[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 133 (Thursday, July 29, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S5180]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. 
        Durbin):
  S. 2553. A bill to amend title 28, United States Code, to protect 
employees of the Federal judiciary from discrimination, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Judiciary 
Accountability Act of 2021. I thank Representatives Johnson, Speier, 
Nadler, Torres, and Mace, along with my cosponsors, Senators 
Whitehouse, Murray, and Durbin, for working with me to finally ensure 
that employees of the Federal judiciary have strong statutory rights 
and protections against discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, 
and other forms of workplace misconduct.
  More than 30,000 people work in the Federal judiciary. As with any 
organization of this size, the judiciary is not immune from workplace 
misconduct.
  Over the years, however, a variety of factors have worked together to 
prevent instances of workplace misconduct within the judiciary from 
coming to light. There is a unique power imbalance between the Federal 
judges who sit atop this vast organization and the clerks, staffers, 
and other employees who rely on connections and recommendations to 
advance their careers. The cloak of confidentiality ensures what 
happens in chambers stays in chambers. And, perhaps most important, 
there is a lack of legal recourse available to judicial employees who 
are denied even the most fundamental workplace protections. Indeed, the 
Federal judiciary is one of the few employers--private or public--whose 
employees are not protected by state or federal civil rights laws.
  Despite all these reasons to keep quiet, a number of victims have 
bravely come forward to report serious harassment by Federal judges 
over the past several years. In December 2017, six former law clerks 
and staffers accused Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski of subjecting 
them to a range of inappropriate sexual conduct and comments. In 
September 2019, the Tenth Circuit Judicial Council issued an order 
finding that District Court Judge Carlos Murguia had harassed multiple 
employees over a period of years, including by subjecting them to 
sexually suggestive comments; inappropriate text messages; and 
excessive, non-work-related contact. In February 2020, a former law 
clerk to the late-Ninth Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt accused the 
judge of a months-long harassment campaign.
  In the face of this egregious misconduct and Congressional pressure, 
the federal judiciary has taken only small, limited steps to protect 
its employees. It is not enough.
  The Judiciary Accountability Act fills the void left by the 
judiciary's inaction and extends to judicial branch employees the same 
anti-discrimination rights and remedies other government sector 
employees and private sector workers have had for decades. It also goes 
further. Among other things, it would create an Office of Judicial 
Integrity to administer a nationwide, confidential reporting system; 
establish a Special Counsel for Equal Employment Opportunity empowered 
to investigate all workplace misconduct complaints; form an Office of 
Employee Advocacy to assist in judicial branch employees in matters 
relating to workplace discrimination and harassment; protect 
whistleblowers by prohibiting retaliation; and establish a 
comprehensive workplace misconduct prevention program.
  These reforms are not only necessary, they are long overdue. I 
therefore encourage my colleagues to support the Judiciary 
Accountability Act.

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