Sec. 302. Officers, staff, and other personnel
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The Chair, subject to approval of the Board, shall appoint and may remove the Judicial Integrity Officer. Selection and appointment of the Judicial Integrity Officer shall be solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of the office. The first Judicial Integrity Officer shall be appointed no later than 90 days after the initial appointment of the Board of Directors. The Judicial Integrity Officer shall, by demonstrated ability, background, training, or experience, be especially qualified to carry out the functions of the position.
The Judicial Integrity Officer shall be an attorney admitted to practice and in good standing with the highest court of a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, or a territory of the United States. The disqualifications in section 301(d)(2) shall apply to the appointment of the Judicial Integrity Officer, except that representations undertaken on behalf of the Office or OEA shall not be disqualifying. The Chair may fix the compensation of the Judicial Integrity Officer.
The rate of pay for the Judicial Integrity Officer may not exceed the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. The term of office of the Judicial Integrity Officer shall be a single term of 5 years, except that the first Judicial Integrity Officer shall have a single term of 7 years. The Judicial Integrity Officer shall serve as the chief operating officer of the Office. Except as otherwise specified in this Act, the Judicial Integrity Officer shall carry out all of the responsibilities of the Office under this Act.
The Chair, subject to the approval of the Board, shall appoint and may remove 2 Deputy Judicial Integrity Officers. Selection and appointment of a Deputy Judicial Integrity Officer shall be without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of the office. The disqualifications in section 301(d)(2) shall apply to the appointment of a Deputy Judicial Integrity Officer, except that representations undertaken as described in section 301(d)(2)(A) on behalf of the Office or OEA shall not be disqualifying.
A Deputy Judicial Integrity Officer shall have not more than 2 terms of 5 years, except that the first Deputy Judicial Integrity Officers shall have a single term of 6 years. The Chair may fix the compensation of the Deputy Judicial Integrity Officers. The rate of pay for a Deputy Judicial Integrity Officer may not exceed 96 percent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. The Deputy Judicial Integrity Officer shall assume such duties and responsibilities as may be delegated by the Judicial Integrity Officer.
The Chair, subject to the approval of the Board, shall appoint and may remove the General Counsel. Selection and appointment of the General Counsel shall be solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of the office. The disqualifications in section 301(d)(2) shall apply to the appointment of the General Counsel except that representations undertaken as described in section 301(d)(2)(A) on behalf of the Office or OEA shall not be disqualifying. The Chair may fix the compensation of the General Counsel.
The rate of pay for the General Counsel may not exceed the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. The General Counsel shall— exercise the authorities and perform the duties of the General Counsel as specified in this Act; and otherwise assist the Board and the Judicial Integrity Officer in carrying out their duties and powers, including representing the Office in any judicial proceeding under this Act.
The General Counsel shall appoint, and fix the compensation of, and may remove, such additional attorneys as may be necessary to enable the General Counsel to perform the General Counsel’s duties. The General Counsel shall have not more than 2 terms of 5 years. The Judicial Integrity Officer shall— appoint, and fix the compensation of, and may remove, 1 or more confidential advisors to carry out the duties described in this subsection; or designate 1 or more employees of the Office to serve as a confidential advisor.
A confidential advisor appointed or designated under paragraph
(1)shall offer to provide to covered employees described in paragraph
(4)the services described in subparagraph (B), which a covered employee may accept or decline. The services referred to in subparagraph
(A)are— informing, on a privileged and confidential basis, a covered employee who has been subject to a practice that may be a violation of subtitle A of title II about the employee’s rights under this Act; consulting, on a privileged and confidential basis, with a covered employee who has been subject to a practice that may be a violation of subtitle A of title II regarding— the roles, responsibilities, and authority of the Office; and the relative merits of securing private counsel, designating a non-attorney representative, or proceeding without representation for proceedings before the Office; advising and consulting with, on a privileged and confidential basis, a covered employee who has been subject to a practice that may be a violation of subtitle A of title II regarding any claims the covered employee may have under title IV, the factual allegations that support each such claim, and the relative merits of the procedural options available to the employee for each such claim; assisting, on a privileged and confidential basis, a covered employee who seeks consideration under title IV of an allegation of a violation of subtitle A of title II in understanding the procedures, and the significance of the procedures, described in title IV, including— assisting or consulting with the covered employee regarding the drafting of a claim to be filed under section 402(a); and consulting with the covered employee regarding the procedural options available to the covered employee after a claim is filed, and the relative merits of each option; and informing, on a privileged and confidential basis, a covered employee who has been subject to a practice that may be a violation of subtitle A of title II about the option of pursuing, in appropriate circumstances, a complaint with the relevant judicial council. Once a covered employee has accepted and received any services offered under this section from a confidential advisor appointed or designated under paragraph (1), any other services requested under this subsection by the covered employee shall be provided, to the extent practicable, by the same confidential advisor. A confidential advisor appointed or designated under paragraph
(1)shall be an attorney who— is admitted to practice before, and is in good standing with, the bar of the highest court of a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, or a territory of the United States; and has experience representing clients in cases involving the workplace laws incorporated by subtitle A of title II. The services described in paragraph
(2)are available to any covered employee (which, for purposes of this subsection, shall include any staff member described in section 201(d) and any former covered employee (including any such former staff member)), except that— a former covered employee may only request such services if the practice that may be a violation of subtitle A of title II occurred during the employment or service of the employee; and a covered employee described in this paragraph may only request such services before the expiration of the 180-day period described in section 402(d). A confidential advisor appointed or designated under paragraph (1)— shall not act as the designated representative for any covered employee in connection with the covered employee’s participation in any proceeding, including any proceeding under this Act, any judicial proceeding, or any proceeding before a judicial council; shall not offer or provide services described in paragraph (2)(B) to a covered employee if the covered employee has designated an attorney representative in connection with the covered employee’s participation in any proceeding under this Act, except that a confidential advisor may provide general assistance and information to such attorney representative regarding this Act and the role of the Office as the confidential advisor determines appropriate; and shall not serve as a mediator in any mediation conducted pursuant to section 404. The Judicial Integrity Officer shall appoint and supervise a director of workplace relations for each judicial circuit. Each director of workplace relations shall, subject to the supervision of the Judicial Integrity Officer, oversee the workplace misconduct prevention program for— except as provided in subparagraph (B), all employing units and covered employees that are located within the geographic confines of the relevant judicial circuit, unless served by another such workplace misconduct program; and in the case of the Director of Workplace Relations for the Federal Circuit, all employing units and covered employees of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, or a court (other than an unspecified district court) described in section 1295 of title 28, United States Code. The Director of Workplace Relations for the Second Circuit shall also serve as the Director of Workplace Relations for the Court of International Trade. The Director of Workplace Relations for the Federal Circuit shall also serve as the Director of Workplace Relations for the Court of Federal Claims, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, and the United States Sentencing Commission. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a director of workplace relations from concurrently holding another position in the judicial branch of the Federal Government if the other position is not incompatible with the duties and responsibilities of being a director of workplace relations, as determined by the Judicial Integrity Officer. Subject to the supervision of the Judicial Integrity Officer, each director of workplace relations appointed under subsection
(e)shall appoint not fewer than the following number of employee dispute resolution coordinators: One for each judicial circuit. Three for each judicial district, drawn from at least 2 different employing units. One for the United States Court of International Trade. One for the United States Court of Federal Claims. Subject to the supervision of the Judicial Integrity Officer, the Director of Workplace Relations for the Federal Circuit shall appoint a sufficient number of employee dispute resolution coordinators for the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, and the United States Sentencing Commission. Except as provided in subparagraphs (A), (C), and
(D)of paragraph (1), and paragraph (2), the employee dispute resolution coordinators for each judicial district shall assist the relevant director of workplace relations with implementing the workplace misconduct prevention program in all employing units located within the judicial district. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit an employee dispute resolution coordinator from concurrently holding another position in the judicial branch of the Federal Government if the other position is not incompatible with the duties and responsibilities of being an employee dispute resolution coordinator, as determined by the director of workplace relations. The Judicial Integrity Officer shall appoint, and fix the compensation of, and may remove, such other additional staff, including Preliminary and Merits Hearing Officers, but not including attorneys and staff employed in the offices of the General Counsel and not including the General Counsel, as may be necessary to enable the Office to perform its duties. In carrying out the functions of the Office, the Judicial Integrity Officer may procure the temporary (not to exceed 1 year) or intermittent services of consultants.