Sec. 4. Establishment of the commission on judicial integrity
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There is established in the judicial branch of the Federal Government the Commission on Judicial Integrity. The membership of the Commission consists of the following 16 members: The following 3 members appointed by the President: A Chair selected from a list of not more than 3 candidates recommended by the concurrence of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. A Vice Chair selected from a list of not more than 3 candidates recommended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
A Vice Chair selected from a list of not more than 3 candidates recommended by the United States Commission on Civil Rights. The following 7 members selected by a recorded vote (which shall be made available on uscourts.gov, or any successor thereto, along with the transcript of the proceedings and any additional statements by individual members of the Judicial Conference) of the Judicial Conference of the United States after consultation with the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, the Speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the United States Commission on Civil Rights: 2 members with substantial experience in alternative dispute resolution regarding workplace misconduct. 2 members with substantial experience in enforcing and investigating civil rights laws against workplace discrimination, including 1 member with experience representing employees. 1 member with substantial experience working in the office of an inspector general of an agency. 1 member with substantial experience on a State judicial conduct commission or equivalent State body. 1 member with experience providing licensed counseling and other support for victims of harassment, sexual assault, discrimination, or retaliation. 2 Federal judges selected by the members appointed under paragraphs
(1)and
(2)from a list of 6 judges recommended by a recorded vote of the Judicial Conference, who— do not serve in the same judicial district or circuit; and have not been found to have engaged in judicial misconduct, including workplace misconduct. The following 4 members selected by the Chair and Vice Chairs: 2 current employees of the judicial branch of the Federal Government who— do not serve in the same court, circuit, agency, or office; have been employed by the judicial branch of the Federal Government for at least 5 years; and do not serve in senior executive positions. 2 members who have completed a judicial clerkship within the 4 years immediately preceding such selection. The members shall be selected solely on the basis of integrity and demonstrated ability in their respective fields. Members shall have training or experience in the application of the rights, protections, procedures, and remedies, or their equivalents under State or Federal law, made applicable under this Act. Except as provided in paragraphs
(3)and (4)(A) of subsection (b), no member may be— a current officer or employee of the judicial branch of the Federal Government; a former director or deputy director of the Administrative Office of United States Courts; and a current officer or employee of the legislative or executive branches. The members shall serve for 4 years terms, except that the first members shall be staggered so that— the Chair and 1 Vice Chair, as designated by the President, serve terms of 5 years; 3 members appointed under subsection (b)(2), as designated by the Judicial Conference, serve terms of 5 years; 1 member appointed under subsection (b)(3), as designated by the Chair and Vice Chairs, serves a term of 5 years; 1 member appointed under subsection (b)(4), as designated by the Chair and Vice Chairs, serves a term of 5 years; and all other members initially appointed serve terms of 4 years. A member whose term has expired may continue to serve until the date on which a successor has taken office. A member may be removed from office by a majority vote, made on the record in an open meeting, of the Judicial Conference of the United States, with each vote recorded and accompanied by a statement explaining the reason for said vote, subject to the following: The removal of a member may only be initiated in the event of permanent incapacity, inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance. The Judicial Conference shall communicate the reasons for any such removal to both Houses of Congress and the Commission within 14 days of said removal. The Commission shall oversee a workplace misconduct prevention program that is consistent with prevailing best practices and that includes— a comprehensive workplace misconduct policy; a nationwide confidential reporting system that is readily accessible to current and former employees of the judicial branch of the Federal Government, law schools, and other potential complainants, including those who may interact with judges and senior executives in professional settings outside the judicial branch of the Federal Government; a comprehensive training program on workplace behavior and bystander intervention; metrics for workplace misconduct response and prevention in supervisory employees’ performance reviews; a system for independently investigating reports of workplace misconduct that ensures such investigations are comprehensive, timely, effective, and trusted; standards for the imposition of prompt, consistent, and proportionate disciplinary and corrective action if workplace misconduct is determined to have concurred; making publicly available, not less frequently than annually, anonymized reports of aggregate formal and informal complaints of workplace misconduct received and responsive actions taken; making publicly available annual reports of the number of individuals who were interviewed for full-time positions, including judicial clerkships, with a court of the United States, an office or agency described in chapter 15 or part III of title 28, United States Code, or a defender organization described in section 3006A(g) of title 18, United States Code, and who were hired for such positions, which shall be disaggregated by judicial circuit and judicial branch agency, by sex (including by sexual orientation and gender identity), by disability, and by the ethnic and the racial categories in the most recent decennial census (or similar categories), with year-to-year trends of the most recent 10 years for which data are available, to the extent practicable; making publicly available biennial workplace climate assessments that include surveys of current and former employees and interviews and focus groups of randomly selected current and former employees; conducting annual audits of the efficacy of the workplace misconduct prevention program; and ensuring that the elements of the workplace misconduct prevention program are easy to understand, easy to access and use, and are regularly communicated to all employees. The Commission shall also— select and advise the Special Counsel for Equal Employment Opportunity appointed under section 6; select and supervise the Judicial Integrity Officer appointed under section 5; supervise the Office of Employee Advocacy established under section 7 and select the Chief Counsel for Employee Advocacy under section 7; maintain policies, practices, procedures, and codes of conduct that— preserve the integrity of the Commission and the offices and programs established under this Act; maintain the confidence of covered employees in the Commission and the offices and programs established under this Act; and guarantee procedural rights to individuals during investigations and dispute resolution proceedings under this Act; no less than every 4 years, recommend to the Judicial Conference, after notice and opportunity for comment, revisions to the Judicial Conduct and Disability Rules, the Code of Conduct for Judiciary Employees, the Code of Conduct for Federal Public Defender Employees, and the Code of Conduct for United States Judges; ensure that the Judicial Conference, Congress, and the public are kept informed of— the work of the Commission; the workplace climate and culture in the judicial branch of the Federal Government, including the incidence of workplace misconduct; and the efficacy of the workplace misconduct prevention program overseen by the Commission; establish general policies and promulgate such rules and regulations for the Commission as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act; appoint and fix the salary and duties of the Staff Director, who shall serve at the discretion of the Commission and who shall be compensated at an annual rate not to exceed 92 percent of the annual rate of pay in effect for the Director of the Administrative Office of United States Courts; retain private attorneys (who, when serving as officers or employees of the United States, shall be considered special government employees as defined in section 202(a) of title 18, United States Code) to provide legal advice to the Commission in the conduct of its work, or to appear for or represent the Commission in any case in which the Commission is authorized by law to represent itself; and in its discretion, pay reasonable attorney’s fees to private attorneys employed by the Commission out of amounts appropriated to the Commission. The Staff Director shall supervise the activities of persons employed by the Commission and perform other duties assigned to the Staff Director by the Commission. The Staff Director shall, subject to the approval of the Commission, appoint such officers and employees as are necessary in the execution of the functions of the Commission. The officers and employees of the Commission shall be exempt from the provisions of part III of title 5, United States Code, except the following: chapters 45 (Incentive Awards), 63 (Leave), 81 (Compensation for Work Injuries), 83 (Retirement), 85 (Unemployment Compensation), 87 (Life Insurance), and 89 (Health Insurance), and subchapter VI of chapter 55 (Payment for accumulated and accrued leave). The annual rates of pay of the officers and employees of the Commission, other than the Staff Director, shall be fixed at rates not to exceed the annual rate of basic pay for positions at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. The Chair and Vice Chairs of the Commission shall hold full-time positions and shall be compensated during their terms of office at the annual rate at which judges of the United States courts of appeals are compensated. Each other member of the Commission shall be compensated, for each day (including travel time) during which such member is engaged in the performance of the duties of the Commission, at the daily equivalent of the annual rate of pay payable to judges of the United States courts of appeals. The rate of pay of a member may be prorated based on the portion of the day during which the member is engaged in the performance of Commission duties. Each member of the Commission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, for each day the member is engaged in the performance of duties away from the home or regular place of business of the member. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study of the management, governance structure, and independence of the Commission.