Director may extend the mediation period for up to an additional 30 days.

6.5 CONCLUSION AND NOTICE. If the matter that forms the basis of the request for mediation is not resolved at the end of the mediation period, the Director shall provide the employee and the head of the employing office with written notice of the end of the mediation period and shall notify the employee of the employee's right to file a formal complaint with the Office within 30 days after the employee has received notice that the mediation period has concluded. With the consent of both parties, the Director may ask the mediator(s) to continue to work with the parties after the mediation period.

6.6 CONFIDENTIALITY. Except as necessary to consult with counsel or other designated representative, the parties to the mediation, the mediator(s), and the Office shall not disclose in whole or in part or by way of summary any information or records obtained during mediation. This Rule shall not preclude the mediator from consulting with the Office nor preclude the Director from reporting statistical information to the Senate that does not reveal the identity of employees or employing offices involved in mediation. All parties to the action will be advised of the importance of confidentiality in this process.

RULE 7. FORMAL COMPLAINTS

7.1 WHO MAY FILE. An employee who has made a timely request for counseling under Rule 4.2 and has completed the counseling and mediation procedures under Rules 5 and 6, may file a formal complaint with the Office.

7.2 TIME FOR FILING. A complaint shall be filed not later than 30 days after the employee has received notice under Rule 6.5 that the mediation period has concluded.

7.3 FORM OF COMPLAINT. A complaint must be written or typed, but may be in any format, including a simple letter format. Employees are encouraged to use the complaint forms available in the Office. All complaints shall be signed by the employee or legal representative and shall contain the following information:

(a) the name, mailing address, and telephone number of the complainant;

(b) the name of the person(s) involved in the action that the employee wishes to challenge;

(c) the name, address, and telephone number of the employing office involved;

(d) a description of the action being complained of, including the date(s) of the action(s);

(e) a brief description of the reasons for concluding that discrimination is involved;

(f) a statement of the relief sought; and

(g) where the complainant has a representative, the name, address, and telephone number of the representative and whether the representative is an attorney.

7.4 SERVICE OF COMPLAINT. Upon receipt of a complaint, the Director shall serve the head of the employing office named in the complaint or designee with a copy of the complaint and a copy of

these rules. The Office shall notify the head of the employing office that under Rule 8 an answer to the complaint must be filed within 10 days of service of the complaint.

7.5 ASSIGNMENT TO A HEARING BOARD. Upon the filing of a complaint, the Director shall assign the case to a hearing board, which shall consist of three independent hearing officers selected by the Office who are not Senators or Senate officers or employees. The Director shall designate one of the hearing officers as the presiding hearing officer. If, for any reason, a hearing board member cannot serve out the term of the hearing board, the Director may appoint a replacement member.

7.6 CONFIDENTIALITY. The Office shall not disclose in whole or in part or by way of summary any information or records regarding the filing of a formal complaint, except as necessary to individuals involved in the hearing process and for purpose under Rule 14.7. This Rule shall not preclude the Director from reporting statistical information to the Senate that does not reveal the identity of employees or employing offices involved in the hearing process. All parties to the action will be advised of the importance of confidentiality in this process.

RULE 8. ANSWER

Within 10 days of the service of a complaint on the head of the employing office by the Director, the head of the employing office shall file an answer with the Director that presents the employing office's position in summary as to each of the issues raised in the complaint, including admissions, denials, explanations, and defenses. The head of the employing office shall serve a copy of the answer on the employee who filed the complaint or on the employee's counsel.

RULE 9. DISMISSAL OF COMPLAINTS

9.1 DISMISSAL BY THE HEARING BOARD.

(a) At any time prior to a hearing under Rule 13, a hearing board may dismiss a frivolous complaint, which is a complaint that lacks an arguable basis in law or fact.

(b) At any time prior to a hearing under Rule 13, a hearing board may dismiss a complaint because it fails to comply with the applicable time limits or other requirements under these rules.

(c) If an employee fails to prosecute an action, the hearing board may dismiss the action with prejudice. A dismissal by a hearing board under this Rule is subject to Committee review under Rule 14.2. If no timely request for review is filed with the Office, the dismissal is a final decision of the Office under Rule 14.4(a) and subject to judicial review as described in Rule 15.

9.2 DISMISSAL BY THE EMPLOYEE. An employee may dismiss his or her own complaint by filing a notice of dismissal with the Director for transmittal to the hearing board, and by serving it on the head of the employing office or designee at any time. A dismissal under this paragraph shall preclude a subsequent initiation of procedures under Rule 4 for consideration of an allegation or allega

tions by the same employee arising out of the same facts, provided the hearing board has determined that the dismissal is a knowing and informed decision.

RULE 10. MOTIONS, BRIEFS, AND RESPONSES

10.1 FORM. All motions, briefs, and responses shall be filed with the Office and shall be typed (double spaced) or reproduced by any duplicating or copying process that produces a clear black image on opaque white, standard letter size (8 1⁄2" x 11") paper, unfolded, without back or cover, fastened at the top and shall contain the names of the parties and a heading describing the nature of the motion, brief, or response. Quoted material and footnotes need not be double spaced.

10.2 FILING. Parties shall file one original and three copies of each motion, brief, or response at the following address:

Director

Office of Senate Fair Employment Practices
Hart Senate Office Building, Suite 103
Washington, DC 20510-9060

10.3 SERVICE. Following the service of the complaint by the Office (see Rule 7.4), each party shall serve on the other party or their counsel a copy of each document. Each document served shall be accompanied by a certificate of service containing the name and signature of the server, the manner of service, and the date of service.

RULE 11. DISCOVERY

11.1 PURPOSE. In accordance with section 307(e) of the Act, reasonable prehearing discovery may be permitted at the discretion of the hearing board.

11.2 REQUESTS FOR DISCOVERY. A party must serve any requests for discovery on the Office and the other party no later than 5 days prior to the prehearing conference. The request shall include the proposed time for responding, or if a deposition, the proposed time and place of taking the deposition. At the prehearing conference, the hearing board shall consider the requests for discovery from each party, and, if appropriate, shall order whatever discovery is necessary. Discovery shall be completed within a time set by the hearing board after due consideration of the particular case, including the need to conduct the hearing within 30 to 90 days after the filing of the complaint. When required, subpoenas for discovery may be sought from the hearing board.

RULE 12. SUBPOENAS

12.1 AUTHORITY AND ISSUANCE. Upon request of an employee or the head of an employing office, a hearing board may authorize a presiding hearing officer to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses at proceedings of the hearing board and for the production of correspondence, books, papers, documents, and other records.

12.2 SERVICE. Subpoenas may be served by any individual over the age of 18 who is not a party in the proceeding in relation to which the subpoena is issued. Criminal or civil enforcement proceedings for a witness's failure to testify or to produce records shall not be initiated unless a duly authorized subpoena was served upon the witness.

12.3 OBJECTIONS. If a witness objects to testifying or producing records in response to a subpoena issued by the presiding hearing officer, the witness shall file a statement of any objection to the subpoena with the Office within 5 days after the date of service of the subpoena. Any response must be filed within 5 days after the date of service of the statement of objection. The hearing board shall rule on the objection within 10 days after the deadline for filing a response. If the hearing board overrules the objection it may order the witness to respond or may refer the matter under Rule 12.4.

12.4 REFERRAL TO THE COMMITTEE. After the hearing board has ruled on an objection, at the request of a witness, a party, or on its own initiative, the hearing board may refer the objection to the Committee for a ruling.

12.5 ENFORCEMENT. If a witness declines to comply with an order of a hearing board or of the Committee directing the witness to testify or produce records, the hearing board shall inform the Committee, which has the authority to recommend to the Senate criminal or civil enforcement proceedings.

RULE 13. HEARINGS

13.1 PREHEARING CONFERENCE. Within 7 days of the receipt of a complaint, the Director shall serve on the employee and the employing office written notice setting forth the time, date, and place of the prehearing conference with the hearing board, at which the hearing schedule will be established. The prehearing conference may also be used by the hearing board to consider the simplification of the issues and such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the proceeding by the hearing board. The hearing board shall issue an order which recites the action taken at the conference and the agreements made by the parties as to any of the matters considered and which limits the issues to those not disposed of by admissions or agreements of parties, and such order when entered controls the subsequent course of the proceeding, unless modified to prevent manifest injustice.

13.2 SCHEDULING A HEARING. Hearings shall be scheduled so that they may be conducted no later than 30 days after the filing of the complaint, except that the Director may, for good cause, extend up to an additional 60 days the time for conducting a hearing. An employee or an employing office may file with the hearing board a motion for such postponement of the hearing date. The hearing board in its discretion may disapprove any request for postponement of the hearing date or it may refer the request to the Director with a recommendation that good cause exists for postponement of the hearing date. The Director shall approve or disapprove the hearing board's recommendation within 2 working days of its receipt.

13.3 AUTHORITY OF HEARING BOARDS. Hearing boards shall conduct fair and impartial hearings and take all necessary action under the Act and these rules to avoid delay in the disposition of all proceedings. They shall have all powers necessary to that end unless otherwise limited by law, including, but not limited to, the authority to:

(a) hold prehearing conferences for the settlement or simplification of issues under Rule 13.1;

(b) rule on discovery issues as appropriate under Rule 11;
(c) issue subpoenas in accordance with Rule 12;

(d) convene a hearing as appropriate, regulate the course of the hearing, maintain decorum and exclude from the hearing any disruptive persons;

(e) administer oaths and affirmations;

(f) require the filing of briefs and other memoranda of law; (g) dispose of procedural requests or similar matters;

(h) rule on offers of proof and receive relevant evidence;

(i) consolidate allegations raised subsequent to the filing of the formal complaint which are related to the allegations before the hearing board;

(j) file decisions under Rule 14; and

(k) delegate to one member of the hearing board the authority to conduct prehearing conferences and to rule on non-dispositive motions and matters, except that the action of a single member may be reviewed by the full hearing board.

13.4 CONDUCT OF HEARINGS. Hearings shall be closed to non-participants, as determined by the hearing board, except that the Office may not be precluded from observing hearings. Hearings shall be conducted on the record and, to the greatest extent practicable, in accordance with the procedures set forth in 5 U.S.C. §§ 554-57. The rules of evidence will not be strictly followed unless otherwise specified by the hearing board, but irrelevant or repetitious evidence shall be excluded. For matters not covered by these rules, the hearing board may look to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence, or other sources of Federal law for guidance.

13.5 TRANSCRIPTS. An accurate electronic or stenographic record of the hearing shall be kept. The Office shall be responsible for the cost of transcription of the hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, each party shall be provided with a copy of the transcript. Transcripts are confidential documents and the parties or the Òffice shall not disclose the transcript in whole or in part, except in furtherance of the adjudicatory process.

13.6 FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH AN ORDER. When a party fails to comply with an order, including an order for taking a deposition, the production of evidence within a party's control, a request for admission, and/or production of a witness, the hearing board may:

(a) draw an adverse inference against the non-complying party on the issue related to the information sought;

(b) prohibit the party failing to comply with the order from introducing documentary evidence or testimony concerning the information sought; or

(c) strike any part of the pleading or other submission of the party failing to comply with the request.