I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8465 

To require the Secretary of State to develop policy and procedures on prevention and response to harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, and 

related retaliation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 

Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 

ESCOBAR, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. 

CARSON of Indiana, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, 

Mr. KIND, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. 

PINGREE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Ms. OMAR) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, Oversight and Reform, House Administration, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of State to develop policy and 

procedures on prevention and response to harassment, 

discrimination, sexual assault, and related retaliation, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; RULE OF 

2 CONSTRUCTION. 

3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

4 ‘‘State Harassment and Assault Prevention and Eradi5 cation Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘SHAPE Act of 2020’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; rule of construction. 

Sec. 2. Department of State policy and procedures on prevention and response 

to harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, and related retaliation. 

Sec. 3. Reporting, documentation, and investigation procedures. 

Sec. 4. Sexual assault protocol and victim care. 

Sec. 5. Rights of employees harassed, discriminated against, retaliated against, 

or sexually assaulted. 

Sec. 6. Provision of climate surveys. 

Sec. 7. Reports to Congress, the Department, and the public. 

Sec. 8. Required training for Department personnel. 

Sec. 9. Hiring, vetting, and promotion. 

Sec. 10. Nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements. 

8 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

9 shall be construed to supersede or otherwise affect the dis10 crimination protections or related processes provided 

11 under section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

12 U.S.C. 2000e–16) to officers and employees of the Depart13 ment of State or applicants for employment at the Depart14 ment. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICY AND PROCEDURES 

2 ON PREVENTION AND RESPONSE TO HARASS3 MENT, DISCRIMINATION, SEXUAL ASSAULT, 

4 AND RELATED RETALIATION. 

5 (a) COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON PREVENTION AND

6 RESPONSE.—Not later than one year after the date of the 

7 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall develop 

8 a comprehensive policy for the Department of State on 

9 the prevention of and response to harassment, discrimina10 tion, sexual assault, and related retaliation involving em11 ployees, contractors, and officials of the Department. 

12 (b) ELEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE POLICY.—The 

13 policy developed under subsection (a) may include ele14 ments as the Secretary deems necessary, but shall include, 

15 at a minimum, the following: 

16 (1) Prevention measures. 

17 (2) Education and training on prevention and 

18 response, as provided in this Act. 

19 (3) Investigation of complaints. 

20 (4) Medical treatment of victims. 

21 (5) Mechanisms for confidential reporting of in22 cidents by staff and service contractors, to include 

23 online and telephonic methods. 

24 (6) Victim advocacy, intervention, and coun25 seling for covered employees of the Department who 

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1 sault, and related retaliation that shall be made 

2 available, irrespective of where such covered employ3 ees are located, to assist and guide such victims. 

4 (7) Supportive services, including counseling 

5 and victim advocacy, that shall be made available ir6 respective of whether the victim identifies the ac7 cused individual. 

8 (8) Oversight and review of administrative and 

9 disciplinary actions, to include termination, for em10 ployees and officials of the Department of State. 

11 (9) Review by appropriate authority of adminis12 trative separation actions involving victims of har13 assment, discrimination, sexual assault, and related 

14 retaliation. 

15 (10) Uniform collection of data on the incidence 

16 of violations and on disciplinary actions taken in 

17 cases of harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, 

18 and related retaliation. 

19 (11) Procedures for disciplinary action in cases 

20 of harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, and 

21 related retaliation by employees or officials of the 

22 Department. 

23 (12) Workforce communications relating to har24 assment, discrimination, sexual assault, and related 

25 retaliation prevention, discipline, and reporting, to 


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1 include printed and electronic materials made avail2 able in both English and the working languages at 

3 overseas posts, made available for all staff. 

4 (13) Acknowledgment of the challenges facing 

5 vulnerable groups including women, people of color, 

6 entry-level officers, locally employed staff, and the 

7 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer 

8 (LGBTQ) community. 

9 (14) Policies regarding the retention of docu10 ments relating to complaints, investigations, and dis11 ciplinary action. 

12 (c) CLARIFICATION OF VICTIM REPORTING AND

13 CASE RESOLUTION.—The Secretary of State shall review 

14 Department of State processes for victim reporting and 

15 resolution of complaints, as in effect on the date of enact16 ment of this Act, to ensure that the Department’s proce17 dures are clear and easily accessible to all covered employ18 ees. Such review shall be included in the report to be sub19 mitted in section 7. 

20 (d) APPLICATION OF COMPREHENSIVE POLICY TO

21 OFFICES IN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.—The Sec22 retary of State shall ensure that the policy developed 

23 under subsection (a) is implemented uniformly by the bu24 reaus and offices of the Department of State. 


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1 (e) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.—The 

2 Department of State is directed to coordinate with other 

3 United States government agencies which provide per4 sonnel to serve in overseas posts under Chief of Mission 

5 authority to develop interagency policies for addressing, 

6 reporting, and discipline for incidents of harassment, dis7 crimination, sexual assault, or related retaliation occurring 

8 between covered employees and non-covered employees. 

9 SEC. 3. REPORTING, DOCUMENTATION, AND INVESTIGA10 TION PROCEDURES. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act— 

12 (1) the term ‘‘covered employee’’ means— 

13 (A) any officer or employee (including any 

14 temporary, part-time, contract, intermittent em15 ployee, interns, fellows, or other unpaid staff; 

16 both American citizens and foreign nationals) 

17 performing work for or on behalf of the Depart18 ment of State; 

19 (B) members of the Foreign Service (as 

20 that term is defined under section 103 of the 

21 Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3903)), 

22 to include Foreign Service Officers, Foreign 

23 Service Specialists, Locally Employed Staff, and 

24 Consular Agents; and 


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1 (C) an individual who is engaged by an 

2 employer or entity as a contractor; 

3 (2) the term ‘‘Office of Employee Advocacy’’ 

4 means the Office of Employee Advocacy, as estab5 lished under subsection (b); 

6 (3) the term ‘‘Office of Civil Rights’’ means the 

7 Office of Civil Rights within the Department of 

8 State; 

9 (4) the term ‘‘Global Talent Management’’ 

10 means the Bureau of Global Talent Management, 

11 Office of Employee Relations, Conduct, Suitability, 

12 and Discipline Division within the Department of 

13 State; and 

14 (5) the term ‘‘Diplomatic Security’’ means the 

15 Bureau of Diplomatic Security within the Depart16 ment of State. 

17 (6) the term ‘‘harassment’’ means— 

18 (A) conduct based on race, color, religion, 

19 sex (including sexual orientation, gender iden20 tity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition 

21 related to pregnancy or childbirth, and a sex 

22 stereotype), or national origin, regardless of 

23 whether it is direct or indirect, or verbal or 

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1 ment, including by creating an intimidating, 

2 hostile, or offensive work environment; 

3 (B) sexual harassment is conduct that 

4 takes place in a circumstance described in sub5 paragraph (C) and that takes the form of— 

6 (i) a sexual advance; 

7 (ii) a request for sexual favors; or 

8 (iii) any other conduct of a sexual na9 ture; 

10 (C) a circumstance described in this sub11 paragraph is a situation in which— 

12 (i) submission to the conduct involved 

13 is made either explicitly or implicitly a 

14 term or condition of employment; 

15 (ii) submission to or rejection of such 

16 conduct is used as the basis for an employ17 ment decision affecting an individual’s em18 ployment; or 

19 (iii) such conduct unreasonably alters 

20 an individual’s terms, conditions, or privi21 leges of employment, including by creating 

22 an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work 

23 environment; and 

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1 sonably alters an individual’s terms, conditions, 

2 or privileges of employment, including by cre3 ating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work 

4 environment, the following rules shall apply— 

5 (i) that determination shall be made 

6 on the basis of the record as a whole, ac7 cording to the totality of the cir8 cumstances. A single incident may con9 stitute workplace harassment; 

10 (ii) incidents that may be workplace 

11 harassment shall be considered in the ag12 gregate, with— 

13 (I) conduct of varying types 

14 (such as expressions of sex-based hos15 tility, requests for sexual favors, and 

16 denial of employment opportunities 

17 due to sexual orientation) viewed in 

18 totality, rather than in isolation; and 

19 (II) conduct based on multiple 

20 protected characteristics (such as sex 

21 and race) viewed in totality, rather 

22 than in isolation; 

23 (iii) the factors specified in this sub24 paragraph are among the factors to be 

25 considered in determining whether conduct 


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1 constitutes harassment and are not meant 

2 to be exhaustive. No one of those factors 

3 shall be considered to be determinative in 

4 establishing whether conduct constitutes 

5 harassment. Such factors are each of the 

6 following— 

7 (I) the frequency of the conduct; 

8 (II) the duration of the conduct; 

9 (III) the location where the con10 duct occurred; 

11 (IV) the number of individuals 

12 engaged in the conduct; 

13 (V) the nature of the conduct, 

14 which may include physical, verbal, 

15 pictorial, or visual conduct, and con16 duct that occurs in person or is trans17 mitted, such as electronically; 

18 (VI) whether the conduct is 

19 threatening; 

20 (VII) any power differential be21 tween the alleged harasser and the 

22 person allegedly harassed; 

23 (VIII) any use of epithets, slurs, 

24 or other conduct that is humiliating 

25 or degrading; or 


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1 (IX) whether the conduct reflects 

2 stereotypes about individuals in the 

3 protected class involved; and 

4 (iv) in determining whether conduct 

5 constitutes harassment, conduct may be 

6 harassment regardless of whether, for ex7 ample— 

8 (I) the complaining party is not 

9 the individual being harassed; 

10 (II) the complaining party acqui11 esced or otherwise submitted to, or 

12 participated in, the conduct; 

13 (III) the conduct is also experi14 enced by others outside the protected 

15 class involved; 

16 (IV) the complaining party was 

17 able to continue carrying out duties 

18 and responsibilities of the party’s job 

19 despite the conduct; 

20 (V) the conduct did not cause a 

21 tangible injury or psychological injury; 

22 or 

23 (VI) the conduct occurred outside 

24 of the workplace. 


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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF EMPLOYEE AD2 VOCACY.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec5 retary shall establish a new office to be the Office 

6 of Employee Advocacy, to be headed by a full-time 

7 Chief Advocate. Personnel of the Office shall be ap8 pointed without regard to political affiliation and 

9 solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties 

10 of the position. The Chief Advocate— 

11 (A) shall report directly to the Under Sec12 retary for Management; and 

13 (B) may not have any other duties in the 

14 Department of State that are not reasonably 

15 connected to employee advocacy. 

16 (2) DUTIES OF OFFICE OF EMPLOYEE ADVO17 CACY.— 

18 (A) Receive complaints from any Depart19 ment of State covered employee or eligible fam20 ily member (EFM), as defined in the Foreign 

21 Affairs Manual, of harassment, discrimination, 

22 sexual assault, and related retaliation. 

23 (B) Counsel victims of their rights, proce24 dures for seeking relief, and available resources, 

25 both locally and at headquarters, under this 


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1 Act, and other employment laws enforced by the 

2 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 

3 including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the 

4 Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, the 

5 Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Age Discrimination 

6 in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans 

7 with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Civil Rights 

8 Act of 1991, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 

9 and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination 

10 Act of 2008. 

11 (C) Provide confidential support and infor12 mation, including referrals to medical and men13 tal health care. 

14 (D) Refer complaints to the appropriate 

15 offices in the Department of State promptly in16 cluding— 

17 (i) the Office of Civil Rights in in18 stances of harassment, discrimination, or 

19 related retaliation; and 

20 (ii) Bureau of Diplomatic Security in 

21 instances of sexual assault or other com22 plaints with security clearance implica23 tions. 

24 (E) For the purposes of receiving com25 plaints, operate secure, confidential means of 


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1 reporting 24 hours a day, including an elec2 tronic reporting system and an internationally 

3 accessible hotline. 

4 (F) Employ Employee Advocates to carry 

5 out the duties of the Office and assist those fil6 ing or considering filing a complaint. 

7 (G) If a victim chooses to file a complaint, 

8 such Advocates shall assist the victim in pro9 viding information and support until an inves10 tigation is completed, and a final agency deci11 sion has been made. 

12 (H) Employ attorneys licensed to practice 

13 law with experience in harassment, discrimina14 tion, retaliation, and assault complaints, and 

15 provide optional legal assistance, consultation, 

16 and representation related to a covered employ17 ee’s complaint of harassment, discrimination, 

18 sexual assault, or related retaliation. In car19 rying out this subparagraph, the following shall 

20 apply: 

21 (i) The relationship between the Of22 fice and an employee to whom the Office 

23 provides legal assistance, consultation, and 

24 representation under this section shall be 


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1 the relationship between an attorney and 

2 client. 

3 (ii) Nothing in this section shall pre4 clude covered employees from hiring their 

5 own attorneys or require them to use at6 torneys from the Office. 

7 (iii) Notwithstanding any law regard8 ing the licensure of attorneys, an attorney 

9 who is employed by the Office and is au10 thorized to provide legal assistance and 

11 representation under this section is author12 ized to provide that assistance and rep13 resentation in any jurisdiction, subject to 

14 such regulations as may be prescribed by 

15 the Office. 

16 (iv) The Office may not accept any 

17 award of attorney fees or other litigation 

18 expenses and costs under any hearing or 

19 civil action brought. 

20 (v) The Office must be empowered to 

21 be independent and work on behalf of com22 plainants without undue pressure from 

23 State Department leadership. 

24 (I) Provide routine training to attorneys 

25 and advocates on harassment, discrimination, 


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1 sexual assault, and related retaliation policies 

2 and best practices for victim care. 

3 (J) Track the stage of reporting, investiga4 tion, or disciplinary process a complaint is in. 

5 (K) Conduct climate surveys, as specified 

6 in section 6. 

7 (3) ELECTRONIC REPORTING SYSTEM.—The 

8 system established under this subsection shall— 

9 (A) include an electronic reporting system 

10 under which a complaint may be filed, in addi11 tion to a non-electronic system; 

12 (B) maintain an electronic record of the 

13 date and time at which any complaint is so 

14 filed; 

15 (C) ensure the security and confidentiality 

16 of records; and 

17 (D) allow the submission of confidential re18 ports that will not prompt individualized inves19 tigations, but shall be monitored by the Office 

20 to identify trends and determine whether inves21 tigations should be undertaken by the Office of 

22 Civil Rights. 

23 (4) INTERNATIONAL HOTLINE.—The system es24 tablished under this subsection shall— 


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1 (A) include an international toll-free num2 ber accessible by all covered employees and 

3 EFM both domestic and overseas; 

4 (B) be staffed 24 hours day, 7 days a week 

5 by Office of Employee Advocacy staff during 

6 normal working hours, and by a rotating OEA 

7 duty officer or contractor during non-working 

8 hours; 

9 (C) be entered by OEA staff into the elec10 tronic reporting system so that all reported 

11 cases are captured in the system; and 

12 (D) to the extent practicable, ensure access 

13 to the hotline for non-English speakers. 

14 (5) OVERSEAS POST REPORTING.— 

15 (A) Each overseas post shall notify employ16 ees that they may use the electronic reporting 

17 system or international hotline as established in 

18 paragraphs (3) and (4), or report in person to 

19 the Deputy Chief of Mission or other employees 

20 designated as Office of Employee Advocacy Li21 aisons. 

22 (B) The OEA Liaisons may include (but 

23 are not limited to) the Equal Employment Op24 portunity Counselor, the Community Liaison 

25 Officer, the Locally Employed Staff (LES) 


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1 Equal Employment Opportunity Officer Liai2 son, or other staff to be selected by the Deputy 

3 Chief of Mission. 

4 (C) OEA Liaisons should be provided with 

5 educational materials to distribute as well as 

6 training on the resources and services provided 

7 by the Office of Employee Advocacy, and on the 

8 various means of communications that employ9 ees can use to reach out to OEA Employee Ad10 vocates. 

11 (D) The Chief of Mission shall not be noti12 fied of the identity of the complainant without 

13 the express permission of the complainant. 

14 (6) APPLICATION.—This section shall not be 

15 construed to preclude, limit, or otherwise effect the 

16 rights of a covered employee to file a complaint, 

17 based on the alleged harassment, discrimination, 

18 sexual assault, and related retaliation that gave rise 

19 to the complaint under this subsection, under any 

20 other provision of law. This section shall not be con21 strued to preclude, limit, or otherwise affect the 

22 rights of a covered employee to file a complaint with 

23 another office. 

24 (7) CONSULTATION; TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

25 In developing the Office of Employee Advocacy, the 


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1 State Department shall receive technical assistance 

2 and consultation from organizations and other pro3 fessionals with expertise in victim-centered, trauma4 informed care, individuals who have experienced har5 assment, discrimination, or retaliation at the State 

6 Department, the Equal Employment Opportunity 

7 Commission, and other relevant executive agencies. 

8 (c) DUTIES OF OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the referral of a com10 plaint from the Office of Employee Advocacy to the 

11 Office of Civil Rights, the Office of Civil Rights 

12 shall— 

13 (A) take steps for the initial intake and re14 cording of the complaint, including providing 

15 the covered employee who filed the complaint 

16 with all relevant information with respect to the 

17 rights of the covered employee under this Act 

18 and other relevant law; and 

19 (B) notify the accused covered employee— 

20 (i) of the complaint and the right of 

21 that covered employee to participate in any 

22 mediation, hearing, or civil action under 

23 this section and other applicable law with 

24 respect to the complaint; 


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1 (ii) that retention of documents and 

2 evidence is crucial, and any unauthorized 

3 destruction of documents and evidence may 

4 result in additional investigations and po5 tential punishment; and 

6 (iii) that there is a prohibition on re7 taliation against the covered employee who 

8 filed the complaint and may be investiga9 tion and discipline for retaliation. 

10 (2) INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS.— 

11 (A) INVESTIGATION.—The Office of Civil 

12 Rights shall investigate all complaints in a 

13 prompt, thorough, and impartial manner. The 

14 Department shall update the Foreign Affairs 

15 Manual to enable Office of Civil Rights inves16 tigators to travel to the foreign and domestic 

17 sites of received complaints in which widespread 

18 or pervasive sexual harassment is reported. The 

19 Under Secretary for Management shall author20 ize sufficient funding for Office of Civil Rights 

21 attorney advisors to conduct this travel as nec22 essary. 

23 (B) INVESTIGATION OF CHIEF OF MIS24 SION.—If the Chief of Mission at an overseas 

25 post is named as the alleged perpetrator in a 


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1 complaint, the Office of Civil Rights must no2 tify the Secretary of State. The Office of Civil 

3 Rights must prioritize the investigation of such 

4 cases. 

5 (C) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days 

6 after a complaint is filed under this section and 

7 transmitted to the Office of Civil Rights, the 

8 Office of Civil Rights shall conclude the inves9 tigation regarding that complaint. On the date 

10 the investigation is so concluded, the Office of 

11 Civil Rights shall transmit a written report on 

12 the results of the investigation to— 

13 (i) the covered employee who filed the 

14 complaint; 

15 (ii) the accused employee and his or 

16 her employing office; and 

17 (iii) Global Talent Management. 

18 (D) EXTENSION.—The Office of Civil 

19 Rights may extend the 120 day deadline in sub20 paragraph (A) if the Office of Civil Rights de21 termines that additional time is necessary to 

22 conclude the investigation. The Office of Civil 

23 Rights must notify the House Committee on 

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1 eign Relations of the extension and provide jus2 tification for each extension of 30 days. 

3 (E) TRANSMISSION TO GLOBAL TALENT

4 MANAGEMENT.—After the Office of Civil Rights 

5 concludes the investigation, it shall transmit a 

6 report providing a summary of the facts with 

7 all investigatory material including transcripts 

8 of interviews and evidence to Global Talent 

9 Management for consideration of disciplinary 

10 action. 

11 (F) TRANSMISSION TO SECRETARY OF

12 STATE.—Global Talent Management shall 

13 transmit the investigatory report and any re14 sulting disciplinary actions to the Secretary of 

15 State. Reports shall be transmitted to the Sec16 retary no less than quarterly. 

17 (G) STAFFING.—If the number of com18 plaints received by the Office of Civil Rights ex19 ceeds its capacity to respond within 120 days to 

20 the majority of cases, the Director of the Office 

21 of Civil Rights and Under Secretary for Man22 agement shall authorize the hiring of additional 

23 attorney advisors or other appropriate staff on 

24 a temporary or permanent basis. 

25 (H) RECORD RETENTION.— 


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1 (i) RECORD RETENTION.—Global Tal2 ent Management shall keep a record of in3 vestigations, hearings, and other pro4 ceedings conducted related to complaints of 

5 harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, 

6 or related retaliation. 

7 (ii) PERSONNEL FILES.—Subsequent 

8 disciplinary action taken by Global Talent 

9 Management in response to the investiga10 tion and any EEO settlements or judge11 ments of harassment, discrimination, sex12 ual assault, or related retaliation shall be 

13 documented and kept on file and accessible 

14 to the Office of Civil Rights, Diplomatic 

15 Security, security clearance investigators, 

16 and Federal law enforcement officials. 

17 Global Talent Management shall also en18 sure that a standalone document con19 taining a description of the offense and 

20 disciplinary action taken, redacted of any 

21 personally identifiable information, shall be 

22 provided to and reviewed by all subsequent 

23 Department Foreign Service and Civil 

24 Service Selection and promotion Boards, to 

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1 ployee’s file, including annual performance 

2 assessments or employee evaluations. 

3 (d) DISCIPLINARY ACTION.— 

4 (1) SUSPENSION.—Section 610 of the Foreign 

5 Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4010) is amended by 

6 adding as follows: 

7 ‘‘(c)(1) In order to promote the efficiency of the Serv8 ice, the Secretary may suspend a member of the Foreign 

9 Service without pay when the member’s security clearance 

10 is suspended or when there is reasonable cause to believe 

11 that the member has committed a crime for which a sen12 tence of imprisonment may be imposed or if the member 

13 has a history of harassment or Equal Employment Oppor14 tunity violations documented and substantiated by Global 

15 Talent Management.’’. 

16 (2) SEPARATION FOR CAUSE.—Section 610 of 

17 the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4010) 

18 is amended as follows: 

19 ‘‘(a)(1) The Secretary may decide to separate any 

20 member from the Service for such cause as will promote 

21 the efficiency of the service, to include findings by Diplo22 matic Security that the member has engaged in criminal 

23 misconduct, to include murder, rape, or other sexual as24 sault.’’. 


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1 (3) UPDATE TO MANUAL.—Global Talent Man2 agement shall update the Foreign Affairs Manual’s 

3 ‘‘Grounds for Disciplinary Action’’ and ‘‘List of Dis4 ciplinary Offenses and Penalties’’ to reflect the 

5 amendments made by this subsection and commu6 nicate such amendments to staff via Department 

7 Notices. 

8 (e) PENALTIES.—Consistent with other civil service 

9 and Foreign Service laws and regulations, the Secretary 

10 of State shall develop a policy of applying penalties to any 

11 covered employee who is determined to have sexual as12 sault, harassment, discrimination, or related retaliation 

13 complaints against him or her substantiated. Such pen14 alties shall include additional mandatory training, suspen15 sion with or without pay, demotion in rank, or removal 

16 for a period of the Secretary’s choosing. 

17 (f) ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION.—Global Talent 

18 Management shall ensure, to the extent practicable and 

19 appropriate, that any third country national or any na20 tional of a host country that was assigned to work at a 

21 diplomatic facility or employee residence who harasses, 

22 discriminates against, sexually assaults, or retaliates 

23 against a covered employee is— 


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1 (1) documented in an appropriate site history 

2 file and in a global tracking and recording system, 

3 to be coordinated by Global Talent Management; 

4 (2) taken into account with respect to deter5 minations regarding placements of third country na6 tionals or any national of a host country at such 

7 post and the provision of any funds or other benefit 

8 by the Department; and 

9 (3) any covered employee who filed the com10 plaint may opt out of having personally identifiable 

11 information included in such a report. 

12 (g) CASE REVIEW.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Civil Rights 

14 and Diplomatic Security shall conduct case reviews 

15 of a statistically significant number of cases on a 

16 quarterly basis to determine if proper procedures 

17 were followed in accordance with the harassment, 

18 discrimination, sexual assault, and related retaliation 

19 protocols and guidelines provided under this Act and 

20 other applicable laws. 

21 (2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—An analysis of 

22 such case reviews shall be annually reported to the 

23 Committee on Oversight and Reform and Committee 

24 on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 

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1 ernmental Affairs and Committee on Foreign Rela2 tions of the Senate in the report mandated in section 

3 7(a). 

4 SEC. 4. SEXUAL ASSAULT PROTOCOL AND VICTIM CARE. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the other re7 quirements of this Act, not later than one year after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

9 of State shall develop and implement comprehensive 

10 sexual assault protocol and guidelines that conform 

11 to best practices in the sexual assault field and are 

12 applicable to all posts at which covered employees 

13 serve. 

14 (2) CONSULTATION.—In developing the proto15 cols and guidelines under paragraph (1), the Sec16 retary shall consult with and incorporate, as appro17 priate, the recommendations and views of experts in 

18 the sexual assault prevention and response field, vic19 tims, victim advocates, and current or former cov20 ered employees who have reported sexual assault or 

21 related retaliation. 

22 (b) ELEMENTS.—The protocols and guidelines under 

23 subsection (a)(1) shall include the following services with 

24 respect to a covered employee who has made an allegation 

25 of sexual assault: 


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1 (1) Protection of such employee’s confiden2 tiality. 

3 (2) Provision of a victim’s advocate, as de4 scribed in subsection (e), who is able to refer the vic5 tim to supportive services and resources and explain 

6 the victim’s rights at no cost to the victim. 

7 (3) Provision, within 72 hours of a report, of a 

8 sexual assault forensic evidence kit to such em9 ployee, upon request. 

10 (4) Provision of emergency health care to such 

11 employee, including, to the greatest extent prac12 ticable, a choice of medical providers and a mecha13 nism for such employee to evaluate such provider. 

14 (5) Provision of comprehensive health services, 

15 to the greatest extent practicable, to include physical 

16 and mental health services. 

17 (6) Nothing in this subsection may be con18 strued to authorize the furnishing of any medical 

19 benefit that the Secretary of State is not otherwise 

20 authorized to reimburse for covered employees who 

21 receive treatment for injury or disease proximately 

22 caused by their service in the Department of State. 

23 (c) NOTIFICATION.—Diplomatic Security Office of 

24 Special Investigations shall be notified immediately of any 

25 reported sexual assault against any covered employee. For 


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1 the purposes of maintaining comprehensive records of all 

2 incidents of sexual misconduct at the Department of 

3 State, if Diplomatic Security receives the initial report of 

4 a sexual assault involving a covered employee, Diplomatic 

5 Security shall notify the Office of Employee Advocacy. 

6 (d) SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE

7 VICTIM ADVOCATES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 

9 ensure the Victims’ Resource Advocacy Program, as 

10 defined in the Foreign Assistance Manual, includes, 

11 in the competitive service in Diplomatic Security 

12 within the Department of State, staff formally 

13 trained to provide victim-centered, trauma-informed 

14 care and advocacy for victims of sexual assault. (In 

15 this subsection referred to as the ‘‘Advocates’’). 

16 (2) DUTIES.—The Advocates shall— 

17 (A) receive continuous training in victim 

18 advocacy; 

19 (B) assist the victim in navigating those 

20 processes required to obtain care and services 

21 needed; and 

22 (C) offer trauma-informed care to victims, 

23 referrals, and ongoing nonclinical support. 

24 (3) LIMITATIONS.—The Advocates shall not 

25 be— 


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1 (A) responsible for providing mental health 

2 services or to act as an investigator; or 

3 (B) placed under the Department’s med4 ical offices or be responsible for providing phys5 ical health services. 

6 (4) PLACEMENT.—The Secretary shall ensure 

7 that Advocates are physically present at Department 

8 headquarters, major domestic and international fa9 cilities and embassies, as determined by the Depart10 ment and with logistical consideration to allow for 

11 expedient travel to Department facilities without Ad12 vocates. 

13 (e) OVERSEAS POST.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Department shall serve 

15 as the lead agency for reporting and responding to 

16 harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, and re17 lated retaliation within an Embassy, Consulate, or 

18 other overseas location (in this subsection referred to 

19 as an ‘‘overseas post’’), and shall make Advocates 

20 and other resources available to victims of other 

21 agencies who fall under Chief of Mission authority at 

22 the overseas post. 

23 (2) REFERRAL.—The Department shall refer 

24 incident reporting to the appropriate agency for any 

25 employees working under Chief of Mission authority 


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1 if the accused is not a covered employee of the De2 partment of State. 

3 (3) CHIEF OF MISSION AUTHORITY.—If a cred4 ible allegation of harassment, discrimination, sexual 

5 assault, or related retaliation is made by a covered 

6 employee at an overseas post against a non-covered 

7 employee serving under Chief of Mission authority, 

8 including against an employee of another executive 

9 agency or non-executive branch agencies operating 

10 under memoranda of understanding, the Chief of 

11 Mission may use all authorities at their disposal to 

12 include revoking the non-covered employee’s permis13 sion to be in the country on official business. 

14 (4) DIPLOMATIC SECURITY TRAINING.—Diplo15 matic Security shall ensure that individuals serving 

16 as regional security officers in overseas posts are 

17 trained in victim-centered, trauma-informed care 

18 and sexual assault investigation techniques. 

19 (f) SANE PROGRAM TRAINING.—The Bureau of Med20 ical Services within the Department of State shall ensure 

21 that to the greatest extent practicable, Sexual Assault 

22 Nurse Examiner trained staff shall be placed at Depart23 ment headquarters and major domestic and international 

24 facilities and embassies. 


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1 SEC. 5. RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES HARASSED, DISCRIMI2 NATED AGAINST, RETALIATED AGAINST, OR 

3 SEXUALLY ASSAULTED. 

4 (a) RIGHT TO LEGAL COUNSEL.—Any covered em5 ployee filing a complaint of harassment, discrimination, 

6 sexual assault, or related retaliation may have access to 

7 legal counsel as specified in section 3(b). 

8 (b) AVAILABILITY OF MEDIATION DURING HARASS9 MENT INVESTIGATIONS.— 

10 (1) AVAILABILITY OF MEDIATION DURING IN11 VESTIGATION.—During the complaint intake of a 

12 covered employee’s complaint under section 3— 

13 (A) the Office of Civil Rights may inform 

14 the covered employee of the availability of medi15 ation; 

16 (B) the covered employee who filed the 

17 complaint and the accused covered employee 

18 may jointly file a request for mediation with the 

19 Office of Civil Rights; and 

20 (C) the covered employee who filed the 

21 complaint and the accused employee may re22 quest the presence of an attorney or a victim 

23 advocate in the mediation. 

24 (2) REQUIRING PARTIES TO BE SEPARATED

25 DURING MEDIATION AT REQUEST OF EMPLOYEE.— 

26 At the request of either party, the parties shall be 


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1 separated during any mediation proceeding under 

2 this subsection. 

3 (c) AVAILABILITY OF ALTERNATE WORK ASSIGN4 MENT OR PAID LEAVE OF ABSENCE DURING PENDENCY

5 OF PROCEDURES.— 

6 (1) OPTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES.— 

7 (A) EMERGENCY CURTAILMENT OF OVER8 SEAS ASSIGNMENT.—At the request of a cov9 ered employee who files a complaint of harass10 ment, discrimination, sexual assault, or related 

11 retaliation, an employee may request emergency 

12 curtailment of his or her tour of duty at no 

13 penalty to their career progress and shall be re14 assigned. Such requests for emergency curtail15 ment shall be approved by the Secretary or 

16 their designee, not post management, within 10 

17 days. The Department shall develop a process 

18 by which covered employees may request this 

19 option in a manner which does not inadvert20 ently result in retaliation to the employee. 

21 (B) ALTERNATE WORK ASSIGNMENT.—At 

22 the request of a covered employee who files a 

23 complaint, during the pendency of any of the 

24 procedures available under this title for consid25 eration of the violation, the employing office 


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1 shall permit the covered employee to carry out 

2 the employee’s responsibilities from an alternate 

3 location where such relocation would have the 

4 effect of materially reducing interactions be5 tween the covered employee and any person al6 leged to have committed the violation, instead 

7 of from a location of the employing office. 

8 (C) EXCEPTION FOR WORK ASSIGNMENTS

9 REQUIRED TO BE CARRIED OUT ONSITE.—If, in 

10 the determination of the covered employee’s em11 ploying office, a covered employee who makes a 

12 request under this subsection cannot carry out 

13 the employee’s responsibilities from an alternate 

14 location or such relocation would not have the 

15 effect described in subparagraph (B), the em16 ploying office may during the pendency of the 

17 procedures described in subparagraph (B)— 

18 (i) reassign the covered employee; 

19 (ii) make another workplace adjust20 ment that would have the effect of reduc21 ing interactions between the covered em22 ployee and any person alleged to have com23 mitted the violation described in subpara24 graph (B); or 

25 (iii) grant a paid leave of absence. 


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1 (D) ENSURING NO RETALIATION.—An em2 ploying office may not grant a covered employ3 ee’s request under this subsection in a manner 

4 which would constitute retaliation in violation of 

5 any provision of law, including any provision of 

6 title 5, United States Code. 

7 (E) NO IMPACT ON ANNUAL OR PERSONAL

8 LEAVE.—In granting leave for a paid leave of 

9 absence under this section, an employing office 

10 shall not require the covered employee to sub11 stitute, for that leave, any of the accrued paid 

12 annual leave of the covered employee. 

13 (F) USE OF DUTY HOURS.—An employee 

14 may use up to 16 hours of duty hours to pre15 pare for the investigation and resolution of the 

16 applicable complaint. 

17 (2) EXCEPTION FOR ARRANGEMENTS SUBJECT

18 TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.—Para19 graph (1) does not apply to the extent that it is in20 consistent with the terms and conditions of any col21 lective bargaining agreement which is in effect with 

22 respect to an employing office. 

23 (3) PROTECTIONS.—A request under paragraph 

24 (1) may not be granted or carried out in a retalia25 tory manner, including retaliation for whistleblowing 


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1 in violation of the provisions of title 5, United States 

2 Code, or any other provision of law. 

3 (d) EXIT INTERVIEWS.—Departing employees may 

4 request the opportunity to be interviewed in person with 

5 Global Talent Management or its designee to discuss the 

6 circumstances of their departure and should be asked spe7 cifically about the prevalence of and incidents of harass8 ment, discrimination, sexual assault, and related retalia9 tion. 

10 SEC. 6. PROVISION OF CLIMATE SURVEYS. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

12 (1) the term ‘‘bureaus and offices of the De13 partment of State’’ includes the Foreign Service (as 

14 that term is defined in section 102 of the Foreign 

15 Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3902)); 

16 (2) the terms ‘‘Department of State’’ and ‘‘De17 partment’’ include the Foreign Service; and 

18 (3) the terms ‘‘employees and officials of the 

19 Department of State’’ includes members of the Serv20 ice (as that term is defined in section 103 of the 

21 Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3903)). 

22 (b) CLIMATE SURVEYS OF EMPLOYEES OF THE DE23 PARTMENT OF STATE.— 

24 (1) REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT SURVEYS.— 

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1 ment of this Act and every 2 years thereafter, the 

2 Office of Employee Advocacy within the Department 

3 of State shall conduct a survey of covered employees 

4 of the Department of State regarding harassment, 

5 discrimination, sexual assault, and related retaliation 

6 in Department of State employment, including a 

7 survey of the following: 

8 (A) The prevalence of perceived violations 

9 by employees and officials of the Department of 

10 State. 

11 (B) The extent to which such violations 

12 arise from harassment or discrimination, in13 cluding on the basis of sex, race, religion, na14 tional origin, disability, genetic information, 

15 and other demographic characteristics. 

16 (C) The presence of a hostile work environ17 ment in the agency. 

18 (D) Whether employees are aware of their 

19 rights and Department processes and proce20 dures, and able to effectively exercise the rights 

21 and protections provided under this Act and 

22 other applicable laws, including the effectiveness 

23 of the procedures applicable under this Act and 

24 other applicable laws for investigating and hold25 ing accountable violations. 


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1 (E) The extent to which employees feel 

2 comfortable making use of the available report3 ing and resolution mechanisms. 

4 (F) For employees who have used the re5 porting and resolution mechanisms, the extent 

6 to which the process was accessible and fair. 

7 (2) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—In each survey con9 ducted under this section, the Office of Em10 ployee Advocacy shall survey respondents re11 garding the prevalence of and attitudes regard12 ing harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, 

13 and related retaliation in Department of State 

14 employment. 

15 (B) COMPILATION OF INFORMATION BY

16 VARIOUS CATEGORIES.—The Office of Em17 ployee Advocacy shall endeavor to compile infor18 mation from the survey on the basis of various 

19 categories of demographic characteristics, in20 cluding gender, race and ethnicity, and age, so 

21 that the survey will report on the rates of inci22 dents of harassment, discrimination, sexual as23 sault, and related retaliation affecting each 

24 such demographic category. The provision of 


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1 such demographic information shall be vol2 untary. 

3 (C) CONSULTATION; TECHNICAL ASSIST4 ANCE.—The Office of Employee Advocacy shall 

5 develop the survey in consultation with offices 

6 of the executive branch which currently conduct 

7 similar surveys of their employees, including the 

8 Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office 

9 of the Department of Defense, the Office of Vi10 olence Against Women of the Department of 

11 Justice, and the Merit Systems Protection 

12 Board. Additionally, in developing the survey, 

13 the Office of Employee Advocacy shall enter 

14 into agreement to receive technical assistance 

15 from Workplaces Respond to Domestic and 

16 Sexual Violence: A National Resource Center 

17 (also known as ‘‘Workplaces Respond’’), the 

18 nonprofit nongovernmental entity described in 

19 section of the Violence Against Women Act of 

20 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12501). 

21 (D) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The underlying 

22 data of the climate surveys shall only be avail23 able to the Office of Employee Advocacy. 


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1 (3) METHODOLOGY.—The Office of Employee 

2 Advocacy shall conduct each survey under this sec3 tion in accordance with the following: 

4 (A) All responses to all portions of the sur5 vey shall be anonymous and confidential, and 

6 each respondent shall be told throughout the 

7 survey that all responses shall be anonymous 

8 and confidential. 

9 (B) The Office of Employee Advocacy shall 

10 design the survey so that it will take no more 

11 than 15 minutes to complete, and so that it 

12 may be taken online through the use of both 

13 stationary communication devices (such as 

14 desktop computers) and portable communica15 tion devices (such as cell phones and tablets). 

16 (C) The Office of Employee Advocacy shall 

17 include in the survey a list of resources avail18 able to respondents who wish to get more infor19 mation about harassment, discrimination, sex20 ual assault, or related retaliation in Department 

21 of State employment, including the services the 

22 Department of State provides to individuals 

23 who allege violations. 


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1 SEC. 7. REPORTS TO CONGRESS, THE DEPARTMENT, AND 

2 THE PUBLIC. 

3 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

5 after the date of enactment, and annually thereafter, 

6 the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee 

7 on Foreign Affairs and Committee on Oversight and 

8 Reform of the House of Representatives and the 

9 Committee on Foreign Relations and Committee on 

10 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

11 Senate a report on allegations of harassment, dis12 crimination, sexual assault, and related retaliation 

13 involving employees and officials of the Department 

14 of State during the preceding year. 

15 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Any report submitted 

16 under paragraph (1) shall be made available to— 

17 (A) Department personnel on internal 

18 websites and town hall meetings; and 

19 (B) to the general public on the Depart20 ment’s public website. 

21 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report under subsection (a)(1) 

22 shall contain the following: 

23 (1) The number of instances of harassment, 

24 discrimination, sexual assault, and related retaliation 

25 against employees and officials of the Department of 

26 State, and the number of instances of harassment, 


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1 discrimination, sexual assault, and related retaliation 

2 by employees and officials of the Department, that 

3 were reported to the Department during the year 

4 covered by such report, and the number of the cases 

5 so reported that were substantiated. The types of 

6 harassment and discrimination shall be 

7 disaggregated by category. 

8 (2) A summary of types of charges of, and the 

9 disciplinary action taken, in each such resolved case, 

10 with identifying information of both the accused and 

11 complainant removed. 

12 (3) The policies, procedures, and processes im13 plemented by the Secretary of State during the year 

14 covered by each such report in response to incidents 

15 of harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, and 

16 related retaliation involving employees and officials 

17 of the Department of State. 

18 (4) A plan for the actions that are to be taken 

19 in the year following the year covered by each such 

20 report on the prevention of and response to harass21 ment, discrimination, sexual assault, and related re22 taliation involving employees and officials of the De23 partment of State. 

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1 tion, sexual assault, and related retaliation, to in2 clude the number of staff working, the average and 

3 median time to investigate cases, and the number of 

4 extensions requested by the Office of Civil Rights to 

5 conduct investigations past the 120-day timeframe. 

6 (6) Details on the average caseload of Office of 

7 Employee Advocacy Employee Advocates and staff 

8 attorneys. 

9 (7) Details on cases of bystander intervention 

10 where a bystander assisted to counter or report inci11 dents of harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, 

12 and related retaliation. 

13 (8) Detailed findings and underlying data of 

14 the climate surveys required in section 6 of this Act, 

15 including an independent assessment by the Chief 

16 Advocate, not subject to the Secretary of State, of 

17 the current climate at the Department of State with 

18 regard to harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, 

19 and related retaliation. 

20 (9) Frequency with which those alleging harass21 ment, discrimination, sexual assault, or related retal22 iation took advantage of supportive services, such as 

23 medical care or counseling. 

24 (c) ASSESSMENT.—Each report under paragraph (1) 

25 for each year beginning with 2021 shall also include an 


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1 assessment by the Secretary of State of the implementa2 tion during the preceding fiscal year of the policies and 

3 procedures under section 2(a) of the Department of State 

4 on the prevention of and response to harassment, discrimi5 nation, sexual assault, and related retaliation involving 

6 employees and officials of the Department in order to de7 termine the effectiveness of such policies and procedures 

8 during such fiscal year in providing an appropriate re9 sponse to such harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, 

10 and related retaliation. 

11 (d) ASSESSMENT OF ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES

12 NEEDED.—Not later than one year after the date of en13 actment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit 

14 to Congress a proposal for such changes and legislation 

15 as the Secretary considers necessary to enhance the capa16 bility of the Department of State to address matters relat17 ing to harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, and re18 lated retaliation involving covered employees. The report 

19 shall include recommendations for additional appropria20 tions, as appropriate, to implement these changes. 

21 SEC. 8. REQUIRED TRAINING FOR DEPARTMENT PER22 SONNEL. 

23 (a) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION TRAINING.—Not 

24 later than one year after the enactment of this Act, and 

25 annually thereafter, the Office of Civil Rights shall provide 


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1 to each covered employee of the Department of State 

2 training regarding whistleblower disclosures and protec3 tions. Such training shall include instruction and an expla4 nation of the rights of such covered employee regarding 

5 whistleblowing, including— 

6 (1) each method established by law in which a 

7 covered employee may file a whistleblower disclosure; 

8 (2) the right of the covered employee to petition 

9 Congress regarding a whistleblower disclosure; and 

10 (3) the fact that the covered employee may not 

11 be prosecuted or retaliated against for disclosing in12 formation to Congress, the Inspector General, or any 

13 other investigatory agency in instances where such 

14 disclosure is permitted by law, rule, or regulation. 

15 (b) BYSTANDER INTERVENTION TRAINING.—Not 

16 later than one year after the enactment of this Act, and 

17 annually thereafter, the Office of Civil Rights shall provide 

18 to each covered employee of the Department of State 

19 training regarding harassment, discrimination, sexual as20 sault, and related retaliation, including— 

21 (1) describing what such conduct entails; 

22 (2) identifying the types of conduct that serve 

23 as grounds to report or intervene; 


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1 (3) training on relevant laws that may require 

2 an officer or employee to report or intervene in in3 stances of such conduct; 

4 (4) reporting and intervening protocols and 

5 strategies for such conduct; 

6 (5) specific training for covered employees who 

7 process allegations of such conduct against other 

8 covered employees; and 

9 (6) such training must be developed based on 

10 consultation with organizations with expertise in 

11 trauma-informed care, effective strategies in preven12 tion and response, and healthy workplace culture. 

13 (c) SUPERVISOR TRAINING.—Not later than one year 

14 after the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

15 the Office of Civil Rights shall provide and institute man16 datory training on responding to complaints of harass17 ment, discrimination, sexual assault, and related retalia18 tion to each covered employee of the Department of State 

19 who is a supervisor. Such training must be developed 

20 based on consultation with organizations with expertise in 

21 trauma-informed care, effective strategies in prevention 

22 and response, and healthy workplace culture. 

23 (d) EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TRAINING.—Not later 

24 than one year after the enactment of this Act, and annu25 ally thereafter, the Office of Civil Rights shall provide and 


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1 institute mandatory training for each covered employee 

2 serving in an executive leadership role, including Chiefs 

3 of Mission. The training shall emphasize the statutory re4 quirements for reporting and responding to complaints of 

5 harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, and related re6 taliation, including— 

7 (1) understanding the damage and harm har8 assment, discrimination, sexual assault, and related 

9 retaliation do to the employee and the organization; 

10 (2) senior leadership’s responsibility and role to 

11 create and foster a work environment free from har12 assment, discrimination, sexual assault, and related 

13 retaliation; and 

14 (3) such training must be developed based on 

15 consultation with organizations with expertise in 

16 trauma-informed care, effective strategies in preven17 tion and response, and healthy workplace culture. 

18 (e) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—Not later than one 

19 year after the enactment of this Act, and annually there20 after, the Office of Civil Rights shall provide to each cov21 ered employee of the Department of State training on the 

22 policies and procedures on harassment, discrimination, 

23 sexual assault, and related retaliation applicable by oper24 ation of section 2. Employees should receive this training 

25 within 30 days of entering on duty. Such training must 


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1 be developed based on consultation with organizations 

2 with expertise in trauma-informed care, effective strate3 gies in prevention and response, and healthy workplace 

4 culture. 

5 (f) MANAGER’S TOOLKIT.—The Secretary of State 

6 shall establish resources, to be referred to as a ‘‘Manager’s 

7 Toolkit’’, to aid supervisors in understanding rights, re8 sponsibilities, and penalties associated with conduct of 

9 harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, and related re10 taliation. 

11 (g) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COUNSELOR

12 TRAINING.—The Office of Civil Rights shall revise the 32 

13 hours of training provided to Equal Employment Oppor14 tunity Counselors to include the resources and responsibil15 ities of the Office of Employee Advocacy, as well as the 

16 various means of communication available to employees to 

17 relay their complaints to OEA. 

18 SEC. 9. HIRING, VETTING, AND PROMOTION. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in con20 sultation with relevant agencies, shall ensure that ques21 tions relating to harassment, discrimination, sexual as22 sault, and related retaliation complaints are included in 

23 any background investigation with respect to a security 

24 clearance or access determination and vetting of any cov25 ered employee. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPOINTMENT.—Consistent 

2 with the civil service and Foreign Service laws and regula3 tions, the Secretary of State shall ensure that a back4 ground investigation on any potential sexual assault is 

5 conducted before an individual is appointed to a position 

6 within the Department. 

7 (c) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROMOTION INTO THE SEN8 IOR FOREIGN SERVICE OR SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERV9 ICE.—The Secretary of State shall ensure that potential 

10 candidates are vetted for their history of promoting a work 

11 environment free from harassment and discrimination. 

12 Promotion boards shall take into account whether can13 didates have a history of offenses that occurred under 

14 their leadership, regardless of whether the candidate was 

15 named an offender or not. 

16 (d) PROMOTION POLICY OBJECTIVES.—Consistent 

17 with the civil service and Foreign Service laws and regula18 tions, the Secretary of State shall ensure that promotion 

19 precepts and selection panels reward officers who have vol20 unteered to serve as Equal Employment Opportunity 

21 Counselors, and that documentation of the precepts em22 phasize that counseling experience is to be viewed as valu23 able experience preparing officers to perform in senior24 level positions with respect to the leadership, management, 

25 and interpersonal skills precepts. 


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1 SEC. 10. NONDISCLOSURE AND NONDISPARAGEMENT 

2 AGREEMENTS. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

4 (1) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means 

5 any individual subject to section 717 of the Civil 

6 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16), section 

7 411(c) of title 3, United States Code, or section 

8 101(a)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 

9 1995. 

10 (2) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ means 

11 any employing office referred to in section 

12 1301(a)(9) of title 2, United States Code, or section 

13 411(c)(2) of title 3, United States Code, or depart14 ment, agency, or unit referred to in subsection (a) 

15 of section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

16 U.S.C. 2000e–16). 

17 (3) NONDISCLOSURE CLAUSE.—The term ‘‘non18 disclosure clause’’ means a provision in a contract or 

19 agreement establishing that one or more parties to 

20 the contract or agreement agrees not to disclose in21 formation covered by the terms and conditions of the 

22 contract or agreement. 

23 (4) NONDISPARAGEMENT CLAUSE.—The term 

24 ‘‘nondisparagement clause’’ means a provision in a 

25 contract or agreement requiring one or more parties 


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1 to the contract or agreement not to make negative 

2 statements about another such party. 

3 (b) UNLAWFUL PRACTICES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be an unlawful prac5 tice for an employer to enter into a contract or 

6 agreement with an employee, as a condition of em7 ployment, promotion, compensation, benefits, or 

8 change in employment status, or as a term, condi9 tion, or privilege of employment, if that contract or 

10 agreement contains a nondisparagement clause or 

11 nondisclosure clause that covers prohibited discrimi12 nation or harassment in employment or contracting, 

13 or retaliation for reporting, resisting, opposing, or 

14 assisting in the investigation of such discrimination 

15 or harassment. 

16 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—Notwithstanding any 

17 other provision of law, it shall be an unlawful prac18 tice for an employer to enforce or attempt to enforce 

19 a nondisclosure or nondisparagement clause that 

20 covers prohibited discrimination or harassment in 

21 employment, or retaliation for reporting, resisting, 

22 opposing, or assisting in the investigation of such 

23 discrimination or harassment. An employer’s en24 forcement or attempts to enforce such a nondiscloVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8465.IH H8465

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1 sure agreement against an employee shall be deter2 mined to be prohibited retaliation. 

3 (3) SETTLEMENT OR SEPARATION AGREE4 MENTS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of para6 graphs (1) and (2) do not apply to a nondispar7 agement clause or nondisclosure clause con8 tained in a settlement agreement or separation 

9 agreement that resolves legal claims or disputes 

10 if— 

11 (i) such legal claims accrued or such 

12 disputes arose before the settlement agree13 ment or separation agreement was exe14 cuted; 

15 (ii) the clause involved is mutually 

16 agreed upon by and mutually benefits 

17 both— 

18 (I) the employer, as the case may 

19 be; and 

20 (II) the employee; 

21 (iii) the employee’s agreement to such 

22 clause is knowing and voluntary, as de23 scribed in subparagraph (C); and 

24 (iv) the settlement agreement or sepa25 ration agreement expressly states that the 


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1 agreement involved does not prohibit, pre2 vent, or otherwise restrict a worker from— 

3 (I) reporting the allegations un4 derlying those settled claims to the 

5 Equal Employment Opportunity Com6 mission, any other Federal, State, or 

7 local agency with the authority to en8 force laws (including regulations) that 

9 prohibit discrimination or harassment 

10 in employment, as the case may be, or 

11 law enforcement; 

12 (II) testifying at, assisting, or 

13 participating in an investigation or 

14 proceeding conducted by the Equal 

15 Employment Opportunity Commis16 sion, any other Federal, State, or local 

17 agency with the authority to enforce 

18 laws (including regulations) that pro19 hibit discrimination or harassment in 

20 employment, as the case may be, or 

21 law enforcement; or 

22 (III) testifying in a hearing or 

23 trial or complying with a request for 

24 discovery in relation to civil litigation. 


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1 (B) PROHIBITION ON SOLE BENEFIT.—For 

2 purposes of this paragraph, it shall be an un3 lawful practice for an employer to unilaterally 

4 include a nondisparagement clause or nondisclo5 sure clause that solely benefits the employer in 

6 a separation or settlement agreement. 

7 (C) KNOWING AND VOLUNTARY AGREE8 MENT.—For purposes of this paragraph, agree9 ment to a nondisparagement clause or non10 disclosure clause may not be considered know11 ing and voluntary unless at a minimum— 

12 (i) the nondisparagement clause or 

13 nondisclosure clause is written in a manner 

14 designed to ensure that the employee un15 derstands the content of the clause in16 volved; 

17 (ii) the nondisparagement clause or 

18 nondisclosure clause is included only in ex19 change for consideration of value provided 

20 to the employee, in addition to anything of 

21 value to which the employee is already en22 titled; 

23 (iii) the nondisparagement clause or 

24 nondisclosure clause does not apply to any 

25 rights or claims that arise after the date 


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1 the settlement or separation agreement is 

2 executed; 

3 (iv) the employee is advised in writing 

4 to consult with an attorney prior to agree5 ing to such an agreement that includes a 

6 nondisparagement clause or nondisclosure 

7 clause; 

8 (v) the employee is given a period of 

9 at least 21 days to consider any proposal 

10 for a settlement or separation agreement 

11 that includes a nondisparagement clause or 

12 nondisclosure clause; and 

13 (vi) the settlement or separation 

14 agreement provides that for a period of at 

15 least 7 days following the execution of such 

16 agreement the employee may revoke the 

17 agreement, and the agreement shall not be18 come effective or enforceable until the rev19 ocation period has expired. 

20 (D) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In any dispute 

21 that may arise over whether any of the require22 ments of subparagraph (A) have been met, the 

23 party asserting the validity of an agreement 

24 shall have the burden of proving that the re25 quirements of subparagraph (A) have been met. 


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1 (E) PARTICIPATION IN INVESTIGATIONS OR

2 PROCEEDINGS.—No nondisparagement clause 

3 or nondisclosure clause may affect the ability of 

4 an employee to testify at, assist, or participate 

5 in an investigation or proceeding conducted by 

6 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis7 sion, any Federal, State, or local agency with 

8 the authority to enforce laws (including regula9 tions) that prohibit discrimination in employ10 ment, as the case may be, or a law enforcement 

11 agency. 

12 (F) PROHIBITION ON DAMAGES.—Under 

13 no circumstances shall an employee be required 

14 to pay damages for breach of a nondisparage15 ment clause or nondisclosure clause permitted 

16 by this paragraph in excess of an amount equal 

17 to the consideration of value provided to the 

18 worker in exchange for the workers’ agreement 

19 to the nondisparagement clause or nondisclo20 sure clause. 

21 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 

22 (1) ENFORCEMENT POWERS.—With respect to 

23 the administration and enforcement of this section 

24 in the case of a claim alleged by an employee against 

25 an employer for a violation of this section— 


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1 (A) the Commission shall have the same 

2 powers as the Commission has to administer 

3 and enforce title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 

4 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.); 

5 (B) the Librarian of Congress shall have 

6 the same powers as the Librarian of Congress 

7 has to administer and enforce title VII of the 

8 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et 

9 seq.) in the case of a claim alleged by an em10 ployee of the employer for a violation of such 

11 title; 

12 (C) the Board (as defined in section 

13 101(a) of the Congressional Accountability Act 

14 of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301(a))) shall have the 

15 same powers as the Board has to administer 

16 and enforce the Congressional Accountability 

17 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) in the case 

18 of a claim alleged by an employee of the em19 ployer for a violation of section 201(a)(1) of 

20 such Act (2 U.S.C. 1311(a)(1)); 

21 (D) the President, the Commission, and 

22 the Merit Systems Protection Board shall have 

23 the same powers as the President, the Commis24 sion, and the Board, respectively, have to ad25 minister and enforce chapter 5 of title 3, 


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1 United States Code, in the case of a claim al2 leged by an employee of the employer for a vio3 lation of section 411 of such title; and 

4 (E) a court of the United States shall have 

5 the same jurisdiction and powers as the court 

6 has to enforce— 

7 (i) title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 

8 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) in the case 

9 of a claim alleged by an employee of the 

10 employer for a violation of such title; 

11 (ii) the Congressional Accountability 

12 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) in the 

13 case of a claim alleged by an employee of 

14 the employer for a violation of section 

15 201(a)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

16 1311(a)(1)); and 

17 (iii) chapter 5 of title 3, United States 

18 Code, in the case of a claim alleged by an 

19 employee of the employer for a violation of 

20 section 411 of such title. 

21 (2) PROCEDURES AND REMEDIES.—The proce22 dures and remedies applicable to a claim alleged by 

23 an employee against the employer for a violation of 

24 this section are— 


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1 (A) the procedures and remedies applicable 

2 for a violation of title VII of the Civil Rights 

3 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) in the 

4 case of a claim alleged by an employee of the 

5 employer for a violation of such title; 

6 (B) the procedures and remedies applicable 

7 for a violation of section 201(a)(1) of the Con8 gressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

9 1311(a)(1)) in the case of a claim alleged by an 

10 employee of the employer for a violation of such 

11 section; and 

12 (C) the procedures and remedies applicable 

13 for a violation of section 411 of title 3, United 

14 States Code, in the case of a claim alleged by 

15 an employee of the employer for a violation of 

16 such section. 

17 (d) RIGHT TO REPORT RESERVED.—Notwith18 standing signing (before, on, or after the effective date of 

19 this Act) any nondisparagement clause or nondisclosure 

20 clause, an employee retains— 

21 (1) any right that person would otherwise have 

22 had to report a concern about harassment, including 

23 sexual harassment, in employment or another viola24 tion of the law to the Commission, another Federal 

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1 cial branch), a State or local fair employment prac2 tices agency or any other State or local agency, or 

3 a law enforcement agency; and 

4 (2) any right that person would otherwise have 

5 had to bring an action in a court of the United 

6 States. 

7 (e) REGULATIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graphs (2), (3), and (4), the Commission shall have 

10 authority to issue regulations to carry out this sec11 tion. 

12 (2) LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS.—The Librarian 

13 of Congress shall have authority to issue regulations 

14 to carry out this section with respect to workers of 

15 the Library of Congress. 

16 (3) BOARD.—The Board referred to in sub17 section (c)(1)(C) shall have authority to issue regu18 lations to carry out this section, in accordance with 

19 section 304 of the Congressional Accountability Act 

20 of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1384), with respect to employees 

21 described in subsection (c)(1)(C). 

22 (4) PRESIDENT.—The President shall have au23 thority to issue regulations to carry out this section 

24 with respect to employees described in subsection 

25 (c)(1)(E). 


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1 (f) REMEDIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

2 of this Act, in an action or administrative proceeding 

3 against the United States for a violation of this section, 

4 remedies (including remedies at law and in equity, and 

5 interest) are available for the violation to the same extent 

6 as the remedies are available for a violation of title VII 

7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) 

8 by an employer, except that— 

9 (1) punitive damages are not available; and 

10 (2) compensatory damages are available to the 

11 extent specified in section 1977A(b) of the Revised 

12 Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a(b)). 

Æ 


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