOR HEARINGS TO COMMENCE IN 
OFFICE.— 
(1) HEARING REQUIRED UPON REQUEST.—If, 
not later than 10 days after a Preliminary Hearing 
Officer submits the report on the preliminary review 
of a claim under section 403(c), a covered employee 
submits a request to the Judicial Integrity Officer 
for a hearing under this section, the Judicial Integ-
rity Officer shall appoint an independent Merits 
Hearing Officer pursuant to subsection (c) to con-
sider the claim and render a decision, and a hearing 
shall be commenced in the Office. 
(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) does not 
apply with respect to the claim if— 
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(A) the Preliminary Hearing Officer’s re-
port on the preliminary review of the claim 
under section 403(c) includes the determination 
that the individual filing the claim is not a cov-
ered employee who has stated a claim for which 
relief may be granted under this title (as de-
scribed in section 403(d)); or 
(B) the covered employee files a civil action 
as provided in sections 401(b) and 408 with re-
spect to the claim. 
(b) DISMISSAL.—A Merits Hearing Officer may dis-
miss any claim that the Merits Hearing Officer finds to 
be frivolous or that fails to state a claim upon which relief 
may be granted. 
(c) MERITS HEARING OFFICER.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT.—Upon the filing of a re-
quest for a hearing under subsection (a), the Judi-
cial Integrity Officer shall appoint an independent 
Merits Hearing Officer. The Merits Hearing Officer 
may not be a member of the Board, covered em-
ployee, justice, judge, or head of an employing unit. 
The Judicial Integrity Officer shall select Merits 
Hearing Officers on a rotational or random basis 
from the lists developed under paragraph (2). Noth-
ing in this section shall prevent the appointment of 
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Merits Hearing Officers as full-time employees of 
the Office or the selection of Merits Hearing Officers 
on the basis of specialized expertise needed for par-
ticular matters. 
(2) LISTS.—The Judicial Integrity Officer shall 
develop master lists, composed of— 
(A) members of the bar of a State of the 
United States, the District of Columbia, or a 
territory of the United States who are experi-
enced in adjudicating or arbitrating the kinds 
of personnel and other matters for which hear-
ings may be held under this Act; and 
(B) individuals expert in technical matters 
relating to accessibility and usability by persons 
with disabilities. 
In developing lists, the Judicial Integrity Officer 
shall consider candidates recommended by the Fed-
eral Mediation and Conciliation Service or the Ad-
ministrative Conference of the United States. 
(3) PROHIBITING PRELIMINARY HEARING OFFI-
CER
FROM
CONDUCTING
HEARING.—The Judicial 
Integrity Officer may not appoint a Merits Hearing 
Officer to conduct a hearing under this section with 
respect to a claim if the hearing officer conducted 
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