104TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION
S. 2
AN ACT
To make certain laws applicable to the legislative branch of the Federal Government. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 4
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
5 ‘‘Congressional Accountability Act of 1995’’.
2 1 (b) TABLE
OF
CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
2 this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. TITLE I—GENERAL Sec. 101. Definitions. Sec. 102. Application of laws. TITLE II—EXTENSION OF RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS PART A—EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION, FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE, FAIR LABOR STANDARDS, EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION, WORKER ADJUSTMENT AND RETRAINING, EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT OF VETERANS, AND INTIMIDATION Sec. 201. Rights and protections under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Sec. 202. Rights and protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Sec. 203. Rights and protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Sec. 204. Rights and protections under the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988. Sec. 205. Rights and protections under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Sec. 206. Rights and protections relating to veterans’ employment and reemployment. Sec. 207. Prohibition of intimidation or reprisal. PART B—PUBLIC SERVICES AND ACCOMMODATIONS UNDER WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990
THE
AMERICANS
Sec. 210. Rights and protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 relating to public services and accommodations; procedures for remedy of violations. PART C—OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
AND
HEALTH ACT
OF
1970
Sec. 215. Rights and protections under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970; procedures for remedy of violations. PART D—LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS Sec. 220. Application of chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, relating to Federal service labor-management relations; procedures for remedy of violations. PART E—GENERAL Sec. 225. Generally applicable remedies and limitations. PART F—STUDY
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3
Sec. 230. Study and recommendations regarding General Accounting Office, Government Printing Office, and Library of Congress. TITLE III—OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. 301. 302. 303. 304. 305. Establishment of Office of Compliance. Officers, staff, and other personnel. Procedural rules. Substantive regulations. Expenses.
TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL DISPUTERESOLUTION PROCEDURES Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. 401. 402. 403. 404. 405. 406. 407. 408. 409. 410. 411. 412. 413. 414. 415. 416. Procedure for consideration of alleged violations. Counseling. Mediation. Election of proceeding. Complaint and hearing. Appeal to the Board. Judicial review of Board decisions and enforcement. Civil action. Judicial review of regulations. Other judicial review prohibited. Effect of failure to issue regulations. Expedited review of certain appeals. Privileges and immunities. Settlement of complaints. Payments. Confidentiality. TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Exercise of rulemaking powers. Political affiliation and place of residence. Nondiscrimination rules of the House and Senate. Technical and conforming amendments. Judicial branch coverage study. Savings provisions. Use of frequent flyer miles. Sense of Senate regarding adoption of simplified and streamlined acquisition procedures for Senate acquisitions. Sec. 509. Severability. 501. 502. 503. 504. 505. 506. 507. 508.
1 2 3
TITLE I—GENERAL
SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.
Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act,
4 as used in this Act: 5 6 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Board of Directors of the Office of Compliance.
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4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (2) CHAIR.—The term ‘‘Chair’’ means the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Office of Compliance. (3) COVERED
EMPLOYEE.—The
term ‘‘covered
employee’’ means any employee of— (A) the House of Representatives; (B) the Senate; (C) the Capitol Guide Service; (D) the Capitol Police; (E) the Congressional Budget Office; (F) the Office of the Architect of the Capitol; (G) the Office of the Attending Physician; (H) the Office of Compliance; or (I) the Office of Technology Assessment. (4) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ includes an applicant for employment and a former employee. (5) EMPLOYEE
OF THE OFFICE OF THE ARCHI-
TECT OF THE CAPITOL.—The
term ‘‘employee of the
Office of the Architect of the Capitol’’ includes any employee of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, the Botanic Garden, or the Senate Restaurants. (6) EMPLOYEE
OF THE CAPITOL POLICE.—The
term ‘‘employee of the Capitol Police’’ includes any member or officer of the Capitol Police.
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5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (7) EMPLOYEE
ATIVES.—The OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENT-
term ‘‘employee of the House of Rep-
resentatives’’ includes an individual occupying a position the pay for which is disbursed by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, or another official designated by the House of Representatives, or any employment position in an entity that is paid with funds derived from the clerk-hire allowance of the House of Representatives but not any such individual employed by any entity listed in subparagraphs (C) through (I) of paragraph (3). (8) EMPLOYEE
OF THE SENATE.—The
term
‘‘employee of the Senate’’ includes any employee whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate, but not any such individual employed by any entity listed in subparagraphs (C) through (I) of paragraph (3). (9) EMPLOYING office’’ means— (A) the personal office of a Member of the House of Representatives or of a Senator; (B) a committee of the House of Representatives or the Senate or a joint committee; (C) any other office headed by a person with the final authority to appoint, hire, disOFFICE.—The
term ‘‘employing
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6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 charge, and set the terms, conditions, or privileges of the employment of an employee of the House of Representatives or the Senate; or (D) the Capitol Guide Board, the Capitol Police Board, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, the Office of the Attending Physician, the Office of Compliance, and the Office of Technology Assessment. (10) EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR.—The
term ‘‘Exec-
utive Director’’ means the Executive Director of the Office of Compliance. (11) GENERAL
COUNSEL.—The
term ‘‘General
Counsel’’ means the General Counsel of the Office of Compliance. (12) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of Compliance.
SEC. 102. APPLICATION OF LAWS.
(a) LAWS MADE APPLICABLE.—The following laws
20 shall apply, as prescribed by this Act, to the legislative 21 branch of the Federal Government: 22 23 24 25 (1) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.). (2) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.).
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7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (3) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). (4) The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.). (5) The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.). (6) The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.). (7) Chapter 71 (relating to Federal service labor-management relations) of title 5, United States Code. (8) The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (29 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.). (9) The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.). (10) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.). (11) Chapter 43 (relating to veterans’ employment and reemployment) of title 38, United States Code. (b) LAWS WHICH MAY BE MADE APPLICABLE.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—The
Board shall review pro-
visions of Federal law (including regulations) relating to (A) the terms and conditions of employment (including hiring, promotion, demotion, termination,
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8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 salary, wages, overtime compensation, benefits, work assignments or reassignments, grievance and disciplinary procedures, protection from discrimination in personnel actions, occupational health and safety, and family and medical and other leave) of employees, and (B) access to public services and accommodations, (2) BOARD
REPORT.—Beginning
on December
31, 1996, and every 2 years thereafter, the Board shall report on (A) whether or to what degree the provisions described in paragraph (1) are applicable or inapplicable to the legislative branch, and (B) with respect to provisions inapplicable to the legislative branch, whether such provisions should be made applicable to the legislative branch. The presiding officers of the House of Representatives and the Senate shall cause each such report to be printed in the Congressional Record and each such report shall be referred to the committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate with jurisdiction. (3) REPORTS
TEES.—Each OF CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT-
report accompanying any bill or joint
resolution relating to terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or accommoda-
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9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 tions reported by a committee of the House of Representatives or the Senate shall— (A) describe the manner in which the provisions of the bill or joint resolution apply to the legislative branch; or (B) in the case of a provision not applicable to the legislative branch, include a statement of the reasons the provision does not apply. On the objection of any Member, it shall not be in order for the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any such bill or joint resolution if the report of the committee on such bill or joint resolution does not comply with the provisions of this paragraph. This paragraph may be waived in either House by majority vote of that House.
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10 1 2
TITLE II—EXTENSION OF RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS
ILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE, FAIR LABOR
3 PART A—EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION, FAM4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
STANDARDS, EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION, WORKER ADJUSTMENT AND RETRAINING, EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT OF VETERANS, AND INTIMIDATION
SEC. 201. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER TITLE VII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, THE AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1967, THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973, AND TITLE I OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990.
(a) DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES PROHIBITED.—All
16 personnel actions affecting covered employees shall be 17 made free from any discrimination based on— 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (1) race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, within the meaning of section 703 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–2); (2) age, within the meaning of section 15 of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 633a); or (3) disability, within the meaning of section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791)
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11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 and sections 102 through 104 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12112–12114). (b) REMEDY.— (1) CIVIL
RIGHTS.—The
remedy for a violation
of subsection (a)(1) shall be— (A) such remedy as would be appropriate if awarded under section 706(g) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5(g)); and (B) such compensatory damages as would be appropriate if awarded under section 1977 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981), or as would be appropriate if awarded under sections 1977A(a)(1), 1977A(b)(2), and, irrespective of the size of the employing office,
1977A(b)(3)(D) of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a(a)(1), 1981a(b)(2), and
1981a(b)(3)(D)). (2) AGE
DISCRIMINATION.—The
remedy for a
violation of subsection (a)(2) shall be— (A) such remedy as would be appropriate if awarded under section 15(c) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 633a(c)); and
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12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 (B) such liquidated damages as would be appropriate if awarded under section 7(b) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 626(b)). In addition, the waiver provisions of section 7(f) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 626(f)) shall apply to covered employees. (3) DISABILITIES
DISCRIMINATION.—The
rem-
edy for a violation of subsection (a)(3) shall be— (A) such remedy as would be appropriate if awarded under section 505(a)(1) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794a(a)(1)) or section 107(a) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12117(a)); and (B) such compensatory damages as would be appropriate if awarded under sections 1977A(a)(2), 1977A(a)(3), 1977A(b)(2), and, irrespective of the size of the employing office, 1977A(b)(3)(D) of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a(a)(2), 1981a(a)(3), 1981a(b)(2), and 1981a(b)(3)(D)). (c) APPLICATION TO GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE,
AND
22 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, 23
GRESS.—
LIBRARY
OF
CON-
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13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (1) SECTION
1964.—Section 717 OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF
717(a) of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16) is amended by— (A) striking ‘‘legislative and’’; (B) striking ‘‘branches’’ and inserting ‘‘branch’’; and (C) inserting ‘‘Government Printing Office, the General Accounting Office, and the’’ after ‘‘and in the’’. (2) SECTION
15 OF THE AGE DISCRIMINATION
IN EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1967.—Section
15(a) of the
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 633a(a)) is amended by— (A) striking ‘‘legislative and’’; (B) striking ‘‘branches’’ and inserting ‘‘branch’’; and (C) inserting ‘‘Government Printing Office, the General Accounting Office, and the’’ after ‘‘and in the’’. (3) SECTION
509 OF THE AMERICANS WITH DIS-
ABILITIES ACT OF 1990.—Section
509 of the Ameri-
cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12209) is amended— (A) by striking subsections (a) and (b) of section 509;
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14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘(c) INSTRUMENTALITIES OF
CONGRESS.—’’ and in-
serting ‘‘The General Accounting Office, the Government Printing Office, and the Library of Congress shall be covered as follows:’’; (C) by striking the second sentence of paragraph (2); (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘the instrumentalities of the Congress include’’ and inserting ‘‘the term ‘instrumentality of the Congress’ means’’, by striking ‘‘the Architect of the Capitol, the Congressional Budget Office’’, by inserting ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘the Library’’, and by striking ‘‘the Office of Technology Assessment, and the United States Botanic Garden’’; (E) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (7) and by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new paragraph: ‘‘(5) ENFORCEMENT
OF EMPLOYMENT
RIGHTS.—The
remedies and procedures set forth in
section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16) shall be available to any employee of an instrumentality of the Congress who alleges a violation of the rights and protections under sections 102 through 104 of this Act that are made applica-
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15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ble by this section, except that the authorities of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall be exercised by the chief official of the instrumentality of the Congress.’’; and (F) by amending the title of the section to read ‘‘INSTRUMENTALITIES
GRESS’’. OF THE CON-
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect
9 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
SEC. 202. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT OF 1993.
(a) FAMILY
TECTIONS
AND
MEDICAL LEAVE RIGHTS
AND
PRO-
PROVIDED.—
GENERAL.—The
(1) IN
rights and protections
established by sections 101 through 105 of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611 through 2615) shall apply to covered employees. (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of the application described in paragraph (1)— (A) the term ‘‘employer’’ as used in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 means any employing office, and (B) the term ‘‘eligible employee’’ as used in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 means a covered employee who has been em-
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16 1 2 3 4 ployed in any employing office for 12 months and for at least 1,250 hours of employment during the previous 12 months. (b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub-
5 section (a) shall be such remedy, including liquidated dam6 ages, as would be appropriate if awarded under paragraph 7 (1) of section 107(a) of the Family and Medical Leave 8 Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2617(a)(1)). 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
AND
(c) APPLICATION
TO
GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.— (1) AMENDMENTS
TO THE FAMILY AND MEDI-
CAL LEAVE ACT OF 1993.—
(A) COVERAGE.—Section 101(4)(A) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611(4)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (ii), by striking the period at the end of clause (iii) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding after clause (iii) the following: ‘‘(iv) includes the General Accounting Office and the Library of Congress.’’. (B) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 107 of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2617) is amended by adding at the end the following:
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17 1 2
OF
‘‘(f) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE
AND
LIBRARY
CONGRESS.—In the case of the General Accounting
3 Office and the Library of Congress, the authority of the 4 Secretary of Labor under this title shall be exercised re5 spectively by the Comptroller General of the United States 6 and the Librarian of Congress.’’. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT TO TITLE 5,
UNITED STATES CODE.—Section
6381(1)(A) of title
5, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘District of Columbia’’ and inserting before the semicolon the following: ‘‘, and any employee of the General Accounting Office or the Library of Congress’’. (d) REGULATIONS.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—The
Board shall, pursuant
to section 304, issue regulations to implement the rights and protections under this section. (2) AGENCY
REGULATIONS.—The
regulations
issued under paragraph (1) shall be the same as substantive regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor to implement the statutory provisions referred to in subsection (a) except insofar as the Board may determine, for good cause shown and stated together with the regulation, that a modification of such regulations would be more effective for
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18 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 the implementation of the rights and protections under this section. (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—Subsections
(a) and (b) shall
be effective 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. (2) GENERAL
ACCOUNTING OFFICE AND LI-
BRARY OF CONGRESS.—Subsection
(c) shall be effec-
tive 1 year after transmission to the Congress of the study under section 230.
SEC. 203. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938.
(a) FAIR LABOR STANDARDS.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—The
rights and protections
established by subsections (a)(1) and (d) of section 6, section 7, and section 12(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206 (a)(1) and (d), 207, 212(c)) shall apply to covered employees. (2) INTERNS.—For the purposes of this section, the term ‘‘covered employee’’ does not include an intern as defined in regulations under subsection (c). (3) COMPENSATORY
TIME.—Except
as provided
in regulations under subsection (c)(3), covered employees may not receive compensatory time in lieu of overtime compensation.
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19 1 (b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub-
2 section (a) shall be such remedy, including liquidated dam3 ages, as would be appropriate if awarded under section 4 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 5 216(b)). 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 (c) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—The
Board shall, pursuant
to section 304, issue regulations to implement this section. (2) AGENCY
REGULATIONS.—Except
as pro-
vided in paragraph (3), the regulations issued under paragraph (1) shall be the same as substantive regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor to implement the statutory provisions referred to in subsection (a) except insofar as the Board may determine, for good cause shown and stated together with the regulation, that a modification of such regulations would be more effective for the implementation of the rights and protections under this section. (3) IRREGULAR
WORK SCHEDULES.—The
Board shall issue regulations for covered employees whose work schedules directly depend on the schedule of the House of Representatives or the Senate that shall be comparable to the provisions in the
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20 1 2 3 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 that apply to employees who have irregular work schedules. (d) APPLICATION
TO THE
GOVERNMENT PRINTING
4 OFFICE.—Section 3(e)(2)(A) of the Fair Labor Standards 5 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(e)(2)(A)) is amended— 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 and (3) by striking the semicolon at the end of clause (v) and inserting ‘‘, or’’ and by adding after clause (v) the following: ‘‘(vi) the Government Printing Office;’’. (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsections (a) and (b) shall (1) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘legislative or’’, (2) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (iv),
14 be effective 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 15 Act. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
SEC. 204. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER THE EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION ACT OF 1988.
(a) POLYGRAPH PRACTICES PROHIBITED.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—No
employing office, irre-
spective of whether a covered employee works in that employing office, may require a covered employee to take a lie detector test where such a test would be prohibited if required by an employer under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 3 of the Employee
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21 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (29 U.S.C. 2002 (1), (2), or (3)). In addition, the waiver provisions of section 6(d) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2005(d)) shall apply to covered employees. (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘covered employee’’ shall include employees of the General Accounting Office and the Library of Congress and the term ‘‘employing office’’ shall include the General Accounting Office and the Library of Congress. (3) CAPITOL
POLICE.—Nothing
in this section
shall preclude the Capitol Police from using lie detector tests in accordance with regulations under subsection (c). (b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub-
16 section (a) shall be such remedy as would be appropriate 17 if awarded under section 6(c)(1) of the Employee Poly18 graph Protection Act of 1988 (29 U.S.C. 2005(c)(1)). 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (c) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—The
Board shall, pursuant
to section 304, issue regulations to implement this section. (2) AGENCY
REGULATIONS.—The
regulations
issued under paragraph (1) shall be the same as substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec-
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22 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 retary of Labor to implement the statutory provisions referred to in subsections (a) and (b) except insofar as the Board may determine, for good cause shown and stated together with the regulation, that a modification of such regulations would be more effective for the implementation of the rights and protections under this section. (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—Except
as provided in para-
graph (2), subsections (a) and (b) shall be effective 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. (2) GENERAL
ACCOUNTING OFFICE AND LI-
BRARY OF CONGRESS.—This
section shall be effec-
tive with respect to the General Accounting Office and the Library of Congress 1 year after transmission to the Congress of the study under section 230.
SEC. 205. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER THE WORKER ADJUSTMENT AND RETRAINING NOTIFICATION ACT.
(a) WORKER ADJUSTMENT
FICATION
AND
RETRAINING NOTI-
RIGHTS.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—No
employing office shall be
closed or a mass layoff ordered within the meaning of section 3 of the Worker Adjustment and Retrain-
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23 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ing Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102) until the end of a 60-day period after the employing office serves written notice of such prospective closing or layoff to representatives of covered employees or, if there are no representatives, to covered employees. (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘covered employee’’ shall include employees of the General Accounting Office and the Library of Congress and the term ‘‘employing office’’ shall include the General Accounting Office and the Library of Congress. (b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub-
13 section (a) shall be such remedy as would be appropriate 14 if awarded under paragraphs (1), (2), and (4) of section 15 5(a) of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifica16 tion Act (29 U.S.C. 2104(a)(1), (2), and (4)). 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (c) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—The
Board shall, pursuant
to section 304, issue regulations to implement this section. (2) AGENCY
REGULATIONS.—The
regulations
issued under paragraph (1) shall be the same as substantive regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor to implement the statutory provisions referred to in subsection (a) except insofar as
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24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 the Board may determine, for good cause shown and stated together with the regulation, that a modification of such regulations would be more effective for the implementation of the rights and protections under this section. (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—Except
as provided in para-
graph (2), subsections (a) and (b) shall be effective 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. (2) GENERAL
ACCOUNTING OFFICE AND LI-
BRARY OF CONGRESS.—This
section shall be effec-
tive with respect to the General Accounting Office and the Library of Congress 1 year after transmission to the Congress of the study under section 230.
SEC. 206. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS RELATING TO VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT.
(a) EMPLOYMENT
AND
REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS
OF
19 MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES.— 20 21 22 23 24 25 (1) IN
GENERAL.—It
shall be unlawful for an
employing office to— (A) discriminate, within the meaning of subsections (a) and (b) of section 4311 of title 38, United States Code, against an eligible employee;
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25 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 (B) deny to an eligible employee reemployment rights within the meaning of sections 4312 and 4313 of title 38, United States Code; or (C) deny to an eligible employee benefits within the meaning of sections 4316, 4317, and 4318 of title 38, United States Code. (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— (A) the term ‘‘eligible employee’’ means a covered employee performing service in the uniformed services, within the meaning of section 4303(13) of title 38, United States Code, whose service has not been terminated upon occurrence of any of the events enumerated in section 4304 of title 38, United States Code, (B) the term ‘‘covered employee’’ includes employees of the General Accounting Office and the Library of Congress, and (C) the term ‘‘employing office’’ includes the General Accounting Office and the Library of Congress. (b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub-
24 section (a) shall be such remedy as would be appropriate
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26 1 if awarded under paragraphs (1), (2)(A), and (3) of sec2 tion 4323(c) of title 38, United States Code. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 (c) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—The
Board shall, pursuant
to section 304, issue regulations to implement this section. (2) AGENCY
REGULATIONS.—The
regulations
issued under paragraph (1) shall be the same as substantive regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor to implement the statutory provisions referred to in subsection (a) except to the extent that the Board may determine, for good cause shown and stated together with the regulation, that a modification of such regulations would be more effective for the implementation of the rights and protections under this section. (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—Except
as provided in para-
graph (2), subsections (a) and (b) shall be effective 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. (2) GENERAL
ACCOUNTING OFFICE AND LI-
BRARY OF CONGRESS.—This
section shall be effec-
tive with respect to the General Accounting Office and the Library of Congress 1 year after trans-
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27 1 2 3 4 mission to the Congress of the study under section 230.
SEC. 207. PROHIBITION OF INTIMIDATION OR REPRISAL.
(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for an em-
5 ploying office to intimidate, take reprisal against, or other6 wise discriminate against, any covered employee because 7 the covered employee has opposed any practice made un8 lawful by this Act, or because the covered employee has 9 initiated proceedings, made a charge, or testified, assisted, 10 or participated in any manner in a hearing or other pro11 ceeding under this Act. 12 (b) REMEDY.—The remedy available for a violation
13 of subsection (a) shall be such legal or equitable remedy 14 as may be appropriate to redress a violation of subsection 15 (a). 16 PART B—PUBLIC SERVICES AND ACCOMMODA17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
TIONS UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990
SEC. 210. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990 RELATING TO PUBLIC SERVICES AND ACCOMMODATIONS; PROCEDURES FOR REMEDY OF VIOLATIONS.
(a) ENTITIES SUBJECT
TO
THIS SECTION.—The re-
25 quirements of this section shall apply to—
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28 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (1) each office of the Senate, including each office of a Senator and each committee; (2) each office of the House of Representatives, including each office of a Member of the House of Representatives and each committee; (3) each joint committee of the Congress; (4) the Capitol Guide Service; (5) the Capitol Police; (6) the Congressional Budget Office; (7) the Office of the Architect of the Capitol (including the Senate Restaurants and the Botanic Garden); (8) the Office of the Attending Physician; (9) the Office of Compliance; and (10) the Office of Technology Assessment. (b) DISCRIMINATION
COMMODATIONS.— IN
PUBLIC SERVICES
AND
AC-
(1) RIGHTS
AND PROTECTIONS.—The
rights
and protections against discrimination in the provision of public services and accommodations established by sections 201 through 230, 302, 303, and 309 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131–12150, 12182, 12183, and 12189) shall apply to the entities listed in subsection (a).
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29 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of the application of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.) under this section, the term ‘‘public entity’’ means any entity listed in subsection (a) that provides public services, programs, or activities. (c) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub-
8 section (b) shall be such remedy as would be appropriate 9 if awarded under section 203 or 308(a) of the Americans 10 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12133, 11 12188(a)), except that, with respect to any claim of em12 ployment discrimination asserted by any covered employee, 13 the exclusive remedy shall be under section 201 of this 14 title. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (d) AVAILABLE PROCEDURES.— (1) CHARGE
SEL.—A FILED WITH GENERAL COUN-
qualified individual with a disability, as de-
fined in section 201(2) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131(2)), who alleges a violation of subsection (b) by an entity listed in subsection (a), may file a charge against any entity responsible for correcting the violation with the General Counsel within 180 days of the occurrence of the alleged violation. The General Counsel shall investigate the charge.
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30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (2) MEDIATION.—If, upon investigation under paragraph (1), the General Counsel believes that a violation of subsection (b) may have occurred and that mediation may be helpful in resolving the dispute, the General Counsel may request, but not participate in, mediation under subsections (b) through (d) of section 403 between the charging individual and any entity responsible for correcting the alleged violation. (3) COMPLAINT,
HEARING, BOARD REVIEW.—If
mediation under paragraph (2) has not succeeded in resolving the dispute, and if the General Counsel believes that a violation of subsection (b) may have occurred, the General Counsel may file with the Office a complaint against any entity responsible for correcting the violation. The complaint shall be submitted to a hearing officer for decision pursuant to subsections (b) through (h) of section 405 and any person who has filed a charge under paragraph (1) may intervene as of right, with the full rights of a party. The decision of the hearing officer shall be subject to review by the Board pursuant to section 406. (4) JUDICIAL
REVIEW.—A
charging individual
who has intervened under paragraph (3) or any respondent to the complaint, if aggrieved by a final de-
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31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 cision of the Board under paragraph (3), may file a petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, pursuant to section 407. (5) COMPLIANCE
DATE.—If
new appropriated
funds are necessary to comply with an order requiring correction of a violation of subsection (b), compliance shall take place as soon as possible, but no later than the fiscal year following the end of the fiscal year in which the order requiring correction becomes final and not subject to further review. (e) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—The
Board shall, pursuant
to section 304, issue regulations to implement this section. (2) AGENCY
REGULATIONS.—The
regulations
issued under paragraph (1) shall be the same as substantive regulations promulgated by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Transportation to implement the statutory provisions referred to in subsection (b) except to the extent that the Board may determine, for good cause shown and stated together with the regulation, that a modification of such regulations would be more effective for the implementation of the rights and protections under this section.
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32 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (3) ENTITY
RESPONSIBLE FOR CORRECTION.—
The regulations issued under paragraph (1) shall include a method of identifying, for purposes of this section and for categories of violations of subsection (b), the entity responsible for correction of a particular violation. (f) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS; REPORT
TO
CONGRESS;
8 INITIAL STUDY.— 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (1) PERIODIC
INSPECTIONS.—On
a regular
basis, and at least once each Congress, the General Counsel shall inspect the facilities of the entities listed in subsection (a) to ensure compliance with subsection (b). (2) REPORT.—On the basis of each periodic inspection, the General Counsel shall, at least once every Congress, prepare and submit a report— (A) to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, or other entity responsible, for correcting the violation of this section uncovered by such inspection, and (B) containing the results of the periodic inspection, describing any steps necessary to correct any violation of this section, assessing
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33 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 any limitations in accessibility to and usability by individuals with disabilities associated with each violation, and the estimated cost and time needed for abatement. (3) INITIAL
PERIOD FOR STUDY AND CORREC-
TIVE ACTION.—The
period from the date of the en-
actment of this Act until December 31, 1996, shall be available to the Office of the Architect of the Capitol and other entities subject to this section to identify any violations of subsection (b), to determine the costs of compliance, and to take any necessary corrective action to abate any violations. The Office shall assist the Office of the Architect of the Capitol and other entities listed in subsection (a) by arranging for inspections and other technical assistance at their request. Prior to July 1, 1996, the General Counsel shall conduct a thorough inspection under paragraph (1) and shall submit the report under paragraph (2) for the 104th Congress. (4) DETAILED
PERSONNEL.—The
Attorney
General, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board may, on request of the Executive Director, detail to the Office such personnel as may be
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34 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 necessary to advise and assist the Office in carrying out its duties under this section. (g) APPLICATION
ITIES OF
AMERICANS WITH DISABILPROVISION
OF
ACT
OF
1990
TO THE
PUBLIC SERV-
ICES AND ING THE
ACCOMMODATIONS BY THE GENERAL ACCOUNTTHE OF
OFFICE,
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE,
AND
LIBRARY
CONGRESS.—Section 509 of the Ameri-
8 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12209)), 9 as amended by section 201(c) of this Act, is amended by 10 adding the following new paragraph: 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 ‘‘(6) ENFORCEMENT
SERVICES AND OF RIGHTS TO PUBLIC
ACCOMMODATIONS.—The
remedies
and procedures set forth in section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16) shall be available to any qualified person with a disability who is a visitor, guest, or patron of an instrumentality of Congress and who alleges a violation of the rights and protections under sections 201 through 230 or section 302 or 303 of this Act that are made applicable by this section, except that the authorities of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall be exercised by the chief official of the instrumentality of the Congress.’’. (h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—
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35 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (1) IN
GENERAL.—Subsections
(b), (c), and (d)
shall be effective on January 1, 1997. (2) GENERAL
ACCOUNTING OFFICE, GOVERN-
MENT PRINTING OFFICE, AND LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.—Subsection
(g) shall be effective 1 year
after transmission to the Congress of the study under section 230.
PART C—OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT OF 1970
SEC. 215. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT OF 1970; PROCEDURES FOR REMEDY OF VIOLATIONS.
(a) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
TIONS.—
AND
HEALTH PROTEC-
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each
employing office and
each covered employee shall comply with the provisions of section 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 654). (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of the application under this section of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970— (A) the term ‘‘employer’’ as used in such Act means an employing office; (B) the term ‘‘employee’’ as used in such Act means a covered employee;
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36 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 (C) the term ‘‘employing office’’ includes the General Accounting Office, the Library of Congress, and any entity listed in subsection (a) of section 210 that is responsible for correcting a violation of this section, irrespective of whether the entity has an employment relationship with any covered employee in any employing office in which such a violation occurs; and (D) the term ‘‘employee’’ includes employees of the General Accounting Office and the Library of Congress. (b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub-
13 section (a) shall be an order to correct the violation, in14 cluding such order as would be appropriate if issued under 15 section 13(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 16 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 662(a)). 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 (c) PROCEDURES.— (1) REQUESTS
FOR INSPECTIONS.—Upon
writ-
ten request of any employing office or covered employee, the General Counsel shall exercise the authorities granted to the Secretary of Labor by subsections (a), (d), (e), and (f) of section 8 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 657 (a), (d), (e), and (f)) to inspect and in-
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37 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 vestigate places of employment under the jurisdiction of employing offices. (2) CITATIONS,
NOTICES, AND NOTIFICA-
TIONS.—For
purposes of this section, the General
Counsel shall exercise the authorities granted to the Secretary of Labor in sections 9 and 10 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 658 and 659), to issue— (A) a citation or notice to any employing office responsible for correcting a violation of subsection (a); or (B) a notification to any employing office that the General Counsel believes has failed to correct a violation for which a citation has been issued within the period permitted for its correction. (3) HEARINGS
AND REVIEW.—If
after issuing a
citation or notification, the General Counsel determines that a violation has not been corrected, the General Counsel may file a complaint with the Office against the employing office named in the citation or notification. The complaint shall be submitted to a hearing officer for decision pursuant to subsections (b) through (h) of section 405, subject to review by the Board pursuant to section 406.
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38 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (4) VARIANCE
PROCEDURES.—An
employing of-
fice may request from the Board an order granting a variance from a standard made applicable by this section. For the purposes of this section, the Board shall exercise the authorities granted to the Secretary of Labor in sections 6(b)(6) and 6(d) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)(6) and 655(d)) to act on any employing office’s request for a variance. The Board shall refer the matter to a hearing officer pursuant to subsections (b) through (h) of section 405, subject to review by the Board pursuant to section 406. (5) JUDICIAL
REVIEW.—The
General Counsel
or employing office aggrieved by a final decision of the Board under paragraph (3) or (4), may file a petition for review with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit pursuant to section 407. (6) COMPLIANCE
DATE.—If
new appropriated
funds are necessary to correct a violation of subsection (a) for which a citation is issued, or to comply with an order requiring correction of such a violation, correction or compliance shall take place as soon as possible, but not later than the end of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the cita-
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39 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 tion is issued or the order requiring correction becomes final and not subject to further review. (d) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—The
Board shall, pursuant
to section 304, issue regulations to implement this section. (2) AGENCY
REGULATIONS.—The
regulations
issued under paragraph (1) shall be the same as substantive regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor to implement the statutory provisions referred to in subsection (a) except to the extent that the Board may determine, for good cause shown and stated together with the regulation, that a modification of such regulations would be more effective for the implementation of the rights and protections under this section. (3) EMPLOYING
CORRECTION.—The OFFICE RESPONSIBLE FOR
regulations issued under para-
graph (1) shall include a method of identifying, for purposes of this section and for different categories of violations of subsection (a), the employing office responsible for correction of a particular violation. (e) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS; REPORT
GRESS.— TO
CON-
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40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (1) PERIODIC
INSPECTIONS.—On
a regular
basis, and at least once each Congress, the General Counsel, exercising the same authorities of the Secretary of Labor as under subsection (c)(1), shall conduct periodic inspections of all facilities of the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Capitol Guide Service, the Capitol Police, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, the Office of the Attending Physician, the Office of Compliance, the Office of Technology Assessment, the Library of Congress, and the General Accounting Office to report on compliance with subsection (a). (2) REPORT.—On the basis of each periodic inspection, the General Counsel shall prepare and submit a report— (A) to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and the Office of the Architect of the Capitol or other employing office responsible for correcting the violation of this section uncovered by such inspection, and (B) containing the results of the periodic inspection, identifying the employing office responsible for correcting the violation of this sec-
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41 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 tion uncovered by such inspection, describing any steps necessary to correct any violation of this section, and assessing any risks to employee health and safety associated with any violation. (3) ACTION
AFTER REPORT.—If
a report identi-
fies any violation of this section, the General Counsel shall issue a citation or notice in accordance with subsection (c)(2)(A). (4) DETAILED
PERSONNEL.—The
Secretary of
Labor may, on request of the Executive Director, detail to the Office such personnel as may be necessary to advise and assist the Office in carrying out its duties under this section. (f) INITIAL PERIOD
FOR
STUDY
AND
CORRECTIVE
16 ACTION.—The period from the date of the enactment of 17 this Act until December 31, 1996, shall be available to 18 the Office of the Architect of the Capitol and other em19 ploying offices to identify any violations of subsection (a), 20 to determine the costs of compliance, and to take any nec21 essary corrective action to abate any violations. The Office 22 shall assist the Office of the Architect of the Capitol and 23 other employing offices by arranging for inspections and 24 other technical assistance at their request. Prior to July 25 1, 1996, the General Counsel shall conduct a thorough in-
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42 1 spection under subsection (e)(1) and shall submit the re2 port under subsection (e)(2) for the 104th Congress. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—Except
as provided in para-
graph (2), subsections (a), (b), (c), and (e)(3) shall be effective on January 1, 1997. (2) GENERAL
ACCOUNTING OFFICE AND LI-
BRARY OF CONGRESS.—This
section shall be effec-
tive with respect to the General Accounting Office and the Library of Congress 1 year after transmission to the Congress of the study under section 230.
PART D—LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS
SEC. 220. APPLICATION OF CHAPTER 71 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, RELATING TO FEDERAL SERVICE LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS; PROCEDURES FOR REMEDY OF VIOLATIONS.
(a) LABOR-MANAGEMENT RIGHTS.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—The
rights, protections, and
responsibilities established under sections 7102, 7106, 7111 through 7117, 7119 through 7122, and 7131 of title 5, United States Code, shall apply to employing offices and to covered employees and representatives of those employees.
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43 1 2 3 4 5 (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of the application under this section of the sections referred to in paragraph (1), the term ‘‘agency’’ shall be deemed to include an employing office. (b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub-
6 section (a) shall be such remedy, including a remedy under 7 section 7118(a)(7) of title 5, United States Code, as would 8 be appropriate if awarded by the Federal Labor Relations 9 Authority to remedy a violation of any provision made ap10 plicable by subsection (a). 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (c) AUTHORITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND
ENFORCEMENT.—
AUTHORITIES OF THE BOARD;
(1) GENERAL
PETITIONS.—For
purposes of this section and except
as otherwise provided in this section, the Board shall exercise the authorities of the Federal Labor Relations Authority under sections 7105, 7111, 7112, 7113, 7115, 7117, 7118, and 7122 of title 5, United States Code, and of the President under section 7103(b) of title 5, United States Code. For purposes of this section, any petition or other submission that, under chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, would be submitted to the Federal Labor Relations Authority shall, if brought under this section, be submitted to the Board. The Board shall refer any
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44 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 matter under this paragraph to a hearing officer for decision pursuant to subsections (b) through (h) of section 405, subject to review by the Board pursuant to section 406. The Board may direct that the General Counsel carry out the Board’s investigative authorities under this paragraph. (2) GENERAL
AUTHORITIES OF THE GENERAL
COUNSEL; CHARGES OF UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE.—
For purposes of this section and except as otherwise provided in this section, the General Counsel shall exercise the authorities of the General Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority under sections 7104 and 7118 of title 5, United States Code. For purposes of this section, any charge or other submission that, under chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, would be submitted to the General Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority shall, if brought under this section, be submitted to the General Counsel. If any person charges an employing office or a labor organization with having engaged in or engaging in an unfair labor practice and makes such charge within 180 days of the occurrence of the alleged unfair labor practice, the General Counsel shall investigate the charge and may file a complaint with the Office. The complaint shall
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45 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 be submitted to a hearing officer for decision pursuant to subsections (b) through (h) of section 405, subject to review by the Board pursuant to section 406. (3) JUDICIAL
REVIEW.—Except
for matters re-
ferred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 7123(a) of title 5, United States Code, the General Counsel or the respondent to the complaint, if aggrieved by a final decision of the Board under paragraphs (1) or (2) of this subsection, may file a petition for judicial review in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit pursuant to section 407. (4) EXERCISE
REQUESTS.—For OF IMPASSES PANEL AUTHORITY;
purposes of this section and except
as otherwise provided in this section, the Board shall exercise the authorities of the Federal Service Impasses Panel under section 7119 of title 5, United States Code. For purposes of this section, any request that, under chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, would be presented to the Federal Service Impasses Panel shall, if made under this section, be presented to the Board. At the request of the Board, the Executive Director shall appoint a mediator or mediators to perform the functions of
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46 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 the Federal Service Impasses Panel under section 7119 of title 5, United States Code. (d) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—The
Board shall, pursuant
to section 304, issue regulations to implement this section. (2) AGENCY
REGULATIONS.—Except
as pro-
vided in subsection (e), the regulations issued under paragraph (1) shall be the same as substantive regulations promulgated by the Federal Labor Relations Authority to implement the statutory provisions referred to in subsection (a) except— (A) to the extent that the Board may determine, for good cause shown and stated together with the regulation, that a modification of such regulations would be more effective for the implementation of the rights and protections under this section; or (B) as the Board deems necessary to avoid a conflict of interest or appearance of a conflict of interest. (e) SPECIFIC REGULATIONS REGARDING APPLICATION TO
CERTAIN OFFICES OF CONGRESS.— (1) REGULATIONS
REQUIRED.—The
Board
shall issue regulations pursuant to section 304 on
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47 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 the manner and extent to which the requirements and exemptions of chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, should apply to covered employees who are employed in the offices listed in paragraph (2). The regulations shall, to the greatest extent practicable, be consistent with the provisions and purposes of chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code and of this Act, and shall be the same as substantive regulations issued by the Federal Labor Relations Authority under such chapter, except— (A) to the extent that the Board may determine, for good cause shown and stated together with the regulation, that a modification of such regulations would be more effective for the implementation of the rights and protections under this section; and (B) that the Board shall exclude from coverage under this section any covered employees who are employed in offices listed in paragraph (2) if the Board determines that such exclusion is required because of— (i) a conflict of interest or appearance of a conflict of interest; or (ii) Congress’ constitutional responsibilities.
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48 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (2) OFFICES
REFERRED TO.—The
offices re-
ferred to in paragraph (1) include— (A) the personal office of any Member of the House of Representatives or of any Senator; (B) a standing, select, special, permanent, temporary, or other committee of the Senate or House of Representatives, or a joint committee of Congress; (C) the Office of the Vice President (as President of the Senate), the Office of the President pro tempore of the Senate, the Office of the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Office of the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Office of the Majority Whip of the Senate, the Office of the Minority Whip of the Senate, the Conference of the Majority of the Senate, the Conference of the Minority of the Senate, the Office of the Secretary of the Conference of the Majority of the Senate, the Office of the Secretary of the Conference of the Minority of the Senate, the Office of the Secretary for the Majority of the Senate, the Office of the Secretary for the Minority of the Senate, the Majority Policy Committee of the Senate, the Minority Policy Committee of the Senate, and the following of-
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49 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 fices within the Office of the Secretary of the Senate: Offices of the Parliamentarian, Bill Clerk, Legislative Clerk, Journal Clerk, Executive Clerk, Enrolling Clerk, Official Reporters of Debate, Daily Digest, Printing Services, Captioning Services, and Senate Chief Counsel for Employment; (D) the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Office of the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Office of the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Offices of the Chief Deputy Majority Whips, the Offices of the Chief Deputy Minority Whips and the following offices within the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives: Offices of Legislative Operations, Official Reporters of Debate, Official Reporters to Committees, Printing Services, and Legislative Information; (E) the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the Senate, the Office of the Senate Legal Counsel, the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the House of Representatives, the Office of the General Counsel of the House of Representatives, the Office of the Parliamentarian of the
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50 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 House of Representatives, and the Office of the Law Revision Counsel; (F) the offices of any caucus or party organization; (G) the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, and the Office of Compliance; and (H) such other offices that perform comparable functions which are identified under regulations of the Board. (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—Except
as provided in para-
graph (2), subsections (a) and (b) shall be effective on October 1, 1996. (2) CERTAIN
OFFICES.—With
respect to the of-
fices listed in subsection (e)(2), to the covered employees of such offices, and to representatives of such employees, subsections (a) and (b) shall be effective on the effective date of regulations under subsection (e).
PART E—GENERAL
SEC. 225. GENERALLY APPLICABLE REMEDIES AND LIMITATIONS.
(a) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—If a covered employee, with
25 respect to any claim under this Act, or a qualified person
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51 1 with a disability, with respect to any claim under section 2 210, is a prevailing party in any proceeding under section 3 405, 406, 407, or 408, the hearing officer, Board, or 4 court, as the case may be, may award attorney’s fees, ex5 pert fees, and any other costs as would be appropriate if 6 awarded under section 706(k) of the Civil Rights Act of 7 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5(k)). 8 (b) INTEREST.—In any proceeding under section
9 405, 406, 407, or 408, the same interest to compensate 10 for delay in payment shall be made available as would be 11 appropriate if awarded under section 717(d) of the Civil 12 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16(d)). 13 (c) CIVIL PENALTIES
AND
PUNITIVE DAMAGES.—No
14 civil penalty or punitive damages may be awarded with 15 respect to any claim under this Act. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (d) EXCLUSIVE PROCEDURE.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—Except
as provided in para-
graph (2), no person may commence an administrative or judicial proceeding to seek a remedy for the rights and protections afforded by this Act except as provided in this Act. (2) VETERANS.—A covered employee under section 206 may also utilize any provisions of chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code, that are applicable to that employee.
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52 1 (e) SCOPE
OF
REMEDY.—Only a covered employee
2 who has undertaken and completed the procedures de3 scribed in sections 402 and 403 may be granted a remedy 4 under part A of this title. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 (f) CONSTRUCTION.— (1) DEFINITIONS
AND EXEMPTIONS.—Except
where inconsistent with definitions and exemptions provided in this Act, the definitions and exemptions in the laws made applicable by this Act shall apply under this Act. (2) SIZE
LIMITATIONS.—Notwithstanding
para-
graph (1), provisions in the laws made applicable under this Act (other than the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) determining coverage based on size, whether expressed in terms of numbers of employees, amount of business transacted, or other measure, shall not apply in determining coverage under this Act. (3) EXECUTIVE
BRANCH ENFORCEMENT.—This
Act shall not be construed to authorize enforcement by the executive branch of this Act.
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53 1 2 3 4 5 6
PART F—STUDY
SEC. 230. STUDY AND RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE, GOVERN-
MENT PRINTING OFFICE, AND LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrative Conference of
7 the United States shall undertake a study of— 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 (1) the application of the laws listed in subsection (b) to— (A) the General Accounting Office; (B) the Government Printing Office; and (C) the Library of Congress; and (2) the regulations and procedures used by the entities referred to in paragraph (1) to apply and enforce such laws to themselves and their employees. (b) APPLICABLE STATUTES.—The study under this
17 section shall consider the application of the following laws: 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 (1) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), and related provisions of section 2302 of title 5, United States Code. (2) The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.), and related provisions of section 2302 of title 5, United States Code. (3) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), and related provisions of section 2302 of title 5, United States Code.
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54 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (4) The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.), and related provisions of sections 6381 through 6387 of title 5, United States Code. (5) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), and related provisions of sections 5541 through 5550a of title 5, United States Code. (6) The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.), and related provisions of section 7902 of title 5, United States Code. (7) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.). (8) Chapter 71 (relating to Federal service labor-management relations) of title 5, United States Code. (9) The General Accounting Office Personnel Act of 1980 (31 U.S.C. 731 et seq.). (10) The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (29 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.). (11) The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.). (12) Chapter 43 (relating to veterans’ employment and reemployment) of title 38, United States Code.
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55 1 2 (c) CONTENTS
TIONS.—The OF
STUDY
AND
RECOMMENDA-
study under this section shall evaluate
3 whether the rights, protections, and procedures, including 4 administrative and judicial relief, applicable to the entities 5 listed in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) and their employ6 ees are comprehensive and effective and shall include 7 recommendations for any improvements in regulations or 8 legislation, including proposed regulatory or legislative 9 language. 10 (d) DEADLINE AND DELIVERY OF STUDY.—Not later
11 than December 31, 1996— 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 (1) the Administrative Conference of the United States shall prepare and complete the study and recommendations required under this section and shall submit the study and recommendations to the Board; and (2) the Board shall transmit such study and recommendations (with the Board’s comments) to the head of each entity considered in the study, and to the Congress by delivery to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President pro tempore of the Senate for referral to the appropriate committees of the House of Representatives and of the Senate.
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56 1 2 3 4
TITLE III—OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE
SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, as an
5 independent office within the legislative branch of the Fed6 eral Government, the Office of Compliance. 7 (b) BOARD
OF
DIRECTORS.—The Office shall have
8 a Board of Directors. The Board shall consist of 5 individ9 uals appointed jointly by the Speaker of the House of Rep10 resentatives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, and the 11 Minority Leaders of the House of Representatives and the 12 Senate. Appointments of the first 5 members of the Board 13 shall be completed not later than 90 days after the date 14 of the enactment of this Act. 15 (c) CHAIR.—The Chair shall be appointed from mem-
16 bers of the Board jointly by the Speaker of the House 17 of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, and 18 the Minority Leaders of the House of Representatives and 19 the Senate. 20 21 22 23 24 25 (d) BOARD OF DIRECTORS QUALIFICATIONS.— (1) SPECIFIC
QUALIFICATIONS.—Selection
and
appointment of members of the Board shall be without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of the Office. Members of the Board shall have training or experiS 2 ES
57 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ence in the application of the rights, protections, and remedies under one or more of the laws made applicable under section 102. (2) DISQUALIFICATIONS
FOR APPOINTMENTS.—
(A) LOBBYING.—No individual who engages in, or is otherwise employed in, lobbying of the Congress and who is required under the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act to register with the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate shall be eligible for appointment to, or service on, the Board. (B) INCOMPATIBLE
OFFICE.—No
member
of the Board appointed under subsection (b) may hold or may have held the position of Member of the House of Representatives or Senator, may hold the position of officer or employee of the House of Representatives, Senate, or instrumentality or other entity of the legislative branch, or may have held such a position (other than the position of an officer or employee of the General Accounting Office Personnel Appeals Board, an officer or employee of the Office of Fair Employment Practices of the House of Representatives, or officer or employee of the Office of Senate Fair Employment
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58 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Practices) within 4 years of the date of appointment. (3) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Board shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made. (e) TERM OF OFFICE.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—Except
as provided in para-
graph (2), membership on the Board shall be for 5 years. A member of the Board who is appointed to a term of office of more than 3 years shall only be eligible for appointment for a single term of office. (2) FIRST
APPOINTMENTS.—Of
the members
first appointed to the Board— (A) 1 shall have a term of office of 3 years, (B) 2 shall have a term of office of 4 years, and (C) 2 shall have a term of office of 5 years, 1 of whom shall be the Chair, as designated at the time of appointment by the persons specified in subsection (b). (f) REMOVAL.— (1) AUTHORITY.—Any member of the Board may be removed from office by a majority decision
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59 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 of the appointing authorities described in subsection (b), but only for— (A) disability that substantially prevents the member from carrying out the duties of the member, (B) incompetence, (C) neglect of duty, (D) malfeasance, including a felony or conduct involving moral turpitude, or (E) holding an office or employment or engaging in an activity that disqualifies the individual from service as a member of the Board under subsection (d)(2). (2) STATEMENT
OF REASONS FOR REMOVAL.—
In removing a member of the Board, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall state in writing to the member of the Board being removed the specific reasons for the removal. (g) COMPENSATION.— (1) PER
DIEM.—Each
member of the Board
shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code, for each day
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60 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (including travel time) during which such member is engaged in the performance of the duties of the Board. The rate of pay of a member may be prorated based on the portion of the day during which the member is engaged in the performance of Board duties. (2) TRAVEL
EXPENSES.—Each
member of the
Board shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, for each day the member is engaged in the performance of duties away from the home or regular place of business of the member. (h) DUTIES.—The Office shall— (1) carry out a program of education for Members of Congress and other employing authorities of the legislative branch of the Federal Government respecting the laws made applicable to them and a program to inform individuals of their rights under laws applicable to the legislative branch of the Federal Government; (2) in carrying out the program under paragraph (1), distribute the telephone number and address of the Office, procedures for action under title
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61 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IV, and any other information appropriate for distribution, distribute such information to employing offices in a manner suitable for posting, provide such information to new employees of employing offices, distribute such information to the residences of covered employees, and conduct seminars and other activities designed to educate employing offices and covered employees; and (3) compile and publish statistics on the use of the Office by covered employees, including the number and type of contacts made with the Office, on the reason for such contacts, on the number of covered employees who initiated proceedings with the Office under this Act and the result of such proceedings, and on the number of covered employees who filed a complaint, the basis for the complaint, and the action taken on the complaint. (i) CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.—The Board and
19 the Office shall be subject to oversight (except with respect 20 to the disposition of individual cases) by the Committee 21 on Rules and Administration and the Committee on Gov22 ernmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 23 House Oversight of the House of Representatives. 24 (j) OPENING
OF
OFFICE.—The Office shall be open
25 for business, including receipt of requests for counseling
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62 1 under section 402, not later than 1 year after the date 2 of the enactment of this Act. 3 (k) FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS.—Members of
4 the Board and officers and employees of the Office shall 5 file the financial disclosure reports required under title I 6 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 with the Clerk 7 of the House of Representatives. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
SEC. 302. OFFICERS, STAFF, AND OTHER PERSONNEL.
(a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— (1) APPOINTMENT (A) IN
AND REMOVAL.—
GENERAL.—The
Chair, subject to
the approval of the Board, shall appoint and may remove an Executive Director. Selection and appointment of the Executive Director shall be without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of the Office. The first Executive Director shall be appointed no later than 90 days after the initial appointment of the Board of Directors. (B) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Executive Director shall be an individual with training or expertise in the application of laws referred to in section 102(a).
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63 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (C) DISQUALIFICATIONS.—The disqualifications in section 301(d)(2) shall apply to the appointment of the Executive Director. (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chair may fix the compensation of the Executive Director. The rate of pay for the Executive Director may not exceed the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. (3) TERM.—The term of office of the Executive Director shall be a single term of 5 years, except that the first Executive Director shall have a single term of 7 years. (4) DUTIES.—The Executive Director shall serve as the chief operating officer of the Office. Except as otherwise specified in this Act, the Executive Director shall carry out all of the responsibilities of the Office under this Act. (b) DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—The
Chair, subject to the
approval of the Board, shall appoint and may remove a Deputy Executive Director for the Senate and a Deputy Executive Director for the House of Representatives. Selection and appointment of a Deputy Executive Director shall be without regard
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64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 to political affiliation and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of the office. The disqualifications in section 301(d)(2) shall apply to the appointment of a Deputy Executive Director. (2) TERM.—The term of office of a Deputy Executive Director shall be a single term of 5 years, except that the first Deputy Executive Directors shall have a single term of 6 years. (3) COMPENSATION.—The Chair may fix the compensation of the Deputy Executive Directors. The rate of pay for a Deputy Executive Director may not exceed 96 percent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. (4) DUTIES.—The Deputy Executive Director for the Senate shall recommend to the Board regulations under section 304(a)(2)(B)(i), maintain the regulations and all records pertaining to the regulations, and shall assume such other responsibilities as may be delegated by the Executive Director. The Deputy Executive Director for the House of Representatives shall recommend to the Board the regulations under section 304(a)(2)(B)(ii), maintain the regulations and all records pertaining to the regula-
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65 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 tions, and shall assume such other responsibilities as may be delegated by the Executive Director. (c) GENERAL COUNSEL.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—The
Chair, subject to the
approval of the Board, shall appoint a General Counsel. Selection and appointment of the General Counsel shall be without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of the Office. The disqualifications in section 301(d)(2) shall apply to the appointment of a General Counsel. (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chair may fix the compensation of the General Counsel. The rate of pay for the General Counsel may not exceed the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. (3) DUTIES.—The General Counsel shall— (A) exercise the authorities and perform the duties of the General Counsel as specified in this Act; and (B) otherwise assist the Board and the Executive Director in carrying out their duties and powers, including representing the Office in any judicial proceeding under this Act.
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66 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (4) ATTORNEYS
IN THE OFFICE OF THE GEN-
ERAL COUNSEL.—The
General Counsel shall ap-
point, and fix the compensation of, and may remove, such additional attorneys as may be necessary to enable the General Counsel to perform the General Counsel’s duties. (5) TERM.—The term of office of the General Counsel shall be a single term of 5 years. (6) REMOVAL.— (A) AUTHORITY.—The General Counsel may be removed from office by the Chair but only for— (i) disability that substantially prevents the General Counsel from carrying out the duties of the General Counsel, (ii) incompetence, (iii) neglect of duty, (iv) malfeasance, including a felony or conduct involving moral turpitude, or (v) holding an office or employment or engaging in an activity that disqualifies the individual from service as the General Counsel under paragraph (1). (B) STATEMENT
MOVAL.—In OF REASONS FOR RE-
removing the General Counsel, the
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67 1 2 3 4 5 Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall state in writing to the General Counsel the specific reasons for the removal. (d) OTHER STAFF.—The Executive Director shall ap-
6 point, and fix the compensation of, and may remove, such 7 other additional staff, including hearing officers, but not 8 including attorneys employed in the office of the General 9 Counsel, as may be necessary to enable the Office to per10 form its duties. 11 (e) DETAILED PERSONNEL.—The Executive Director
12 may, with the prior consent of the department or agency 13 of the Federal Government concerned, use on a reimburs14 able or nonreimbursable basis the services of personnel of 15 any such department or agency, including the services of 16 members or personnel of the General Accounting Office 17 Personnel Appeals Board. 18 (f) CONSULTANTS.—In carrying out the functions of
19 the Office, the Executive Director may procure the tem20 porary (not to exceed 1 year) or intermittent services of 21 consultants. 22 23
SEC. 303. PROCEDURAL RULES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Director shall, sub-
24 ject to the approval of the Board, adopt rules governing 25 the procedures of the Office, including the procedures of
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68 1 hearing officers, which shall be submitted for publication 2 in the Congressional Record. The rules may be amended 3 in the same manner. 4 (b) PROCEDURE.—The Executive Director shall
5 adopt rules referred to in subsection (a) in accordance 6 with the principles and procedures set forth in section 553 7 of title 5, United States Code. The Executive Director 8 shall publish a general notice of proposed rulemaking 9 under section 553(b) of title 5, United States Code, but, 10 instead of publication of a general notice of proposed rule11 making in the Federal Register, the Executive Director 12 shall transmit such notice to the Speaker of the House 13 of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the 14 Senate for publication in the Congressional Record on the 15 first day on which both Houses are in session following 16 such transmittal. Before adopting rules, the Executive Di17 rector shall provide a comment period of at least 30 days 18 after publication of a general notice of proposed rule19 making. Upon adopting rules, the Executive Director shall 20 transmit notice of such action together with a copy of such 21 rules to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and 22 the President pro tempore of the Senate for publication 23 in the Congressional Record on the first day on which both 24 Houses are in session following such transmittal. Rules 25 shall be considered issued by the Executive Director as
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69 1 of the date on which they are published in the Congres2 sional Record. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
SEC. 304. SUBSTANTIVE REGULATIONS.
(a) REGULATIONS.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—The
procedures applicable to
the regulations of the Board issued for the implementation of this Act, which shall include regulations the Board is required to issue under title II (including regulations on the appropriate application of exemptions under the laws made applicable in title II) are as prescribed in this section. (2) RULEMAKING tions of the Board— (A) shall be adopted, approved, and issued in accordance with subsection (b); and (B) shall consist of 3 separate bodies of regulations, which shall apply, respectively, to— (i) the Senate and employees of the Senate; (ii) the House of Representatives and employees of the House of Representatives; and (iii) all other covered employees and employing offices.
PROCEDURE.—Such
regula-
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70 1 (b) ADOPTION
BY THE
BOARD.—The Board shall
2 adopt the regulations referred to in subsection (a)(1) in 3 accordance with the principles and procedures set forth 4 in section 553 of title 5, United States Code, and as pro5 vided in the following provisions of this subsection: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (1) PROPOSAL.—The Board shall publish a general notice of proposed rulemaking under section 553(b) of title 5, United States Code, but, instead of publication of a general notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register, the Board shall transmit such notice to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate for publication in the Congressional Record on the first day on which both Houses are in session following such transmittal. Such notice shall set forth the recommendations of the Deputy Director for the Senate in regard to regulations under subsection (a)(2)(B)(i), the recommendations of the Deputy Director for the House of Representatives in regard to regulations under subsection (a)(2)(B)(ii), and the recommendations of the Executive Director for regulations under subsection (a)(2)(B)(iii). (2) COMMENT.—Before adopting regulations, the Board shall provide a comment period of at least
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71 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 30 days after publication of a general notice of proposed rulemaking. (3) ADOPTION.—After considering comments, the Board shall adopt regulations and shall transmit notice of such action together with a copy of such regulations to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate for publication in the Congressional Record on the first day on which both Houses are in session following such transmittal. (4) RECOMMENDATION
PROVAL.—The AS TO METHOD OF AP-
Board shall include a recommenda-
tion in the general notice of proposed rulemaking and in the regulations as to whether the regulations should be approved by resolution of the Senate, by resolution of the House of Representatives, by concurrent resolution, or by joint resolution. (c) APPROVAL OF REGULATIONS.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—Regulations
referred to in
paragraph (2)(B)(i) of subsection (a) may be approved by the Senate by resolution or by the Congress by concurrent resolution or by joint resolution. Regulations referred to in paragraph (2)(B)(ii) of subsection (a) may be approved by the House of Representatives by resolution or by the Congress by
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72 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 concurrent resolution or by joint resolution. Regulations referred to in paragraph (2)(B)(iii) may be approved by Congress by concurrent resolution or by joint resolution. (2) REFERRAL.—Upon receipt of a notice of adoption of regulations under subsection (b)(3), the presiding officers of the House of Representatives and the Senate shall refer such notice, together with a copy of such regulations, to the appropriate committee or committees of the House of Representatives and of the Senate. The purpose of the referral shall be to consider whether such regulations should be approved, and, if so, whether such approval should be by resolution of the House of Representatives or of the Senate, by concurrent resolution or by joint resolution. (3) JOINT
SENATE.—The REFERRAL AND DISCHARGE IN THE
presiding officer of the Senate may
refer the notice of issuance of regulations, or any resolution of approval of regulations, to one committee or jointly to more than one committee. If a committee of the Senate acts to report a jointly referred measure, any other committee of the Senate must act within 30 calendar days of continuous session, or be automatically discharged.
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73 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (4) ONE-HOUSE
RESOLUTION.—In RESOLUTION OR CONCURRENT
the case of a resolution of the
House of Representatives or the Senate or a concurrent resolution referred to in paragraph (1), the matter after the resolving clause shall be the following: ‘‘The following regulations issued by the Office of Compliance on are hereby approved:’’ (the
blank space being appropriately filled in, and the text of the regulations being set forth). (5) JOINT
RESOLUTION.—In
the case of a joint
resolution referred to in paragraph (1), the matter after the resolving clause shall be the following: ‘‘The following regulations issued by the Office of Compliance on are hereby approved and shall
have the force and effect of law:’’ (the blank space being appropriately filled in, and the text of the regulations being set forth). (d) ISSUANCE AND EFFECTIVE DATE.— (1) PUBLICATION.—After approval of regulations under subsection (c), the Board shall submit the regulations to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate for publication in the Congressional Record on the first day on which both Houses are in session following such transmittal.
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74 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 (2) DATE
OF ISSUANCE.—The
date of issuance
of regulations shall be the date on which they are published in the Congressional Record under paragraph (1). (3) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—Regulations
shall be-
come effective not less than 60 days after the regulations are issued, except that the Board may provide for an earlier effective date for good cause found (within the meaning of section 553(d)(3) of title 5, United States Code) and published with the regulation. (e) AMENDMENT
OF
REGULATIONS.—Regulations
13 may be amended in the same manner as is described in 14 this section for the adoption, approval, and issuance of 15 regulations, except that the Board may, in its discretion, 16 dispense with publication of a general notice of proposed 17 rulemaking of minor, technical, or urgent amendments 18 that satisfy the criteria for dispensing with publication of 19 such notice pursuant to section 553(b)(B) of title 5, 20 United States Code. 21 (f) RIGHT TO PETITION FOR RULEMAKING.—Any in-
22 terested party may petition to the Board for the issuance, 23 amendment, or repeal of a regulation. 24 (g) CONSULTATION.—The Executive Director, the
25 Deputy Directors, and the Board—
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75 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 and (D) the Director of the Office of Personnel Management; and (2) may consult with any other persons with whom consultation, in the opinion of the Board, the Executive Director, or Deputy Directors, may be helpful.
SEC. 305. EXPENSES.
(1) shall consult, with regard to the development of regulations, with— (A) the Chair of the Administrative Conference of the United States; (B) the Secretary of Labor; (C) the Federal Labor Relations Authority;
(a) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—Begin-
16 ning in fiscal year 1995, and for each fiscal year there17 after, there are authorized to be appropriated for the ex18 penses of the Office such sums as may be necessary to 19 carry out the functions of the Office. Until sums are first 20 appropriated pursuant to the preceding sentence, but for 21 a period not exceeding 12 months following the date of 22 the enactment of this Act— 23 24 25 (1) one-half of the expenses of the Office shall be paid from funds appropriated for allowances and expenses of the House of Representatives, and
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76 1 2 3 (2) one-half of the expenses of the Office shall be paid from funds appropriated for allowances and expenses of the Senate,
4 upon vouchers approved by the Executive Director, except 5 that a voucher shall not be required for the disbursement 6 of salaries of employees who are paid at an annual rate. 7 The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Sec8 retary of the Senate are authorized to make arrangements 9 for the division of expenses under this subsection, includ10 ing arrangements for one House of Congress to reimburse 11 the other House of Congress. 12 (b) FINANCIAL
AND
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES.—
13 The Executive Director may place orders and enter into 14 agreements for goods and services with the head of any 15 agency, or major organizational unit within an agency, in 16 the legislative or executive branch of the United States 17 in the same manner and to the same extent as agencies 18 are authorized under sections 1535 and 1536 of title 31, 19 United States Code, to place orders and enter into agree20 ments. 21 (c) WITNESS FEES
AND
ALLOWANCES.—Except for
22 covered employees, witnesses before a hearing officer or 23 the Board in any proceeding under this Act other than 24 rulemaking shall be paid the same fee and mileage allow25 ances as are paid subpoenaed witnesses in the courts of
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77 1 the United States. Covered employees who are summoned, 2 or are assigned by their employer, to testify in their offi3 cial capacity or to produce official records in any proceed4 ing under this Act shall be entitled to travel expenses 5 under subchapter I and section 5751 of chapter 57 of title 6 5, United States Code. 7 8 9 10 11 12
TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL DISPUTE-RESOLUTION PROCEDURES
SEC. 401. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF ALLEGED VIOLATIONS.
Except as otherwise provided, the procedure for con-
13 sideration of alleged violations of part A of title II consists 14 of— 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (1) counseling as provided in section 402; (2) mediation as provided in section 403; and (3) election, as provided in section 404, of either— (A) a formal complaint and hearing as provided in section 405, subject to Board review as provided in section 406, and judicial review in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit as provided in section 407, or (B) a civil action in a district court of the United States as provided in section 408.
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78 1 In the case of an employee of the Office of the Architect 2 of the Capitol or of the Capitol Police, the Executive Di3 rector, after receiving a request for counseling under sec4 tion 402, may recommend that the employee use the griev5 ance procedures of the Architect of the Capitol or the Cap6 itol Police for resolution of the employee’s grievance for 7 a specific period of time, which shall not count against 8 the time available for counseling or mediation. 9 10
SEC. 402. COUNSELING.
(a) IN GENERAL.—To commence a proceeding, a cov-
11 ered employee alleging a violation of a law made applicable 12 under part A of title II shall request counseling by the 13 Office. The Office shall provide the employee with all rel14 evant information with respect to the rights of the em15 ployee. A request for counseling shall be made not later 16 than 180 days after the date of the alleged violation. 17 (b) PERIOD
OF
COUNSELING.—The period for coun-
18 seling shall be 30 days unless the employee and the Office 19 agree to reduce the period. The period shall begin on the 20 date the request for counseling is received. 21 22 (c) NOTIFICATION
RIOD.—The OF
END
OF
COUNSELING PE-
Office shall notify the employee in writing
23 when the counseling period has ended.
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79 1 2
SEC. 403. MEDIATION.
(a) INITIATION.—Not later than 15 days after receipt
3 by the employee of notice of the end of the counseling pe4 riod under section 402, but prior to and as a condition 5 of making an election under section 404, the covered em6 ployee who alleged a violation of a law shall file a request 7 for mediation with the Office. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 (b) PROCESS.—Mediation under this section— (1) may include the Office, the covered employee, the employing office, and one or more individuals appointed by the Executive Director after considering recommendations by organizations composed primarily of individuals experienced in adjudicating or arbitrating personnel matters, and (2) shall involve meetings with the parties separately or jointly for the purpose of resolving the dispute between the covered employee and the employing office. (c) MEDIATION PERIOD.—The mediation period shall
20 be 30 days beginning on the date the request for mediation 21 is received. The mediation period may be extended for ad22 ditional periods at the joint request of the covered em23 ployee and the employing office. The Office shall notify 24 in writing the covered employee and the employing office 25 when the mediation period has ended.
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80 1 (d) INDEPENDENCE
OF
MEDIATION PROCESS.—No
2 individual, who is appointed by the Executive Director to 3 mediate, may conduct or aid in a hearing conducted under 4 section 405 with respect to the same matter or shall be 5 subject to subpoena or any other compulsory process with 6 respect to the same matter. 7 8
SEC. 404. ELECTION OF PROCEEDING.
Not later than 90 days after a covered employee re-
9 ceives notice of the end of the period of mediation, but 10 no sooner than 30 days after receipt of such notification, 11 such covered employee may either— 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 (1) file a complaint with the Office in accordance with section 405, or (2) file a civil action in accordance with section 408 in the United States district court for the district in which the employee is employed or for the District of Columbia.
SEC. 405. COMPLAINT AND HEARING.
(a) IN GENERAL.—A covered employee may, upon
20 the completion of mediation under section 403, file a com21 plaint with the Office. The respondent to the complaint 22 shall be the employing office— 23 24 25 (1) involved in the violation, or (2) in which the violation is alleged to have occurred,
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81 1 and about which mediation was conducted. 2 (b) DISMISSAL.—A hearing officer may dismiss any
3 claim that the hearing officer finds to be frivolous or that 4 fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (c) HEARING OFFICER.— (1) APPOINTMENT.—Upon the filing of a complaint, the Executive Director shall appoint an independent hearing officer to consider the complaint and render a decision. No Member of the House of Representatives, Senator, officer of either the House of Representatives or the Senate, head of an employing office, member of the Board, or covered employee may be appointed to be a hearing officer. The Executive Director shall select hearing officers on a rotational or random basis from the lists developed under paragraph (2). Nothing in this section shall prevent the appointment of hearing officers as fulltime employees of the Office or the selection of hearing officers on the basis of specialized expertise needed for particular matters. (2) LISTS.—The Executive Director shall develop master lists, composed of— (A) members of the bar of a State or the District of Columbia and retired judges of the United States courts who are experienced in ad-
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82 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 judicating or arbitrating the kinds of personnel and other matters for which hearings may be held under this Act, and (B) individuals expert in technical matters relating to accessibility and usability by persons with disabilities or technical matters relating to occupational safety and health. In developing lists, the Executive Director shall consider candidates recommended by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service or the Administrative Conference of the United States. (d) HEARING.—Unless a complaint is dismissed be-
13 fore a hearing, a hearing shall be— 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (1) conducted in closed session on the record by the hearing officer; (2) commenced no later than 60 days after filing of the complaint under subsection (a), except that the Office may, for good cause, extend up to an additional 30 days the time for commencing a hearing; and (3) conducted, except as specifically provided in this Act and to the greatest extent practicable, in accordance with the principles and procedures set forth in sections 554 through 557 of title 5, United States Code.
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83 1 (e) DISCOVERY.—Reasonable prehearing discovery
2 may be permitted at the discretion of the hearing officer. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (f) SUBPOENAS.— (1) IN
GENERAL.—At
the request of a party, a
hearing officer may issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and for the production of correspondence, books, papers, documents, and other records. The attendance of witnesses and the production of records may be required from any place within the United States. Subpoenas shall be served in the manner provided under rule 45(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (2) OBJECTIONS.—If a person refuses, on the basis of relevance, privilege, or other objection, to testify in response to a question or to produce records in connection with a proceeding before a hearing officer, the hearing officer shall rule on the objection. At the request of the witness or any party, the hearing officer shall (or on the hearing officer’s own initiative, the hearing officer may) refer the ruling to the Board for review. (3) ENFORCEMENT.— (A) IN
GENERAL.—If
a person fails to
comply with a subpoena, the Board may authorize the General Counsel to apply, in the
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84 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 name of the Office, to an appropriate United States district court for an order requiring that person to appear before the hearing officer to give testimony or produce records. The application may be made within the judicial district where the hearing is conducted or where that person is found, resides, or transacts business. Any failure to obey a lawful order of the district court issued pursuant to this section may be held by such court to be a civil contempt thereof. (B) SERVICE
OF PROCESS.—Process
in an
action or contempt proceeding pursuant to subparagraph (A) may be served in any judicial district in which the person refusing or failing to comply, or threatening to refuse or not to comply, resides, transacts business, or may be found, and subpoenas for witnesses who are required to attend such proceedings may run into any other district. (g) DECISION.—The hearing officer shall issue a
22 written decision as expeditiously as possible, but in no case 23 more than 90 days after the conclusion of the hearing. 24 The written decision shall be transmitted by the Office to 25 the parties. The decision shall state the issues raised in
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85 1 the complaint, describe the evidence in the record, contain 2 findings of fact and conclusions of law, contain a deter3 mination of whether a violation has occurred, and order 4 such remedies as are appropriate pursuant to title II. The 5 decision shall be entered in the records of the Office. If 6 a decision is not appealed under section 406 to the Board, 7 the decision shall be considered the final decision of the 8 Office. 9 (h) PRECEDENTS.—A hearing officer who conducts
10 a hearing under this section shall be guided by judicial 11 decisions under the laws made applicable by section 102 12 and by Board decisions under this Act. 13 14
SEC. 406. APPEAL TO THE BOARD.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any party aggrieved by the deci-
15 sion of a hearing officer under section 405(g) may file a 16 petition for review by the Board not later than 30 days 17 after entry of the decision in the records of the Office. 18 19 (b) PARTIES’ OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT ARGUMENT.—The
parties to the hearing upon which the deci-
20 sion of the hearing officer was made shall have a reason21 able opportunity to be heard, through written submission 22 and, in the discretion of the Board, through oral argu23 ment.
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86 1 (c) STANDARD
OF
REVIEW.—The Board shall set
2 aside a decision of a hearing officer if the Board deter3 mines that the decision was— 4 5 6 7 8 9 (1) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not consistent with law; (2) not made consistent with required procedures; or (3) unsupported by substantial evidence. (d) RECORD.—In making determinations under sub-
10 section (c), the Board shall review the whole record, or 11 those parts of it cited by a party, and due account shall 12 be taken of the rule of prejudicial error. 13 (e) DECISION.—The Board shall issue a written deci-
14 sion setting forth the reasons for its decision. The decision 15 may affirm, reverse, or remand to the hearing officer for 16 further proceedings. A decision that does not require fur17 ther proceedings before a hearing officer shall be entered 18 in the records of the Office as a final decision. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
SEC. 407. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF BOARD DECISIONS AND ENFORCEMENT.
(a) JURISDICTION.— (1) JUDICIAL
REVIEW.—The
United States
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit shall have jurisdiction over any proceeding commenced by a petition of—
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87 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 (A) a party aggrieved by a final decision of the Board under section 406(e) in cases arising under part A of title II, (B) a charging individual or a respondent before the Board who files a petition under section 210(d)(4), (C) the General Counsel or a respondent before the Board who files a petition under section 215(c)(5), or (D) the General Counsel or a respondent before the Board who files a petition under section 220(c)(3). The court of appeals shall have exclusive jurisdiction to set aside, suspend (in whole or in part), to determine the validity of, or otherwise review the decision of the Board. (2) ENFORCEMENT.—The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit shall have jurisdiction over any petition of the General Counsel, filed in the name of the Office and at the direction of the Board, to enforce a final decision under section 405(g) or 406(e) with respect to a violation of part A, B, C, or D of title II. (b) PROCEDURES.—
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88 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 (1) RESPONDENTS.—(A) In any proceeding commenced by a petition filed under subsection (a)(1) (A) or (B), or filed by a party other than the General Counsel under subsection (a)(1) (C) or (D), the Office shall be named respondent and any party before the Board may be named respondent by filing a notice of election with the court within 30 days after service of the petition. (B) In any proceeding commenced by a petition filed by the General Counsel under subsection (a)(1) (C) or (D), the prevailing party in the final decision entered under section 406(e) shall be named respondent, and any other party before the Board may be named respondent by filing a notice of election with the court within 30 days after service of the petition. (C) In any proceeding commenced by a petition filed under subsection (a)(2), the party under section 405 or 406 that the General Counsel determines has failed to comply with a final decision under section 405(g) or 406(e) shall be named respondent. (2) INTERVENTION.—Any party that participated in the proceedings before the Board under sec-
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89 1 2 3 tion 406 and that was not made respondent under paragraph (1) may intervene as of right. (c) LAW APPLICABLE.—Chapter 158 of title 28,
4 United States Code, shall apply to judicial review under 5 paragraph (1) of subsection (a), except that— 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 (1) with respect to section 2344 of title 28, United States Code, service of a petition in any proceeding in which the Office is a respondent shall be on the General Counsel rather than on the Attorney General; (2) the provisions of section 2348 of title 28, United States Code, on the authority of the Attorney General, shall not apply; (3) the petition for review shall be filed not later than 90 days after the entry in the Office of a final decision under section 406(e); and (4) the Office shall be an ‘‘agency’’ as that term is used in chapter 158 of title 28, United States Code. (d) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—To the extent necessary
21 for decision in a proceeding commenced under subsection 22 (a)(1) and when presented, the court shall decide all rel23 evant questions of law and interpret constitutional and 24 statutory provisions. The court shall set aside a final deci-
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90 1 sion of the Board if it is determined that the decision 2 was— 3 4 5 6 7 8 (1) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not consistent with law; (2) not made consistent with required procedures; or (3) unsupported by substantial evidence. (e) RECORD.—In making determinations under sub-
9 section (d), the court shall review the whole record, or 10 those parts of it cited by a party, and due account shall 11 be taken of the rule of prejudicial error. 12 13
SEC. 408. CIVIL ACTION.
(a) JURISDICTION.—The district courts of the United
14 States shall have jurisdiction over any civil action com15 menced under section 404 and this section by a covered 16 employee who has completed counseling under section 402 17 and mediation under section 403. A civil action may be 18 commenced by a covered employee only to seek redress for 19 a violation for which the employee has completed counsel20 ing and mediation. 21 (b) PARTIES.—The defendant shall be the employing
22 office alleged to have committed the violation, or in which 23 the violation is alleged to have occurred. 24 (c) JURY TRIAL.—Any party may demand a jury trial
25 where a jury trial would be available in an action against
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91 1 a private defendant under the relevant law made applica2 ble by this Act. In any case in which a violation of section 3 201 is alleged, the court shall not inform the jury of the 4 maximum amount of compensatory damages available 5 under section 201(b)(1) or 201(b)(3). 6 7
SEC. 409. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.
In any proceeding brought under section 407 or 408
8 in which the application of a regulation issued under this 9 Act is at issue, the court may review the validity of the 10 regulation in accordance with the provisions of subpara11 graphs (A) through (D) of section 706(2) of title 5, United 12 States Code, except that with respect to regulations ap13 proved by a joint resolution under section 304(c), only the 14 provisions of section 706(2)(B) of title 5, United States 15 Code, shall apply. If the court determines that the regula16 tion is invalid, the court shall apply, to the extent nec17 essary and appropriate, the most relevant substantive ex18 ecutive agency regulation promulgated to implement the 19 statutory provisions with respect to which the invalid regu20 lation was issued. Except as provided in this section, the 21 validity of regulations issued under this Act is not subject 22 to judicial review. 23 24
SEC. 410. OTHER JUDICIAL REVIEW PROHIBITED.
Except as expressly authorized by sections 407, 408,
25 and 409, the compliance or noncompliance with the provi-
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92 1 sions of this Act and any action taken pursuant to this 2 Act shall not be subject to judicial review. 3 4
SEC. 411. EFFECT OF FAILURE TO ISSUE REGULATIONS.
In any proceeding under section 405, 406, 407, or
5 408, except a proceeding to enforce section 220 with re6 spect to offices listed under section 220(e)(2), if the Board 7 has not issued a regulation on a matter for which this 8 Act requires a regulation to be issued, the hearing officer, 9 Board, or court, as the case may be, shall apply, to the 10 extent necessary and appropriate, the most relevant sub11 stantive executive agency regulation promulgated to imple12 ment the statutory provision at issue in the proceeding. 13 14
SEC. 412. EXPEDITED REVIEW OF CERTAIN APPEALS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—An appeal may be taken directly
15 to the Supreme Court of the United States from any inter16 locutory or final judgment, decree, or order of a court 17 upon the constitutionality of any provision of this Act. 18 (b) JURISDICTION.—The Supreme Court shall, if it
19 has not previously ruled on the question, accept jurisdic20 tion over the appeal referred to in subsection (a), advance 21 the appeal on the docket, and expedite the appeal to the 22 greatest extent possible. 23 24
SEC. 413. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.
The authorization to bring judicial proceedings under
25 sections 405(f)(3), 407, and 408 shall not constitute a
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93 1 waiver of sovereign immunity for any other purpose, or 2 of the privileges of any Senator or Member of the House 3 of Representatives under article I, section 6, clause 1, of 4 the Constitution, or a waiver of any power of either the 5 Senate or the House of Representatives under the Con6 stitution, including under article I, section 5, clause 3, or 7 under the rules of either House relating to records and 8 information within its jurisdiction. 9 10
SEC. 414. SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS.
Any settlement entered into by the parties to a proc-
11 ess described in section 210, 215, 220, or 401 shall be 12 in writing and not become effective unless it is approved 13 by the Executive Director. Nothing in this Act shall affect 14 the power of the Senate and the House of Representatives, 15 respectively, to establish rules governing the process by 16 which a settlement may be entered into by such House 17 or by any employing office of such House. 18 19
SEC. 415. PAYMENTS.
(a) AWARDS
AND
SETTLEMENTS.—Except as pro-
20 vided in subsection (c), only funds which are appropriated 21 to an account of the Office in the Treasury of the United 22 States for the payment of awards and settlements may 23 be used for the payment of awards and settlements under 24 this Act. There are authorized to be appropriated for such 25 account such sums as may be necessary to pay such
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94 1 awards and settlements. Funds in the account are not 2 available for awards and settlements involving the General 3 Accounting Office, the Government Printing Office, or the 4 Library of Congress. 5 (b) COMPLIANCE.—Except as provided in subsection
6 (c), there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as 7 may be necessary for administrative, personnel, and simi8 lar expenses of employing offices which are needed to com9 ply with this Act. 10 11 (c) OSHA, ACCOMMODATION, AND ACCESS REQUIREMENTS.—Funds
to correct violations of section 201(a)(3),
12 210, or 215 of this Act may be paid only from funds ap13 propriated to the employing office or entity responsible for 14 correcting such violations. There are authorized to be ap15 propriated such sums as may be necessary for such funds. 16 17
SEC. 416. CONFIDENTIALITY.
(a) COUNSELING.—All counseling shall be strictly
18 confidential, except that the Office and a covered employee 19 may agree to notify the employing office of the allegations. 20 (b) MEDIATION.—All mediation shall be strictly con-
21 fidential. 22 (c) HEARINGS
AND
DELIBERATIONS.—Except as
23 provided in subsections (d), (e), and (f), all proceedings 24 and deliberations of hearing officers and the Board, in25 cluding any related records, shall be confidential. This
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95 1 subsection shall not apply to proceedings under section 2 215, but shall apply to the deliberations of hearing officers 3 and the Board under that section. 4 (d) RELEASE
OF
RECORDS
FOR
JUDICIAL ACTION.—
5 The records of hearing officers and the Board may be 6 made public if required for the purpose of judicial review 7 under section 407. 8 (e) ACCESS
BY
COMMITTEES
OF
CONGRESS.—At the
9 discretion of the Executive Director, the Executive Direc10 tor may provide to the Committee on Standards of Official 11 Conduct of the House of Representatives and the Select 12 Committee on Ethics of the Senate access to the records 13 of the hearings and decisions of the hearing officers and 14 the Board, including all written and oral testimony in the 15 possession of the Office. The Executive Director shall not 16 provide such access until the Executive Director has con17 sulted with the individual filing the complaint at issue, and 18 until a final decision has been entered under section 19 405(g) or 406(e). 20 (f) FINAL DECISIONS.—A final decision entered
21 under section 405(g) or 406(e) shall be made public if it 22 is in favor of the complaining covered employee, or in favor 23 of the charging party under section 210, or if the decision 24 reverses a decision of a hearing officer which had been 25 in favor of the covered employee or charging party. The
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96 1 Board may make public any other decision at its discre2 tion. 3 4 5 6
TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SEC. 501. EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.
The provisions of sections 102(b)(3) and 304(c) are
7 enacted— 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively, and as such they shall be considered as part of the rules of such House, respectively, and such rules shall supersede other rules only to the extent that they are inconsistent therewith; and (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of either House to change such rules (so far as relating to such House) at any time, in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of each House.
SEC. 502. POLITICAL AFFILIATION AND PLACE OF RESIDENCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be a violation of any
22 provision of section 201 to consider the— 23 24 (1) party affiliation; (2) domicile; or
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97 1 2 (3) political compatibility with the employing office;
3 of an employee referred to in subsection (b) with respect 4 to employment decisions. 5 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of subsection (a),
6 the term ‘‘employee’’ means— 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 (1) an employee on the staff of the leadership of the House of Representatives or the leadership of the Senate; (2) an employee on the staff of a committee or subcommittee of— (A) the House of Representatives; (B) the Senate; or (C) a joint committee of the Congress; (3) an employee on the staff of a Member of the House of Representatives or on the staff of a Senator; (4) an officer of the House of Representatives or the Senate or a congressional employee who is elected by the House of Representatives or Senate or is appointed by a Member of the House of Representatives or by a Senator (in addition an employee described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3)); or
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98 1 2 3 4 5 6 (5) an applicant for a position that is to be occupied by an individual described in any of paragraphs (1) through (4).
SEC. 503. NONDISCRIMINATION RULES OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE.
The Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate and
7 the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the 8 House of Representatives retain full power, in accordance 9 with the authority provided to them by the Senate and 10 the House, with respect to the discipline of Members, offi11 cers, and employees for violating rules of the Senate and 12 the House on nondiscrimination in employment. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
SEC. 504. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) CIVIL RIGHTS REMEDIES.— (1) Sections 301 and 302 of the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1201 and 1202) are amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 301. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE RIGHTS ACT OF 1991.
‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the
20 ‘Government Employee Rights Act of 1991’. 21 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to pro-
22 vide procedures to protect the rights of certain government 23 employees, with respect to their public employment, to be 24 free of discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, 25 sex, national origin, age, or disability.
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99 1 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this title, the
2 term ‘violation’ means a practice that violates section 3 302(a) of this title. 4 5
‘‘SEC. 302. DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES PROHIBITED.
‘‘(a) PRACTICES.—All personnel actions affecting the
6 Presidential appointees described in section 303 or the 7 State employees described in section 304 shall be made 8 free from any discrimination based on— 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 ‘‘(1) race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, within the meaning of section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16); ‘‘(2) age, within the meaning of section 15 of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 633a); or ‘‘(3) disability, within the meaning of section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791) and sections 102 through 104 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12112–14). ‘‘(b) REMEDIES.—The remedies referred to in sec-
20 tions 303(a)(1) and 304(a)— 21 22 23 24 25 ‘‘(1) may include, in the case of a determination that a violation of subsection (a)(1) or (a)(3) has occurred, such remedies as would be appropriate if awarded under sections 706(g), 706(k), and 717(d) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.
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100 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 2000e–5(g), 2000e–5(k), 2000e–16(d)), and such compensatory damages as would be appropriate if awarded under section 1977 or sections 1977A(a) and 1977A(b)(2) of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981 and 1981a(a) and (b)(2)); ‘‘(2) may include, in the case of a determination that a violation of subsection (a)(2) has occurred, such remedies as would be appropriate if awarded under section 15(c) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 633a(c)); and ‘‘(3) may not include punitive damages.’’. (2) Sections 303 through 319, and sections 322, 324, and 325 of the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1203–1218, 1221, 1223, and 1224) are repealed, except as provided in section 506 of this Act. (3) Sections 320 and 321 of the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1219 and 1220) are redesignated as sections 303 and 304, respectively. (4) Sections 303 and 304 of the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, as so redesignated, are each amended by striking ‘‘and 307(h) of this title’’.
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101 1 2 3 4 (5) Section 1205 of the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1993 (2 U.S.C. 1207a) is repealed, except as provided in section 506 of this Act. (b) FAMILY
AND
MEDICAL LEAVE ACT
OF
1993.—
5 Title V of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (2 6 U.S.C. 60m et seq.) is repealed, except as provided in sec7 tion 506 of this Act. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 (c) ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL.— (1) REPEAL.—Section 312(e) of the Architect of the Capitol Human Resources Act (Public Law 103–283; 108 Stat. 1444) is repealed, except as provided in section 506 of this Act. (2) APPLICATION
OF GENERAL ACCOUNTING
OFFICE PERSONNEL ACT OF 1980.—The
provisions of
sections 751, 753, and 755 of title 31, United States Code, amended by section 312(e) of the Architect of the Capitol Human Resources Act, shall be applied and administered as if such section 312(e) (and the amendments made by such section) had not been enacted.
SEC. 505. JUDICIAL BRANCH COVERAGE STUDY.
The Judicial Conference of the United States shall
23 prepare a report for submission by the Chief Justice of 24 the United States to the Congress on the application to 25 the judicial branch of the Federal Government of—
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102 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 (1) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.); (2) title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.); (3) the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); (4) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.); (5) the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.); (6) the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.); (7) chapter 71 (relating to Federal service labor-management relations) of title 5, United States Code; (8) the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (29 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.); (9) the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.); (10) the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.); and (11) chapter 43 (relating to veterans’ employment and reemployment) of title 38, United States Code.
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103 1 The report shall be submitted to Congress not later than 2 December 31, 1996, and shall include any recommenda3 tions the Judicial Conference may have for legislation to 4 provide to employees of the judicial branch the rights, pro5 tections, and procedures under the listed laws, including 6 administrative and judicial relief, that are comparable to 7 those available to employees of the legislative branch 8 under titles I through IV of this Act. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
THE
SEC. 506. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.
(a) TRANSITION PROVISIONS HOUSE
OF
FOR
EMPLOYEES
OF
REPRESENTATIVES
AND OF THE
SEN-
ATE.—
(1)
CLAIMS
ARISING
BEFORE
EFFECTIVE
DATE.—If,
as of the date on which section 201 takes
effect, an employee of the Senate or the House of Representatives has or could have requested counseling under section 305 of the Government Employees Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1205) or Rule LI of the House of Representatives, including counseling for alleged violations of family and medical leave rights under title V of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the employee may complete, or initiate and complete, all procedures under the Government Employees Rights Act of 1991 and Rule LI, and the provisions of that Act and Rule shall re-
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104 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 main in effect with respect to, and provide the exclusive procedures for, those claims until the completion of all such procedures. (2) CLAIMS
ARISING BETWEEN EFFECTIVE
DATE AND OPENING OF OFFICE.—If
a claim by an
employee of the Senate or House of Representatives arises under section 201 or 202 after the effective date of such sections, but before the opening of the Office for receipt of requests for counseling or mediation under sections 402 and 403, the provisions of the Government Employees Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) and Rule LI of the House of Representatives relating to counseling and mediation shall remain in effect, and the employee may complete under that Act or Rule the requirements for counseling and mediation under sections 402 and 403. If, after counseling and mediation is completed, the Office has not yet opened for the filing of a timely complaint under section 405, the employee may elect— (A) to file a complaint under section 307 of the Government Employees Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1207) or Rule LI of the House of Representatives, and thereafter proceed exclusively under that Act or Rule, the provisions
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105 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
THE
of which shall remain in effect until the completion of all proceedings in relation to the complaint, or (B) to commence a civil action under section 408. (3) SECTION
1205 OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL AP-
PROPRIATIONS ACT OF 1993.—With
respect to pay-
ments of awards and settlements relating to Senate employees under paragraph (1) of this subsection, section 1205 of the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1993 (2 U.S.C. 1207a) remains in effect. (b) TRANSITION PROVISIONS
FOR
EMPLOYEES
OF
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL.—– (1) CLAIMS
ARISING BEFORE EFFECTIVE
DATE.—If,
as of the date on which section 201 takes
effect, an employee of the Architect of the Capitol has or could have filed a charge or complaint regarding an alleged violation of section 312(e)(2) of the Architect of the Capitol Human Resources Act (Public Law 103–283), the employee may complete, or initiate and complete, all procedures under section 312(e) of that Act, the provisions of which shall remain in effect with respect to, and provide the exclusive procedures for, that claim until the completion of all such procedures.
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106 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 (2) CLAIMS
ARISING BETWEEN EFFECTIVE
DATE AND OPENING OF OFFICE.—If
a claim by an
employee of the Architect of the Capitol arises under section 201 or 202 after the effective date of those provisions, but before the opening of the Office for receipt of requests for counseling or mediation under sections 402 and 403, the employee may satisfy the requirements for counseling and mediation by exhausting the requirements prescribed by the Architect of the Capitol in accordance with section 312(e)(3) of the Architect of the Capitol Human Resources Act (Public Law 103–283). If, after exhaustion of those requirements the Office has not yet opened for the filing of a timely complaint under section 405, the employee may elect— (A) to file a charge with the General Accounting Office Personnel Appeals Board pursuant to section 312(e)(3) of the Architect of the Capitol Human Resources Act (Public Law 103–283), and thereafter proceed exclusively under section 312(e) of that Act, the provisions of which shall remain in effect until the completion of all proceedings in relation to the charge, or
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107 1 2 3 (B) to commence a civil action under section 408. (c) TRANSITION PROVISION RELATING TO MATTERS
OF
4 OTHER THAN EMPLOYMENT UNDER SECTION 509 5
THE
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
OF
1990.—
6 With respect to matters other than employment under sec7 tion 509 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 8 (42 U.S.C. 12209), the rights, protections, remedies, and 9 procedures of section 509 of such Act shall remain in ef10 fect until section 210 of this Act takes effect with respect 11 to each of the entities covered by section 509 of such Act. 12 13
SEC. 507. USE OF FREQUENT FLYER MILES.
(a) LIMITATION ON THE USE OF TRAVEL AWARDS.—
14 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, or any rule, 15 regulation, or other authority, any travel award that ac16 crues by reason of official travel of a Member, officer, or 17 employee of the Senate shall be considered the property 18 of the office for which the travel was performed and may 19 not be converted to personal use. 20 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Committee on Rules and
21 Administration of the Senate shall have authority to pre22 scribe regulations to carry out this section. 23 24 25 (c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section— (1) the term ‘‘travel award’’ means any frequent flyer, free, or discounted travel, or other travel
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108 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 benefit, whether awarded by coupon, membership, or otherwise; and (2) the term ‘‘official travel’’ means travel engaged in the course of official business of the Senate.
SEC. 508. SENSE OF SENATE REGARDING ADOPTION OF SIMPLIFIED AND STREAMLINED ACQUISI-
TION PROCEDURES FOR SENATE ACQUISITIONS.
It is the sense of the Senate that the Committee on
11 Rules and Administration of the Senate should review the 12 rules applicable to purchases by Senate offices to deter13 mine whether they are consistent with the acquisition sim14 plification and streamlining laws enacted in the Federal 15 Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (Public Law 103– 16 355). 17 18
SEC. 509. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act or the application of such
19 provision to any person or circumstance is held to be in20 valid, the remainder of this Act and the application of the
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109 1 provisions of the remainder to any person or circumstance 2 shall not be affected thereby. Passed the Senate January 11 (legislative day, January 10), 1995. Attest:
Secretary.
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104TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION
S. 2
AN ACT
To make certain laws applicable to the legislative branch of the Federal Government.