Title: Congressional Workplace Misconduct Accountability Act
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
Congressional Workplace Misconduct Accountability Act
This bill revises provisions regarding claims by employees alleging that employing offices have violated their rights and protections under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, including protection against sexual harassment. Specifically, it requires current and former Members of Congress to reimburse the Treasury if an employee receives an award or settlement for such alleged violation by the Member's involved office. It also requires public disclosure of the award or settlement.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3453 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3453

 To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to provide for 
    public disclosure and reimbursement of payments for awards and 
                  settlements, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 17, 2018

   Mr. Sasse introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to provide for 
    public disclosure and reimbursement of payments for awards and 
                  settlements, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional Workplace Misconduct 
Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE AND REIMBURSEMENT OF PAYMENTS FOR AWARDS AND 
              SETTLEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 415 of the Congressional Accountability 
Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1415) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(d) Public Disclosures.--
            ``(1) In general.--For each covered payment, the Office 
        shall publish the information described in paragraph (2) on the 
        public website of the Office by not later than 10 days after 
        the date on which the covered payment is made.
            ``(2) Information.--The payment information referred to in 
        paragraph (1) shall include the amount of the covered payment, 
        the date on which the covered payment was made, the identity of 
        the involved office, and the provision of part A of title II 
        for which the violation involved was alleged.
            ``(3) Redaction.--Upon the written request of an individual 
        who received the covered payment, the Office shall redact any 
        information described in paragraph (2) the publication of which 
        would cause the involuntary disclosure of the identity or 
        position of any individual who received the covered payment.
    ``(e) Reimbursements.--
            ``(1) Obligation to reimburse covered payments.--
                    ``(A) Responsibility of member to reimburse.--For 
                each covered payment, the responsible member for the 
                involved office shall reimburse the account described 
                in subsection (a) for the amount of the covered 
                payment.
                    ``(B) Portion of covered payment for multiple 
                offices.--If a covered payment is made for one or more 
                alleged violations of part A of title II against 
                multiple involved offices, the individual who is the 
                responsible member for such an involved office shall 
                only be required to reimburse the account for the 
                amount of the portion of the award or settlement 
                involved attributable to the involved offices for which 
                the individual is the responsible member.
            ``(2) Obligation to reimburse the office of compliance.--
                    ``(A) Itemized assessment.--For each covered 
                payment, the Office shall provide an itemized 
                assessment of the costs incurred by the Office in 
                administering any proceedings (including counseling) 
                related to that covered payment to the responsible 
                member for each corresponding involved office.
                    ``(B) Responsibility of member to reimburse.--The 
                responsible member shall be responsible for reimbursing 
                the Office for the amount specified in the itemized 
                assessment referred to in subparagraph (A).
                    ``(C) Portion of costs for multiple offices.--If a 
                covered payment is made for one or more alleged 
                violations of part A of title II against multiple 
                involved offices, the amount of the costs assessed 
                under this paragraph to an individual who is a 
                responsible member for such an involved office shall 
                bear the same relationship to the total costs described 
                in subparagraph (A) as the portion of the covered 
                payment attributable to the involved offices for which 
                the individual is the responsible member bears to the 
                total covered payment.
            ``(3) Withholding amounts from compensation.--
                    ``(A) Establishment of timetable and procedures by 
                committees.--For purposes of carrying out subparagraph 
                (B), the applicable Committee shall establish a 
                timetable and procedures for the withholding of amounts 
                from the compensation of an individual who is a 
                responsible member.
                    ``(B) Deadline.--If the individual has not 
                reimbursed the account described in subsection (a) as 
                required under paragraph (1), or has not reimbursed the 
                Office as required under paragraph (2), prior to the 
                expiration of the 90-day period that begins on the date 
                a covered payment is made or an itemized assessment is 
                provided, respectively, the payroll administrator shall 
                withhold the reimbursement amount from the individual's 
                compensation.
                    ``(C) Transfer.--The payroll administrator shall 
                transfer the amount to, respectively--
                            ``(i) the account described in subsection 
                        (a) (after transferring to the account of the 
                        individual in the Thrift Savings Fund any 
                        amount that the individual had requested to be 
                        so transferred); or
                            ``(ii) the Office.
                    ``(D) Applicable committee defined.--In this 
                paragraph, the term `applicable Committee' means--
                            ``(i) the Committee on House Administration 
                        of the House of Representatives, in the case of 
                        an individual who, at the time of the 
                        withholding, is a Member of the House; or
                            ``(ii) the Committee on Rules and 
                        Administration of the Senate, in the case of an 
                        individual who, at the time of the withholding, 
                        is a Senator.
            ``(4) Administrative wage garnishment or other collection 
        of wages from a subsequent position.--
                    ``(A) Individual subject to garnishment or other 
                collection.--Subparagraph (B) shall apply to an 
                individual who is subject to a reimbursement 
                requirement of this subsection if, by the expiration of 
                the 180-day period that begins on the date a covered 
                payment is made or an itemized assessment is provided 
                under paragraph (2), respectively, the individual--
                            ``(i) has not reimbursed the account or the 
                        Office, respectively, for the entire 
                        reimbursement amount as required under 
                        paragraph (1) or (2), respectively; and
                            ``(ii) is not employed as a Member of the 
                        House of Representatives or a Senator but is 
                        employed in a subsequent non-Federal position.
                    ``(B) Garnishment or other collection of wages.--On 
                the expiration of that 180-day period, the amount of 
                the reimbursement amount (reduced by any amount the 
                individual has reimbursed, taking into account any 
                amounts withheld under paragraph (3)) shall be treated 
                as a delinquent nontax debt and transferred to the 
                Secretary of the Treasury for collection. Upon that 
                transfer, the Secretary of the Treasury shall collect 
                the debt, in accordance with section 3711 of title 31, 
                United States Code, including by administrative wage 
                garnishment of the wages of the individual described in 
                subparagraph (A) from the position described in 
                subparagraph (A)(ii). The Secretary of the Treasury 
                shall transfer the collected amount to the account 
                described in subsection (a) or the Office, as the case 
                may be.
            ``(5) Notification to office of personnel management and 
        secretary of the treasury.--If the individual does not obtain 
        employment in a subsequent position referred to in paragraph 
        (4)(A)(ii), not later than 90 days after the individual is 
        first no longer receiving compensation as a Member or a 
        Senator, the amounts withheld or collected under this 
        subsection have not been sufficient to reimburse the account 
        described in subsection (a) or the Office, for the 
        reimbursement amount, the payroll administrator--
                    ``(A) shall notify the Director of the Office of 
                Personnel Management, who shall take such actions as 
                the Director considers appropriate to withhold from any 
                annuity payable to the individual under chapter 83 or 
                chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, and transfer 
                to the account described in subsection (a) or the 
                Office, respectively, the reimbursement amount; and
                    ``(B) shall notify the Secretary of the Treasury, 
                who (if necessary), notwithstanding section 207 of the 
                Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 407), shall take such 
                actions as the Secretary of the Treasury considers 
                appropriate to withhold from any payment to the 
                individual under title II of the Social Security Act 
                (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) and transfer to the account 
                described in subsection (a) or the Office, 
                respectively, such amounts as may be necessary to 
                reimburse the account for the reimbursement amount.
            ``(6) Coordination between opm and treasury.--The Director 
        of the Office of Personnel Management and the Secretary of the 
        Treasury shall carry out paragraph (5) in a manner that ensures 
        the coordination of the withholding and transferring of amounts 
        under such paragraph, in accordance with regulations 
        promulgated by the Director and the Secretary.
            ``(7) Right to intervene.--An individual who is subject to 
        the reimbursement requirement of paragraph (1) shall have the 
        unconditional right to intervene in any mediation, hearing, or 
        civil action under this title to protect the interests of the 
        individual in the determination of whether an award or 
        settlement described in paragraph (1) should be made, and the 
        amount of any such award or settlement, except that nothing in 
        this paragraph may be construed to require the covered employee 
        who filed the claim to be deposed by counsel for the individual 
        in a deposition that is separate from any other deposition 
        taken from the employee in connection with the hearing or civil 
        action.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `covered payment' means a payment made under 
        subsection (a) for an award or settlement relating to one or 
        more alleged violations of part A of title II involving one or 
        more employing offices described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 
        (C) of section 101(9);
            ``(2) the term `involved office' means an employing office 
        described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 101(9) 
        which was the subject of one or more alleged violations of part 
        A of title II that resulted in a covered payment;
            ``(3) the term `payroll administrator' means--
                    ``(A) in the case of an individual who is a Member 
                of the House of Representatives, the Chief 
                Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, 
                or an employee of the Office of the Chief 
                Administrative Officer who is designated by the Chief 
                Administrative Officer to carry out this subsection; or
                    ``(B) in the case of an individual who is a 
                Senator, the Secretary of the Senate, or an employee of 
                the Office of the Secretary of the Senate who is 
                designated by the Secretary to carry out this 
                subsection;
            ``(4) the term `reimbursement amount' means--
                    ``(A) in the case of an individual required under 
                subsection (e)(1) to reimburse the account described in 
                subsection (a), an amount sufficient to make that 
                reimbursement; and
                    ``(B) in the case of an individual required under 
                subsection (e)(2) to reimburse the Office, an amount 
                sufficient to make that reimbursement; and
            ``(5) the term `responsible member' means the Member of the 
        House of Representatives or the Senator with the final 
        authority to appoint, hire, discharge, and set the terms, 
        conditions, or privileges of the employment within an involved 
        office.''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to any covered payment (as defined in section 
415(f)(1) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 
1415(f)(1)), as added by subsection (a)) made on or after the date of 
enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>