PRIA Logo™
Take the PRIA Score
Title 2 — The CongressRelease 119-73

§1311 Rights and protections under title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and title I of Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Title 2 › Chapter CHAPTER 24— - CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - EXTENSION OF RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS › Part Part A— - Employment Discrimination, Family and Medical Leave, Fair Labor Standards, Employee Polygraph Protection, Worker Adjustment and Retraining, Employment and Reemployment of Veterans, and Intimidation › § 1311

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

All personnel actions affecting covered employees must be free from discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. If someone is harmed for those reasons, they can get the same kinds of relief that the related civil rights, age, and disability laws allow. For race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, remedies are those under section 706(g) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5(g)) and compensatory damages like those in 42 U.S.C. 1981 or 42 U.S.C. 1981a(a)(1), 1981a(b)(2), and 1981a(b)(3)(D). For age, remedies are like those in section 15(c) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (29 U.S.C. 633a(c)) and liquidated damages under section 7(b) (29 U.S.C. 626(b)). For disability, remedies are like those in section 505(a)(1) of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794a(a)(1)) or section 107(a) of the ADA (42 U.S.C. 12117(a)) and compensatory damages like those in 42 U.S.C. 1981a(a)(2), 1981a(a)(3), 1981a(b)(2), and 1981a(b)(3)(D). The same protections apply to unpaid staff who do official work for an office, such as interns, detailees, and fellows, and to former unpaid staff if the act happened while they served. An office is not responsible for actions by people it does not supervise or control. “Intern” means someone unpaid who works to earn school credit or learn a trade, and it includes participants in a House page program. The rules took effect 1 year after January 23, 1995.

Full Legal Text

Title 2, §1311

The Congress — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)All personnel actions affecting covered employees shall be made free from any discrimination based on—
(1)race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, within the meaning of section 703 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–2);
(2)age, within the meaning of section 15 of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 633a); or
(3)disability, within the meaning of section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791) and sections 102 through 104 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12112–12114).
(b)(1)The remedy for a violation of subsection (a)(1) shall be—
(A)such remedy as would be appropriate if awarded under section 706(g) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5(g)); and
(B)such compensatory damages as would be appropriate if awarded under section 1981 of title 42, or as would be appropriate if awarded under section 1981a(a)(1), 1981a(b)(2), and, irrespective of the size of the employing office, 1981a(b)(3)(D) of title 42.
(2)The remedy for a violation of subsection (a)(2) shall be—
(A)such remedy as would be appropriate if awarded under section 15(c) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 633a(c)); and
(B)such liquidated damages as would be appropriate if awarded under section 7(b) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 626(b)).
(3)The remedy for a violation of subsection (a)(3) shall be—
(A)such remedy as would be appropriate if awarded under section 505(a)(1) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794a(a)(1)) or section 107(a) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12117(a)); and
(B)such compensatory damages as would be appropriate if awarded under section 1981a(a)(2), 1981a(a)(3), 1981a(b)(2), and, irrespective of the size of the employing office, 1981a(b)(3)(D) of title 42.
(c)
(d)(1)Subsections (a) and (b) shall apply with respect to—
(A)any staff member of an employing office who carries out official duties of the employing office but who is not paid by the employing office for carrying out such duties (referred to in this subsection as an “unpaid staff member”), including an intern, an individual detailed to an employing office, and an individual participating in a fellowship program, in the same manner and to the same extent as such subsections apply with respect to a covered employee; and
(B)a former unpaid staff member, if the act that may be a violation of subsection (a) occurred during the service of the former unpaid staffer for the employing office.
(2)Nothing in paragraph (1) may be construed to extend liability for a violation of subsection (a) to an employing office on the basis of an action taken by any person who is not under the supervision or control of the employing office.
(3)For purposes of this subsection, the term “intern” means an individual who performs service for an employing office which is uncompensated by the United States to earn credit awarded by an educational institution or to learn a trade or occupation, and includes any individual participating in a page program operated by any House of Congress.
(e)This section shall take effect 1 year after January 23, 1995.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section is comprised of section 201 of Pub. L. 104–1. Subsec. (c) of section 201 of Pub. L. 104–1 amended section 633a of Title 29, Labor, and section 2000e–16 and 12209 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.

Amendments

2018—Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 115–397 added subsec. (d) and redesignated former subsec. (d) as (e).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–397 effective upon expiration of the 180-day period beginning on Dec. 21, 2018, with provisions for effect on pending proceedings, see section 401 of Pub. L. 115–397, set out as a note under section 1301 of this title. Coverage of House of Representatives and the Agencies of the Legislative Branch Pub. L. 102–166, title I, § 117, Nov. 21, 1991, 105 Stat. 1080, as amended by Pub. L. 108–271, § 8(b),
July 7, 2004, 118 Stat. 814; Pub. L. 113–235, div. H, title I, § 1301(b), Dec. 16, 2014, 128 Stat. 2537, provided that: “(a) Coverage of the House of Representatives.—“(1) In general.—Notwithstanding any provision of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) or of other law, the purposes of such title shall, subject to paragraph (2), apply in their entirety to the House of Representatives. “(2) Employment in the house.—“(A) Application.—The rights and protections under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) shall, subject to subparagraph (B), apply with respect to any employee in an employment position in the House of Representatives and any employing authority of the House of Representatives. “(B) Administration.—“(i) In general.—In the administration of this paragraph, the remedies and procedures made applicable pursuant to the resolution described in clause (ii) shall apply exclusively. “(ii) Resolution.—The resolution referred to in clause (i) is the Fair Employment Practices Resolution (House Resolution 558 of the One Hundredth Congress, as agreed to
October 4, 1988), as incorporated into the Rules of the House of Representatives of the One Hundred Second Congress as Rule LI, or any other provision that continues in effect the provisions of such resolution. “(C) Exercise of rulemaking power.—The provisions of subparagraph (B) are enacted by the House of Representatives as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of Representatives, with full recognition of the right of the House to change its rules, in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of the House. “(b) Instrumentalities of Congress.—“(1) In general.—The rights and protections under this title [see Tables for classification] and title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) shall, subject to paragraph (2), apply with respect to the conduct of each instrumentality of the Congress. “(2) Establishment of remedies and procedures by instrumentalities.—The chief official of each instrumentality of the Congress shall establish remedies and procedures to be utilized with respect to the rights and protections provided pursuant to paragraph (1). Such remedies and procedures shall apply exclusively, except for the employees who are defined as Senate employees, in [former] section 301(c)(1) [former 42 U.S.C. 2000e–16a(c)(1)]. “(3) Report to congress.—The chief official of each instrumentality of the Congress shall, after establishing remedies and procedures for purposes of paragraph (2), submit to the Congress a report describing the remedies and procedures. “(4) Definition of instrumentalities.—For purposes of this section, instrumentalities of the Congress include the following: the Architect of the Capitol, the Congressional Budget Office, the Government Accountability Office, the Government Publishing Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, and the United States Botanic Garden. “(5)

Construction

.—Nothing in this section shall alter the

Enforcement

procedures for individuals protected under section 717 of title VII for [of] the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16).” [Section effective Nov. 21, 1991, except as otherwise provided, see section 402(a) of Pub. L. 102–166, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1991 Amendment note under section 1981 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.]

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

2 U.S.C. § 1311

Title 2 — The Congress

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73