H.R. 246 — Congressional Accountability Act

[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 246 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 246

 To make applicable to the Congress certain laws relating to the terms 
 and conditions of employment, the health and safety of employees, and 
  the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 5, 1993

   Mr. McCandless introduced the following bill; which was referred 
     jointly to the Committees on Education and Labor, Government 
 Operations, House Administration, the Judiciary, Rules, and Ways and 
                                 Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To make applicable to the Congress certain laws relating to the terms 
 and conditions of employment, the health and safety of employees, and 
  the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. APPLICATION.

    (a) General Rule.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
laws specified in subsection (b) shall, to the extent that they relate 
to the terms and conditions of employment (including hiring, promotion 
or demotion, salary, benefits, work assignments or reassignments, 
overtime, and termination), the health and safety of employees, and the 
rights and responsibilities of employers and employees, apply to the 
Congress in the same manner and to the same extent as they apply--
            (1) in the case of a private person, to such a person; and
            (2) in the case of an Executive agency (as defined by 
        section 105 of title 5, United States Code), to such an agency.
    (b) Laws Made Applicable to Congress by This Act.--The laws 
referred to in subsection (a) are the following:
            (1) Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.).
            (2) National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.).
            (3) Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et 
        seq.).
            (4) Civil Rights Act of 1964.
            (5) Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 
        621 et seq.).
            (6) Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 
        651 et seq.).
            (7) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
            (8) Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.).
            (9) Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a, 552a note).
            (10) Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101 et 
        seq.).
            (11) Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
            (12) Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
    (c) Application of the Freedom of Information Act.--The Congress, 
and the instrumentalities of Congress, shall be subject to section 552 
of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the ``Freedom 
of Information Act'') to the same extent that Executive agencies (as 
defined by section 105 of title 5, United States Code) are subject to 
such section 552.
    (d) Application of Independent Counsel Provisions.--Chapter 40 of 
title 28, United States Code (relating to independent counsel), shall 
apply to the Congress, such that the individuals referred to in 
subsection (e) (1), (2), (3), (6), and (7) of this Act shall be deemed 
to be included in section 591(b) of title 28, United States Code.
    (e) Individuals Covered by Act.--This Act shall apply to the 
following individuals:
            (1) A Senator or Representative in, or Resident 
        Commissioner or Delegate to, the Congress (hereafter in this 
        Act referred to as ``Members'').
            (2) An employee of either House of Congress, of a committee 
        of either House, or a joint committee of the two Houses.
            (3) An elected officer of either House who is not a Member.
            (4) The Legislative Counsel of either House and an employee 
        of the Legislative Counsel.
            (5) A member of the Capitol Police.
            (6) An employee of a Member if the pay of the employee is 
        paid by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House 
        of Representatives.
            (7) An employee of the instrumentalities of Congress, 
        including the Congressional Research Service, the Office of 
        Technology Assessment, the General Accounting Office, the 
        Office of the Architect of the Capitol, the Botanic Gardens, 
        the Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress, the 
        Congressional Budget Office, and the Copyright Royalty 
        Tribunal.
    (f) Employees in the District or State Office of a Member.--For the 
purposes of determining whether the individuals employed in the 
district or State office of a Member are subject to the laws set forth 
in section 2, the district or State office shall be treated as if it 
were an affiliated branch of a private employer under the laws in 
section 2.
    (g) Place of Residence and Political Affiliation.--Notwithstanding 
the laws set forth in section 2, a Member may consider the political 
affiliation and place of residence of an individual seeking employment 
on the personal staff of that Member.
    (h) Conforming Amendment.--Section 509 of the Americans with 
Disabilities Act of 1990 (104 Stat. 373) is repealed.
    (i) Application of Small Business Exemption to Members.--To the 
extent that a law referred to in section 2 contains an exemption for a 
small business, such an exemption shall apply to a Member if the 
aggregate number of employees of the Member and employees attributable 
to the Member does not exceed the number of employees necessary to 
qualify as a small business under the exemption. For the purpose of 
this subsection, the number of employees attributable to a Member 
equals the result of the sum of the employees specified in subsection 
(e) (2), (3), (4), (6), and (7) who work in the District of Columbia 
and are employed by the House in which that Member sits, divided by the 
number of Members in that House.

SEC. 3. PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.

    Not later than the 180-day period beginning on the date of 
enactment of this Act, the House of Representatives and the Senate 
shall each promulgate rules and regulations to carry out this Act, 
including specifically implementing each of the laws set forth in 
section 2. Such rules and regulations shall be consistent with Federal 
law. A House of Congress that fails to promulgate such rules and 
regulations within such time period shall be subject to the regulations 
of the relevant Executive agency.

SEC. 4. RIGHT OF APPEAL.

    If any individual referred to in section 2(e) is aggrieved by an 
action taken pursuant to this Act, such individual may seek review of 
that action in a Federal district court of competent jurisdiction and 
shall have the same rights and remedies provided to private persons 
under the laws referred to in section 2.

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Congressional Accountability Act

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