Congressional Accountability Act

OF COMPLAINT.

    If, after a formal complaint is filed under section 10, the 
employee and the head of the employing office resolve the issues 
involved, the employee may withdraw the complaint or the parties may 
enter into a written agreement, subject to the approval of the 
executive director.

SEC. 14. PROHIBITION OF INTIMIDATION.

    Any intimidation of, or reprisal against, any employee by any 
Member of the House of Representatives, Senator, or officer or employee 
of the House of Representatives or Senate, by the Architect of the 
Capitol or anyone employed by the Architect of the Capitol, or by an 
instrumentality of the legislative branch of the Federal Government 
because of the exercise of a right under this Act constitutes an 
unlawful employment practice, which may be remedied in the same manner 
under this Act as is a violation of a law made applicable to the 
legislative branch of the Federal Government under section 5.

SEC. 15. CONFIDENTIALITY.

    (a) Counseling.--All counseling shall be strictly confidential 
except that the Office and the employee may agree to notify the head of 
the employing office of the allegations.
    (b) Mediation.--All mediation shall be strictly confidential.
    (c) Hearings.--Except as provided in subsections (d) and (e), the 
hearings and deliberations of the hearing board shall be confidential.
    (d) Release of Records for Judicial Action.--The records of hearing 
boards may be made public if required for the purpose of judicial 
action under section 9.
    (e) Access by Committees of Congress.--At the discretion of the 
executive director, the executive director may provide to the Committee 
on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives and 
the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate access to the records of 
the hearings and decisions of the hearing boards, including all written 
and oral testimony in the possession of the hearing boards, concerning 
a decision under section 10(g). The executive director shall not 
provide such access until the executive director has consulted with the 
individual filing the complaint at issue in the hearing, and until the 
hearing board has issued the decision.
    (f) Coordination.--The executive director shall coordinate the 
proceedings with the Committee on Standards and Official Conduct of the 
House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Ethics of the 
Senate to ensure effectiveness, to avoid duplication, and to prevent 
penalizing cooperation by respondents in the respective proceedings.

SEC. 16. POLITICAL AFFILIATION AND PLACE OF RESIDENCE.

    (a) In General.--It shall not be a violation of a law made 
applicable to the legislative branch of the Federal Government under 
section 5 to consider the--
            (1) party affiliation,
            (2) domicile, or
            (3) political compatibility with the employing office,
of a congressional employee with respect to employment decisions.
    (b) Definition.--For purposes of subsection (a), the term 
``employee'' means--
            (1) an employee on the staff of the House of 
        Representatives or Senate leadership,
            (2) an employee on the staff of a committee or 
        subcommittee,
            (3) an employee on the staff of a Member of the House of 
        Representatives or Senate,
            (4) an officer or employee of the House of Representatives 
        or Senate elected by the House of Representatives or Senate or 
        appointed by a Member of the House of Representatives or 
        Senate, other than those described in paragraphs (1) through 
        (3), or
            (5) an applicant for a position that is to be occupied by 
        an individual described in paragraphs (1) through (4).

SEC. 17. OTHER REVIEW PROHIBITED.

    No congressional employee may commence a judicial proceeding to 
redress practices prohibited under section 5, except as provided in 
this Act.

SEC. 18. STUDY.

    (a) Study.--The Office shall conduct a study--
            (1) of the ways that access by the public to information 
        held by the Congress may be improved, streamlined, and made 
        consistent between the House of Representatives and the Senate 
        and of the application of section 552 of title 5, United States 
        Code to the legislative branch of the Federal Government; and
            (2) of the application of the requirement of section 552a 
        of title 5, United States Code, to the legislative branch of 
        the Federal Government.
    (b) Study Content.--The study conducted under subsection (a) shall 
examine--
            (1) information that is currently made available under such 
        section 552 by Federal agencies and not by the legislative 
        branch of the Federal Government;
            (2) information held by the non-legislative offices of the 
        legislative branch of the Federal Government, including--
                    (A) the instrumentalities,
                    (B) the Architect of the Capitol,
                    (C) the Director of Non-Legislative and Financial 
                Services of the House of Representatives,
                    (D) the Clerk of the House of Representatives,
                    (E) the Secretary of the Senate,
                    (F) the Inspector General of the House of 
                Representatives,
                    (G) the Sergeant at Arms of the House of 
                Representatives,
                    (H) the Doorkeeper of the House of Representatives,
                    (I) the United States Capitol Police, and
                    (J) the House Commission on Congressional Mailing 
                Standards;
            (3) financial expenditure information of the legislative 
        branch of the Federal Government; and
            (4) provisions for judicial review of denial of access to 
        information held by the legislative branch of the Federal 
        Government.
    (c) Time.--The Office shall conduct the study prescribed by 
subsection (a) and report the results of the study to the Congress not 
later than one year after the date of the initial appointment of the 
Board of Directors.
                                 
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Summary: Congressional Accountability Act - Applies, by a specified conditional date, provisions of the following laws to the legislative branch:  (1) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; (2) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (3) the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990; (4) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; (5) Titles I and V of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993; (6) the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970; (7) provisions relating to Federal labor management relations; (8) the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988; (9) the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act; and (10) the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  Requires that an action to abate a violation of OSHA for which a citation is received take place as soon as possible, but no later than the fiscal year after the citation is issued. 
(Sec. 4) Establishes in the legislative branch an Office of Compliance to study and report to the Congress on:  (1) the application of such laws to the legislative branch; (2) an examination of the procedures used by the instrumentalities to enforce the application of such laws; and (3) a determination as to whether to direct an instrumentality to make improvements in its regulations and procedures so as to assure that they are as effective as those specified in this Act.  Authorizes the Office's Board of Directors to direct an instrumentality that has no such procedures to adopt the requisite procedures.  Requires the Board to issue regulations governing such applicability which shall be subject to congressional approval. 
Makes applicable to the legislative branch any provision of Federal law to the extent that it relates to the terms and conditions of employment (including protection from discrimination in personnel actions health and safety of employees, and family and medical leave). 
(Sec. 5) Directs the Office, on an ongoing basis, to:  (1) determine which of such laws should apply to the legislative branch; (2) study the application to the legislative branch of laws enacted after enactment of this Act; and (3) issue regulations to apply such laws to the legislative branch subject to congressional approval. 
Sets forth House and Senate procedures for bills to implement such regulations. 
(Sec. 6) Requires the Office to:  (1) carry out an education program for Members of Congress and other employing authorities of the legislative branch respecting the laws made applicable to them a program to inform individuals of their rights under such laws and this Act; (3) publish statistics on the use of the Office by congressional employees; and (4) develop a system for the collection of demographic data on the composition of the congressional employees. 
(Sec. 7) Sets forth procedures for consideration of alleged violations of the laws made applicable to the legislative branch consisting of the following steps:  (1) counseling through the Office; (2) mediation with office; (3) formal complaint and hearing by a board; (4) judicial review if a congressional employee is aggrieved by a dismissal, final decision, or an order by the hearing board or if a head of an employing office is aggrieved by a final decision or would be subject to an order issued by such board; and (5) as an alternative to steps 3 and 4, a civil action in a U.S. district court. 
(Sec. 14) Declares that any intimidation of, or reprisal against, any employee because of the exercise of a right under this Act constitutes an unlawful employment practice that may be remedied in the same manner under this Act as is a violation of law made applicable to the legislative branch. 
(Sec. 15) Requires all counseling, mediation, and hearings and deliberations of a hearing board to be confidential.  Permits the records of hearing boards to be made public if required for judicial review.  Authorizes the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics to have access to the hearing and decisions of the hearing board only after the board has made a decision with respect to the matter. 
(Sec. 17) Limits a congressional employee to the judicial proceeding provided by this Act to redress prohibited practices. 
(Sec. 18) Requires the Office to study and report to the Congress on:  (1) the ways that public access to information held by the Congress may be improved, streamlined, and made consistent between the House and the Senate; and (2) the application of the Freedom of Information Act and the Right of Privacy Act to the legislative branch.