BE HEARD in the Workplace Act
Latest action · May 3, 2019 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 9, 2019
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination in the Workplace Act or the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act
This bill sets forth provisions to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace and raises the minimum wage for tipped employees.
Specifically, the bill (1) makes it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against an individual in the workplace based on sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, and a sex stereotype; (2) prohibits employers from entering into contracts or agreements with workers that contain certain nondisparagement or nondisclosure clauses; (3) prohibits predispute arbitration agreements and postdispute agreements with certain exceptions, and (4) establishes grant programs to prevent and respond to workplace discrimination and harassment, provide legal assistance for low-income workers related to employment discrimination, and establish a system of legal advocacy in states to protect the rights of workers.
Additionally, the bill, among other things
- requires employers who have 15 or more employees to adopt a comprehensive nondiscrimination policy;
- requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to provide specified training and resource materials, establish and convene a harassment prevention task force, and establish an Office of Education and Outreach with regard to prohibited discrimination and harassment in employment;
- requires specified studies, reports, and research on prohibited harassment in employment; and
- grants employees the right to retain their tips.
Cosponsors 151
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 9, 2019 to Nov 5, 2020, with 3 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MA | Ayanna Pressley | Original | Apr 9, 2019 |
| D-FL | Debbie Mucarsel-Powell | Original | Apr 9, 2019 |
| D-MI | Elissa Slotkin | Original | Apr 9, 2019 |
| D-MI | Andy Levin | Apr 10, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Apr 10, 2019 | |
| D-FL | Debbie Wasserman Schultz | Apr 10, 2019 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Apr 10, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Gregory W. Meeks | Apr 10, 2019 | |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Apr 10, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Yvette D. Clarke | Apr 10, 2019 | |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Apr 12, 2019 | |
| D-MA | Lori Trahan | Apr 12, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Nydia M. Velázquez | Apr 12, 2019 | |
| D-MI | Rashida Tlaib | Apr 12, 2019 | |
| D-CT | Rosa L. DeLauro | Apr 12, 2019 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 3, 2019Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
- Apr 29, 2019Referred to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
- Apr 9, 2019Introduced in House
- Apr 9, 2019Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, House Administration, Oversight and Reform, and Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1082 | BE HEARD in the Workplace Act | Identical bill | Apr 9, 2019 |
| S 1491 | Restoring Justice for Workers Act | Related bill | May 15, 2019 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Advisory bodies
- Age discrimination
- Alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration
- Assault and harassment offenses
- Census and government statistics
- Civil actions and liability
- Congressional agencies
- Congressional officers and employees
- Congressional oversight
- Contracts and agency
- Disability and health-based discrimination
- Employment discrimination and employee rights
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
- Evidence and witnesses
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Genetics
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government studies and investigations
- Indian social and development programs
- Labor and Employment
- Labor-management relations
- Lawyers and legal services
- Library of Congress
- Public contracts and procurement
- Racial and ethnic relations
- Religion
- Self-employed
- Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
- State and local government operations
- User charges and fees
- Women's employment
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 9, 2019Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.