IIA
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1703
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
OCTOBER 7, 1997
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
AN ACT
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for im-
provements in the system of the Department of Veterans
Affairs for resolution and adjudication of complaints of
employment discrimination.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Veter-
ans Affairs Employment Discrimination Resolution and
Adjudication Act’’.
SEC. 2. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Chapter 5 of title 38, United
States Code, is amended by inserting at the end of sub-
chapter I the following new section:
‘‘§ 516. Equal employment responsibilities
‘‘(a) The Secretary shall provide that the employment
discrimination complaint resolution system within the De-
partment be established and administered so as to encour-
age timely and fair resolution of concerns and complaints.
The Secretary shall take steps to ensure that the system
is administered in an objective, fair, and effective manner
and in a manner that is perceived by employees and other
interested parties as being objective, fair, and effective.
‘‘(b) The Secretary shall provide—
‘‘(1) that employees responsible for counseling
functions associated with employment discrimination
and for receiving, investigating, and processing com-
plaints of employment discrimination shall be super-
vised in those functions by, and report to, an Assist-
ant Secretary or a Deputy Assistant Secretary for
complaint resolution management; and
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‘‘(2) that employees performing employment
discrimination complaint resolution functions at a
facility of the Department shall not be subject to the
authority, direction, and control of the Director of
the facility with respect to those functions.
‘‘(c) The Secretary shall ensure that all employees of
the Department receive adequate education and training
for the purposes of this section and section 319 of this
title.
‘‘(d) The Secretary shall impose appropriate discipli-
nary measures, as authorized by law, in the case of em-
ployees of the Department who engage in unlawful em-
ployment discrimination, including retaliation against an
employee asserting rights under an equal employment op-
portunity law.
‘‘(e) The number of employees of the Department
whose duties include equal employment opportunity coun-
seling functions as well as other, unrelated functions may
not exceed 40 full-time equivalent employees. Any such
employee may be assigned equal employment opportunity
counseling functions only at Department facilities in re-
mote geographic locations (as determined by the Sec-
retary). The Secretary may waive the limitation in the pre-
ceding sentence in specific cases.
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‘‘(f) The provisions of this section shall be imple-
mented in a manner consistent with procedures applicable
under regulations prescribed by the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission.’’.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such
chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 515 the following new item:
‘‘516. Equal employment responsibilities.’’.
(b) REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary
of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress reports on
the implementation and operation of the equal employ-
ment opportunity system within the Department of Veter-
ans Affairs. The first such report shall be submitted not
later than April 1, 1998, and subsequent reports shall be
submitted not later than January 1, 1999, and January
1, 2000. Each such report shall set forth the actions taken
by the Secretary to implement section 516 of title 38,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), and other
actions taken by the Secretary in relation to the equal em-
ployment opportunity system within the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
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SEC. 3. DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT ADJUDICATION AU-
THORITY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Chapter 3 of title 38, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing new section:
‘‘§ 319. Office of Employment Discrimination Com-
plaint Adjudication
‘‘(a)(1) There is in the Department an Office of Em-
ployment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication. There is
at the head of the Office a Director.
‘‘(2) The Director shall be a career appointee in the
Senior Executive Service.
‘‘(3) The Director reports directly to the Secretary
or the Deputy Secretary concerning matters within the re-
sponsibility of the Office.
‘‘(b)(1) The Director is responsible for making the
final agency decision within the Department on the merits
of any employment discrimination complaint filed by an
employee, or an applicant for employment, with the De-
partment. The Director shall make such decisions in an
impartial and objective manner.
‘‘(2) No person may make any ex parte communica-
tion to the Director or to any employee of the Office with
respect to a matter on which the Director has responsibil-
ity for making a final agency decision.
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‘‘(c) Whenever the Director has reason to believe that
there has been retaliation against an employee by reason
of the employee asserting rights under an equal employ-
ment opportunity law, the Director shall report the sus-
pected retaliatory action directly to the Secretary or Dep-
uty Secretary, who shall take appropriate action thereon.
‘‘(d)(1) The Office shall employ a sufficient number
of attorneys and other personnel as are necessary to carry
out the functions of the Office. Attorneys shall be com-
pensated at a level commensurate with attorneys employed
by the Office of General Counsel.
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that the Director is
furnished sufficient resources in addition to personnel
under paragraph (1) to enable the Director to carry out
the functions of the Office in a timely manner.
‘‘(3) The Secretary shall ensure that any performance
appraisal of the Director of the Office of Employment Dis-
crimination Complaint Adjudication or of any employee of
the Office does not take into consideration the record of
the Director or employee in deciding cases for or against
the Department.’’.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such
chapter is amended by adding at the end the following
new item:
‘‘319. Office of Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication.’’.
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(b) REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION.—The Director
of the Office of Employment Discrimination Complaint
Adjudication of the Department of Veterans Affairs (es-
tablished by section 319 of title 38, United States Code,
as added by subsection (a)) shall submit to the Secretary
and to Congress reports on the implementation and the
operation of that office. The first such report shall be sub-
mitted not later than April 1, 1998, and subsequent re-
ports shall be submitted not later than January 1, 1999,
and January 1, 2000.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Sections 516 and 319 of title 38, United States Code,
as added by sections 2 and 3 of this Act, shall take effect
90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. INDEPENDENT PANEL TO REVIEW EQUAL EMPLOY-
MENT OPPORTUNITY AND SEXUAL HARASS-
MENT PROCEDURES WITHIN THE DEPART-
MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a
panel to review the equal employment opportunity and sex-
ual harassment practices and procedures within the De-
partment of Veterans Affairs and to make recommenda-
tions on improvements to those practices and procedures.
(b) PANEL FUNCTIONS RELATING TO EQUAL EM-
PLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—
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The panel shall assess the culture of the Department of
Veterans Affairs in relationship to the issues of equal em-
ployment opportunity and sexual harassment, determine
the effect of that culture on the operation of the Depart-
ment overall, and provide recommendations as necessary
to change that culture. As part of the review, the panel
shall do the following:
(1) Determine whether laws relating to equal
employment opportunity and sexual harassment, as
those laws apply to the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs, and regulations and policy directives of the
Department relating to equal employment oppor-
tunity and sexual harassment have been consistently
and fairly applied throughout the Department and
make recommendations to correct any disparities.
(2) Review practices of the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs, relevant studies, and private sector
training and reporting concepts as those practices,
studies, and concepts pertain to equal employment
opportunity, sexual misconduct, and sexual harass-
ment policies and enforcement.
(3) Provide an independent assessment of the
Report on the Equal Employment Opportunity Com-
plaint Process Review Task Force of the Depart-
ment.
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(c) COMPOSITION.—(1) The panel shall be composed
of six members, appointed as follows:
(A) Three members shall be appointed jointly
by the chairman and ranking minority party member
of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House
of Representatives.
(B) Three members shall be appointed jointly
by the chairman and ranking minority party member
of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate.
(2) The members of the panel shall choose one of the
members to chair the panel.
(d) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the panel shall be
appointed from among private United States citizens with
knowledge and expertise in one or more of the following:
(1) Extensive prior military experience, particu-
larly in the area of personnel policy management.
(2) Extensive experience with equal employment
opportunity complaint procedures, either within Fed-
eral or State government or in the private sector.
(3) Extensive knowledge of the Department of
Veterans Affairs, and particularly knowledge of per-
sonnel practices within the Department.
(e) REPORTS.—(1) Not later than six months after
the members of the panel are appointed, the panel shall
submit an interim report on its findings and conclusions
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to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and
House of Representatives.
(2) Not later than one year after establishment of
the panel, the panel shall submit a final report to the Com-
mittees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of
Representatives. The final report shall include an assess-
ment of the equal employment opportunity system and the
culture within the Department of Veterans Affairs, with
particular emphasis on sexual harassment. The panel shall
include in the report recommendations to improve the cul-
ture within the Department.
(f) PAY AND EXPENSES OF MEMBERS.—(1) Each
member of the panel shall be paid at a rate equal to the
daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay payable
for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315
of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including
travel time) during which the member is engaged in the
performance of the duties of the panel.
(2) The members of the panel shall be allowed travel
expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at
rates authorized for employees of agencies under sub-
chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code,
while away from their homes or regular places of business
in the performance of services for the panel.
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(g) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Chairman may
hire such staff as necessary to accomplish the duties out-
lined under this title.
(h) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall, upon the request of the panel, make available to the
panel such amounts as the panel may require, not to ex-
ceed $400,000, to carry out its duties under this title.
(i) TERMINATION OF PANEL.—The panel shall termi-
nate 60 days after the date on which it submits its final
report under subsection (e)(2).
Passed the House of Representatives October 6,
1997.
Attest:
ROBIN H. CARLE,
Clerk.