National Commission to Combat Workplace Sexual Harassment Act

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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Commission 4 to Combat Workplace Sexual Harassment Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 6 There is established a commission to be known as the 7 ‘‘National Commission to Combat Workplace Sexual Har- 8 assment’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4660.IH H4660 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4660 IH SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 1 The Commission shall— 2 (1) carry out a comprehensive investigation and 3 study of workplace sexual harassment in the United 4 States— 5 (A) through hearings and testimony taken 6 from— 7 (i) workers, employers, and contrac- 8 tors in the United States, including in such 9 industries and places of work as hospi- 10 tality, factories, offices, agriculture, food 11 service, retail, news media, technology, 12 banking, entertainment, and law enforce- 13 ment regarding their experiences with sex- 14 ual harassment, sexual assault, and other 15 sexual misconduct in the workplace; 16 (ii) experts in employment discrimina- 17 tion and sex discrimination, including sex- 18 ual harassment; 19 (iii) members of the public; and 20 (iv) advocates against employment 21 discrimination and sex discrimination, in- 22 cluding sexual harassment; and 23 (B) which shall— 24 (i) summarize findings from the testi- 25 mony of workers, employers, experts, pub- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4660.IH H4660 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4660 IH lic witnesses, and advocates, mentioned in 1 paragraph (A) about sexual harassment, 2 sexual assault, and other sexual mis- 3 conduct in the workplace, including retalia- 4 tion for reporting such conduct; 5 (ii) include an assessment of the 6 causes and effects of workplace sexual har- 7 assment, sexual assault, and other sexual 8 misconduct in the workplace; 9 (iii) evaluate whether and how per- 10 sonal characteristics (such as race, gender, 11 gender identity, sexual orientation, age, in- 12 come and wealth, geographic location) or 13 employment circumstances (such as self 14 employment, contract, seasonal, perma- 15 nent, night shift, ‘‘gig’’ economy) render 16 individuals more vulnerable to sexual har- 17 assment, sexual assault, and other sexual 18 misconduct in the workplace; 19 (iv) evaluate whether and how new 20 forms of communication, such as social 21 media, have had an effect on sexual har- 22 assment, sexual assault, and other sexual 23 misconduct in the workplace; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4660.IH H4660 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4660 IH (v) analyze whether and how sexual 1 harassment, sexual assault, and other sex- 2 ual misconduct in the workplace have in- 3 creased in the United States despite Fed- 4 eral, State, and local legislation aimed at 5 curbing such conduct; 6 (vi) evaluate whether and how report- 7 ing occurs about sexual harassment, sexual 8 assault, and other sexual misconduct in the 9 workplace, and whether and how that re- 10 porting is impacted by individuals’ per- 11 sonal characteristics or employment cir- 12 cumstances; 13 (vii) evaluate the efficacy of current 14 reporting and accountability mechanisms 15 in the private and public sector; 16 (viii) analyze the causes and effects of 17 unreported and underreported sexual har- 18 assment, sexual assault, and other sexual 19 misconduct in the workplace, and any dis- 20 parities between complaints reported and 21 claims resolved on the merits through 22 mechanisms in the public and private sec- 23 tor; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4660.IH H4660 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4660 IH (ix) include a review of private sector, 1 State, and local policies and practices that 2 have had an effect in addressing and pre- 3 venting sexual harassment, sexual assault, 4 and other sexual misconduct in the work- 5 place, and enforcing prohibitions against 6 such conduct; and 7 (2) not later than 18 months after the date of 8 the enactment of this Act— 9 (A) submit to the President and the Con- 10 gress a comprehensive report of the Commis- 11 sion’s findings and conclusions, together with 12 any recommendations of the Commission to 13 combat sexual harassment, sexual assault, and 14 other sexual misconduct in the workplace; and 15 (B) conduct a hearing on the Commission’s 16 report and recommendations. 17 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 18 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 19 shall be composed of 11 members, at least 6 of whom shall 20 be women, appointed not later than 45 days after the date 21 of the enactment of this Act, as follows: 22 (1) The majority leader and minority leader of 23 the Senate shall each appoint two members. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4660.IH H4660 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4660 IH (2) The Speaker and the minority leader of the 1 House of Representatives shall each appoint two 2 members. 3 (3) The President shall appoint three members. 4 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each person nominated to the 5 Commission shall be knowledgeable on sexual harassment, 6 sexual assault, or other sexual misconduct or related dis- 7 crimination in the workplace. 8 (c) TERMS.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall be ap- 10 pointed for the life of the Commission. 11 (2) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy shall not affect 12 the power and duties of the Commission, but shall 13 be filled in the same manner as the original appoint- 14 ment and made within 90 days of a vacancy on the 15 Commission. 16 (d) CHAIRPERSON; VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 17 (1) ELECTION.—At the initial meeting, the 18 Commission shall select a Chairperson and Vice 19 Chairperson from among its members. 20 (2) VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The Vice Chairperson 21 shall perform the duties of the Chairperson in the 22 event the Chairperson is absent, steps down, or dies. 23 (e) QUORUM.—Six members of the Commission shall 24 constitute a quorum. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4660.IH H4660 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 4660 IH (f) COMPENSATION.—Each Member of the Commis- 1 sion— 2 (1) shall not be considered to be a Federal em- 3 ployee for any purpose by reason of service on the 4 Commission; and 5 (2) shall serve without pay. 6 (g) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each Member of the Com- 7 mission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem 8 in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 9 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code, while away from 10 their home or regular place of business in performance of 11 services for the Commission. 12 SEC. 5. POWERS. 13 (a) MEETINGS.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall meet 15 at the call of the Chairperson or a majority of its 16 members. 17 (2) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 60 days 18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 19 Commission shall hold an initial meeting to develop 20 and implement a schedule for completion of the 21 study, review, and report required under section 3. 22 (b) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such 23 hearings and undertake such other activities as the Com- 24 mission determines necessary to carry out its duties. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4660.IH H4660 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 4660 IH (c) OTHER RESOURCES.— 1 (1) DOCUMENTS, STATISTICAL DATA, AND 2 OTHER SUCH INFORMATION.—The Commission may 3 secure directly from any department or agency of 4 the United States information necessary to enable it 5 to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Chair- 6 person of the Commission, the head of that depart- 7 ment or agency shall furnish that information to the 8 Commission. 9 (2) OFFICE SPACE AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUP- 10 PORT.—The Administrator of General Services shall 11 make office space available for day-to-day activities 12 of the Commission and for scheduled meetings of the 13 Commission. Upon request, the Administrator shall 14 provide, on a reimbursable basis, such administrative 15 support as the Commission requests to fulfill its du- 16 ties. 17 (d) AUTHORITY TO USE UNITED STATES MAILS.— 18 The Commission may use the United States mails in the 19 same manner and under the same conditions as other de- 20 partments and agencies of the United States. 21 (e) AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent provided in 23 advance in appropriations Acts, the Commission may 24 contract with and compensate government and pri- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4660.IH H4660 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 4660 IH vate agencies or persons for the conduct of activities 1 necessary to the discharge of its duties under section 2 3, without regard to section 6101 of title 41, United 3 States Code. 4 (2) TERMINATION.—A contract, lease, or other 5 legal agreement entered into by the Commission may 6 not extend beyond the date of termination of the 7 Commission. 8 SEC. 6. STAFF. 9 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a Direc- 10 tor who shall be appointed and may be removed by a ma- 11 jority vote of the Commission. The Director shall be paid 12 at a rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay for level IV 13 of the Executive Schedule. 14 (b) STAFF.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may appoint 16 such personnel as the Director determines to be ap- 17 propriate. Such personnel shall be paid at a rate not 18 to exceed the rate of basic pay for level IV of the 19 Executive Schedule and may be removed by the Di- 20 rector, subject to a majority vote of the members of 21 the Commission. 22 (2) ADDITIONAL STAFF.—The Commission may 23 appoint and fix the compensation of such other per- 24 sonnel as may be necessary to enable the Commis- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4660.IH H4660 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 4660 IH sion to carry out its duties, without regard to the 1 provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing 2 appointments in the competitive service, and without 3 regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub- 4 chapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to 5 classification and General Schedule pay rates, except 6 that no rate of pay fixed under this subsection may 7 exceed the equivalent of that payable to a person oc- 8 cupying a position at level V of the Executive Sched- 9 ule. 10 (c) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap- 11 proval of the Commission, the Director may procure tem- 12 porary and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of 13 title 5, United States Code. 14 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Upon 15 the request of the Commission, the head of any Federal 16 agency may detail, without reimbursement, any of the per- 17 sonnel of such agency to the Commission to assist in car- 18 rying out the duties of the Commission. Any such detail 19 shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil service sta- 20 tus or privileges of the personnel. 21 (e) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwithstanding sec- 22 tion 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Commission 23 may accept and use voluntary and uncompensated services 24 as the Commission determines necessary. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4660.IH H4660 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 4660 IH SEC. 7. SUNSET. 1 The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 2 60 days after the date on which the Commission submits 3 its report to Congress pursuant to section 3(2). 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4660.IH H4660 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS