NOTIFICATION AND FEDERAL EMPLOYEE ANTIDISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION ACT OF 2002
NO FEAR ACT
[[Page 116 STAT. 566]]
Public Law 107-174
107th Congress
An Act
To require that Federal agencies be accountable for violations of
antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws; to require that
each Federal agency post quarterly on its public Web site, certain
statistical data relating to Federal sector equal employment opportunity
complaints filed with such agency; and for other purposes. <<NOTE:
15, 2002 - [H.R. 169]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE:
Federal Employee Antidiscrimina- tion and Retaliation Act of 2002.>>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. <<NOTE: 5 USC 2301 note.>>
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Notification and
Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 101. Findings.
Sec. 102. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 103. Definitions.
Sec. 104. Effective date.
TITLE II--FEDERAL EMPLOYEE DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION
Sec. 201. Reimbursement requirement.
Sec. 202. Notification requirement.
Sec. 203. Reporting requirement.
Sec. 204. Rules and guidelines.
Sec. 205. Clarification of remedies.
Sec. 206. Studies by General Accounting Office on exhaustion of remedies
and certain Department of Justice costs.
TITLE III--EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMPLAINT DATA DISCLOSURE
Sec. 301. Data to be posted by employing Federal agencies.
Sec. 302. Data to be posted by the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission.
Sec. 303. Rules.
TITLE I--GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 101. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) Federal agencies cannot be run effectively if those
agencies practice or tolerate discrimination;
(2) Congress has heard testimony from individuals, including
representatives of the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People and the American Federation of Government
Employees, that point to chronic problems of discrimination and
retaliation against Federal employees;
[[Page 116 STAT. 567]]
(3) in August 2000, a jury found that the Environmental
Protection Agency had discriminated against a senior social
scientist, and awarded that scientist $600,000;
(4) in October 2000, an Occupational Safety and Health
Administration investigation found that the Environmental
Protection Agency had retaliated against a senior scientist for
disagreeing with that agency on a matter of science and for
helping Congress to carry out its oversight responsibilities;
(5) there have been several recent class action suits based
on discrimination brought against Federal agencies, including
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the
Immigration and Naturalization Service, the United States
Marshals Service, the Department of Agriculture, the United
States Information Agency, and the Social Security
Administration;
(6) notifying Federal employees of their rights under
discrimination and whistleblower laws should increase Federal
agency compliance with the law;
(7) requiring annual reports to Congress on the number and
severity of discrimination and whistleblower cases brought
against each Federal agency should enable Congress to improve
its oversight over compliance by agencies with the law; and
(8) requiring Federal agencies to pay for any discrimination
or whistleblower judgment, award, or settlement should improve
agency accountability with respect to discrimination and
whistleblower laws.
SEC. 102. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) Federal agencies should not retaliate for court
judgments or settlements relating to discrimination and
whistleblower laws by targeting the claimant or other employees
with reductions in compensation, benefits, or workforce to pay
for such judgments or settlements;
(2) the mission of the Federal agency and the employment
security of employees who are blameless in a whistleblower
incident should not be compromised;
(3) Federal agencies should not use a reduction in force or
furloughs as means of funding a reimbursement under this Act;
(4)(A) accountability in the enforcement of employee rights
is not furthered by terminating--
(i) the employment of other employees; or
(ii) the benefits to which those employees are
entitled through statute or contract; and
(B) this Act is not intended to authorize those actions;
(5)(A) nor is accountability furthered if Federal agencies
react to the increased accountability under this Act by taking
unfounded disciplinary actions against managers or by violating
the procedural rights of managers who have been accused of
discrimination; and
(B) Federal agencies should ensure that managers have
adequate training in the management of a diverse workforce and
in dispute resolution and other essential communication skills;
and
[[Page 116 STAT. 568]]
(6)(A) Federal agencies are expected to reimburse the
General Fund of the Treasury within a reasonable time under this
Act; and
(B) a Federal agency, particularly if the amount of
reimbursement under this Act is large relative to annual
appropriations for that agency, may need to extend reimbursement
over several years in order to avoid--
(i) reductions in force;
(ii) furloughs;
(iii) other reductions in compensation or benefits
for the workforce of the agency; or
(iv) an adverse effect on the mission of the agency.
No Fear Act 2 3 4
