
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 40USC166b-7]

 
             TITLE 40--PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PROPERTY, AND WORKS
 
                 CHAPTER 2--CAPITOL BUILDING AND GROUNDS
 
Sec. 166b-7. Architect of the Capitol human resources program


(a) Short title

    This section may be cited as the ``Architect of the Capitol Human 
Resources Act''.

(b) Finding and purpose

                             (1) Finding

        The Congress finds that the Office of the Architect of the 
    Capitol should develop human resources management programs that are 
    consistent with the practices common among other Federal and private 
    sector organizations.

                             (2) Purpose

        It is the purpose of this section to require the Architect of 
    the Capitol to establish and maintain a personnel management system 
    that incorporates fundamental principles that exist in other modern 
    personnel systems.

(c) Personnel management system

                          (1) Establishment

        The Architect of the Capitol shall establish and maintain a 
    personnel management system.

                          (2) Requirements

        The personnel management system shall at a minimum include the 
    following:
            (A) A system which ensures that applicants for employment 
        and employees of the Architect of the Capitol are appointed, 
        promoted, and assigned on the basis of merit and fitness after 
        fair and equitable consideration of all applicants and employees 
        through open competition.
            (B) An equal employment opportunity program which includes 
        an affirmative employment program for employees and applicants 
        for employment, and procedures for monitoring progress by the 
        Architect of the Capitol in ensuring a workforce reflective of 
        the diverse labor force.
            (C) A system for the classification of positions which takes 
        into account the difficulty, responsibility, and qualification 
        requirements of the work performed, and which conforms to the 
        principle of equal pay for substantially equal work.
            (D) A program for the training of Architect of the Capitol 
        employees which has among its goals improved employee 
        performance and opportunities for employee advancement.
            (E) A formal performance appraisal system which will permit 
        the accurate evaluation of job performance on the basis of 
        objective criteria for all Architect of the Capitol employees.
            (F) A fair and equitable system to address unacceptable 
        conduct and performance by Architect of the Capitol employees, 
        including a general statement of violations, sanctions, and 
        procedures which shall be made known to all employees, and a 
        formal grievance procedure.
            (G) A program to provide services to deal with mental 
        health, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and other employee problems, 
        and which ensures employee confidentiality.
            (H) A formal policy statement regarding the use and accrual 
        of sick and annual leave which shall be made known to all 
        employees, and which is consistent with the other requirements 
        of this section.

(d) Implementation of personnel management system

                       (1) Development of plan

        The Architect of the Capitol shall--
            (A) develop a plan for the establishment and maintenance of 
        a personnel management system designed to achieve the 
        requirements of subsection (c) of this section;
            (B) submit the plan to the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives, the House Office Building Commission, the 
        Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, the Joint 
        Committee on the Library, and the Committees on Appropriations 
        of the Senate and the House of Representatives not later than 12 
        months after July 22, 1994; and
            (C) implement the plan not later than 90 days after the plan 
        is submitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 
        House Office Building Commission, the Committee on Rules and 
        Administration of the Senate, the Joint Committee on the 
        Library, and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and 
        the House of Representatives, as specified in subparagraph (B).

                    (2) Evaluation and reporting

        The Architect of the Capitol shall develop a system of oversight 
    and evaluation to ensure that the personnel management system of the 
    Architect of the Capitol achieves the requirements of subsection (c) 
    of this section and complies with all other relevant laws, rules and 
    regulations. The Architect of the Capitol shall report to the 
    Speaker of the House of Representatives, the House Office Building 
    Commission, the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, 
    and the Joint Committee on the Library on an annual basis the 
    results of its evaluation under this subsection.

                       (3) Application of laws

        Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter or supersede 
    any other provision of law otherwise applicable to the Architect of 
    the Capitol or its employees, unless expressly provided in this 
    section.

(Pub. L. 103-283, title III, Sec. 312, July 22, 1994, 108 Stat. 1443; 
Pub. L. 104-1, title V, Sec. 504(c)(1), Jan. 23, 1995, 109 Stat. 41.)

                          Codification

    Section is comprised of section 312 of Pub. L. 103-283. Subsec. (f) 
of section 312 of Pub. L. 103-283 amended sections 60m, 1201, 1205, and 
1212 of Title 2, The Congress.


                               Amendments

    1995--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104-1 struck out subsec. (e) which 
related to processing of discrimination complaints.


                            Savings Provision

    Section 504(c)(1) of Pub. L. 104-1 provided in part that subsec. (e) 
of this section is repealed, except as provided in section 1435 of Title 
2, The Congress.


        Treatment of Separated Employees of Architect of Capitol

    Pub. L. 105-55, title III, Sec. 310, Oct. 7, 1997, 111 Stat. 1199, 
as amended by Pub. L. 105-275, title III, Sec. 308(b)-(d), Oct. 21, 
1998, 112 Stat. 2452, 2453; Pub. L. 106-57, title III, Sec. 308, Sept. 
29, 1999, 113 Stat. 427, provided that:
    ``(a) Severance Pay.--[Amended section 5595 of Title 5, Government 
Organization and Employees.]
    ``(b) Early Retirement.--(1) This subsection applies to an employee 
of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol who--
        ``(A) voluntarily separates from service on or after the date of 
    enactment of this Act [Oct. 7, 1997] and before October 1, 1999 (or, 
    in the case of an individual who is not an employee of the United 
    States Senate Restaurants, on or after the date of the enactment of 
    the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1999 [Oct. 21, 1998] and 
    before October 1, 2001); and
        ``(B) on such date of separation--
            ``(i) has completed 25 years of service as defined under 
        section 8331(12) or 8401(26) of title 5, United States Code; or
            ``(ii) has completed 20 years of such service and is at 
        least 50 years of age.
    ``(2) Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 83 or 84 of title 5, 
United States Code, an employee described under paragraph (1) is 
entitled to an annuity which shall be computed consistent with the 
provisions of law applicable to annuities under section 8336(d) or 
8414(b) of title 5, United States Code.
    ``(c) Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments.--(1) In this 
subsection, the term `employee' means an employee of the Office of the 
Architect of the Capitol, serving without limitation, who has been 
currently employed for a continuous period of at least 12 months, except 
that such term shall not include--
        ``(A) a reemployed annuitant under subchapter III of chapter 83 
    or chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, or another retirement 
    system for employees of the Government;
        ``(B) an employee having a disability on the basis of which such 
    employee is or would be eligible for disability retirement under any 
    of the retirement systems referred to in subparagraph (A); or
        ``(C) an employee who is employed on a temporary when actually 
    employed basis.
    ``(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in order to avoid 
or minimize the need for involuntary separations due to a reduction in 
force, reorganization, transfer of function, or other similar action 
affecting the agency, the Architect of the Capitol shall establish a 
program under which voluntary separation incentive payments may be 
offered to encourage eligible employees to separate from service 
voluntarily (whether by retirement or resignation) during the period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 7, 1997] 
through September 30, 1999 (or, in the case of an individual who is not 
an employee of the United States Senate Restaurants, on or after the 
date of the enactment of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1999 
[Oct. 21, 1998] and before October 1, 2001). The number of employees of 
the United States Senate Restaurants to whom voluntary separation 
incentive payments may be offered under the program established under 
the previous sentence may not exceed 50.
    ``(3) Such voluntary separation incentive payments shall be paid in 
accordance with the provisions of section 5597(d) of title 5, United 
States Code. Any such payment shall not be a basis of payment, and shall 
not be included in the computation, of any other type of Government 
benefit.
    ``(4)(A) No voluntary separation incentive payment may be paid under 
this section on or after the date of enactment of the Legislative Branch 
Appropriations Act, 1999 [Oct. 21, 1998], unless the Architect of the 
Capitol submits a plan described under subparagraph (B) to the Committee 
on Rules and Administration of the Senate and the Committee on House 
Oversight [now Committee on House Administration] of the House of 
Representatives and such committees approve the plan.
    ``(B) The plan referred to under subparagraph (A) shall include--
        ``(i) the positions and functions to be reduced or eliminated, 
    identified by organizational unit, occupational category, and pay or 
    grade level;
        ``(ii) the number and amounts of voluntary separation incentive 
    payments to be offered; and
        ``(iii) a description of how the Architect of the Capitol will 
    operate without the eliminated positions and functions.
    ``(5)(A) In addition to any other payments which the Architect of 
the Capitol is required to make under subchapter III of chapter 83 of 
title 5, United States Code, the Architect of the Capitol shall remit to 
the Office of Personnel Management for deposit in the Treasury of the 
United States to the credit of the Civil Service Retirement and 
Disability Fund an amount equal to 15 percent of the final basic pay of 
each employee who is covered under subchapter III of chapter 83 or 
chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, to whom a voluntary 
separation incentive has been paid under this section. This subparagraph 
shall not apply to any employee of the United States Senate Restaurants.
    ``(B) For the purpose of this paragraph, the term `final basic pay', 
with respect to an employee--
        ``(i) means the total amount of basic pay which would be payable 
    for a year of service by such employee, computed using the 
    employee's final rate of basic pay; and
        ``(ii) includes an appropriate adjustment to the amount computed 
    under clause (i) if the employee is last serving on other than a 
    full-time basis.
    ``(6)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), an employee who has received a 
voluntary separation incentive payment under this section and accepts 
employment with the Government of the United States within 5 years after 
the date of the separation on which the payment is based shall be 
required to repay the entire amount of the incentive payment to the 
agency that paid the incentive payment.
    ``(B)(i) If the employment is with an executive agency (as defined 
by section 105 of title 5, United States Code), the Director of the 
Office of Personnel Management may, at the request of the head of the 
agency, waive the repayment if the individual involved possesses unique 
abilities and is the only qualified applicant available for the 
position.
    ``(ii) If the employment is with an entity in the legislative 
branch, the head of the entity or the appointing official may waive the 
repayment if the individual involved possesses unique abilities and is 
the only qualified applicant available for the position.
    ``(iii) If the employment is with the judicial branch, the Director 
of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts may waive the 
repayment if the individual involved possesses unique abilities and is 
the only qualified applicant available for the position.
    ``(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A) (but not subparagraph (B)), 
the term `employment' includes employment under a personal services 
contract with the United States.
    ``(7) The Architect of the Capitol may prescribe regulations to 
carry out this subsection.
    ``(d) Competitive Service Treatment for Certain Employees.--(1) This 
subsection applies to any employee of the United States Senate 
Restaurants of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol who--
        ``(A) is involuntarily separated from service on or after the 
    date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 7, 1997] and before October 
    1, 1999 (except by removal for cause on charges of misconduct or 
    delinquency); and
        ``(B) has performed any period of service employed in the Office 
    of the Architect of the Capitol (including the United States Senate 
    Restaurants) in a position in the excepted service as defined under 
    section 2103 of title 5, United States Code.
    ``(2) For purposes of applying for employment for any position in 
the executive branch (including for purposes of the administration of 
chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, with respect to such 
employment application), any period of service described under paragraph 
(1)(B) of this subsection shall be deemed a period of service in the 
competitive service as defined under section 2102 of title 5, United 
States Code.
    ``(3) This subsection shall--
        ``(A) take effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and
        ``(B) apply only to an employment application submitted by an 
    employee during the 2-year period beginning on the date of such 
    employee's separation from service described under paragraph (1)(A).
    ``(e) Retraining, Job Placement, and Counseling Services.--(1) In 
this subsection, the term `employee'--
        ``(A) means an employee of the Office of the Architect of the 
    Capitol; and
        ``(B) shall not include--
            ``(i) a reemployed annuitant under subchapter III of chapter 
        83 or chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, or another 
        retirement system for employees of the Government; or
            ``(ii) an employee who is employed on a temporary when 
        actually employed basis.
    ``(2) The Architect of the Capitol may establish a program to 
provide retraining, job placement, and counseling services to employees 
and former employees.
    ``(3) A former employee may not participate in a program established 
under this subsection, if--
        ``(A) the former employee was separated from service with the 
    Office of the Architect of the Capitol for more than 1 year; or
        ``(B) the separation was by removal for cause on charges of 
    misconduct or delinquency.
    ``(4) Retraining costs for the program established under this 
subsection may not exceed $5,000 for each employee or former employee.
    ``(f) Administrative Provisions.--(1) The Architect of the Capitol--
        ``(A) may use employees of the Office of the Architect of the 
    Capitol to establish and administer programs and carry out the 
    provisions of this section; and
        ``(B) may procure temporary and intermittent services under 
    section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, to carry out such 
    provisions--
            ``(i) not subject to the 1 year of service limitation under 
        such section 3109(b); and
            ``(ii) at rates for individuals which do not exceed the 
        daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for 
        level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such 
        title.
    ``(2) Funds to carry out subsections (a) and (c) may be expended 
only from funds available for the basic pay of the employee who is 
receiving the applicable payment.
    ``(3) Funds to carry out subsection (e) may be expended from any 
funds made available to the Architect of the Capitol.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in title 2 section 1435; title 31 
sections 753, 755.
