PRINTER'S NO. 1592
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1040
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY RABB, DERMODY, HILL-EVANS, DONATUCCI, FRANKEL,
SCHLOSSBERG, FREEMAN, KINSEY, MURT, A. DAVIS, NEILSON,
WARREN, DALEY, WEBSTER, McCLINTON, T. DAVIS, DEASY, DAWKINS,
ROZZI AND SOLOMON, APRIL 29, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, APRIL 29, 2019
AN ACT
Amending the act of October 27, 1955 (P.L.744, No.222), entitled
"An act prohibiting certain practices of discrimination
because of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, age or
national origin by employers, employment agencies, labor
organizations and others as herein defined; creating the
Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in the Governor's
Office; defining its functions, powers and duties; providing
for procedure and enforcement; providing for formulation of
an educational program to prevent prejudice; providing for
judicial review and enforcement and imposing penalties,"
further providing for definitions and for powers and duties
of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission; providing for
training; and establishing the Human Relations Training Fund.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 4(c) and 7(f) of the act of October 27,
1955 (P.L.744, No.222), known as the Pennsylvania Human
Relations Act, are amended to read:
Section 4. Definitions.--As used in this act unless a
different meaning clearly appears from the context:
* * *
(c) The term "employe" [does not include (1) [any individual
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employed in agriculture or in the domestic service of any
person, (2)] any individuals who, as a part of their employment,
reside in the personal residence of the employer, [(3)] (2) any
individual employed by said individual's parents, spouse or
child.] means an individual subject to an employer's power to
control the nature and parameters of the individual's
activities, including but not limited to, hiring, firing,
training, scheduling, directing work and proscribing the manner
in which the work should be completed. The term does not
include:
(1) an individual who is employed by, and who is working
on a casual basis in a home or personal residence of, another
individual; or
(2) an individual employed by the individual's parent,
spouse or child.
* * *
Section 7. Powers and Duties of the Commission.--The
Commission shall have the following powers and duties:
* * *
(f) To initiate, receive, investigate and pass upon
complaints charging unlawful discriminatory practices and
violations of section 7.1.
* * *
Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 7.1. Training.--(a) An employer shall provide
interactive training regarding discrimination, harassment and
retaliation to all current employes of the employer within sixty
days of the effective date of this section and every two years
thereafter. An employer shall provide interactive training to
all new employes hired after the effective date of this section
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within thirty days following the commencement of work by the
employe and on the two-year training schedule for all employes
thereafter. The interactive training shall include, at a
minimum, the following:
(1) An explanation of discrimination, harassment and
retaliation as unlawful acts under Federal and State law.
(2) An explanation of sexual harassment as a form of
unlawful discrimination under Federal and State law.
(3) Examples of different acts and behavior that could be
considered unlawful discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
(4) Examples of different acts and behavior that could be
considered sexual harassment.
(5) Bystander intervention and other strategies that are
found to be effective in the prevention of harassment.
(6) The effects of discrimination and harassment on victims
and the workplace.
(7) The consequences of being found to be in violation of
Federal or State law prohibiting discrimination, harassment and
retaliation.
(8) An explanation and examples of implicit bias and the
effects of the implicit bias on the workplace.
(9) A description of the employer's internal complaint
policies and procedures available to employes to report and
address discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims.
(10) The process available to file a complaint with the
Commission and the United States Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, along with contact information.
(b) Employers shall provide additional interactive training
relating to discrimination, harassment and retaliation to all
current supervisors employed by the employer within sixty days
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of the effective date of this section and every two years
thereafter. An employer shall provide interactive training to
all new supervisors hired or promoted after the effective date
of this section within thirty days of the commencement of a
supervisory position. The training shall include, at a minimum,
the following:
(1) The specific responsibilities of supervisors in the
identification and prevention of discrimination, harassment and
retaliation.
(2) A description of the employer's internal complaint
policies and procedures available to employes to report and
address discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims.
(3) Measures that supervisors should take to appropriately
address complaints of discrimination, harassment and
retaliation.
(4) The consequences of failing to address complaints of
discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
(c) Employers shall keep a record of all interactive
trainings provided by the employer as required under clauses (a)
and (b), including the following:
(1) The title and content of the interactive training.
(2) The date, time and duration of the interactive training.
(3) A certification documenting the completion of training
by each employe and supervisor of the employer.
Employers shall maintain the training records for at least three
years and the records shall be made available for inspection by
the Commission upon request.
(d) The Commission shall develop online interactive training
modules that may be used by employers to satisfy the
requirements of clauses (a) and (b). The modules shall be made
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available at no cost on the Commission's publicly accessible
Internet website. The modules shall allow for the electronic
provision of a certification documenting that an employe or
supervisor completed training through the Commission's modules.
If an employer uses the Commission's interactive training
modules to satisfy the requirements of clauses (a) and (b), the
employer shall supplement such training by providing a
description of the employer's internal complaint policies and
procedures available to employes to report and address
discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims.
(e) The interactive training required by this section is
intended to establish a minimum threshold. An employer may offer
more frequent and additional training.
(f) A person claiming a violation of this section may make a
complaint with the Commission, which shall state the name and
address of the employer alleged to have violated this section.
If after investigation by the Commission, the Commission
determines that the employer violated this section, the
Commission shall endeavor to cause compliance with this section
and may issue a citation and impose a fine as provided in
subsection (g).
(g) The Commission has the power to issue citations and
impose fines on an employer for a violation of this section as
follows:
(1) A fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and
not more than one thousand dollars ($1000) for the first
violation.
(2) A fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1000) and
not more than five thousand dollars ($5000) for the second or
each subsequent violation.
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(3) The Commission may waive the fine for a first-time
violation of this section if the employer proves to the
satisfaction of the Commission, within sixty days of the
issuance of the citation, that the violation has been cured.
(h) The Human Relations Training Fund is established within
the State Treasury. A fine imposed and collected by the
Commission under subsection (g) shall be deposited in the fund.
The money in the fund shall be used by the Commission for
training, education and outreach.
(i) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless
the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) The term "interactive training" means participatory
instruction, whether in person or Internet-based, provided to an
employe in a manner that allows the employe to interact with the
instructor through the use of traditional learning techniques or
computer-based learning or a combination of both.
(2) The term "supervisor" means one of the following:
(i) an individual authorized to undertake or recommend
tangible employment decisions affecting the employe including
hiring, firing, promoting, demoting and reassigning the employe;
or
(ii) an individual authorized to direct the employe's daily
work activities.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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