Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act
Latest action · May 29, 2018 Held at the desk.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 24, 2018
- Passed SenateMay 24, 2018
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act
This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) to revise administrative and judicial dispute resolution procedures for initiating and resolving claims by employees alleging that employing offices have violated their CAA rights and protections, including protections against sexual harassment.
The bill revises CAA provisions, including to:
- eliminate CAA counseling requirements and make mediation an employee's option before filing a claim with the Office of Compliance (OOC) alleging the violation;
- require current and former Members of Congress to reimburse the Treasury for compensatory damages included in an award or settlement resulting from the Member's alleged act of discrimination or retaliation;
- require referral to congressional ethics committees of final disposition of claims alleging CAA violations by Members of Congress and senior staff of employing offices;
- require non-congressional legislative offices that violate CAA requirements to reimburse the Treasury for resulting award or settlement payments;
- extend CAA nondiscrimination requirements and remedies to uncompensated legislative branch interns, detailees, and fellows; and
- provide OOC and CAA resources and services to employees outside of the Washington, DC area.
The bill applies CAA rights and protections to the China Review Commission, the Congressional-Executive China Commission, the Helsinki Commission, the John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Training and Development, and their employees.
Non-congressional CAA employing offices must develop programs to train and educate employees about their CAA rights and protections and available procedures to consider alleged CAA violations.
The bill renames the OOC the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.
Cosponsors 43
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on May 24, 2018.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-FL | Bill Nelson | Original | May 24, 2018 |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Original | May 24, 2018 |
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | Original | May 24, 2018 |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Original | May 24, 2018 |
| R-IA | Chuck Grassley | Original | May 24, 2018 |
| D-MO | Claire McCaskill | Original | May 24, 2018 |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Original | May 24, 2018 |
| R-AK | Dan Sullivan | Original | May 24, 2018 |
| R-NV | Dean Heller | Original | May 24, 2018 |
| R-NE | Deb Fischer | Original | May 24, 2018 |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Original | May 24, 2018 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Original | May 24, 2018 |
| D-ND | Heidi Heitkamp | Original | May 24, 2018 |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | Original | May 24, 2018 |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Original | May 24, 2018 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 29, 2018Received in the House.
- May 29, 2018Held at the desk.
- May 25, 2018Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- May 24, 2018Introduced in Senate
- May 24, 2018Passed/agreed to in Senate: Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Voice Vote. (consideration: CR S2899-2907; text: CR S2899-2906)
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S2899–S2908Text printed S2899–S2906, S2927–S2934 | Amy Klobuchar D-MN, Patty Murray D-WA, Roy Blunt R-MO | May 24, 2018 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S2843, S2844 | Charles E. Schumer D-NY, Mitch McConnell R-KY | May 23, 2018 |
Related bills 4
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 652 | Congressional Intern Protection Act of 2017 | Related bill | Jan 24, 2017 |
| S 3749 | Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act | Related bill | Dec 21, 2018 |
| HR 4548 | WAGE Act | Related bill | Dec 5, 2017 |
| HR 4924 | Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act | Related bill | Feb 7, 2018 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to establish protections against congressional sexual harassment and discrimination, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Passed Senate
- Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Congress.
- Administrative remedies
- Alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration
- Asia
- Assault and harassment offenses
- China
- Civil actions and liability
- Computer security and identity theft
- Congress
- Congressional committees
- Congressional officers and employees
- Congressional operations and organization
- Congressional oversight
- Debt collection
- Disability and health-based discrimination
- Employee leave
- Employment discrimination and employee rights
- Genetics
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- House Committee on Ethics
- Human rights
- Lawyers and legal services
- Library of Congress
- Members of Congress
- Policy sciences
- Right of privacy
- Senate Select Committee on Ethics
- Sex offenses
- Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
- Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
- Wages and earnings
- Worker safety and health
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 24, 2018Considered and Passed Senate
- May 24, 2018Engrossed in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
