| Last Action | 01/10/19: to State Government (H) |
|---|---|
| Title | AN ACT relating to sexual harassment. |
| Bill Documents | Introduced |
| Bill Request Number | 179 |
| Sponsors | K. Flood, C. Booker, M. Cantrell, J. Donohue, A. Gentry, D. Graham, J. Graviss, K. Hinkle, M. Marzian, R. Meeks, P. Minter, A. Scott, M. Sorolis, C. Stevenson, S. Westrom, L. Willner |
| Summary of Original Version | Create new sections of KRS 6.601 to 6.849 to make it ethical misconduct for a legislator, legislative agent, or employee of the legislative branch to engage in sexual harassment; define "sexual harassment" and "complaint"; grant the Legislative Ethics Commission jurisdiction to investigate and proceed upon receipt of a complaint from a legislator, legislative agent, or employee of the legislative branch regarding sexual harassment allegedly committed by a legislator, legislative agent, or employee of the legislative branch; require the Legislative Ethics Commission to establish a legislative ethics telephone tip line to allow legislators, legislative agents, or employees of the legislative branch to report complaints of sexual harassment; require the Legislative Ethics Commission, the Legislative Research Commission, and businesses and organizations that employ legislative agents to publicize the existence of the legislative ethics telephone tip line; require the legislative ethics telephone tip line to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with the Legislative Ethics Commission providing staff during regular business hours and allowing for recorded messages during nonbusiness hours; require the forwarding of information reported on the legislative ethics telephone tip line to the executive director of the Legislative Ethics Commission or his or her designee on an approved form; require that within 24 hours of the receipt of a complaint the Legislative Ethics Commission executive director make an initial determination as to whether a complaint meets the criteria for consideration and notify the complainant of the determination; provide that the alleged violator shall be notified and given the opportunity to file a written response after receiving a written statement detailing allegations; provide that within seven days of receiving a response or expiration of the deadline for receiving a response from the alleged violator the Legislative Ethics Commission chair, vice chair, and executive director shall interview the complainant, the alleged violator, and any other person with information relevant to the complaint; provide that within 14 business days of completion of the interviews, the Legislative Ethics Commission shall give notice of the status of the complaint and a general statement of applicable law to the complainant and alleged violator; provide that within 30 business days of receipt of a workplace complaint the complaint file shall be closed if the Legislative Ethics Commission chair and vice chair agree that the complaint is resolved or agree that there is no credible allegation of sexual harassment; allow the Legislative Ethics Commission chair and vice chair to refer a complaint to another federal or state agency if they determine that the case does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Legislative Ethics Commission; if the Legislative Ethics Commission chair and vice chair do not agree whether a complaint is resolved but agree that there is a credible allegation of sexual harassment, require the Legislative Ethics Commission enforcement counsel to file a formal complaint, if the conflict cannot be resolved via conference; allow a legislator, legislative agent, or an employee of the legislative branch to file a formal complaint of sexual harassment at any time under KRS 6.686; set forth confidentiality provisions; provide that complainants shall not be subject to reprisal; provide option for complainant or complainant's supervisor to request for transfer while an investigation is ongoing; require the annual reporting of complaints processed using the legislative ethics telephone tip line; provide that nothing prevents a legislator, legislative agent, or legislative branch employee from pursuing other avenues to report complaints of sexual harassment; permit employees who report complaints to seek assistance from the Kentucky Employee Assistance Program or from private health professionals for matters related to workplace complaints; declare that if a provision of KRS 6.601 to 6.849 is designated a misdemeanor or felony, an alleged violation of the provision may be adjudicated by the Legislative Ethics Commission as ethical misconduct; create a new section of KRS Chapter 6 to prohibit legislators and legislative employees from using public funds to settle sexual harassment claims; amend KRS 6.686 to conform. |
| Index Headings of Original Version |
General Assembly - Ethical misconduct, prohibited behavior, complaint procedures General Assembly - Legislative ethic telephone tip line, establishing General Assembly - Public funds, sexual harassment, legislators and legislative employees, prohibiting the use of Legislative Research Commission - Legislative ethics telephone tip line, establishing State Agencies - Legislative Ethics Commission, sexual harassment, complaint procedures Ethics - Legislative, sexual harassment, complaint procedures Ethics - Legislative ethics telephone tip line, establishing Reports Mandated - Legislative ethics telephone tip line, complaints received |
| 11/28/18 |
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| 01/08/19 |
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| 01/10/19 |
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Last updated: 11/9/2023 3:07 PM (EST)