Ending Secrecy About Workplace Harassment Act
Bill: H.R.8618 | Sponsor: Rep. Maloney, Carolyn B. (D-NY)
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Ending Secrecy About Workplace Harassment Act
This bill requires every employer that must submit to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) an Employer Information Report EEO-1 to separately report on an annual basis the number of settlements reached by the employer involving workplace harassment.
The bill also requires the EEOC and the Government Accountability Office to report information relating to claims of discrimination.

To require annual reporting by employers to the Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission of the number of settlements of employee claims 
of discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex 
(including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), age (40 
 or older), disability, genetic information (including family medical 
 history), or any combination of such factors, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Ending Secrecy 
About Workplace Harassment Act''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds that the following:
            (1) Thirty years after the United States Supreme Court held 
        in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson that workplace harassment 
        creates a hostile or abusive work environment and is a 
        violation of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, sexual 
        harassment remains a widespread problem, affecting victims in 
        every industry, at every level of employment.
            (2) In fiscal year 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity 
        Commission (in this Act referred to as the ``Commission'') 
        received 67,448 charges of workplace discrimination. The most 
        frequently cited claim was retaliation with 37,632 charges, 
        which made up 55.8 percent of all charges filed. This was 
        followed by disability with 24,324 charges (36.1 percent), race 
        with 22,064 charges (32.7 percent), sex with 21,398 charges 
        (31.7 percent), age with 14,183 charges (21.0 percent), 
        national origin with 6,377 charges (9.5 percent), color with 
        3,562 charges (5.3 percent), religion with 2,404 charges (3.6 
        percent), and genetic information with 440 charges (0.7 
        percent).
            (3) An analysis of the Commission's charge data between 
        2012 and 2016 shows that many individuals experience multiple 
        bases of harassment. For example, 1 in 17 women who filed 
        sexual harassment charges during this period experienced 
        racialized sexual harassment, or harassment based not only on 
        their sex but also their race. In addition, over 35 percent of 
        women also alleged retaliation.
            (4) According to the Commission's Select Task Force in 
        2016, on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace, the 
        prevalence of workplace harassment, and in particular sexual 
        harassment--
                    (A) causes mental and physical harm to the victim, 
                which can include symptoms of depression, general 
                stress and anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder 
                (PTSD), and overall impaired psychological well-being; 
                and
                    (B) results in mental and physical harms to those 
                that observe or perceive mistreatment in the workplace, 
                as one study concluded ``employees, female and male 
                alike, who observed hostility directed toward female 
                coworkers (both incivility and sexually harassing 
                behavior) were more likely to experience lower 
                psychological well-being'', which were ``in turn linked 
                to lower physical well-being''.
            (5) Prevalence of harassment in the workplace causes 
        substantial financial harm to victims, as they often try to 
        avoid the harassing behavior by taking leave without pay or 
        leaving the workplace entirely, resulting in a loss of wages. 
        The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board's 1995 report on Sexual 
        Harassment in the Federal Workplace found sexual harassment 
        cost Federal employees $4,400,000 between 1992 and 1994.
            (6) According to Commission records, in fiscal year 2020, 
        the Commission secured $439,200,000 for victims of 
        discrimination in the private sector and State and local 
        government workplaces through voluntary resolutions and 
        litigation.
            (7) The Commission is responsible for enforcing Federal 
        anti-discrimination laws that protect job applicants and 
        employees, and has the authority to investigate charges of 
        discrimination against employers who are covered by the law.

SEC. 2. EMPLOYER REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

    (a) Reporting Requirement.--Every employer required to submit to 
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission an Employer Information 
Report EEO-1 shall submit annually a separate report that specifies the 
total number of settlements reached by the employer with employees 
involving workplace harassment and the number of such settlements in 
each of following categories:
            (1) Settlements relating to harassment based on race, 
        color, or national origin.
            (2) Settlements relating to harassment based on religion.
            (3) Settlements relating to harassment based on sex 
        (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity).
            (4) Settlements relating to harassment based on age (40 or 
        older).
            (5) Settlements relating to harassment based on disability.
            (6) Settlements relating to harassment based on genetic 
        information (including family medical history).
            (7) Settlements relating to harassment based on any 
        combination of the harassment described in paragraphs (1) 
        through (6).
    (b) Required Reporting.--Examples of settlements required to be 
reported under this section include any written or oral agreement where 
anything of value is conferred to an individual because of an 
allegation that the individual has been a victim of workplace 
harassment on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex 
(including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), age (40 
or older), disability, genetic information (including family medical 
history), any combination of such factors in return for such individual 
declining to further pursue resolution of the allegation through 
litigation or any internal process, mediation, or other workplace 
resolution.

SEC. 3. RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES.

    (a) Protection From Retaliation.--
            (1) Conduct prohibited.--An employer may not terminate any 
        employee nor discriminate against any such employee with 
        regards to terms and conditions of employment because such 
        employee--
                    (A) inquires about an employer's meeting of the 
                requirements of this Act; or
                    (B) complains about an employer's failure to meet 
                the requirements of this Act.
            (2) Enforcement.--
                    (A) Liability.--In addition to civil rights 
                protections and remedies for retaliation available 
                under other Federal, State, or local law, any employer 
                who violates paragraph (1) shall be liable to any 
                eligible employee affected for--
                            (i) damages equal to the amount of any 
                        wages, salary, employment benefits, or other 
                        compensation denied or lost to such employee by 
                        reason of the violation;
                            (ii) the interest on the amount described 
                        in clause (i) calculated at the prevailing 
                        rate;
                            (iii) an additional amount as liquidated 
                        damages equal to the sum of the amount 
                        described in clause (i) and the interest 
                        described in clause (ii); and
                            (iv) such equitable relief as may be 
                        appropriate, including employment, 
                        reinstatement, and promotion.
                    (B) Right of action.--An action to recover the 
                damages or equitable relief prescribed in subparagraph 
                (A) may be maintained against any employer in any 
                Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction by any 
                one or more employees for and on behalf of--
                            (i) the employee or employees; or
                            (ii) the employees and other employees 
                        similarly situated.
                    (C) Fees and costs.--The court in such an action 
                shall, in addition to any judgment awarded to the 
                plaintiff, allow a reasonable attorney's fee, 
                reasonable expert witness fees, and other costs of the 
                action to be paid by the defendant.
    (b) Confidentiality Agreements and Settlements.--
            (1) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
        construed to interfere with the right of an employee to enter 
        into a confidentiality agreement with the employee's employer 
        with respect to a claim of discrimination based on race, color, 
        national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual 
        orientation, gender identity), age (40 or older), disability, 
        genetic information (including family medical history), or any 
        combination of such factors, the investigation of such a claim, 
        or the out-of-court settlement of such a claim.
            (2) Limitations on agreements.--
                    (A) An employer may not use a confidentiality 
                agreement described in paragraph (1) as a basis for not 
                submitting the information required by section 2.
                    (B) A confidentiality agreement described in 
                paragraph (1) shall not be construed as prohibiting any 
                party to such agreement from cooperating with law 
                enforcement investigations into any claims of 
                discrimination based on race, color, national origin, 
                religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, 
                gender identity), age (40 or older), disability, 
                genetic information (including family medical history), 
                or any combination of such factors.

SEC. 4. EEOC REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall annually report 
to Congress information relating to claims of discrimination based on 
race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy, 
sexual orientation, or gender identity), age (40 or older), disability, 
genetic information (including family medical history), and any 
combination of such factors, including--
            (1) the number of settlements that were reported to the 
        Commission as defined by and reported pursuant to section 2;
            (2) the number of charges alleging discrimination based on 
        race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including 
        pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), age (40 or 
        older), disability, genetic information (including family 
        medical history), and any combination of such factors that were 
        reported to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;
            (3) a summary of any action taken by the Commission based 
        upon any such charges or complaints collected pursuant to this 
        Act, such as litigation or settlements facilitated by the 
        Commission pertaining to discrimination based on race, color, 
        national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual 
        orientation, or gender identity), age (40 or older), 
        disability, genetic information (including family medical 
        history), and any combination of such factors, including a 
        brief description of any outcome of such actions; and
            (4) a summary of mechanisms the Commission can take to 
        increase public transparency of this data by individual 
        employer without sacrificing the identities of the victims.

SEC. 5. GAO STUDY AND REPORT.

    The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a 
comprehensive study of claims of discrimination based on race, color, 
national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual 
orientation, or gender identity), age (40 or older), disability, 
genetic information (including family medical history), or any 
combination of such factors involving both government and private 
sector employees and shall report to Congress not later than one year 
after the date of enactment of this Act the results of such study and 
recommendations for legislation or other action for improving 
transparency and accountability regarding such claims.
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