I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4660 

To create a national commission to combat workplace sexual harassment, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 11, 2019 

Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To create a national commission to combat workplace sexual 

harassment, 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 ‘‘National Commission 

5 to Combat Workplace Sexual Harassment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 

7 There is established a commission to be known as the 

8 ‘‘National Commission to Combat Workplace Sexual Har9 assment’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 


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1 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 

2 The Commission shall— 

3 (1) carry out a comprehensive investigation and 

4 study of workplace sexual harassment in the United 

5 States— 

6 (A) through hearings and testimony taken 

7 from— 

8 (i) workers, employers, and contrac9 tors in the United States, including in such 

10 industries and places of work as hospi11 tality, factories, offices, agriculture, food 

12 service, retail, news media, technology, 

13 banking, entertainment, and law enforce14 ment regarding their experiences with sex15 ual harassment, sexual assault, and other 

16 sexual misconduct in the workplace; 

17 (ii) experts in employment discrimina18 tion and sex discrimination, including sex19 ual harassment; 

20 (iii) members of the public; and 

21 (iv) advocates against employment 

22 discrimination and sex discrimination, in23 cluding sexual harassment; and 

24 (B) which shall— 

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1 lic witnesses, and advocates, mentioned in 

2 paragraph (A) about sexual harassment, 

3 sexual assault, and other sexual mis4 conduct in the workplace, including retalia5 tion for reporting such conduct; 

6 (ii) include an assessment of the 

7 causes and effects of workplace sexual har8 assment, sexual assault, and other sexual 

9 misconduct in the workplace; 

10 (iii) evaluate whether and how per11 sonal characteristics (such as race, gender, 

12 gender identity, sexual orientation, age, in13 come and wealth, geographic location) or 

14 employment circumstances (such as self 

15 employment, contract, seasonal, perma16 nent, night shift, ‘‘gig’’ economy) render 

17 individuals more vulnerable to sexual har18 assment, sexual assault, and other sexual 

19 misconduct in the workplace; 

20 (iv) evaluate whether and how new 

21 forms of communication, such as social 

22 media, have had an effect on sexual har23 assment, sexual assault, and other sexual 

24 misconduct in the workplace; 


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1 (v) analyze whether and how sexual 

2 harassment, sexual assault, and other sex3 ual misconduct in the workplace have in4 creased in the United States despite Fed5 eral, State, and local legislation aimed at 

6 curbing such conduct; 

7 (vi) evaluate whether and how report8 ing occurs about sexual harassment, sexual 

9 assault, and other sexual misconduct in the 

10 workplace, and whether and how that re11 porting is impacted by individuals’ per12 sonal characteristics or employment cir13 cumstances; 

14 (vii) evaluate the efficacy of current 

15 reporting and accountability mechanisms 

16 in the private and public sector; 

17 (viii) analyze the causes and effects of 

18 unreported and underreported sexual har19 assment, sexual assault, and other sexual 

20 misconduct in the workplace, and any dis21 parities between complaints reported and 

22 claims resolved on the merits through 

23 mechanisms in the public and private sec24 tor; and 


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1 (ix) include a review of private sector, 

2 State, and local policies and practices that 

3 have had an effect in addressing and pre4 venting sexual harassment, sexual assault, 

5 and other sexual misconduct in the work6 place, and enforcing prohibitions against 

7 such conduct; and 

8 (2) not later than 18 months after the date of 

9 the enactment of this Act— 

10 (A) submit to the President and the Con11 gress a comprehensive report of the Commis12 sion’s findings and conclusions, together with 

13 any recommendations of the Commission to 

14 combat sexual harassment, sexual assault, and 

15 other sexual misconduct in the workplace; and 

16 (B) conduct a hearing on the Commission’s 

17 report and recommendations. 

18 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 

19 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 

20 shall be composed of 11 members, at least 6 of whom shall 

21 be women, appointed not later than 45 days after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act, as follows: 

23 (1) The majority leader and minority leader of 

24 the Senate shall each appoint two members. 


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1 (2) The Speaker and the minority leader of the 

2 House of Representatives shall each appoint two 

3 members. 

4 (3) The President shall appoint three members. 

5 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each person nominated to the 

6 Commission shall be knowledgeable on sexual harassment, 

7 sexual assault, or other sexual misconduct or related dis8 crimination in the workplace. 

9 (c) TERMS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall be ap11 pointed for the life of the Commission. 

12 (2) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy shall not affect 

13 the power and duties of the Commission, but shall 

14 be filled in the same manner as the original appoint15 ment and made within 90 days of a vacancy on the 

16 Commission. 

17 (d) CHAIRPERSON; VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

18 (1) ELECTION.—At the initial meeting, the 

19 Commission shall select a Chairperson and Vice 

20 Chairperson from among its members. 

21 (2) VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The Vice Chairperson 

22 shall perform the duties of the Chairperson in the 

23 event the Chairperson is absent, steps down, or dies. 

24 (e) QUORUM.—Six members of the Commission shall 

25 constitute a quorum. 


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1 (f) COMPENSATION.—Each Member of the Commis2 sion— 

3 (1) shall not be considered to be a Federal em4 ployee for any purpose by reason of service on the 

5 Commission; and 

6 (2) shall serve without pay. 

7 (g) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each Member of the Com8 mission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem 

9 in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 

10 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code, while away from 

11 their home or regular place of business in performance of 

12 services for the Commission. 

13 SEC. 5. POWERS. 

14 (a) MEETINGS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall meet 

16 at the call of the Chairperson or a majority of its 

17 members. 

18 (2) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 60 days 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

20 Commission shall hold an initial meeting to develop 

21 and implement a schedule for completion of the 

22 study, review, and report required under section 3. 

23 (b) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such 

24 hearings and undertake such other activities as the Com25 mission determines necessary to carry out its duties. 


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1 (c) OTHER RESOURCES.— 

2 (1) DOCUMENTS, STATISTICAL DATA, AND

3 OTHER SUCH INFORMATION.—The Commission may 

4 secure directly from any department or agency of 

5 the United States information necessary to enable it 

6 to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Chair7 person of the Commission, the head of that depart8 ment or agency shall furnish that information to the 

9 Commission. 

10 (2) OFFICE SPACE AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUP11 PORT.—The Administrator of General Services shall 

12 make office space available for day-to-day activities 

13 of the Commission and for scheduled meetings of the 

14 Commission. Upon request, the Administrator shall 

15 provide, on a reimbursable basis, such administrative 

16 support as the Commission requests to fulfill its du17 ties. 

18 (d) AUTHORITY TO USE UNITED STATES MAILS.— 

19 The Commission may use the United States mails in the 

20 same manner and under the same conditions as other de21 partments and agencies of the United States. 

22 (e) AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent provided in 

24 advance in appropriations Acts, the Commission may 

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1 vate agencies or persons for the conduct of activities 

2 necessary to the discharge of its duties under section 

3 3, without regard to section 6101 of title 41, United 

4 States Code. 

5 (2) TERMINATION.—A contract, lease, or other 

6 legal agreement entered into by the Commission may 

7 not extend beyond the date of termination of the 

8 Commission. 

9 SEC. 6. STAFF. 

10 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a Direc11 tor who shall be appointed and may be removed by a ma12 jority vote of the Commission. The Director shall be paid 

13 at a rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay for level IV 

14 of the Executive Schedule. 

15 (b) STAFF.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may appoint 

17 such personnel as the Director determines to be ap18 propriate. Such personnel shall be paid at a rate not 

19 to exceed the rate of basic pay for level IV of the 

20 Executive Schedule and may be removed by the Di21 rector, subject to a majority vote of the members of 

22 the Commission. 

23 (2) ADDITIONAL STAFF.—The Commission may 

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1 sion to carry out its duties, without regard to the 

2 provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing 

3 appointments in the competitive service, and without 

4 regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub5 chapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to 

6 classification and General Schedule pay rates, except 

7 that no rate of pay fixed under this subsection may 

8 exceed the equivalent of that payable to a person oc9 cupying a position at level V of the Executive Sched10 ule. 

11 (c) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap12 proval of the Commission, the Director may procure tem13 porary and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of 

14 title 5, United States Code. 

15 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Upon 

16 the request of the Commission, the head of any Federal 

17 agency may detail, without reimbursement, any of the per18 sonnel of such agency to the Commission to assist in car19 rying out the duties of the Commission. Any such detail 

20 shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil service sta21 tus or privileges of the personnel. 

22 (e) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwithstanding sec23 tion 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Commission 

24 may accept and use voluntary and uncompensated services 

25 as the Commission determines necessary. 


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1 SEC. 7. SUNSET. 

2 The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 

3 60 days after the date on which the Commission submits 

4 its report to Congress pursuant to section 3(2). 

Æ 


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