PROHIBITION OF RETALIATORY ACTIONS AGAINST MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES MAKING ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT OR UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION.

SEC. 531. PROHIBITION OF RETALIATORY ACTIONS AGAINST MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES MAKING ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT OR UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION. (a) In General.— Subsection (b) of section 1034 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— (1) by inserting “(1)” before “No person may take”; (2) by designating the second sentence as paragraph (2) and in that sentence striking out “the preceding sentence” and inserting in lieu thereof “paragraph (1)”, and 108 STAT. 2757 (3) in the first sentence, by striking out “or preparing” and all that follows through “may not be restricted.” and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “or preparing— “(A) a communication to a Member of Congress or an Inspector General that (under subsection (a)) may not be restricted; or “(B) a communication that is described in subsection (c)(2) and that is made (or prepared to be made) to— “(i) a Member of Congress; “(ii) an Inspector General (as defined in subsection (j)); “(iii) a member of a Department of Defense audit, inspection, investigation, or law enforcement organization; or “(iv) any other person or organization (including any person or organization in the chain of command) designated pursuant to regulations or other established administrative procedures for such communications.”. (b) Inspector General Investigation of Allegations of Prohibited Personnel Actions.— Subsection (c) of such section is amended— (1) by adding at the end of paragraph (1) the following new sentence: “If, in the case of an allegation submitted to the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, the Inspector General delegates the conduct of the investigation of the allegation to the inspector general of one of the armed forces, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense shall ensure that the inspector general conducting the investigation is outside the immediate chain of command of both the member submitting the allegation and the individual or individuals alleged to have taken the retaliatory action.”; (2) by striking out paragraph (2) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(2) A communication described in this paragraph is a communication in which a member of the armed forces complains of, or discloses information that the member reasonably believes constitutes evidence of, any of the following: “(A) A violation of law or regulation, including a law or regulation prohibiting sexual harassment or unlawful discrimination. “(B) Mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.”; and (3) in the subsection heading, by striking out “Certain Allegations” and inserting in lieu thereof “Allegations of Prohibited Personnel Actions”. (c) Inspector General Investigation of Allegations of Wrongdoing.— Such section is further amended— (1) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h) as subsections (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j), respectively; and (2) by striking out paragraph (4) of subsection (c) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(d) Inspector General Investigation of Underlying Allegations.— Upon receiving an allegation under subsection (c), the Inspector General shall conduct a separate investigation of the information that the member making the allegation believes constitutes evidence of wrongdoing (as described in subparagraph 108 STAT. 2758(A) or (B) of subsection (c)(2)) if there previously has not been such an investigation or if the Inspector General determines that the original investigation was biased or otherwise inadequate.”. (d) Reports on Investigations.— Such section is further amended— (1) by striking out “(5) Not later than 30 days” and inserting in lieu thereof “(e) Reports on Investigations.—(1) Not later than 30 days”; (2) in the paragraph redesignated by paragraph (1)— (A) by striking out “this subsection” and inserting in lieu thereof “subsection (c) or (d)”; (B) by striking out “the member of the armed forces concerned” and inserting in lieu thereof “the member of the armed forces who made the allegation investigated”; and (C) by striking out the second sentence; (3) by inserting after the paragraph redesignated by paragraph (1) the following new paragraph: “(2) In the copy of the report submitted to the member, the Inspector General shall ensure the maximum disclosure of information possible, with the exception of information that is not required to be disclosed under section 552 of title 5.”; (4) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and (5) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated, by striking out “paragraph (5)” and inserting in lieu thereof “paragraph (1)”. (e) Definition.— Subsection (j) of such section, as redesignated by subsection (c)(1), is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(3) The term ‘unlawful discrimination’ means discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”. (f) Cross Reference Amendments.— (1) Subsection (f) of such section, as redesignated by subsection (c)(1), is amended by striking out “subsection (c)(5)” in paragraphs (2)(A), (3)(A)(i), and (3)(B) and inserting in lieu thereof “subsection (e)(i)”. (2) Subsection (g) of such section, as redesignated by subsection (c)(1), is amended by striking out “subsection (d)” and inserting in lieu thereof “subsection (f)”. (g) Clerical Amendments.— (1) The heading of such section is amended to read as follows: “§ 1034. Protected communications; prohibition of retaliatory personnel actions”. (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 53 of such title is amended to read as follows: “1034. Protected communications; prohibition of retaliatory personnel actions.”. (h) Deadline for Regulations.— The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe regulations to implement the amendments made by this section not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. (i) Content of Regulations.— In prescribing regulations under section 1034 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by this section, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation shall provide for appropriate procedural protections for the subject of any investigation carried out under the provisions 108 STAT. 2759of that section, including a process for appeal and review of investigative findings.