I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6780 
To amend and to strengthen accountability features introduced by the Notifi-
cation and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act 
of 2002, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 1, 2008 
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas (for herself, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. SOLIS, 
Ms. WATERS, Mr. WEINER, Mr. CLAY, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, Ms. 
CLARKE, and Mr. CONYERS) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in 
addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend and to strengthen accountability features intro-
duced by the Notification and Federal Employee Anti-
discrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination 
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and Retaliation Act of 2008’’ or the ‘‘No FEAR Act of 
2008’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 
Sec. 101. Findings. 
Sec. 102. Sense of Congress. 
Sec. 103. Definitions. 
Sec. 104. Amendments to title I of the No FEAR Act of 2002. 
TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO TITLE II OF THE NO FEAR ACT OF 
2002 
Sec. 201. Amendments relating to reimbursement requirement. 
Sec. 202. Amendments relating to notification requirement. 
Sec. 203. Amendments relating to reporting requirement. 
Sec. 204. Training. 
TITLE III—ACCOUNTABILITY PROVISIONS 
Sec. 301. Disciplinary action requirement. 
Sec. 302. Sanctions. 
Sec. 303. Role of Department of Justice. 
Sec. 304. No FEAR Oversight Office. 
TITLE IV—DAMAGES AND RELIEF 
Sec. 401. Clarification of Title VII liability caps, damages remedies. 
Sec. 402. No immunity from individual liability for Federal officials. 
TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 
SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) agencies that engage in discrimination, re-
taliation, harassment, or violations of Federal dis-
crimination or whistleblower protection laws dem-
onstrate a gross disregard for taxpayer dollars, un-
dermine the confidence of the American people in 
the Government, put the public’s safety and services 
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at risk, and reduce the Government’s ability to time-
ly and adequately address vital public needs; 
(2)(A) Congress has heard testimony from indi-
viduals which point to chronic problems of discrimi-
nation and retaliation against Federal employees, 
and which, in turn, negatively affect the Federal 
Government’s efficiency and effectiveness; 
(B) in the case of Dr. Marsha Coleman- 
Adebayo, a jury found in August 2000 that the En-
vironmental Protection Agency had discriminated 
against the scientist based on race, color, and a hos-
tile work environment; agency managers retaliated 
by relieving the scientist of her duties after she re-
ported that an American company exposed its Afri-
can miners and their families to vanadium, a deadly 
substance; and the agency has consistently retaliated 
against the employee since she prevailed in her jury 
verdict and testified twice before Congress; and 
(C) in the case of Matthew F. Fogg v. Janet 
Reno, Attorney General of the United States, a case 
that was filed 21 years ago— 
(i) a Federal jury found that the United 
States Marshals Service had discriminated 
against United States Marshal Fogg, and was 
a ‘‘hostile environment’’ for all African-Ameri-
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cans serving in the United States Marshals 
Service; and 
(ii) 10 years after that jury verdict, hand-
ed down on April 28, 1998, the Department of 
Justice continued to use taxpayer money to ap-
peal this case; and 
(3)(A) Federal agencies should foster a work-
place free of discrimination and should timely re-
solve prima facie cases of discrimination and retalia-
tion, particularly in cases of class-wide allegations; 
and 
(B) in the case of Janet Howard, et al. v. Car-
los M. Gutierrez, Secretary, United States Depart-
ment of Commerce, the Department of Commerce 
allowed employee complaints to languish and used 
taxpayer dollars to litigate a race-based discrimina-
tion class action first filed in 1995; in fiscal year 
2001, rather than resolve employee concerns, the 
Department established the Class Action Project 
Fund (since renamed the Complex Litigation Unit), 
which serves to defend a workforce culture that per-
petuates unlawful and intentional discrimination in 
the workplace. 
SEC. 102. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
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(1) additional enforcement and remedies under 
Federal law are needed to make Federal agencies 
more accountable for their violations of employment 
discrimination and whistleblower protection laws; 
(2) defining and prescribing timely, definitive 
disciplinary action for Federal managers and super-
visors found violating the No FEAR Act of 2002 
provides more accountability and consequences for 
discrimination 
and 
retaliation 
against 
whistle-
blowers; 
(3) establishing a definitive period for reimburs-
ing the Judgment Fund (as prescribed in section 
201 of the No FEAR Act of 2002) should encourage 
timely resolution or settlement of complaints; 
(4) extending notification of No FEAR provi-
sions to cover all employees, including employees of 
contractors receiving a majority of their funding 
from contracts with the United States Government, 
should increase Federal agency compliance with the 
law; 
(5) addressing damages and relief should clarify 
compensation available to complaining parties pursu-
ant to the 1991 amendments to Title VII; and 
(6) extending whistleblower protection to vet-
erans hospitals and physicians and other medical 
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