Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Improvements Act of 2020”.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Improvements Act of 2020
A BILL
To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 to address sexual harassment involving National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration personnel, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 References
Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a provision of subtitle C of title XXXV of Public Law 114–328 (130 Stat. 2800 et seq.; 33 U.S.C. 894 et seq.).
Sec. 3 Policy on the prevention of and response to sexual harassment involving National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration personnel
Covered personnel— Section 3541(a) (130 Stat. 2800) is amended—
by striking “Not later” and inserting the following:
“(1) In general—Not later”
by adding at the end the following:
“(2) Included personnel—The individuals who work with or conduct business on behalf of the Administration referred to in paragraph (1) include the following:
“(A) Observers and at-sea monitors required by the National Marine Fisheries Service to be aboard commercial fishing vessels and other privately owned vessels, barges, or platforms for—
“(i) commercial fisheries observation required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.);
“(ii) protected species or endangered species observation required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) or the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or
“(iii) platform removal observation.
“(B) Voting members and executive and administrative staff of regional fishery management councils established by section 302 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852).”
Mechanism for anonymous reporting of incidents— Section 3541(b)(3)(B) (130 Stat. 2800) is amended to read as follows:
“(B) incidents of sexual harassment can be anonymously reported to the Office of Inclusion and Civil Rights of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or to the program established under section 3541(b)(1); and”
Inclusion of equal employment in quarterly reports— Section 3541(f) (130 Stat. 2801) is amended—
by inserting “and equal employment” after “sexual harassment” each place it appears; and
in paragraph (2)—
by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; and
by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
“(C) A synopsis of each case and the disciplinary action taken (if any) in each case.”
Sec. 4 Comprehensive policy on prevention of and response to sexual assaults
Covered personnel— Section 3542(a) (130 Stat. 2801) is amended—
by striking “Not later” and inserting the following:
“(1) In general—Not later”
by adding at the end the following:
“(2) Included personnel—The individuals who work with or conduct business on behalf of the Administration referred to in paragraph (1) include the individuals described in section 3541(a)(2).”
Mechanism for anonymous reporting of incidents— Section 3542(b)(5)(B) (130 Stat. 2801) is amended to read as follows:
“(B) incidents of sexual assault can be anonymously reported to the program established under section 3541(b)(1).”
Victim advocates—
In general— Section 3542(c)(2) (130 Stat. 2802) is amended to read as follows:
“(2) Victim advocates—For purposes of this subsection, a victim advocate is a full-time permanent employee of the Administration trained in and responsible solely for matters relating to sexual assault and the comprehensive policy developed under subsection (a).”
Location— Section 3542(c)(4) (130 Stat. 2802) is amended by inserting “full time” after “stationed”.
Sec. 5 Investigation and criminal referral requirements
Redesignation— Sections 3546 and 3547 (130 Stat. 2804, 2805) are redesignated as sections 3551 and 3552, respectively.
In general— Inserting the following after section 3545:
“3546. Investigation requirement
“(a) Requirement To investigate
“(1) In general—The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, shall ensure that each allegation of sexual harassment reported under section 3541 and each allegation of sexual assault reported under section 3542 is investigated thoroughly and promptly.
“(2) Sense of Congress on commencement of investigation—It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary should ensure that an investigation of an alleged incident of sexual harassment reported under section 3541 or sexual assault reported under section 3542 commences not later than 48 hours after the time at which the allegation was reported.
“(b) Notification of delay—In any case in which the time between the reporting of an alleged incident of sexual harassment or sexual assault under section 3541 or 3542, respectively, and commencement of an investigation of the allegation under this section exceeds 48 hours, the Secretary shall notify the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives of the delay.
“3547. Criminal referral
“If the Secretary of Commerce finds, pursuant to an investigation under section 3546, evidence that a crime may have been committed, the Secretary shall refer the matter to the appropriate law enforcement authorities, including the appropriate United States Attorney.
“3548. Exceptions regarding anonymity of survivors in certain cases
“(a) In general—In any case in which an employee, member of the commissioned officer corps, or individual conducting business on behalf of the administration elects anonymous reporting under section 3541(b)(3)(B) or 3542(b)(5)(B), disclosure of their personally identifying information is authorized to the following persons or organizations when disclosure would be for the following reasons:
“(1) To National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration staff or law enforcement personnel, when authorized by the survivor in writing.
“(2) To National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration staff or law enforcement personnel to prevent or lessen a serious or imminent threat to the health or safety of the survivor or another person.
“(3) To a victim advocate or healthcare provider, when required for the provision of victim services.
“(4) To a State or Federal court, when ordered by such court or if disclosure is required by Federal or State statute.
“(b) Notice of disclosure and privacy protection—In any case in which information is disclosed under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—
“(1) make reasonable attempts to provide notice to the employee, member, or individual whose personally identifying information is disclosed; and
“(2) take such action as is necessary to protect the privacy and safety of the employee, member, or individual.
“3549. Restricted reporting
“(a) In general—Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Improvements Act of 2020, the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, shall develop a mechanism to provide a system of restricted reporting.
“(b) Restricted reporting defined—In this section the term “restricted reporting” means a system of reporting that allows employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, members of the Commissioned Officer Corps of the Administration, and individuals who work with or conduct business on behalf of the Administration who are sexually assaulted to confidentially disclose the details of their assault to specified individuals and receive the services outlined in this subtitle title—
“(1) without the dissemination of their personally identifying information except as necessary for the provision of such services; and
“(2) without automatically triggering an investigative process.
“3550. Mariner referral
“The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, acting through the Director of the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and in consultation with the Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall, within 180 days after the date of the enactment of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Improvements Act of 2020, develop and implement a policy to report to the Coast Guard Suspension and Revocation National Center of Expertise, the names of personnel of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who—
“(1) are the subject of a claim of an act or offense detrimental to good discipline and safety at sea, such as sexual harassment or sexual assault that is substantiated by an investigation under section 3546, or any other substantiated claim of an act or offense for which suspension or revocation of a credential is either mandatory or sought pursuant to part 5 of title 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations; and
“(2) are—
“(A) employees or contractors of the Administration required to hold a valid merchant mariner credential as a condition of employment; or
“(B) crew of a vessel that, at the time of such act or offence, was operating under a contract with the Administration.”
Sec. 6 Annual report on sexual assaults, sexual harassment, and equal employment
Section 3551, as redesignated by section 5 of this Act (130 Stat. 2804), is amended—
by striking the section heading and inserting the following: “Annual report on sexual assaults, sexual harassment, and equal employment in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.”;
in subsection (a), by inserting “, sexual harassment, and equal employment” after “sexual assaults”; and
in subsection (b)—
in paragraph (4), by inserting “, including a synopsis of each case and the disciplinary action taken, if any, in each case” before the period at the end; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(5) A summary of the number of change of station, unit transfer, and change of work location requests submitted to the Under Secretary under section 3544(a), including the number of such requests that were denied.
“(6) A summary of the number of cases referred to the Coast Guard under section 5 of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Improvements Act of 2020.
“(7) The number of alleged sexual assaults and sexual harassment cases involving fisheries, protected species, and endangered species observers, including—
“(A) a synopsis of each case and the status;
“(B) the disposition of any investigation; and
“(C) a description of the fishery management region and fishery or the geographic region and type of permitted operation in which the assault or harassment is alleged to have occurred, as appropriate.”
Sec. 7 Conforming and clerical amendments
Conforming amendments— Subtitle C of title XXXV of Public Law 114–328 (130 Stat. 2800 et seq.; 33 U.S.C. 894 et seq.) is amended—
by striking the term “victims” each place it appears and inserting “survivors”;
in section 3541(b)(2)(B), by striking “victim” and inserting “target of sexual harassment”;
in section 3542(c)(5)(A), by striking “victim of” and inserting “survivor of”;
in section 3543—
in the heading, by striking “victim” and inserting “survivor”; and
by striking “victim” and inserting “survivor”;
in section 3544—
in subsection (a)—
by striking “victims” and inserting “survivors”; and
in paragraph (1), by striking “was” each place such term appears and inserting “is”; and
by striking “victim” each place such term appears and inserting “survivor”.
Clerical amendment— Each of the tables of contents in section 2(b) and at the beginning of title XXXV of Public Law 114–328 (130 Stat. 2000, 2773) is amended—
by striking the item relating to section 3543 and inserting the following:
by striking the items relating to sections 3546 and 3547 and inserting the following:
Sec. 8 Prohibited acts
Section 307(1)(L) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(L)) is amended—
by striking “forcibly”; and
by striking “on a vessel”.
Sec. 9 Prohibition on service in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps by individuals convicted of certain sexual offenses
Section 261(a) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 (33 U.S.C. 3071(a)) is amended—
by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (16) as paragraphs (5) through (17), respectively; and
by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
“(4) Section 657, relating to prohibition on service by individuals convicted of certain sexual offenses.”