2 U.S.C. § 1404
Section 1404 · Election of proceeding
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 24 court decisions — leading case Blackmon-Malloy v. United States Capitol Police Board (2009)
Most recently applied in Gonzalez v. State (March 2019)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
In this section:
The term “direct Act” means an Act (other than this chapter), or provision of the Revised Statutes, that is specified in section 1311, 1312, 1313, or 1331 of this title.
The term “direct provision” means a provision (including a definitional provision) of a direct Act that applies the rights or protections of a direct Act (including rights and protections relating to nonretaliation or noncoercion) to a library 1 claimant.
The term “Library claimant” means—
with respect to a direct provision (other than a provision described in subparagraph (B)), an employee of the Library of Congress who is covered by that direct provision, and
with respect to a direct provision that applies the rights or protections of title II or III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq., 12181 et seq.), an individual who is eligible to provide services for or receive services from the Library of Congress and who is covered by that provision.
Not later than 90 days, but not sooner than 30 days, after the end of the period of mediation, a covered employee who initially requested counseling and mediation under this subchapter may elect to—
file a complaint with the Office in accordance with section 1405 of this title,
file a civil action in accordance with section 1408 of this title in the United States district court for the district in which the employee is employed or for the District of Columbia, or
in the case of a Library claimant, bring the claim, complaint, or charge that is brought for a proceeding before the corresponding Federal agency, under the corresponding direct provision.
A library 1 claimant who initially brings a claim, complaint, or charge under a direct provision for a proceeding before a Federal agency may, prior to requesting a hearing under the agency’s procedures, elect to—
bring any civil action relating to the claim, complaint, or charge, that is available to the Library claimant,
file a complaint with the Office in accordance with section 1405 of this title, or
file a civil action in accordance with section 1408 of this title in the United States district court for the district in which the employee is employed or for the District of Columbia.
1 So in original. Probably should be “Library”.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1) and (b), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 104–1, Jan. 23, 1995, 109 Stat. 3 which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1301 of this title and Tables.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, referred to in subsec. (a)(3)(B), is Pub. L. 101–336, July 26, 1990, 104 Stat. 327. Titles II and III of the Act are classified generally to subchapters II (§ 12131 et seq.) and III (§ 12181 et seq.), respectively, of chapter 126 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 12101 of Title 42 and Tables.
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–141, § 153(b)(2)(B), added subsec. (a).
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–141, § 153(b)(2)(A), (C)(i), designated existing provisions as subsec. (b), inserted heading, and substituted “who initially requested counseling and mediation under this subchapter may elect to” for “may either” in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 115–141, § 153(b)(2)(C)(ii), struck out “or” at end.
Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 115–141, § 153(b)(2)(C)(iii), substituted “, or” for period at end.
Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 115–141, § 153(b)(2)(C), which set out a par. (3) without directory language indicating where such par. was to be added, was executed by adding par. (3) at the end of subsec. (b) to reflect the probable intent of Congress, in light of ancillary amendments to subsec. (b) by section 153(b)(2)(C)(ii), (iii) of Pub. L. 115–141. See Amendment notes above.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115–141, § 153(b)(2)(D), added subsec. (c).
2015—Pub. L. 114–6 substituted “Not later than 90 days, but not sooner than 30 days, after the end of the period of mediation, a covered employee” for “Not later than 90 days after a covered employee receives notice of the end of the period of mediation, but no sooner than 30 days after receipt of such notification, such covered employee” in introductory provisions.
Effective Date of 2015 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 114–6 applicable with respect to mediations and other proceedings first initiated after Mar. 20, 2015, see section 2(d) of Pub. L. 114–6, set out as a note under section 1403 of this title.