article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Sexual Harassment Prevention Act of 1993''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following: (1) Sexual harassment in employment persists widely in the workplace, although it violates title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and adversely affects employees. (2) According to guidelines issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1980, the most effective tool for eliminating sexual harassment is prevention. (3) The United States Merit Systems Protection Board found in 1981 and 1988 surveys of Federal Government employees that 42 percent of female employees and 14 percent of male employees questioned had experienced some kind of harassment in employment. The American Psychological Association estimates that at least \1/2\ of all working women have been sexually harassed at the workplace during their careers. (4) The vast majority of sexual harassment episodes go unreported to a supervisory employee or other individual designated by the employer. Only 5 percent of the Government employees who indicated in the 1988 Merit Systems Protection Board survey that they had been harassed filed a formal complaint or requested an investigation of the harassment. (5) Sexual harassment has a significant cost for employees and employers. A 1988 study by Working Woman Magazine shows that sexual harassment costs a typical ``Fortune 500'' employer $6,000,000, or $292.53 per employee, each year. The same study estimates that it is 34 times more expensive for such an employer to ignore the problem than it is to establish effective programs and policies to address the problem. (6) Most job growth over the next decade is expected to occur in employment by small employers. Sixty-six percent of the individuals who will enter the work force during this period are expected to be female. The establishment of programs and policies in small-business environments, at a low cost to employers, will be a key prevention priority to reduce sexual harassment in employment. (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are-- (1) to establish workplace requirements that will reduce the incidence of sexual harassment in employment, (2) to provide a low-cost system to assist employers to establish programs and policies to prevent sexual harassment in employment, (3) to raise the awareness of employees of the definition of sexual harassment and of available avenues of redress, and (4) to increase the authority and capacity of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to assist in preventing sexual harassment in employment. SEC. 3. EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS. (a) Posting of Notice in the Workplace.--Each employer shall post and keep posted in conspicuous places upon its premises where notices to employees and applicants for employment are customarily posted, a notice that shall be prepared or approved by the Commission and shall set forth-- (1) the definition of sexual harassment found in section 1604.11(a) of title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (July 1, 1992), (2) the fact that sexual harassment in employment is a violation of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, (3) information describing how to file with the Commission a complaint alleging such harassment, including information on the time periods within which an alleged victim of discrimination (including sexual harassment) must file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or a State or local fair employment agency, in order to satisfy the statute of limitations applicable to claims under title VII, (4) an address, and the toll-free telephone number, to be used to contact the Commission regarding such harassment or compliance with the requirements of this Act, and (5) such other information as the Commission may require. (b) Separate Notice to Individual Employees.--Each employer shall provide annually to each employee separately a written notice that includes-- (1) the matters specified in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (a), (2) a description of the procedures established by such employer to resolve allegations of sexual harassment in employment, and (3) such other information as the Commission may require. Such notice shall be provided in a manner that ensures that such employee actually receives such notice. (c) Management Information for Supervisory Employees.--Not later than 60 days after an employer places an individual in a supervisory employment position or 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, whichever occurs later, such employer shall provide to the supervisory employee information specifying the responsibilities of, and the methods to be used by, such employee to ensure that immediate and corrective action is taken to address allegations of sexual harassment in employment. (d) Civil Penalty.--A willful violation of this section shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for each separate violation. SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. (a) Technical Assistance Materials.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall prepare, revise from time to time as needed, and make available to employers at no cost (by publication in the Federal Register or other means)-- (1) a model notice of the kind required by section 3(a) to be posted, (2) a model notice of the kind required by section 3(b) to be provided to employees, and (3) voluntary guidelines for the establishment of policies and procedures by employers to address allegations of discrimination (including sexual harassment) in employment. (b) Toll-Free Telephone Number.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall provide a toll- free telephone number for use by employees and employers in the United States to obtain-- (1) information regarding compliance with this Act, and (2) the model notices and guidelines prepared under subsection (a). SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT. Section 3 shall be enforced-- (1) by the Commission with respect to violations alleged by employees as defined in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (E) of section 6(2), (2) by the House of Representatives in the manner described in section 117(a)(2)(B) of the Civil Rights Act of 1992 (2 U.S.C. 60l) with respect to violations alleged by employees as defined in section 6(2)(C) of this Act, and (3) by the Senate in the manner described in the Government Employee Rights Act of 1992 (2 U.S. 120 et seq.) with respect to violations alleged by employees as defined in section 6(2)(D) of this Act. SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this Act-- (1) the term ``Commission'' means the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, (2) the term ``employee'' means-- (A) an employee as defined in section 701(f) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(f)), (B) an employee referred to in section 717(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e-16(a)), (C) an employee in an employment position of the House of Representatives, (D) a Senate employee as defined in section 301(c)(1) of the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1201(c)(1)), or (E) an employee (other than a Senate employee) in an employment position of an instrumentality of the Congress, (3) the term ``employer'' means-- (A) an employer as defined in section 701(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(b)), (B) a Federal entity to which section 717(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-716(a)) applies, or (C) an employing authority of the House of Representatives, of the Senate, or of an instrumentality of the Congress, (4) the term ``instrumentality of the Congress'' means the Architect of the Capitol, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, the United States Botanic Garden, and those units of the Government Printing Office with positions in the excepted service, and (5) the term ``sexual harassment'' has the same meaning as such term has for purposes of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-2000e-17). SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATES. (a) General Effective Date.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. (b) Effective Date of Section 3.--Section 3 shall take effect 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
summary: Sexual Harassment Prevention Act of 1993 - Directs employers (including Federal and congressional agencies) to keep posted in conspicuous places a notice prepared or approved by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that sets forth: (1) the definition of sexual harassment found in the Code of Federal Regulations; (2) the fact that sexual harassment is a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (3) information describing how to file a complaint with the Commission alleging such harassment; (4) an address and toll-free number to be used to contact the Commission; and (5) other information required by the Commission. Provides for annual notices by employers to individual employees which provide such information and a description of the procedures used by the employers to resolve allegations of sexual harassment. Requires employers to provide to each supervisory employee information specifying the responsibility of, and the methods to be used by, such employee to ensure that immediate and corrective action is taken to address allegations of sexual harassment. Prescribes civil penalties for willful violations of this Act. Directs the Commission to make model notices and voluntary guidelines for procedures dealing with allegations of sexual harassment available to employers at no cost as well as a toll-free number for information regarding this Act.