HERCULES Act

Help End Redundant Claims Unnecessarily Leaving Employers Suffering Act or the HERCULES Act

This bill prohibits federal employees from making subsequent or simultaneous allegations or appeals of certain adverse personnel actions to multiple reviewing entities.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8855 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8855

 To prohibit Federal employees from making allegations or appeals with 
  respect to an adverse action to more than one entity, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 3, 2020

  Mr. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma (for himself, Mr. Budd, Mr. Tiffany, Mr. 
      Reschenthaler, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Gaetz, Mr. Joyce of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. Perry, Mr. Banks, Mr. Steube, Mr. Baird, Mr. Flores, 
  Mr. Biggs, Mr. Keller, Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia, and Mrs. Lesko) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To prohibit Federal employees from making allegations or appeals with 
  respect to an adverse action to more than one entity, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Help End Redundant Claims 
Unnecessarily Leaving Employers Suffering Act'' or the ``HERCULES 
Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMIT FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ADVERSE ACTION APPEAL AVENUES.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an 
employee who alleges or appeals, as the case may be, a covered matter 
to a reviewing entity that has authority to consider such allegation or 
appeal may not subsequently or simultaneously allege or appeal such 
covered matter to any other reviewing entity.
    (b) Rules of Construction.--Subsection (a) shall not be construed 
as--
            (1) restricting to whom an employee may appeal for review 
        of a decision of a reviewing entity with respect to a covered 
        matter; and
            (2) affecting or otherwise modifying the rights of 
        employees--
                    (A) under any collective bargaining agreements; or
                    (B) to seek judicial review of any matter.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Covered matter.--The term ``covered matter'' means--
                    (A) any action or final decision that an employee 
                can appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board;
                    (B) any action or final decision that involves a 
                complaint of discrimination of the type prohibited by 
                any law administered by the Equal Employment 
                Opportunity Commission and for which the employee can 
                seek review by such Commission;
                    (C) any matter with respect to which the procedures 
                under section 7121(a) of title 5, United States Code, 
                apply;
                    (D) prohibited personnel practices under section 
                2302 of such title; or
                    (E) unfair labor practices under section 7116 of 
                such title.
            (2) Employee.--The term ``employee'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 2105 of title 5, United States Code.
            (3) Reviewing entity.--The term ``reviewing entity'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Merit System Protection Board;
                    (B) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;
                    (C) the Office of Special Counsel; or
                    (D) the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
    (d) Applicability.--Subsection (a) shall apply only with respect 
to--
            (1) covered matters for which the initial allegation or 
        appeal to a reviewing entity occurs after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act; and
            (2) contracts entered into after the date of the enactment 
        this Act.
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