Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblyman JOSEPH A. LAGANA
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblywoman JOANN DOWNEY
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblywoman SHAVONDA E. SUMTER
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Mazzeo, Armato, Assemblywoman Lopez, Assemblyman Zwicker, Assemblywomen Quijano, Pinkin and Jimenez
SYNOPSIS
Requires Legislature to adopt and distribute policy prohibiting sexual harassment; requires members, officers, and employees of Legislature to complete online training on policy once every two years.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the policy of the Legislature regarding sexual harassment and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Legislature shall adopt and maintain a policy that: prohibits sexual harassment by members, officers, and employees of the Legislature; requires compliance with the policy; requires that appropriate measures be taken to ensure that prohibited conduct does not occur; and provides procedures for the reporting, investigation, final determination, remediation, and discipline of prohibited conduct. The policy shall include provisions regarding confidentiality, retaliation, and false accusations.
The Legislature shall adopt the policy in any manner deemed appropriate.
The policy shall apply to all members of the Legislature, and all officers and employees, including supervisors and managers, of the partisan staff offices, district offices, Office of Legislative Services, Office of Clerk of the General Assembly, and Office of the Secretary of the Senate. The policy shall apply to any agency, board, bureau, or commission within or created by the Legislative Branch.
b. The policy adopted by the Legislature shall be distributed by the director of human resources of the Office of Legislative Services to all members, officers, and employees to whom it applies. Initially, the policy shall be distributed to current members, officers, and employees within 60 calendar days of the effective date of this section. Thereafter, the policy shall be distributed to a member, officer, or employee within five business days of taking office or commencing employment. Any member, officer, or employee to whom the policy is distributed shall acknowledge receipt thereof in writing within 10 business days of receipt. All acknowledgements of receipt shall be submitted directly to the director by members, officers, and employees.
c. The director of human resources of the Office of Legislative Services shall review the policy at least once every two years and shall make such modifications as the director deems necessary. The director shall notify in writing the Legislative Services Commission, the President and Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Speaker and Minority Leader of the General Assembly whenever any modification is made to the policy. The director may elect to submit recommended modifications to the Legislature for adoption in the same manner as provided for the adoption of the policy. The director shall distribute the policy as modified to all members, officers, and employees to whom it applies within 30 calendar days of modification. Members, officers, and employees shall acknowledge in writing the receipt of the modified policy within 10 business days of receipt.
d. The director of human resources of the Office of Legislative Services shall prepare and maintain an online training program on the policy adopted by the Legislature and as modified by the director or the Legislature. Each member, officer, and employee to whom the policy applies shall complete the online training no later than April 1 of every even-numbered year, and shall submit a certification denoting completion thereof. A member of the Legislature shall submit the certification of completion for the member and the member’s district office staff to the executive director in the partisan staff office of the member’s House and political party. Officers and employees of a partisan staff office shall submit the certification of completion to the executive director of that office. Officers and employees of the Secretary of the Senate and of the Clerk of the General Assembly shall submit the certification of completion to the Secretary and Clerk, as appropriate. Officers and employees of the Office of Legislative Services shall submit the certification of completion to the director of human resources of that office. Members, officers, and employees of any agency, board, bureau, or commission within or created by the Legislative Branch for whom a person has not already been designated to receive the certification of completion pursuant to this subsection shall submit the certification to the director of human resources of the Office of Legislative Services.
Each executive director and the Secretary and Clerk shall then submit those certifications of completion to the director of human resources in the Office of Legislative Services along with a list of those members, officers, and employees who have not completed the training or submitted a certification. All certifications of completion shall be public information.
e. The Office of Legislative Services shall publish the policy on the official website of the Legislature, and include the contact information for its human resources office along with the policy.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following enactment, but such anticipatory administrative action may be taken in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Legislature to adopt and maintain a policy that: prohibits sexual harassment by members, officers, and employees of the Legislature; requires compliance with the policy; requires that appropriate measures be taken to ensure that the prohibited conduct does not occur; and provides the procedures for the reporting, investigation, final determination, remediation, and discipline of prohibited conduct. The policy must include provisions regarding confidentiality, retaliation, and false accusations.
The Legislature is to adopt the policy in any manner deemed appropriate.
The policy will apply to all members of the Legislature, and all officers and employees, including supervisors and managers, of the legislative partisan staff offices, district offices, Office of Legislative Services, Office of Clerk of the General Assembly, and Office of the Secretary of the Senate. The policy will also apply to any agency, board, bureau, or commission within or created by the Legislative Branch.
The policy adopted by the Legislature is to be distributed by the director of human resources of the Office of Legislative Services to all members, officers, and employees to whom it applies. Members, officers, and employees must acknowledge in writing the receipt of the policy.
The director of human resources of the Office of Legislative Services is required to review the policy at least once every two years and make such modifications as the director deems necessary. The director may elect to submit recommended modifications to the Legislature for adoption. The director is required to distribute the policy as modified all members, officers, and employees to whom it applies.
The director of human resources of the Office of Legislative Services must prepare and maintain an online training program on the policy adopted by the Legislature and as modified by the director or the Legislature. Members, officers, and employees to whom the policy applies are required to complete the online training no later than April 1 of every even-numbered year, and submit a certification of completion. All certifications of completion will be public information.
The Office of Legislative Services will publish the policy on the official website of the Legislature, and include the contact information for its human resources office along with the policy.