I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4532 
To provide for a safe harbor for reports to potential employers by current 
or former employers of violent behavior or threats thereof by employees. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 11, 2016 
Mr. GOODLATTE (for himself, Mr. KLINE, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. HURT of Vir-
ginia, Mr. GRIFFITH, and Mr. PETERSON) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide for a safe harbor for reports to potential employ-
ers by current or former employers of violent behavior 
or threats thereof by employees. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Harbor for Re-
porting Violent Behavior Act of 2016’’. 
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SEC. 2. SAFE HARBOR FROM LIABILITY FOR REPORTS OF 
VIOLENT BEHAVIOR. 
(a) SAFE HARBOR FOR EMPLOYER REPORTS OF VIO-
LENT BEHAVIOR
OR THREATENED VIOLENT BEHAV-
IOR.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any employer who, in good 
faith and based on objectively reasonable suspicion, 
makes, or causes to be made, a voluntary report 
about violent behavior, or threatened violent behav-
ior, by an employee or former employee to a poten-
tial employer of that employee shall be immune from 
civil liability under Federal, State, and local law for 
such report. 
(2) FALSE REPORTS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply to any report if it is shown by clear and con-
vincing evidence that the employer knew such report 
to be false or that such report was made with reck-
less disregard for the truth at the time that em-
ployer made such report. 
(b) SAFE HARBOR FOR RESPONSE.—Any potential 
employer who observes or receives a report from an em-
ployer acting pursuant to subsection (a) about violent be-
havior, or threatened violent behavior, of an employee or 
potential employee and takes reasonable action in good 
faith to respond to such activity shall be immune from 
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civil liability under Federal, State, and local law for such 
action. 
(c) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this Act shall af-
fect the ability of any employer to assert any defense, 
privilege, or immunity that would otherwise be available 
under Federal, State, or local law or regulations, or com-
mon law, and this Act shall not be construed as affecting 
any such defense, privilege, or immunity. 
(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 
shall be construed to create any duty of any employer to 
disclose violent behavior, or threatened violent behavior, 
or to preclude an employer from disclosing any such be-
havior, or other behavior. 
(e) ATTORNEY FEES
AND COSTS.—Any employer 
who is immune from civil liability under this section shall 
be entitled to recover from the plaintiff all reasonable costs 
and attorney fees. 
(f) DEFINITION.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘employer’’ includes any individual 
agent or representative of that employer; and 
(2) the term ‘‘violent behavior, or threatened 
violent behavior’’ means battery, assault, threats of 
violence, physical fighting, physical intimidation, and 
other violent conduct, or a threat of such conduct, 
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that a reasonable person would consider to pose a 
threat of physical injury to any person. 
Æ 
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