[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 17, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  REINTRODUCTION OF THE ``SAKS'' BILL

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                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 17, 2008

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, the U.S. Justice Department 
estimates that 8 percent of all rapes occur on the job. Yet, many of 
these victims are told their only remedy is workers' compensation. When 
rape occurs on the job, employers should not be able to hide behind a 
system designed to compensate for job-related accidents. The bill that 
I am introducing today sends a clear message: Rape is not all in a days 
work.
  Workers' compensation systems were created by States to provide a 
means of redress for work-related personal injuries which occur during 
the course of employment. Workers' compensation is an exclusive remedy. 
In the event that an injury is covered by workers' compensation, no 
other legal action may be taken by the injured employee. This bill 
gives victims of workplace violence across the Nation a remedy outside 
the workers' compensation system. It does this by creating a Federal 
civil rights cause of action, under certain conditions, for employees 
who have been the victims of gender-motivated violence at work.
  We need to create an American workplace safe from violent crime. This 
bill will encourage employers to create a job environment free of 
violent sexual assault and rape.

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