PRINTER'S NO. 622
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
559
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY BLAKE, STREET, FONTANA, FARNESE, BREWSTER,
TARTAGLIONE, HUGHES, SCHWANK, COSTA, YUDICHAK AND MUTH,
APRIL 18, 2019
REFERRED TO LABOR AND INDUSTRY, APRIL 18, 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 powers and duties of the commission;
providing for employer policies and procedures; and
establishing the Human Relations Training Fund.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 7(f) of the act of October 27, 1955
(P.L.744, No.222), known as the Pennsylvania Human Relations
Act, is amended to read:
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
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violations of section 7.1.
* * *
Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 7.1. Employer Policies and Procedures.--(a) An
employer shall adopt written policies and procedures for
preventing harassment, discrimination and retaliation against
employes. The policies and procedures shall include, at a
minimum, all of the following:
(1) An explanation that harassment, discrimination and
retaliation are unlawful acts under Federal and State law.
(2) An explanation that sexual harassment is a form of
unlawful discrimination under Federal and State law.
(3) A complaint procedure to report and address harassment,
discrimination and retaliation claims, including a provision
allowing employes to report the claims to persons other than
their supervisor.
(4) The specific responsibilities of a supervisor in the
identification, prevention and reporting of harassment,
discrimination and retaliation.
(5) An explanation of the procedures for maintaining
confidentiality surrounding the reporting of harassment,
discrimination and retaliation claims.
(6) A procedure for the timely, thorough and prompt
investigation of claims of harassment, discrimination and
retaliation filed by an employe.
(b) An employer shall make the policies and procedures
available and easily accessible to all employes.
(c) An employer shall review and update the policies for
harassment, discrimination and retaliation as needed to remain
in compliance with Federal and State law.
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(d) An employer shall keep records of the current policies
and procedures and make them available for inspection by the
commission upon request. If applicable, the employer shall keep
a record of the immediately preceding policies and procedures
for a period of three years after the effective date of the
current policies and procedures and make them available for
inspection by the commission upon request.
(e) The commission shall develop standard policies and
procedures that may be used by employers to satisfy the
requirements under subsection (a). The policies and procedures
shall be made publicly available at no cost on the commission's
publicly accessible Internet website.
(f) The commission shall publish on its publicly accessible
Internet website, and transmit to the Legislative Reference
Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, any changes
to Federal or State harassment, discrimination or retaliation
laws that would impact the standard policies and procedures
under subsection (e) within forty-five days of the changes. The
commission may establish an electronic notification system to
alert employers of changes to the standard policies and
procedures.
(g) A person claiming a violation of this section may make a
complaint with the commission. The complaint must 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 (h).
(h) The commission has the power to issue citations and
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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 ($1,000) for the first
violation.
(2) A fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000)
and not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for the second
or each subsequent violation.
(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.
(i) 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.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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