Congress Leads by Example Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8151 To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to provide enhanced enforcement authority for occupational safety and health protections ap- plicable to the legislative branch, to provide whistleblower protections and other antidiscrimination protections for employees of the legislative branch, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to provide enhanced enforcement authority for occupational safety and health protections applicable to the legislative branch, to provide whistleblower protections and other antidiscrimination protections for employees of the legis- lative branch, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8151.IH H8151 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8151 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congress Leads by 2 Example Act of 2020’’. 3 SEC. 2. ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT OF PROTECTIONS OF 4 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT 5 APPLICABLE TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH. 6 (a) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY FOR OFFICE OF CON- 7 GRESSIONAL WORKPLACE RIGHTS.—Section 215(c)(1) of 8 the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 9 1341(c)(1)) is amended— 10 (1) by striking ‘‘subsections (a),’’ and inserting 11 ‘‘subsections (a), (b),’’; and 12 (2) by striking ‘‘657(a),’’ and inserting 13 ‘‘657(a), (b),’’. 14 (b) RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOY- 15 ING OFFICES.—Section 215(c) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 16 1341(c)) is amended— 17 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 18 (6) as paragraphs (4) through (7); 19 (2) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by 20 striking ‘‘paragraph (3) or (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘para- 21 graph (4) or (5)’’; and 22 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol- 23 lowing new paragraph: 24 ‘‘(3) RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.—Each 25 employing office shall be subject to the requirements 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8151.IH H8151 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8151 IH of subsection (c) of section 8 of the Occupational 1 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 657(c)) 2 that are applicable to employers under such section, 3 and the General Counsel shall exercise the authori- 4 ties granted to the Secretary of Labor under such 5 subsection.’’. 6 (c) PROHIBITING RETALIATION.—Section 208(a) of 7 such Act (2 U.S.C. 1317(a)) is amended— 8 (1) by striking ‘‘It shall be’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) 9 It shall be’’; and 10 (2) by adding at the end the following new 11 paragraph: 12 ‘‘(2) It shall be a violation of this subsection for an 13 employing office to discharge or in any manner discrimi- 14 nate against any covered employee because such employee 15 has requested the General Counsel to take any action au- 16 thorized under section 215 (relating to occupational safety 17 and health protections), or has instituted or caused to be 18 instituted, or has testified or is about to testify in, any 19 proceeding that arises from the application of section 215 20 to the employing office, or because of the exercise by such 21 employee on behalf of himself or others of any right pro- 22 vided under section 215.’’. 23 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8151.IH H8151 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8151 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 1 the amendments made by this section shall take ef- 2 fect upon the adoption of regulations promulgated 3 by the Board of Directors of the Office of Congres- 4 sional Workplace Rights to implement the amend- 5 ments in accordance with section 304 of the Con- 6 gressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 7 1384). 8 (2) INTERIM APPLICABILITY.—During the pe- 9 riod that begins on the date of the enactment of this 10 Act and ends on the effective date of the regulations 11 referred to in paragraph (1), the amendments made 12 by this section shall be implemented by the Board 13 of Directors of the Office of Congressional Work- 14 place Rights, the General Counsel of the Office of 15 Congressional Workplace Rights, or a hearing officer 16 or court under the Congressional Accountability Act 17 of 1995 (as the case may be) by applying (to the ex- 18 tent necessary and appropriate) the most relevant 19 substantive executive agency regulations promul- 20 gated to implement the provisions of law that are 21 made applicable to employing offices and covered 22 employees (as such terms are defined in the Con- 23 gressional Accountability Act of 1995) by such 24 amendments. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8151.IH H8151 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8151 IH SEC. 3. APPLICATION TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH EMPLOY- 1 EES OF WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION 2 RULES AND RESTRICTIONS ON DISCHARGE 3 BY REASON OF GARNISHMENT AND DIS- 4 CRIMINATORY TREATMENT BY REASON OF 5 BANKRUPTCY. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title II of the Congres- 7 sional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1311 et seq.), 8 as amended by section 1122(d)(1) of the Fair Chance to 9 Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 (Public Law 116–92; 133 10 Stat. 1608), is amended— 11 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘FAIR LABOR 12 STANDARDS,’’ and all that follows and inserting 13 ‘‘AND OTHER PROTECTIONS AND BENEFITS’’; 14 (2) by redesignating section 208 as section 15 209A; and 16 (3) by inserting after section 207 the following 17 new sections: 18 ‘‘SEC. 208. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS UNDER WHISTLE- 19 BLOWER PROTECTION RULES. 20 ‘‘(a) RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS DESCRIBED.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No employing office may 22 take or fail to take, or threaten to take or fail to 23 take, a personnel action (within the meaning of 24 chapter 23 of title 5, United States Code) with re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8151.IH H8151 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8151 IH spect to any covered employee or applicant for em- 1 ployment because of— 2 ‘‘(A) any disclosure of information by a 3 covered employee or applicant which the em- 4 ployee or applicant reasonably believes evi- 5 dences— 6 ‘‘(i) a violation of any law, rule, or 7 regulation, or 8 ‘‘(ii) gross mismanagement, a gross 9 waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or 10 a substantial and specific danger to public 11 health or safety, 12 if such disclosure is not specifically prohibited 13 by law and if such information is not specifi- 14 cally required by Executive order or the rules of 15 the House of Representatives or Senate to be 16 kept secret in the interest of national defense or 17 the conduct of foreign affairs; or 18 ‘‘(B) any disclosure to the General Coun- 19 sel, or to the Inspector General of an executive 20 agency or office of the legislative branch or an- 21 other employee designated by the head of the 22 agency or office to receive such disclosures, of 23 information which the employee or applicant 24 reasonably believes evidences— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8151.IH H8151 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8151 IH ‘‘(i) a violation of any law, rule, or 1 regulation, or 2 ‘‘(ii) gross mismanagement, a gross 3 waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or 4 a substantial and specific danger to public 5 health or safety. 6 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec- 7 tion and for purposes of applying the procedures es- 8 tablished under title IV for the consideration of al- 9 leged violations of this section— 10 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered employee’ includes 11 an employee of the Government Accountability 12 Office or Library of Congress; and 13 ‘‘(B) the term ‘employing office’ includes 14 the Government Accountability Office and the 15 Library of Congress. 16 ‘‘(b) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of sub- 17 section (a) shall be such remedy as would be appropriate 18 if awarded under chapter 12 of title 5, United States 19 Code, with respect to a prohibited personnel practice de- 20 scribed in section 2302(b)(8) of such title. 21 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall, pursuant 23 to section 304, issue regulations to implement this 24 section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8151.IH H8151 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8151 IH ‘‘(2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations 1 issued under paragraph (1) shall be the same as the 2 substantive regulations promulgated by the Merit 3 Systems Protection Board to implement chapters 12 4 and 23 of title 5, United States Code, except to the 5 extent that the Board of Directors of the Office of 6 Congressional Workplace Rights may determine, for 7 good cause shown and stated together with the regu- 8 lation, that a modification of such regulations would 9 be more effective for the implementation of the 10 rights and protections under this section. 11 ‘‘SEC. 209. RESTRICTION ON DISCHARGE FROM EMPLOY- 12 MENT BY REASON OF GARNISHMENT OR DIS- 13 CRIMINATORY TREATMENT BY REASON OF 14 BANKRUPTCY. 15 ‘‘(a) GARNISHMENT.— 16 ‘‘(1) RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS DESCRIBED.— 17 No employing office may discharge any covered em- 18 ployee by reason of the fact that the employee’s 19 earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any 20 one indebtedness. 21 ‘‘(2) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of 22 paragraph (1) shall be such remedy as would be ap- 23 propriate if awarded under section 304(b) of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8151.IH H8151 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8151 IH Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1 1674(b)). 2 ‘‘(b) BANKRUPTCY.— 3 ‘‘(1) RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS DESCRIBED.— 4 No employing office may deny employment to, termi- 5 nate the employment of, or discriminate with respect 6 to employment against, a covered employee who is or 7 has been a debtor under title 11, United States 8 Code, or a bankrupt or a debtor under the Bank- 9 ruptcy Act, or another covered employee with whom 10 such bankrupt or debtor has been associated, solely 11 because such bankrupt or debtor— 12 ‘‘(A) is or has been a debtor under such 13 title or a debtor or bankrupt under such Act; 14 ‘‘(B) has been insolvent before the com- 15 mencement of a case under such title or during 16 the case but before the grant or denial of a dis- 17 charge; or 18 ‘‘(C) has not paid a debt that is discharge- 19 able in a case under such title or that was dis- 20 charged under such Act. 21 ‘‘(2) REMEDY.—The remedy for a violation of 22 paragraph (1) would be such remedy as would be 23 appropriate if awarded with respect to a violation of 24 section 525(a) or (b) of title 11, United States Code. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8151.IH H8151 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8151 IH ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section and 1 for purposes of applying the procedures established under 2 title IV for the consideration of alleged violations of this 3 section— 4 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered employee’ includes an 5 employee of the Government Accountability Office or 6 the Library of Congress; and 7 ‘‘(2) the term ‘employing office’ includes the 8 Government Accountability Office and the Library of 9 Congress. 10 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall, pursuant 12 to section 304, issue regulations to implement this 13 section. 14 ‘‘(2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations 15 issued under paragraph (1) shall be the same as the 16 substantive regulations promulgated to implement 17 section 304 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act 18 (15 U.S.C. 1674) and the substantive regulations 19 promulgated to implement section 525 of title 11, 20 United States Code, except to the extent that the 21 Board of Directors of the Office of Congressional 22 Workplace Rights may determine, for good cause 23 shown and stated together with the regulation, that 24 a modification of any such regulation would be more 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8151.IH H8151 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8151 IH effective for the implementation of the rights and 1 protections under this section.’’. 2 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO BANKRUPTCY 3 CODE.—Section 525 of title 11, United States Code, is 4 amended by adding at the end the following new sub- 5 section: 6 ‘‘(d)(1) In the case of an alleged violation of sub- 7 section (a) or (b) by a governmental unit which is a legis- 8 lative branch employing office with respect to an employee 9 of such office who is a legislative branch covered employee, 10 the procedures for consideration of the alleged violation 11 shall consist of the procedures applicable under title IV 12 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995. 13 ‘‘(2) In this subsection— 14 ‘‘(A) the term ‘legislative branch employing of- 15 fice’ means an employing office described in section 16 101(9) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 17 1995, and includes the Government Accountability 18 Office and the Library of Congress; and 19 ‘‘(B) the term ‘legislative branch covered em- 20 ployee’ means a covered employee described in sec- 21 tion 101(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act 22 of 1995, and includes an employee of the Govern- 23 ment Accountability Office or the Library of Con- 24 gress.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8151.IH H8151 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8151 IH (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1 102(a) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 2 (2 U.S.C. 1302(a)), as amended by section 1122(d)(1) of 3 the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 (Public 4 Law 116–92; 133 Stat. 1608), is amended by adding at 5 the end the following new paragraphs: 6 ‘‘(13) Section 2302(b)(8) of title 5, United 7 States Code. 8 ‘‘(14) Section 304 of the Consumer Cr [Text truncated for display. 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