50 U.S.C. § 3531 — Sexual assault and sexual harassment

Page 920 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 3531 (2) Assigned staff To assist in performing the functions under subsection (c), the Director shall assign to the Office a sufficient number of individuals, who shall have no official duties other than duties related to the Office while so assigned. (c) Functions of Office (1) Functions The Director shall establish the functions and role of the Office, which shall include the following: (A) Providing to eligible individuals under subsection (d) advice and assistance on health and wellbeing, including with respect to— (i) physical health and access to physical health care; (ii) mental health and access to mental health care; and (iii) other related programs and benefits for which the individual may be eligible. (B) In providing advice and assistance to individuals under subparagraph (A), assist- ing such individuals who are applying for, and navigating the process to obtain, bene- fits furnished by the United States Govern- ment for which the individual is eligible, in- cluding, at a minimum— (i) health care and benefits described in such subparagraph; and (ii) benefits furnished pursuant to sec- tion 3519b of this title. (C) Maintaining, and making available to eligible individuals under subsection (d), the following: (i) A list of physicians and mental health care providers (including from the private sector, as applicable), who have experience with the physical and mental health care needs of the Agency workforce. (ii) A list of chaplains and religious counselors who have experience with the needs of the Agency workforce, including information regarding access to the Chap- lain Corps established under section 3527 of this title. (iii) Information regarding how to select and retain private attorneys who have ex- perience with the legal needs of the Agen- cy workforce, including detailed informa- tion on the process for the appropriate sharing of information with retained pri- vate attorneys. (D) Any other functions the Director de- termines appropriate. (2) Rule of construction The inclusion of any person on a list main- tained or made available pursuant to para- graph (1)(C) shall not be construed as an en- dorsement of such person (or any service fur- nished by such person), and the Director shall not be liable, as a result of such inclusion, for any portion of compensable injury, loss, or damage attributable to such person or service. (3) Confidentiality (A) Requirement The Director shall ensure that, to the ex- tent permitted by law, the advice and assist- ance provided by the Office to eligible indi- viduals under subsection (d) is provided in a confidential manner. (B) Regulations The Director may prescribe regulations re- garding the requirement for confidentiality under this paragraph. The Director shall submit to the congressional intelligence committees (as defined in section 3003 of this title), the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives any such regulations not later than 30 days after prescribing such reg- ulations. (d) Eligibility (1) In general An individual described in paragraph (2) may receive a service under the Office at the elec- tion of the individual. (2) Individuals described An individual described in this paragraph is— (A) a current or former officer or employee of the Agency; or (B) an individual affiliated with the Agen- cy, as determined by the Director. (June 20, 1949, ch. 227, § 29, as added Pub. L. 117–263, div. F, title LXIV, § 6416(a), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3528.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT Pub. L. 117–263, div. F, title LXIV, § 6416(b), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3530, provided that: ‘‘The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall establish the Office under section 29 of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 [50 U.S.C. 3530] (as added by subsection (a)) (in this section referred to as the ‘Office’) by not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 23, 2022].’’ § 3531. Sexual assault and sexual harassment within the Agency (a) Responsibilities of Director The Director shall carry out the following re- sponsibilities: (1) Establishing professional and uniform training for employees assigned to working with all aspects of the response of the Agency to allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment. (2) Developing and implementing policies and procedures to protect the confidentiality of employees who report sexual assault or sex- ual harassment and to mitigate negative ef- fects on the reputation or career of such an employee as a result of such a report. (3) Developing and implementing docu- mented standards for— (A) appropriate mitigation and protection measures for individuals who make allega- tions of a sexual assault or sexual harass- ment to be put in place while an investiga- tion proceeds; (B) appropriate employee consequences to be imposed based on the findings of an in- Page 921 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 3531 quiry or investigation into a substantiated allegation of sexual assault or sexual harass- ment; (C) appropriate career path protection for all employees involved in an incident result- ing in a reported allegation of sexual assault or sexual harassment while an administra- tive or criminal investigation or review of the allegation is pending; and (D) mitigation measures to protect em- ployees and mission execution while such al- legations are being addressed. (4) Articulating and enforcing norms, expec- tations, practices, and policies, including with respect to employee promotions and assign- ments, that are published for the workforce and designed to promote a healthy workplace culture that is inhospitable to sexual assault and sexual harassment. (5) Developing and issuing workforce mes- saging to inform Agency employees of policies, procedures, resources, and points of contact to obtain information related to, or to report, sexual assault or sexual harassment globally. (6) Developing and implementing sexual as- sault and sexual harassment training for all Agency employees that— (A) is designed to strengthen individual knowledge, skills, and capacity to prevent and respond to sexual assault and sexual harassment; (B) includes onboarding programs, annual refresher training, and specialized leadership training; and (C) includes details of the definitions of sexual assault and sexual harassment, the distinction between such terms, and what does or does not constitute each. (7) Developing and implementing processes and procedures applicable to personnel in- volved in providing the training referred to in paragraph (6) that— (A) are designed to ensure seamless policy consistency and mechanisms for submitting reports of sexual assault and sexual harass- ment in all training environments; and (B) include requirements for in-person training that— (i) covers the reporting processes for sex- ual assault and sexual harassment that are specific to training environments for stu- dents and trainers; and (ii) shall be provided at an appropriate time during the first 5 days of any ex- tended or residential training course. (8) Developing and implementing, in con- sultation with the Victim Advocacy Special- ists of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, ap- propriate training requirements, policies, and procedures applicable to all employees whose professional responsibilities include inter- action with people making reports alleging sexual assault or sexual harassment. (9) Developing and implementing procedures under which current and former employees of the Agency who have reported an allegation of sexual assault or sexual harassment may ob- tain documents and records related to such a report, as appropriate and upon request. (10) Developing and implementing proce- dures under which an employee who makes a restricted or unrestricted report containing an allegation of a sexual assault or sexual harass- ment may transfer out of the current assign- ment or location of the employee, upon the re- quest of the employee making the report. Such procedures shall be consistent with the privilege established in section 3532 of this title. (11) Developing policies and procedures for the Special Victim Investigator, as applicable, to facilitate outside engagement requests of employees reporting allegations of sexual as- sault or sexual harassment as described in sec- tions 3532 and 3533 of this title. (12) Coordinating the response of the Agency to allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment. (b) Semiannual report Not less frequently than once every 180 days, the Director shall submit to the Select Com- mittee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives a report on the ac- tivities of all Agency offices responsible for pre- venting, investigating, adjudicating, and ad- dressing claims of sexual assault or sexual har- assment. The Director shall personally review, approve, and submit each report under this sub- section on a nondelegable basis. Each such re- port shall include— (1) for the period covered by the report— (A) the number of new allegations of sex- ual assault and sexual harassment reported to any Agency office, disaggregated by re- stricted and unrestricted reports; (B) the number of new or ongoing cases in which the Sexual Harassment/Assault Re- sponse and Prevention Office has provided victim advocacy services; (C) a description of all training activities related to sexual assault and sexual harass- ment carried out Agency-wide, and the num- ber of such trainings conducted; and (2) for the period beginning on December 22, 2023, and ending on the last day of the period covered by the report— (A) the total number of allegations of sex- ual assault and sexual harassment; (B) the disposition of each report of such an allegation; (C) any corrective action taken in response to each such report; (D) the number of such allegations that were not substantiated; and (E) the number of employee reassignment and relocation requests, including— (i) the number of such requests that were granted; (ii) the number of such requests that were denied; and (iii) for any such request that was de- nied, the position of the individual who de- nied the request and the reason for denial. (c) Applicability (1) In general The policies developed pursuant to this sec- tion shall apply to each of the following: (A) Any employee of the Agency. (B) Any person other than an Agency em- ployee who alleges they were sexually as- Page 922 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 3532 saulted or harassed at a facility associated with the Agency or during the performance of a function associated with the Agency. If such person is an employee of an industrial contractor, the contracting officer for the relevant contract shall coordinate with the contractually identified representative for the prime contractor in a manner consistent with section 3532 of this title. (2) Relation to existing regulations The policies developed pursuant to this sec- tion for handling allegations of sexual harass- ment shall be in addition to the requirements of part 1614 of title 29, Code of Federal Regula- tions, or successor regulations. (June 20, 1949, ch. 227, § 30, as added Pub. L. 118–31, div. G, title III, § 7339(b), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 1052.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries REPORTING AND INVESTIGATING ALLEGATIONS OF SEX- UAL ASSAULT AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT WITHIN THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Pub. L. 118–31, div. G, title III, § 7339(a), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 1051, provided that: ‘‘(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that— ‘‘(1) sexual assault and sexual harassment arise from, and are often indicative of, an environment where toxic, provocative, and sometimes signifi- cantly inappropriate behavior is tolerated; ‘‘(2) when supervisors and senior leaders at head- quarters and in the field are among the offenders and facilitate a work climate in which toxic and dis- respectful behavior is tolerated, harassment and even assault will often go unaddressed and unpunished; ‘‘(3) while establishing clear policies and procedures and enhancing training are necessary first steps to- ward protecting victims and establishing stronger in- ternal mechanisms for preventing and responding to future sexual assault and sexual harassment within the Central Intelligence Agency, comprehensive cul- ture change driven by Agency leadership will be nec- essary to accomplish impactful and enduring im- provement; and ‘‘(4) it is vital for the Central Intelligence Agency to maintain an independent and neutral person with whom all employees at all levels, supervisors and non-supervisors, may speak confidentially, infor- mally, and off-the-record about work-related con- cerns or questions.’’ IMPLEMENTATION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS Pub. L. 118–31, div. G, title III, § 7339(e), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 1061, provided that: ‘‘(1) DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 22, 2023], the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall— ‘‘(A) complete an Agency climate assessment— ‘‘(i) which does not request any information that would make an Agency employee or an Agency em- ployee’s position identifiable; ‘‘(ii) for the purposes of— ‘‘(I) preventing and responding to sexual assault and sexual harassment; and ‘‘(II) examining the prevalence of sexual assault and sexual harassment occurring among the Agency’s workforce; and ‘‘(iii) that includes an opportunity for Agency employees to express their opinions regarding the manner and extent to which the Agency responds to allegations of sexual assault and complaints of sex- ual harassment, and the effectiveness of such re- sponse; ‘‘(B) submit to the appropriate congressional com- mittees the findings of the Director with respect to the climate assessment completed pursuant to sub- paragraph (A); ‘‘(C) establish and implement the policies required under sections 30 and 31 of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 [50 U.S.C. 3531 and 3532], as added by subsections (b) and (c), respectively; ‘‘(D) consolidate the responsibilities of the Director under section 30 of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 [50 U.S.C. 3531] in a single Office, as deter- mined by the Director; and ‘‘(E) establish the Special Victim Investigator, as required by section 32 of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 [50 U.S.C. 3533], as added by sub- section (d). ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than once every 90 days thereafter for 2 years, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the implementation of this section and the amendments made by this section. The Director shall personally re- view, approve, and submit each report under this para- graph on a nondelegable basis. ‘‘(3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE- FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘appropriate con- gressional committees’ means— ‘‘(A) the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Ap- propriations of the Senate; and ‘‘(B) the Permanent Select Committee on Intel- ligence and the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep- resentatives.’’ § 3532. Reporting and investigation of allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment (a) Policies relating to restricted and unre- stricted reporting of sexual assault and sex- ual harassment (1) In general The Director shall develop and implement policies, regulations, personnel training, and workforce education to establish and provide information about restricted reports and unre- stricted reports of allegations of sexual as- sault and sexual harassment within the Agen- cy in accordance with this subsection. (2) Workforce education Workforce education developed under para- graph (1) shall be designed to clearly inform Agency employees of the differences between restricted and unrestricted reporting of allega- tions of sexual assault and sexual harassment, and which individual or office within the Agency is responsible for receiving each type of report. (3) Relationship to the Sexual Harassment/As- sault Response and Prevention Office To the extent consistent with preserving a victim’s complete autonomy, the policies, reg- ulations, training, and messaging described in this subsection shall— (A) encourage Agency employees to make restricted or unrestricted reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment to the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Preven- tion Office; (B) encourage Agency employees to use the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Office as the primary point of contact and entry point for Agency em-