Ending the Monopoly of Power Over Workplace Harassment through Education and Reporting Act
Summary
Ending the Monopoly of Power Over Workplace Harassment through Education and Reporting Act or the EMPOWER Act This bill makes it an unlawful labor practice for an employer to enter into, or attempt to enforce, a contract with an employee or job applicant that contains a nondisparagement or nondisclosure clause that covers workplace or sexual harassment, including retaliation for participating in a workplace harassment proceeding. The bill exempts certain settlement or separation agreements from such prohibition. The bill also requires the Securities and Exchange Commission to promulgate a regulation that requires any issuer of securities to submit a report for the most recent five-year period with respect to workplace and sexual harassment. The commission must provide for the development and dissemination of training programs and information regarding workplace and sexual harassment. The bill denies a tax deduction for amounts related to judgments and expenses in connection with litigation related to workplace or sexual harassment. It also excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, any amount received in connection with a claim or settlement related to workplace or sexual harassment, or other unlawful discrimination.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Nov 2021
Committee Review
Floor Vote
President
Introduced Nov 3, 2021
Last action Nov 3, 2021
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
2
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Nov 3, 2021
Committee
Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, the Judiciary, House Administration, Oversight and Reform, and Financial Services, 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.
lower
Nov 3, 2021
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
1 primary · 98 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Lois Frankel
DDemocratic
Co
Adriano Espaillat
DDemocratic
Co
Al Lawson, Jr.
DDemocratic
Co
Alan S. Lowenthal
DDemocratic
Co
André Carson
DDemocratic
Co
Andy Levin
DDemocratic
Co
Ann Kirkpatrick
DDemocratic
Co
Ann M. Kuster
DDemocratic
Co
Anthony G. Brown
DDemocratic
Co
Antonio Delgado
DDemocratic
Co
Ayanna Pressley
DDemocratic
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