HB 1825 — An Act amending the act of October 27, 1955 (P.L.744, No.222), known as the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, further providing for powers and duties of the Commission; and providing for employer policies and procedures.

PRINTER'S NO.   2249

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1825
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY MADDEN, WAXMAN, WEBSTER, KINKEAD, SANCHEZ,
        SCHLOSSBERG, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, ABNEY, VENKAT, MAYES, GIRAL,
        HOWARD, BOROWSKI, HILL-EVANS, HANBIDGE, RIVERA, TAKAC,
        PROBST, INGLIS, DALEY AND GUENST, AUGUST 27, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, AUGUST 28, 2025


                                    AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of October 27, 1955 (P.L.744, No.222), entitled
 2      "An act prohibiting certain practices of discrimination
 3      because of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, age or
 4      national origin by employers, employment agencies, labor
 5      organizations and others as herein defined; creating the
 6      Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in the Governor's
 7      Office; defining its functions, powers and duties; providing
 8      for procedure and enforcement; providing for formulation of
 9      an educational program to prevent prejudice; providing for
10      judicial review and enforcement and imposing penalties,"
11      further providing for powers and duties of the Commission;
12      providing for employer policies and procedures; and
13      establishing the Human Relations Training Fund.
14      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
15   hereby enacts as follows:
16      Section 1.    Section 7(f) of the act of October 27, 1955
17   (P.L.744, No.222), known as the Pennsylvania Human Relations
18   Act, is amended to read:
19      Section 7.    Powers and Duties of the Commission.--The
20   Commission shall have the following powers and duties:
21      * * *
22      (f)   To initiate, receive, investigate and pass upon
 1   complaints charging unlawful discriminatory practices and
 2   violations of section 7.1.
 3      * * *
 4      Section 2.   The act is amended by adding a section to read:
 5      Section 7.1.     Employer Policies and Procedures.--(a)   An
 6   employer shall adopt written policies and procedures for
 7   preventing harassment, discrimination and retaliation against
 8   employes. The policies and procedures shall include, at a
 9   minimum, all of the following:
10      (1)   An explanation that harassment, discrimination and
11   retaliation are unlawful acts under Federal and State law.
12      (2)   An explanation that sexual harassment is a form of
13   unlawful discrimination under Federal and State law.
14      (3)   A complaint procedure to report and address harassment,
15   discrimination and retaliation claims, including a provision
16   allowing employes to report the claims to persons other than
17   their supervisor.
18      (4)   The specific responsibilities of a supervisor in the
19   identification, prevention and reporting of harassment,
20   discrimination and retaliation.
21      (5)   An explanation of the procedures for maintaining
22   confidentiality surrounding the reporting of harassment,
23   discrimination and retaliation claims.
24      (6)   A procedure for the timely, thorough and prompt
25   investigation of claims of harassment, discrimination and
26   retaliation filed by an employe.
27      (b)   An employer shall make the policies and procedures under
28   this section available and easily accessible to all employes,
29   and may post the policies and procedures on the employer's
30   Internet website that is accessible to employes.

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 1      (c)   An employer shall keep records of the current policies
 2   and procedures under this section and make them available for
 3   inspection by the Commission upon request. If applicable, the
 4   employer shall keep a record of the immediately preceding
 5   policies and procedures for a period of three years after the
 6   effective date of the current policies and procedures and make
 7   them available for inspection by the Commission upon request.
 8      (d)   The Commission shall develop standard policies and
 9   procedures that may be used by an employer to satisfy the
10   requirements under clause (a), and shall post the policies and
11   procedures on the Commission's publicly accessible Internet
12   website at no cost to the public.
13      (e)   Within forty-five days of any changes to Federal or
14   State harassment, discrimination or retaliation laws that would
15   impact the standard policies and procedures under clause (d),
16   the Commission shall publish the changes on the Commission's
17   publicly accessible Internet website and transmit notice of the
18   changes to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in
19   the next available issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The
20   Commission shall alert employers of changes to the standard
21   policies and procedures and shall establish and utilize an
22   electronic notification system to issue the alerts. An employer
23   shall adopt the required change to the standard policies and
24   procedures not later than forty-five days after receipt of
25   notification of the change from the Commission.
26      (f)   A person claiming a violation of this section may file a
27   complaint with the Commission. The complaint must state the name
28   and address of the employer alleged to have violated this
29   section. If, after investigation by the Commission, the
30   Commission determines the employer violated this section, the

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 1   Commission shall endeavor to cause compliance with this section
 2   and may issue a citation and impose a fine as provided in clause
 3   (g).
 4      (g)   The Commission may issue citations and impose fines on
 5   an employer for a violation of this section as follows:
 6      (1)   A fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and
 7   not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the first
 8   violation.
 9      (2)   A fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000)
10   and not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for the second
11   or each subsequent violation.
12      (3)   Unless an employer has demonstrated willful disregard
13   for the requirements of this section, the Commission shall waive
14   the fine for a first-time violation of this section if the
15   employer proves to the satisfaction of the Commission, not later
16   than sixty days after issuance of the citation, that the
17   violation has been cured. The Commission may waive the fine for
18   a second-time violation of this section if the violation is a
19   result of the employer failing to update policies and procedures
20   in accordance with clause (e), provided the employer proves to
21   the satisfaction of the Commission, not later than sixty days
22   after issuance of the citation, that the violation has been
23   cured.
24      (h)   The Human Relations Training Fund is established as a
25   fund in the State Treasury. The following provisions apply to
26   the fund:
27      (1)   A fine imposed and collected by the Commission under
28   clause (g) or a civil penalty assessed under section 9(f)(2)
29   shall be deposited into the Human Relations Training Fund.
30      (2)   The money in the Human Relations Training Fund is

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1   appropriated on a continuing basis to the Commission to be used
2   for training, education and outreach.
3      Section 3.   This act shall take effect in 120 days.




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