II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1864

To prohibit sexual harassment by employers with fewer than 15 employees.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 24 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 22), 1994

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. BOXER, Ms.

MOSELEY-BRAUN, Mr. SIMON, and Mr. METZENBAUM) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on

Labor and Human Resources

A BILL

To prohibit sexual harassment by employers with fewer than

15 employees.

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 ‘‘Harassment-Free

5 Workplace Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act are—

8 (1) to provide Federal protection to small busi9 ness employees from sexual harassment in their

10 workplaces;
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1 (2) to extend the sexual harassment provisions

2 of current civil rights laws to private sector employ3 ers who are not currently covered by Federal law re4 lating to sexual harassment; and

5 (3) to authorize the Equal Employment Oppor6 tunity Commission to enforce sexual harassment

7 laws with respect to small businesses in the same

8 manner as the Commission currently enforces em9 ployment discrimination laws with respect to other

10 businesses.

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

12 As used in this Act:

13 (1) COMMERCE.—The term ‘‘commerce’’ means

14 trade, traffic, commerce, transportation, trans15 mission, or communication—

16 (A) among the several States;

17 (B) between a State and any place outside

18 thereof;

19 (C) within the District of Columbia, or a

20 possession of the United States; or

21 (D) between points in the same State but

22 through a point outside thereof.

23 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

24 means the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis-
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1 sion established under section 705 of the Civil

2 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–4).

3 (3) COMPLAINING PARTY.—The term ‘‘com4 plaining party’’ means the Commission, the Attorney

5 General, or a person who may bring an action or

6 proceeding under this Act.

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

8 an individual employed by an employer, except that

9 the term ‘‘employee’’ shall not include any person

10 elected to public office in any State or political sub11 division of any State by the qualified voters thereof,

12 or any person chosen by such officer to be on such

13 officer’s personal staff, or an appointee on the policy

14 making level or an immediate adviser with respect to

15 the exercise of the constitutional or legal powers of

16 the office. The exemption set forth in the preceding

17 sentence shall not include employees subject to the

18 civil service laws of a State government, govern19 mental agency, or political subdivision. With respect

20 to employment in a foreign country, such term in21 cludes an individual who is a citizen of the United

22 States.

23 (5) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ means

24 a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce

25 who has fewer than fifteen employees for each work-
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1 ing day in each of 33 or more calendar weeks in the

2 current and in the preceding calendar year.

3 (6) EMPLOYMENT AGENCY.—The term ‘‘em4 ployment agency’’ means any person regularly un5 dertaking with or without compensation to procure

6 employees for an employer or to procure for employ7 ees opportunities to work for an employer, and in8 cludes an agent of such a person.

9 (7) INDUSTRY AFFECTING COMMERCE.—The

10 term ‘‘industry affecting commerce’’ means any ac11 tivity, business, or industry in commerce or in which

12 a labor dispute would hinder or obstruct commerce

13 or the free flow of commerce and includes any activ14 ity or industry ‘‘affecting commerce’’ within the

15 meaning of the Labor-Management Reporting and

16 Disclosure Act of 1959, and further includes any

17 governmental industry, business, or activity.

18 (8) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘labor

19 organization’’ means a labor organization engaged in

20 an industry affecting commerce, and any agent of

21 such an organization, and includes any organization

22 of any kind, any agency, or employee representation

23 committee, group, association, or plan so engaged in

24 which employees participate and which exists for the

25 purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employ-
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1 ers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages,

2 rates of pay hours, or other items or conditions of

3 employment, and any conference, general committee,

4 joint or system board, or joint council so engaged

5 which is subordinate to a national or international

6 labor organization.

7 (9) LABOR ORGANIZATION DEEMED TO BE EN8 GAGED IN AN INDUSTRY AFFECTING COMMERCE.—A

9 labor organization shall be deemed to be engaged in

10 an industry affecting commerce if—

11 (A)(i) it maintains or operates a hiring hall

12 or hiring office which procures employees for an

13 employer or procures for employees opportuni14 ties to work for an employer; or

15 (ii) the number of its members (or, where

16 it is a labor organization composed of other

17 labor organizations or their representatives, if

18 the aggregate number of the members of such

19 other labor organizations) is fewer than 15; and

20 (B) such labor organization—

21 (i) is the certified representative of

22 employees under the provisions of the Na23 tional Labor Relations Act or the Railway

24 Labor Act;
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1 (ii) although not certified, is a na2 tional or international labor organization

3 or a local labor organization recognized or

4 acting as the representative of employees

5 of an employer or employers engaged in an

6 industry affecting commerce;

7 (iii) has chartered a local labor orga8 nization or subsidiary body which is rep9 resenting or actively seeking to represent

10 employees of employers within the meaning

11 of clause (i) or (ii);

12 (iv) has been chartered by a labor or13 ganization representing or actively seeking

14 to represent employees within the meaning

15 of clause (i) or (ii) as the local or subordi16 nate body through which such employees

17 may enjoy membership or become affiliated

18 with such labor organization; or

19 (v) is a conference, general committee,

20 joint or system board, or joint council sub21 ordinate to a national or international

22 labor organization, which includes a labor

23 organization engaged in an industry affect24 ing commerce within the meaning of any of

25 clauses (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv).
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1 (10) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ includes one

2 or more individuals, governments, governmental

3 agencies, political subdivisions, labor unions, part4 nerships, associations, corporations, legal representa5 tives, mutual companies, joint-stock companies,

6 trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trust7 ees in cases under title 11, United States Code, or

8 receivers.

9 (11) RESPONDENT.—The term ‘‘respondent’’

10 means—

11 (A) an employer, employment agency, labor

12 organization; or

13 (B) a joint labor-management committee

14 controlling apprenticeship or other training or

15 retraining program, including an on-the-job

16 training program, that serves an employer or an

17 employee.

18 (12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes a

19 State of the United States, the District of Columbia,

20 Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa,

21 Guam, Wake Island, the Canal Zone, and Outer

22 Continental Shelf lands defined in the Outer Con23 tinental Shelf Lands Act.
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1 SEC. 4. SEXUAL HARASSMENT.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be an unlawful employ3 ment practice for a respondent to engage in a practice that

4 constitutes sexual harassment, within the meaning of title

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

6 seq.) (including any regulation or administrative guideline

7 issued under such title, or any applicable case law issued

8 by a Federal court with respect to such title, regarding

9 such harassment) against an employee or an applicant for

10 employment with an employer.

11 (b) ANTI-RETALIATION.—It shall be an unlawful em12 ployment practice for a respondent to discriminate against

13 any such employee or applicant because the employee or

14 applicant has opposed any practice made an unlawful em15 ployment practice by this Act, or because the employee

16 or applicant has made a charge, testified, assisted, or par17 ticipated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding,

18 or hearing under this Act.

19 SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT, REMEDIES, AND RELATED PROVI20 SIONS.

21 (a) ENFORCEMENT AND REMEDIES.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—This Act provides the pow23 ers, remedies, and procedures set forth in sections

24 705, 706, 707, 709, 710, 713, and 714 of the Civil

25 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–4, 2000e–5,

26 2000e–6, 2000e–8, 2000e–9, 2000e–12, and 2000e–
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1 13) to the Commission, to the Attorney General, or

2 to any person alleging a violation of any provision of

3 this Act, as appropriate.

4 (2) DAMAGES.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

6 subparagraph (B), in an action brought by a

7 complaining party under paragraph (1) in ac8 cordance with section 706 of the Civil Rights

9 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5) against a re10 spondent who engaged in a practice that vio11 lates a provision of this Act, the complaining

12 party may be awarded compensatory and puni13 tive damages as allowed in section 1977A(b) of

14 the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a(b)), in

15 addition to any relief authorized by section

16 706(g) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, from

17 the respondent.

18 (B) LIMITATIONS.—If—

19 (i) a complaining party is awarded,

20 under this paragraph, compensatory dam21 ages for future pecuniary losses, emotional

22 pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental an23 guish, loss of enjoyment of life, or other

24 nonpecuniary losses, or punitive damages;

25 and
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1 (ii) on the day on which the complain2 ing party is awarded damages described in

3 clause (i) there is in effect under section

4 1977A of the Revised Statutes a limit on

5 the sum of the amount of such damages

6 that may be awarded under such section in

7 an action in which the respondent has

8 more than 14 and fewer than 101 employ9 ees in each of 20 or more calendar weeks

10 in the current or preceding calendar year,

11 the sum of the amount of such damages that

12 the complaining party may be awarded under

13 this paragraph may not exceed the sum de14 scribed in clause (ii).

15 (C) JURY TRIAL.—If a complaining party

16 seeks compensatory or punitive damages under

17 this paragraph—

18 (i) any party may demand a trial by

19 jury; and

20 (ii) the court shall not inform the jury

21 of the limitations described in subpara22 graph (B).

23 (b) EXTRATERRITORIAL APPLICATION.—Section 702

24 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–1) shall

25 apply with respect to the application of this Act to an em-
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1 ployer, employing agency, labor organization, or commit2 tee, in the same manner and to the same extent as such

3 section applies with respect to the application of title VII

4 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) to an employer,

5 employing agency, labor organization, or committee, re6 spectively, as such terms are used in such Act.

7 (c) EFFECT ON STATE LAWS.—Section 708 of the

8 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–7) shall apply

9 with respect to the construction of this Act in the same

10 manner and to the same extent as such section applies

11 with respect to the construction of title VII of such Act.

12 SEC. 6. POSTING NOTICES.

13 (a) NOTICE.—Every respondent shall post and keep

14 posted, in the manner prescribed by section 711 of the

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

16 describing the applicable provisions of this Act, to be pre17 pared or approved by the Commission and to appear in

18 an accessible format, for employees and applicants for em19 ployment with employers.

20 (b) PENALTY.—A willful violation of this section shall

21 be punishable by a fine of not more than $100 for each

22 separate offense.

23 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

24 This Act shall take effect 6 months after the date

25 of enactment of this Act.
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