Public Law 115–397: To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to reform the procedures provided under such Act for the initiation, review, and resolution of claims alleging that employing offices of the legislative branch have violated the rights and protections provided to their employees under such Act, including protections against sexual harassment, and for other purposes.

the filing of a claim by the covered employee alleging the violation, as provided in section 402;

the preliminary review of the claim, to be conducted by a hearing officer as provided in section 403;

mediation as provided in section 404, if requested and agreed to by the parties under that section; and

a formal 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.

Only a covered employee who has filed a claim timely as provided in section 402 and who has not submitted a request for a hearing on the claim pursuant to section 405(a) may, during the period described in paragraph (3), file a civil action in a District Court of the United States with respect to the violation alleged in the claim, as provided in section 408.

Notwithstanding paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (a), if the covered employee files such a civil action—132 STAT. 5299

The period described in this paragraph with respect to a claim is the 70-day period which begins on the date the covered employee files the claim under section 402.

Notwithstanding paragraph (3), if a covered employee receives a written notice from the hearing officer under section 403(d)(2) that the employee has the right to file a civil action with respect to the claim in accordance with section 408, the covered employee may file the civil action not later than 90 days after receiving such written notice.

In this subsection:

A Library claimant who initially files a claim for an alleged violation as provided in section 402 may, at any time before the date that is 10 days after a hearing officer submits the report on the preliminary review of the claim under section 403(c), elect to bring the claim for a proceeding before the corresponding Federal agency under the corresponding direct provision, instead of continuing with the procedures applicable to the claim under this title or filing a civil action in accordance with section 408.

A Library claimant who initially brings a claim, complaint, or charge under a direct provision for a proceeding before a Federal agency may, 132 STAT. 5300 prior to requesting a hearing under the agency’s procedures, elect to—

A Library claimant who meets the initial deadline under section 402(d) for filing a claim under this title, or any initial deadline for bringing a claim, complaint, or charge under the applicable direct provision, and then elects to change to alternative procedures as described in paragraph (2) or (3)(B), shall be considered to meet any initial deadline for the alternative procedures.

This subsection shall take effect and shall apply as described in section 153(c) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115–141) (except to the extent such section applies to any violation of section 210 or a provision of an Act specified in section 210).

No pleading, written motion, or other paper is presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of resolution of the matter.

The claims, defenses, and other legal contentions the party advocates are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law.

The factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further review or discovery.

The denials of factual contentions are warranted on the evidence or, if specifically so identified, are reasonably based on belief or a lack of information.

To commence a proceeding under this title, a covered employee alleging a violation of law made applicable under part A of title II shall file a claim with the Office. The Office shall not accept a claim which is filed after the deadline applicable under subsection (d).

The claim filed under this section shall be made in writing under oath or affirmation, shall describe the facts that form the basis of the claim and the violation that is being alleged, shall identify the employing office alleged to have committed the violation or in which the violation is alleged to have occurred, and shall be in such form as the Office requires.

Nothing in paragraph (2), or subsection (b) or (c), may be construed to limit the ability of a covered employee—

Upon the filing of a claim by a covered employee under subsection (a), the Office shall take such steps as may be necessary for the initial intake and recording of the claim, including providing each party with all relevant information 132 STAT. 5302 with respect to the rights of the party under this Act, and shall transmit immediately a copy of the claim to the head of the employing office and the designated representative of that office.

“(B)

Violations described.—

The Office shall establish and operate a secure electronic reporting system through which a covered employee may initiate a proceeding under this title, and which will keep an electronic record of the date and time at which the proceeding is initiated and will track all subsequent actions or proceedings occurring with respect to the proceeding under this title.

The system shall be accessible to all parties to such actions or proceedings, but only until the completion of such actions or proceedings.

The Office shall use the information contained in the system to make regular assessments of the effectiveness of the procedures under this title in providing for the timely resolution of claims, and shall submit semi-annual reports on such assessments each year to the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate.

Not later than 7 days after transmission to the employing office of a claim pursuant to section 402(b), the Executive Director shall appoint a hearing officer to conduct a preliminary review of the claim.

The Executive Director shall appoint a hearing officer under this subsection in the same manner and in accordance with the same requirements and procedures applicable to the appointment of a hearing officer under section 405(c).

Whether the claimant is a covered employee authorized to obtain relief relating to the claim under this title.

Whether the office which is the subject of the claim is an employing office under this Act.

Whether the individual filing the claim has met the applicable deadlines for filing the claim under this title.

The identification of factual and legal issues involved with respect to the claim.

The specific relief sought by the individual.

Whether, on the basis of the assessments made under paragraphs (1) through (5), the individual filing the claim is a covered employee who has stated a claim for which, if the allegations contained in the claim are true, relief may be granted under this title.

The potential for the settlement of the claim without a formal hearing as provided under section 405 or a civil action as provided under section 408.

Not later than 30 days after a claim is filed under section 402, the hearing officer shall submit to the individual filing the claim and the office which is the subject of the claim a report on the preliminary review conducted under this section, and shall include in the report the hearing officer’s determination as to whether the individual is a covered employee who has stated a claim for which relief may be granted under this title (as described in paragraph (6) of subsection (b)). The submission of the report shall conclude the preliminary review.

The hearing officer may (upon notice to the individual filing the claim and the employing office which is the subject of the claim) use an additional period of not to exceed 30 days to conclude the preliminary review.

the individual (including an individual who is a Library claimant, as defined in section 401(d)(1)) may not obtain a formal hearing with respect to the claim as provided under section 405; and

the hearing officer shall provide the individual and the Executive Director with a written notice that the individual may file a civil action with respect to the claim in accordance with section 408.

the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives, in the case of such an act by a Member of the House of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress); or

the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate, in the case of such an act by a Senator.”

the hearing officer’s report on the preliminary review of the claim under section 403(c) includes the determination that the individual filing the claim is not a covered employee who has stated a claim for which relief may be granted under this title (as described in section 403(d)); or

the covered employee files a civil action as provided in section 408 with respect to the claim.”

“Sec. 403. 

Preliminary review of claims.”.

“Sec. 405. 

Hearing.”.

“Sec. 414. 

Settlement.”.

Upon receipt of a claim under section 402, the Office shall notify the covered employee who filed the claim about the process for mediation under this section and the deadlines applicable to such mediation.

Upon transmission to the employing office of the claim pursuant to section 402(b), the Office shall notify the employing office about the process for mediation under this section and the deadlines applicable to such mediation.

During the period described in subparagraph (B), either the covered employee who filed a claim under section 402 or the employing office named in the claim may file a request for mediation with the Office, which shall promptly notify the other party. If the other party agrees to the request, the Office shall promptly assign a mediator to the claim, and conduct mediation under this section.132 STAT. 5306

A covered employee or an employing office may file a request for mediation under subparagraph (A) during the period beginning on the date that the covered employee or employing office, respectively, receives a notification under paragraph (1) regarding a claim under section 402 and ending on the date on which a hearing officer issues a written decision relating to the claim under section 405(g) or the covered employee files a civil action with respect to the claim in accordance with section 408, as applicable.

Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (D), if a payment is made from the account described in subsection (a) for an award or settlement in connection with a claim alleging a violation described in subparagraph (C) committed personally by an individual who, at the time of committing the violation, was a Member of the House of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress) or a Senator, the individual 132 STAT. 5307 shall reimburse the account for the amount of the award or settlement for the claim involved.

In the case of an award made pursuant to a decision of a hearing officer under section 405, or a court in a civil action, subparagraph (A) shall apply only if the hearing officer or court makes a separate finding that a violation described in subparagraph (C) occurred which was committed personally by an individual who, at the time of committing the violation, was a Member of the House of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress) or a Senator, and such individual shall reimburse the account for the amount of compensatory damages included in the award as would be available if awarded under section 1977A(b)(3) of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a(b)(3)) irrespective of the size of the employing office. In the case of a settlement for a claim described in section 416(d)(3), subparagraph (A) shall apply only if the conditions specified in section 416(d)(3) for requesting reimbursement are met.

A violation described in this subparagraph is—

If an award or settlement is made for multiple claims, some of which do not require reimbursement under this subsection, the individual described in subparagraph (A) shall only be required to reimburse for the amount (referred to in this Act as the ‘reimbursable portion’) that is—

For purposes of carrying out subparagraph (B), the applicable Committee shall establish a timetable and procedures for the withholding of amounts from the compensation of an individual who is a Member of the House of Representatives or a Senator.

The payroll administrator shall withhold from an individual’s compensation and transfer to the account described in subsection (a) (after making any deposit required under section 8432(f) of title 5, United States Code) such amounts as may be necessary to reimburse the account described in subsection (a) for the reimbursable portion of the award or settlement described in paragraph (1) if the individual has not reimbursed the account as required under paragraph (1) prior to the expiration of the 90-day period which begins on the date a payment is made from the account for such an award or settlement.132 STAT. 5308

In this paragraph, the term ‘’ means—

If, by the expiration of the 180-day period that begins on the date a payment is made from the account described in subsection (a) for an award or settlement described in paragraph (1), an individual who is subject to a reimbursement requirement of this subsection has not reimbursed the account for the entire reimbursable portion as required under paragraph (1), withholding and transfers of amounts shall continue under paragraph (2) if the individual remains employed in the same position, and the Executive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board shall make a transfer described in subparagraph (B).

The transfer by such Executive Director is a transfer, from the account of the individual in the Thrift Savings Fund to the account described in subsection (a), of an amount equal to the amount of that reimbursable portion of the award or settlement, reduced by—

Notwithstanding section 8435 of title 5, United States Code, the Executive Director described in subparagraph (A) shall make the transfer under subparagraph (A) upon receipt of a written request to the Executive Director from the Secretary of the Treasury, in the form and manner required by the Executive Director.

The payroll administrator and the Executive Director described in subparagraph (A) shall carry out this paragraph in a manner that ensures the coordination of the withholding and transferring of amounts under this paragraph, in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Board under section 303 and such Executive Director.

Subparagraph (B) shall apply to an individual who is subject to a reimbursement requirement of 132 STAT. 5309 this subsection if, at any time after the expiration of the 270-day period that begins on the date a payment is made from the account described in subsection (a) for an award or settlement described in paragraph (1), the individual—

On the expiration of that 270-day period, the amount of the reimbursable portion of an award or settlement described in paragraph (1) (reduced by any amount the individual has reimbursed, taking into account any amounts withheld or transferred under paragraph (2) or (3)) shall be treated as a claim of the United States and transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury for collection. Upon that transfer, the Secretary of the Treasury shall collect the claim, in accordance with section 3711 of title 31, United States Code, including by administrative wage garnishment of the wages of the individual described in subparagraph (A) from the position described in subparagraph (A)(iii). The Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer the collected amount to the account described in subsection (a).

Subparagraph (B) shall apply to an individual subject to a reimbursement requirement of this subsection if, at any time after the expiration of the 270-day period described in paragraph (4)(A), the individual—

If, at any time after the 270-day period described in paragraph (4)(A), the individual described in subparagraph (A) has not reimbursed the account described in subsection (a) for the entire reimbursable portion of the award or settlement described in paragraph (1) (as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury), through withholdings, transfers, or collections under paragraphs (2) through (4), the Secretary of the Treasury (after consultation with the payroll administrator)—

the Committees on House Administration and Ethics of the House of Representatives, in the case of an individual who, at the time of committing the act involved, was a Member of the House of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress); and

the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate, in the case of an individual who, at the time of committing the act involved, was a Senator.

The term ‘’ means a position other than the position of an employee, as defined in section 2105(a) of title 5, United States Code.

The term ‘’ means—

that including the information or data considered for redaction may lead to the unintentional disclosure of the identity or position of a claimant; and

on the precise information or data to be redacted.

At the request of a covered employee who files a claim alleging a violation of part A of title II by the covered employee’s employing office, during the pendency of any of the procedures available under this title for consideration of the claim, the employing office may permit the covered employee to carry out the employee’s responsibilities from a remote location (referred to in this section as ‘permitting a remote work assignment’) where such relocation would have the effect of materially reducing interactions between the covered employee and any person alleged to have committed the violation, instead of from a location of the employing office.

If, in the determination of the covered employee’s employing office, a covered employee who makes a request under this subsection cannot carry out the employee’s responsibilities from a remote location or such relocation would not have the effect described in paragraph (1), the employing office may during the pendency of the procedures described in paragraph (1)—

An employing office may not grant a covered employee’s request under this subsection in a manner which would constitute a violation of section 207.

In granting leave for a paid leave of absence under this section, an employing office shall not require the covered employee to substitute, for that leave, any of the accrued paid vacation or personal leave of the covered employee.

Subject to the rules issued by the applicable committee pursuant to paragraph (2):

“(B)

Reporting.—

“(C)

Reporting periods and dates.—

“(A)

Deadline.

In general.—

“(B)

Applicability.—

In preparing, submitting, and publishing the reports required under paragraph (1), the Office shall ensure that the identity or position of any claimant is not disclosed.

In this subsection, the term ‘’ means an individual who received an award or settlement, or who made an allegation of a violation against an employing office, under part A of title II.”

informing, on a privileged and confidential basis, a covered employee who has been subject to a practice that may be a violation of part A of title II about the employee’s rights under this Act;

consulting, on a privileged and confidential basis, with a covered employee who has been subject to a practice that may be a violation of part A of title II regarding—

advising and consulting with, on a privileged and confidential basis, a covered employee who has been subject to a practice that may be a violation of part A of title II regarding any claims the covered employee may have under title IV, the factual allegations that support each such claim, and the relative merits of the procedural options available to the employee for each such claim;132 STAT. 5319

assisting, on a privileged and confidential basis, a covered employee who seeks consideration under title IV of an allegation of a violation of part A of title II in understanding the procedures, and the significance of the procedures, described in title IV, including—

informing, on a privileged and confidential basis, a covered employee who has been subject to a practice that may be a violation of part A of title II about the option of pursuing, in appropriate circumstances, a complaint with the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives or the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate.

any staff member of an employing office who carries out official duties of the employing office but who is not paid by the employing office for carrying out such duties (referred to in this subsection as an ‘unpaid staff member’), including an intern, an individual detailed to an employing office, and an individual participating in a fellowship program, in the same manner and to the same extent as such subsections apply with respect to a covered employee; and

a former unpaid staff member, if the act that may be a violation of subsection (a) occurred during the service of the former unpaid staffer for the employing office.

intern

Library visitor

A Library visitor who alleges a violation of subsection (b) by the Library of Congress may, subject to subparagraph (B)—132 STAT. 5322

A Library visitor that has initiated proceedings under clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) may elect to change and initiate a proceeding under the other clause—

any individual who is an employee of such Commission shall be considered a covered employee for purposes of this Act; and

the Commission shall be considered an employing office for purposes of this Act.

by the Office of House Employment Counsel of the House of Representatives, in the case of assistance and representation in connection with a claim filed under title IV (including all subsequent proceedings under such title in connection with the claim) at a time when the chair of the Commission is a Member of the House, and in the case of assistance and representation in connection with any subsequent claim under title IV related to the initial claim where the subsequent claim involves the same parties; or

by the Office of Senate Chief Counsel for Employment of the Senate, in the case of assistance and representation in connection with a claim filed under title IV (including all subsequent proceedings under such title in connection with the claim) at a time when the chair of the Commission is a Senator, and in the case of assistance and representation in connection with any subsequent claim under title IV related to the initial claim where the subsequent claim involves the same parties.

the term ‘’ means the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission established under section 1238 of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (22 U.S.C. 7002), as enacted into law by section 1 of Public Law 106–398;

the term ‘’ means the Congressional–Executive Commission on the People’s Republic of China established under title III of the U.S.–China Relations Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–286; 22 U.S.C. 6911 et seq.); and132 STAT. 5324

the term ‘’ means the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe established under the Act entitled ‘An Act to establish a Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe’, approved June 3, 1976 (Public Law 94–304; 22 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.).”

Not later than 45 days after the beginning of each Congress (beginning with the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress), each employing office shall submit a report to the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate on the implementation of the program required under subsection (a).

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act, each employing office shall submit the report described in paragraph (1) to the Committees described in such paragraph.132 STAT. 5325

establish a method by which out-of-area covered employees may communicate securely with the Office, which shall include an option for real-time audiovisual communication; and

provide guidance to employing offices regarding how each office can facilitate equitable access to the resources and services provided under this Act for its out-of-area covered employees, including information regarding the communication methods described in paragraph (1).