§1416 Confidentiality

Summary

Keep all information shared in mediation secret. The Executive Director must tell everyone in mediation that the talks are confidential and warn them about penalties for breaking the rule. Hearings, Board meetings, and related records are also kept confidential unless other parts of the law say otherwise. The Executive Director must tell people in those proceedings about the confidentiality rules and penalties. Records can be made public if a court needs them for review. If a claim is finally resolved and it alleges a specific kind of wrongdoing personally committed by a Member of the House, a Delegate, a Resident Commissioner, a Senator, or a senior staff member, the Executive Director must send the claim and the related records to the House or Senate ethics committee, as appropriate. The Director must give the committee access to all reviews, hearings, decisions, and any settlement or award information. If the Senate committee gets a settlement that involves a Senator, it must review it within 90 days, decide whether to investigate, and if it finds an actual violation, tell the Executive Director to seek reimbursement and report the settlement. Committees must not directly identify the person who filed the claim. They may redact information to avoid revealing a claimant’s identity if the committee chair and vice chair agree, must note those redactions, and must keep an unredacted copy. “Final disposition” means an order or settlement to pay, a final hearing officer or Board decision no longer appealable, or a final court decision no longer appealable. Final Board decisions that favor the complaining employee or charging party (or that reverse a prior favorable hearing officer decision) must be made public; the Board may choose to publish other decisions. A covered employee may still tell the facts of their own claim, and an employing office may tell the facts of its defense, during any proceeding.