Comstock’s EMPOWER bill aims to remove secrecy around workplace harassment

U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) is part of a bipartisan, bicameral push on Capitol Hill to bring workplace harassment out of the closet.

“This bill will help stop the culture of silence in cases of sexual harassment and bring more accountability to the perpetrators and empower victims,” Rep. Comstock said this week in cosponsoring the Ending the Monopoly of Power Over Workplace harassment through Education and Reporting (EMPOWER) Act.

H.R. 6406, introduced by U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL), “will set up better practices to hold abusers accountable and prohibit non-disclosure agreements in cases of sexual harassment in the workplace,” said Rep. Comstock, who was joined by cosponsors U.S. Reps. Ted Poe (R-TX), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) in introducing the bill.

The House measure is a companion bill to the EMPOWER Act-Part I, S. 2994, which was introduced on June 5 by U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The U.S. Senate bill is under consideration by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Specifically, H.R. 6406 would prohibit non-disparagement and non-disclosure clauses that cover workplace harassment as a condition of employment, promotion, compensation, benefits, or change in employment status or contractual relationship, according to a three-page summary provided by the lawmakers.

The proposal also would require that public companies disclose the number and amounts of any related settlements and judgments in their annual U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including any repeat settlements involving a particular person, according to the summary.

“Sexual harassment is an abuse of power, robbing victims, mostly women, of a safe and dignified workplace, often causing emotional and physical distress and harming their financial ability to take care of their families,” said Rep. Frankel in a July 17 statement released by the congressmen.

“Today we say time is up for this misconduct,” the congresswoman added.

H.R. 6406 also would establish a confidential tip-line for the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which would receive harassment reports and then take action against the employers that regularly permit systemic workplace harassment. The provision is designed to supplement the EEOC’s existing formal complaint process, according to Comstock’s office, and it would be permissible for this information to be shared with state-based Fair Employment Practice Agencies, which also could bring civil enforcement actions against employers.

“In no way, shape or form is sexual harassment acceptable,” said Rep. Poe. “It is far past time for the ‘boys will be boys’ culture to end. Supporting an accountable and transparent workplace is the least that Congress can do.”

Additionally, among numerous other provisions, HR. 6406 would require workplace training programs to be established on how to prevent workplace harassment, educate employees about their rights and how to report it, and to train bystanders on how to intervene and report any discriminatory behavior, according to the summary.

Regarding financial aspects around such crimes, H.R. 6406 would prohibit companies from receiving tax deductions for expenses and attorneys’ fees related to workplace harassment litigation; would protect plaintiffs’ monetary judgments as nontaxable income; and would guarantee plaintiffs received front-pay or back-pay resulting from related harassment cases.

“If the women and men who have been victimized, shamed, and abandoned by our laws and society can find the courage to stand up and tell their stories, then Congress should step-up and act in their names and the names of the millions who don’t have the platform to speak out,” said Rep. Nadler, ranking member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, which has received H.R. 6406 for consideration.

The bill also has been referred to five other House committees: the Education and the Workforce Committee, the Ways and Means Committee, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the Financial Services Committee, and the House Administration Committee.