[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 104th Congress]
[104th Congress]
[House Document 103-342]
[Rules of the House of Representatives]
[Pages 828-836]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 

                                Rule LI.


                          EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.



Sec. 946a. Employment Practices.

  1. The Committee  on House 
Oversight shall have authority to issue rules and regulations applying 
the rights and protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act in the House, 
including, but not limited to, determination of exemption categories, 
permitting the use of compensatory time as compensation under the 
maximum work week provisions of the Act, describing the recordkeeping 
requirements and providing that such recordkeeping provisions do not 
apply with respect to employees exempted pursuant to the Committee's 
Rules and Regulations.
Nondiscrimination in employment




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color, national origin, religion, sex (including marital or parental 
status), disability, or age.
  2. (a) Personnel actions affecting employment positions in the House 
of Representatives shall be made free from discrimination based on race, 

  (b) Interpretations under paragraph (a) shall reflect the principles 
of current law, as generally applicable to employment.

  (c) Paragraph (a) does not prohibit the taking into consideration of--

          (1) the domicile of an individual with respect to a position 
under the clerk-hire allowance; or

          (2) the political affiliation of an individual with respect to 
a position under the clerk-hire allowance or a position on the staff of 
a committee or a position under all support offices, except as otherwise 
stated in the Rules of the House of Representatives.
Procedure

  3. The procedure for consideration of alleged violations of clause 2 
consists of three steps as follows:

          (a) step I, Counseling and Mediation, as set forth in clause 
5;

          (b) step II, Formal Complaint, Hearing, and Review by the 
Office of Fair Employment Practices, as set forth in clause 6; and

          (c) step III, Final Review by Review Panel, as set forth in 
clause 7.
Office of fair employment practices


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and Hearing Officers of the Office shall be appointed by, and serve at 
the pleasure of, the Chairman and the ranking minority party member of 
the Committee on House Oversight, acting jointly, and shall be under the 
administrative direction of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. 
The Office shall be located in the District of Columbia.
Step i: counseling and mediation
  4. There is established an Office of Fair Employment Practices 
(hereafter in this rule referred to as the ``Office''), which shall 
carry out functions assigned under this rule. Employees 

  5. (a) An individual aggrieved by an alleged violation of clause 2 may 
request counseling by counselors in the Office, who shall provide 
information with respect to rights and related matters under that 
clause. A request for counseling shall be made not later than one 
hundred and eighty days after the alleged violation and may be oral or 
written, at the option of the individual. The period for counseling is 
thirty days, unless the employee and the Office agree to reduce the time 
period. The Office may not notify the employing authority of the 
counseling before the beginning of mediation or the filing of a formal 
complaint, whichever occurs first.

  (b) If, after counseling, the individual desires to proceed, the 
Office shall attempt to resolve the alleged violation through mediation 
between the individual and the employing authority.
Step ii: formal complaint, hearing, and review by the office of fair 

        employment practices


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a formal complaint with the Office. Not later than ten days after 
filing the formal complaint, the individual may file with the Office a 
written request for a hearing on the complaint.
  6. (a) Not later than thirty days after the end of the counseling 
period, the individual may file 

  (b) The hearing shall be conducted--

          (1) not later than forty days after filing of the written 
request under paragraph (a);

          (2) on the record by a Hearing Officer of the Office appointed 
under the procedures set forth in clause 4; and

          (3) to the greatest extent practicable, in accordance with the 
principles and procedures set forth in sections 555 and 556 of title 5, 
United States Code.

  (c) Not later than thirty days after the hearing, the Office shall 
issue a written decision to the parties. The decision shall clearly 
state the issues raised by the complaint, and shall contain a 
determination as to whether a violation of clause 2 has occurred.
Step iii: final review by review panel

  7. (a) In General. Not later than twenty days after issuance of the 
decision under clause 6, any party may seek formal review of the 
decision by filing a written request with the Office. The formal review 
shall be conducted by a panel constituted at the beginning of each 
Congress and composed of--


[[Page 832]]

          (1) two elected officers or employees of the House of 
Representatives, appointed by the Speaker; 

          (2) two employees of the House of Representatives appointed by 
the minority leader of the House of Representatives;

          (3) two members of the Committee on House Oversight (one of 
whom shall be appointed as chairman of the panel), appointed by the 
Chairman of that Committee; and

          (4) two members of the Committee on House Oversight, appointed 
by the ranking minority party member of that Committee.
If any member of the panel withdraws from a particular review, the 
appointing authority for such member shall appoint another officer, 
employee, or Member of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, 
to be a temporary member of the panel for purposes of that review only.


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Resolution by agreement
  (b) The review under this clause shall consist of a hearing (conducted 
in the manner described in clause 6(b)(3)), if such hearing is 
considered necessary by the panel, and an examination of the record, 
together with any statements or other documents the panel deems 
appropriate. A tie vote by the panel is an affirmation of the decision 
of the Office. The panel shall complete the review and submit a written 
decision to the parties and to the Committee on House Oversight not 
later than sixty days after filing of the request under paragraph (a), 
except that when the House has adjourned sine die, in which case an 
extension of up to sixty additional days is authorized. 

  8. If, after a formal complaint is filed under clause 6, the parties 
resolve the issues involved, the parties shall enter into a written 
agreement, which shall be effective--

          (1) in the case of a matter under review by the Office under 
clause 6, if approved by the Office; and

          (2) in the case of a matter under review by a panel under 
clause 7, if approved by the panel.
Remedies

  9. The Office or a review panel, as the case may be, may order one or 
more of the following remedies:

          (a) monetary compensation, to be paid from the clerk-hire 
allowance of a Member, or from personnel funds of a committee of the 
House or other entity, as appropriate;

          (b) monetary compensation, to be paid from the contingent fund 
of the House of Representatives;

          (c) injunctive relief;

          (d) costs and attorney fees; and

          (e) employment, reinstatement to employment, or promotion 
(with or without back pay).
Costs of attending hearings


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the location of the hearing. Witnesses required to attend the hearings 
by the Hearing Officer as necessary to a fair and justiciable hearing 
shall be reimbursed for actual and reasonable costs of attending the 
hearing if they reside outside the location of the hearing. Expenses are 
to he paid from the contingent fund of the House of Representatives.
Prohibition of intimidation
  10. An individual with respect to whom a hearing is held under this 
rule shall be reimbursed for actual and reasonable costs of attending 
the hearing, if the individual resides outside 

  11. Any intimidation of, or reprisal against, any person by an 
employing authority because of the exercise of a right under this rule 
is a violation of clause 2.
Closed hearings and confidentiality

  12. All hearings under this rule shall be closed. All information 
relating to any procedure under this rule is confidential, except that a 
decision of the Office under clause 6 or a decision of a review panel 
under clause 7 shall be published, if the decision constitutes a final 
disposition of the matter.
Exclusivity of procedures and remedies

  13. The procedures and remedies under this rule are exclusive except 
to the extent that the Rules of the House of Representatives and the 
Rules of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct provide 
for additional procedures and remedies.
Requests for witnesses and information


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Panel may issue, and the addressees shall comply with, written requests 
for the production of documents and the attendance of witnesses, if such 
requests are necessary and relevant to the proper examination of the 
issues.
Internal procedures for resolution of possible violations
  14. The Office of Fair Employment Practices and the Fair Employment 
Practices Review 

  15. It is the policy of the House of Representatives to encourage each 
employing authority to establish internal procedures for examining and 
resolving possible violations of this rule. To the greatest extent 
practicable, the Office of Fair Employment Practices shall take such 
action (consistent with the rights of the parties) as may be necessary 
to encourage initial use of such procedures.
Definitions

  16. As used in this rule--

          (a) the term ``employment position'' means, with respect to 
the House of Representatives, a position the pay for which is disbursed 
by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, or other official 
designated by the House of Representatives, and any employment position 
in a legislative service organization or other entity that is paid 
through funds derived from the clerk-hire allowance;


[[Page 836]]
Budget Office, with the power to appoint the employee;
          (b) the term ``employing authority'' means, the Member of the 
House of Representatives or elected officer of the House of 
Representatives, or the Director of the Congressional 

          (c) the term ``Member of the House of Representatives'' means 
a Representative in, or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the 
Congress; and


          (d) the term ``elected officer of the House of 
Representatives'' means an elected officer of the House of 
Representatives (other than the Speaker and the Chaplain).




  This provision grew out of the Fair Employment Practices Resolution 
that was first adopted in the 100th Congress (H. Res. 558, Oct. 3, 1988, 
p. 27840) and renewed in the 101st Congress (H. Res. 15, Jan. 3, 1989, 
p. 85), and through which the provisions of the Americans with 
Disabilities Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-336, July 26, 1990) apply to the 
House. It was incorporated by reference in a standing rule LI in the 
102d Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. ----). Its full text, with 
certain amendments, was codified in rule LI in the 103d Congress (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 5, 1993, p. ----). In the 104th Congress it was amended to 
reflect the new name of the Committee on House Oversight (sec. 202(b), 
H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). The viability of this rule under the 
Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 is set forth in section 506 of 
that Act (2 U.S.C. 1435).