Accountability for Workplace Misconduct Act
This bill requires employers to establish a process for receiving and investigating allegations of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. It also limits the use of nondisclosure clauses in certain settlement agreements.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8146 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8146
To provide that certain agreements containing nondisclosure clauses
regarding claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation shall
not be enforceable, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 17, 2022
Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide that certain agreements containing nondisclosure clauses
regarding claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation shall
not be enforceable, 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.
This Act may be cited as the ``Accountability for Workplace
Misconduct Act''.
SEC. 2. EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS PERTAINING TO CLAIMS OF DISCRIMINATION,
HARASSMENT AND RETALIATION.
(a) Process.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, an employer shall establish a process for receiving and
investigating allegations of discrimination, harassment and
retaliation. Such process shall--
(1) provide multiple methods (e.g., in writing, verbally,
or by electronic submission) for the employer to receive and
respond to a report of unlawful conduct under the laws
described in section 3,
(2) allow employees to confidentially report unlawful
conduct,
(3) be provided to each employee upon the beginning of
their employment and be prominently posted for employee
reference,
(4) require prompt investigation of unlawful conduct
reported by an employee,
(5) require notification to the employee of the initiation,
conclusion, and outcome of the investigation of such reported
unlawful conduct, and
(6) make available (e.g., through an human resources
representative) factual information pertaining to support
services (including medical and mental health care, seeking
legal representation, information about legal rights) the
employee may choose to access.
(b) Investigation.--An employer shall conduct a thorough and
neutral investigation into any report of unlawful conduct made by an
employee. Such investigation shall include--
(1) appointing impartial individual or entity that is
adequately trained to investigate such conduct and notifying
the employee of the investigator, scope of the investigation,
and estimated time frame of the investigation,
(2) notifying the employee of the initiation, conclusion,
and outcome of the investigation of the reported unlawful
conduct,
(3) informing the employee of investigation status upon
request of the employee, and
(4) to the greatest extent practicable, interviewing
witnesses or other individuals identified by the employee
claiming the misconduct under investigation.
(c) Report.--The employer shall furnish a report to the employee
that documents the procedure followed by the employer during an
investigation into the unlawful conduct reported by the employee and
that shows the investigation complied with the requirements of
subsection (b).
SEC. 3. UNENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS CONTAINING
NONDISCLOSURE CLAUSES.
(a) A nondisclosure clause included in a settlement agreement shall
not be enforceable by an employer if--
(1) it prohibits a party to such agreement from disclosing
information to Congress, a Federal, State, or a local
government entity, or a law enforcement entity, relating to
conduct that is unlawful, or that the employee has reason to
believe is unlawful, under--
(A) title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42
U.S.C. 2000 seq.),
(B) section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act
(29 U.S.C. 206(d)),
(C) title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.),
(D) sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791-792),
(E) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of
1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.),
(F) title II of the Genetic Information Non-
discrimination Act (29 U.S.C. 42 U.S.C. 2000ff-1 et
seq.), or
(G) the Government Employees Rights Act of 1991 (2
U.S.C. 1201-1224).
(2) the employer has not communicated to the employee that
a nondisclosure agreement does not restrict disclosing
information to Congress, a Federal, State, or Local government
entity, or law enforcement,
(3) the employer engages in behavior to intimidate, hinder,
obstruct, impede, retaliate against, or otherwise discourage an
employee subject to a nondisclosure agreement from
communicating with Congress, a Federal, State, or local
government entity, or law enforcement,
(4) the employer includes terms in the nondisclosure
agreement that requires an employee to notify the employer
before disclosing information to Congress, a Federal, State or
Local government entity, or law enforcement,
(5) the employer fails to include in such nondisclosure
agreement the following statement: ``Nothing in this agreement
prevents you from disclosing information to Congress, a
Federal, State, or Local government entity, or law enforcement
about behavior you reasonably believe constitutes harassment,
discrimination, or retaliation.'', or
(6) the employer does not grant an employee at least 21
days to consider an agreement before such agreement takes
effect and allow the employee to rescind such agreement for up
to 7 days after the agreement takes effect.
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall establish a
process by which employees may report a violation of section 2.
(b) The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall treat reports
of such violations in a manner consistent with title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.).
(c) No later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall issue rules that
prescribe the requirements for employer compliance with, and employee
notification of, the requirements of this Act.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) Nondisclosure clause.--The term ``nondisclosure
clause'' means a provision in a settlement agreement that
forbids a party to such agreement to--
(A) make a disparaging statement about a party to
such agreement, relating to an allegation or report
relating to unlawful conduct described in section 3, or
(B) disclose information regarding the existence of
such allegation or such agreement or of any facts
relating to such allegation or such report.
(2) Settlement.--The term ``settlement'' means an agreement
to settle an allegation of unlawful conduct described in
section 3 and that--
(A) applies to severance and separation agreements,
and
(B) precludes an employee from pursuing legal
redress associated with an allegation of unlawful
conduct described in section 3.
SEC. 6. APPLICATION.
This Act shall apply with respect to agreements made before, on,
and after the date of the enactment of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
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