II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1979

To require employers to post, and to provide to employees individually, information relating to sexual harassment that violates title VII of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 24 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 22), 1994

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN, Mrs.

BOXER, Mr. KENNEDY, and Mr. DURENBERGER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor

and Human Resources

A BILL

To require employers to post, and to provide to employees

individually, information relating to sexual harassment

that violates title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sexual Harassment

5 Prevention Act of 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) Sexual harassment in employment persists

2 widely in the workplace, although it violates title VII

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

4 seq.) and adversely affects employees.

5 (2) According to guidelines issued by the Equal

6 Employment Opportunity Commission in 1980, the

7 most effective tool for eliminating sexual harassment

8 is prevention.

9 (3) The Merit Systems Protection Board found

10 in 1981 and 1988 surveys of Federal Government

11 employees that 42 percent of female employees and

12 14 percent of male employees questioned had experi13 enced some kind of harassment in employment. The

14 American Psychological Association estimates that

15 at least 50 percent of all working women have been

16 sexually harassed at the workplace during their

17 careers.

18 (4) The vast majority of sexual harassment epi19 sodes go unreported to a supervisory employee or

20 other individual designated by the employer. Only 5

21 percent of the Government employees who indicated

22 in the 1988 Merit Systems Protection Board survey

23 that they had been harassed filed a formal complaint

24 or requested an investigation of the harassment.
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1 (5) Sexual harassment has a significant cost for

2 employees and employers. A 1988 study by Working

3 Woman Magazine shows that sexual harassment

4 costs a typical ‘‘Fortune 500’’ employer $6,000,000,

5 or $292.53 per employee, each year. The same study

6 estimates that it is 34 times more expensive for such

7 an employer to ignore the problem than to establish

8 effective programs and policies to address the

9 problem.

10 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

11 (1) to establish workplace requirements that

12 will reduce the incidence of sexual harassment in

13 employment;

14 (2) to provide a low-cost system to assist em15 ployers to establish programs and policies to prevent

16 sexual harassment in employment;

17 (3) to raise the awareness of employees of the

18 definition of sexual harassment and of available ave19 nues of redress; and

20 (4) to increase the authority and capacity of the

21 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and

22 other enforcement agencies, to assist in preventing

23 sexual harassment in employment.
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1 SEC. 3. EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS.

2 (a) POSTING OF NOTICE IN THE WORKPLACE.—

3 Each employer shall post and keep posted in conspicuous

4 places upon its premises where notices to employees and

5 applicants for employment are customarily posted, a no6 tice that shall be prepared or approved by the appropriate

7 primary enforcement agency and shall set forth—

8 (1) the definition of sexual harassment found in

9 section 1604.11(a) of title 29, Code of Federal Reg10 ulations (or any corresponding similar regulation);

11 (2) the fact that sexual harassment in employ12 ment is a violation of Federal law;

13 (3) information describing how to file with the

14 primary enforcement agency a complaint alleging

15 such harassment, including information on the time

16 periods within which an alleged victim of discrimina17 tion (including sexual harassment) must file a

18 charge with the primary enforcement agency, or a

19 State or local fair employment agency, in order to

20 satisfy the applicable statute of limitations;

21 (4) an address, and the toll-free telephone num22 ber, to be used to contact the appropriate enforce23 ment agency regarding such harassment or compli24 ance with the requirements of this Act; and

25 (5) such other information as the primary en26 forcement agency may require.
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1 (b) SEPARATE NOTICE TO INDIVIDUAL EMPLOY2 EES.—

3 (1) CONTENTS.—Each employer shall provide

4 annually to each employee individually a written no5 tice that includes—

6 (A) the information specified in para7 graphs (1) through (4) of subsection (a);

8 (B) a description of the procedures estab9 lished by such employer to resolve allegations of

10 sexual harassment in employment; and

11 (C) such other information as the appro12 priate primary enforcement agency may require.

13 (2) MANNER OF NOTICE.—Such notice shall be

14 provided in a manner that ensures that such em15 ployee actually receives such notice.

16 (c) MANAGEMENT INFORMATION FOR SUPERVISORY

17 EMPLOYEES.—Not later than 60 days after an employer

18 places an individual in a supervisory employment position

19 or 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,

20 whichever occurs later, such employer shall provide to the

21 supervisory employee information specifying the respon22 sibilities of, and the methods to be used by, such employee

23 to ensure that immediate and corrective action is taken

24 to address allegations of sexual harassment in employ25 ment.
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1 (d) CIVIL PENALTY.—A willful violation of this sec2 tion shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not more than

3 $1,000 for each separate violation.

4 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.

5 (a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE MATERIALS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act, each pri8 mary enforcement agency shall prepare and make

9 available to employers at no cost to the employers

10 (by publication in the Federal Register or other

11 means)—

12 (A) a model notice of the kind required by

13 section 3(a) to be posted;

14 (B) a model notice of the kind required by

15 section 3(b) to be provided to employees; and

16 (C) voluntary guidelines for the establish17 ment of policies and procedures by employers to

18 address allegations of discrimination (including

19 sexual harassment) in employment.

20 (2) REVISIONS.—The primary enforcement

21 agency shall periodically review and, as appropriate,

22 revise the notices and guidelines described in sub23 paragraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1).

24 (b) TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER.—Not later

25 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
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1 the primary enforcement agency shall provide a toll-free

2 telephone number for use by employees and employers in

3 the United States to obtain—

4 (1) information regarding compliance with this

5 Act; and

6 (2) the model notices and guidelines prepared

7 under subsection (a).

8 SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.

9 (a) PRIVATE EMPLOYEES; EXECUTIVE EMPLOYEES;

10 EMPLOYEES OF INSTRUMENTALITIES; STATE EMPLOY11 EES.—If an employee described in subparagraph (A), (B),

12 (E), or (F) of section 6(2) alleges a violation of section

13 3, the Commission shall enforce the section in the same

14 manner as the Commission enforces section 711 of the

15 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–10).

16 (b) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES EMPLOYEES.—

17 (1) HEARING.—If an employee described in sec18 tion 6(2)(C) alleges a violation of section 3, the Of19 fice of Fair Employment Practices of the House of

20 Representatives (or such entity as the House of Rep21 resentatives may designate) shall consider the allega22 tion in accordance with the hearing procedures pro23 vided in clause 6 of Rule LI of the Rules of the

24 House of Representatives of the 103d Congress (or

25 any other provision that continues in effect the pro-
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1 visions of such rule). In carrying out such proce2 dures, such Office or entity shall permit an em3 ployee, or a representative of the Office or entity, to

4 file a complaint not later than 180 days after the al5 leged violation, and shall not require compliance

6 with any counseling and mediation procedures pro7 vided in such rule or provision.

8 (2) REVIEW.—Any party to a proceeding con9 ducted under paragraph (1) may seek review of a

10 final decision resulting from such proceeding. Such

11 review shall be conducted by such Office or entity in

12 accordance with the review procedures provided in

13 clause 7 of such rule (or such other provision).

14 (3) PROCEDURES.—In conducting a proceeding

15 under paragraph (1) or (2), such Office or entity

16 shall conduct the proceeding in accordance with any

17 requirement of such rule (or such other provision)

18 that relates to such a proceeding, including a re19 quirement relating to agreements, costs, closed hear20 ings and confidentiality, and requests for witnesses

21 and information.

22 (4) REMEDIES.—Following a proceeding under

23 paragraph (1) or (2), if the Office or entity finds

24 that an employer is not in compliance with section
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1 3, such Office or entity may order the civil penalty

2 described in section 3(d).

3 (c) SENATE EMPLOYEES.—

4 (1) HEARING.—If an employee described in sec5 tion 6(2)(D) alleges a violation of section 3, the Of6 fice of Senate Fair Employment Practices (or such

7 entity as the Senate may designate) shall consider

8 the allegation in accordance with the hearing proce9 dures provided in section 307 of the Government

10 Employee Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1207) (or

11 any other provision that continues in effect the pro12 visions of such Act). In carrying out such proce13 dures, such Office or entity shall permit an em14 ployee, or a representative of such Office or entity,

15 to file a complaint not later than 180 days after the

16 alleged violation, and shall not require compliance

17 with any counseling and mediation procedures pro18 vided in such Act or provision.

19 (2) REVIEW.—Any party to a proceeding con20 ducted under paragraph (1) may seek review of a

21 final decision resulting from such proceeding. Such

22 review shall be conducted by the Select Committee

23 on Ethics (or by such entity as the Senate may des24 ignate) in accordance with the review procedures
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1 provided in section 308 of such Act (or such other

2 provision).

3 (3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any party to a pro4 ceeding conducted under paragraph (2) may seek re5 view of a final decision resulting from such proceed6 ing. Such review shall be conducted by the United

7 States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in

8 accordance with the procedures provided in section

9 309 of such Act.

10 (4) PROCEDURES.—In conducting a proceeding

11 under paragraph (1) or (2), the appropriate Office,

12 Committee, or entity shall conduct the proceeding in

13 accordance with any requirement of such Act (or

14 such other provision) that relates to such a proceed15 ing, including a requirement relating to agreements,

16 costs, closed hearings and confidentiality, and re17 quests for witnesses and information.

18 (5) REMEDIES.—Following a proceeding under

19 paragraph (1), (2), or (3), if the appropriate Office,

20 Committee, entity, or court finds that an employer

21 is not in compliance with section 3, the Office, Com22 mittee, entity, or court may order the civil penalty

23 described in section 3(d).

24 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

25 As used in this Act:
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1 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

2 means the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis3 sion.

4 (2) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’

5 means—

6 (A) an employee as defined in section

7 701(f) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

8 U.S.C. 2000e(f));

9 (B) an employee referred to in section

10 717(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16(a));

11 (C) an employee in an employment position

12 of the House of Representatives;

13 (D) a Senate employee as defined in sec14 tion 301(c)(1) of the Government Employee

15 Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1201(c)(1));

16 (E) an employee (other than an employee

17 described in subparagraph (B) or (D)) in an

18 employment position of an instrumentality of

19 the Congress; and

20 (F) an individual referred to in section

21 321(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (2

22 U.S.C. 1220(a)).

23 (3) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’

24 means—
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1 (A) an employer as defined in section

2 701(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

3 U.S.C. 2000e(b));

4 (B) a Federal entity, or entity of the Gov5 ernment of the District of Columbia, to which

6 section 717(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

7 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16(a)) applies;

8 (C) an employing authority of the House

9 of Representatives, of the Senate, or of an in10 strumentality of the Congress; and

11 (D) an elected official described in section

12 321(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1991.

13 (4) INSTRUMENTALITY OF THE CONGRESS.—

14 The term ‘‘instrumentality of the Congress’’ means

15 the Architect of the Capitol, the Congressional

16 Budget Office, the General Accounting Office, the

17 Government Printing Office, the Library of Con18 gress, the Office of Technology Assessment, the

19 United States Botanic Garden, and any other office

20 of the legislative branch of the Federal Government.

21 (5) PRIMARY ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—The

22 term ‘‘primary enforcement agency’’ means—

23 (A) with respect to any matter relating to

24 an allegation of sexual harassment of an em-
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1 ployee described in subparagraph (A), (B), (E),

2 or (F) of paragraph (2), the Commission;

3 (B) with respect to any matter relating to

4 an allegation of sexual harassment of an em5 ployee described in paragraph (2)(C), the Office

6 of Fair Employment Practices of the House of

7 Representatives (or such entity as the House of

8 Representatives may designate); and

9 (C) with respect to any matter relating to

10 an allegation of sexual harassment of an em11 ployee described in paragraph (2)(D), the Office

12 of Senate Fair Employment Practices (or such

13 entity as the Senate may designate).

14 (6) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘sexual

15 harassment’’ has the same meaning as such term

16 has for purposes of title VII of the Civil Rights Act

17 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.).

18 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATES.

19 (a) GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as pro20 vided in subsection (b), this Act shall take effect on the

21 date of the enactment of this Act.

22 (b) EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS.—Section 3 shall

23 take effect 1 year after the date of the enactment of this

24 Act.

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