View all text of Chapter 46 [§ 3501 - § 3533]
§ 3531. Sexual assault and sexual harassment within the Agency
(a) Responsibilities of DirectorThe Director shall carry out the following responsibilities:
(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 sexual harassment and to mitigate negative effects on the reputation or career of such an employee as a result of such a report.
(3) Developing and implementing documented standards for—
(A) appropriate mitigation and protection measures for individuals who make allegations of a sexual assault or sexual harassment to be put in place while an investigation proceeds;
(B) appropriate employee consequences to be imposed based on the findings of an inquiry or investigation into a substantiated allegation of sexual assault or sexual harassment;
(C) appropriate career path protection for all employees involved in an incident resulting in a reported allegation of sexual assault or sexual harassment while an administrative or criminal investigation or review of the allegation is pending; and
(D) mitigation measures to protect employees and mission execution while such allegations are being addressed.
(4) Articulating and enforcing norms, expectations, practices, and policies, including with respect to employee promotions and assignments, 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 messaging 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 assault 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 involved 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 harassment in all training environments; and
(B) include requirements for in-person training that—
(i) covers the reporting processes for sexual assault and sexual harassment that are specific to training environments for students and trainers; and
(ii) shall be provided at an appropriate time during the first 5 days of any extended or residential training course.
(8) Developing and implementing, in consultation with the Victim Advocacy Specialists of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, appropriate training requirements, policies, and procedures applicable to all employees whose professional responsibilities include interaction 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 obtain documents and records related to such a report, as appropriate and upon request.
(10) Developing and implementing procedures under which an employee who makes a restricted or unrestricted report containing an allegation of a sexual assault or sexual harassment may transfer out of the current assignment or location of the employee, upon the request 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 assault or sexual harassment as described in sections 3532 and 3533 of this title.
(12) Coordinating the response of the Agency to allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment.
(b) Semiannual reportNot less frequently than once every 180 days, the Director shall submit to the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives a report on the activities of all Agency offices responsible for preventing, investigating, adjudicating, and addressing claims of sexual assault or sexual harassment. The Director shall personally review, approve, and submit each report under this subsection on a nondelegable basis. Each such report shall include—
(1) for the period covered by the report—
(A) the number of new allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment reported to any Agency office, disaggregated by restricted and unrestricted reports;
(B) the number of new or ongoing cases in which the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Office has provided victim advocacy services;
(C) a description of all training activities related to sexual assault and sexual harassment carried out Agency-wide, and the number 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 sexual 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 denied, the position of the individual who denied the request and the reason for denial.
(c) Applicability
(1) In generalThe policies developed pursuant to this section shall apply to each of the following:
(A) Any employee of the Agency.
(B) Any person other than an Agency employee who alleges they were sexually assaulted 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
(June 20, 1949, ch. 227, § 30, as added Pub. L. 118–31, div. G, title III, § 7339(b), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 1052.)