,,ii #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #eccc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #ba1 #bjbb,mr4 ,braun introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to establish a voluntary compliance assistance initiative at the ,equal ,employment ,opportunity ,commission regarding the usage of employment tests and selection procedures by employers4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,advancing ,skills-,based ,hiring ,act of #bjbb4 #b4 ,purpose ,it is the purpose of this ,act-- 7#a7 to empower employers to adopt a skills-based approach to hiring through a voluntary compliance assistance initiative regarding the appropriate use of employment tests and selection procedures2 and 7#b7 to enable employers to proactively submit validity evidence to the ,equal ,employment ,opportunity ,commission for review to ensure use of such tests and procedures is job related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity within the meaning of section #gjc7k77#a77;,a77i7 of the ,civil ,rights ,act of #aifd 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bjjj;e-#b7k77#a77;,a77i774 #c4 ,review by ,equal ,employment ,opportunity ,commission of information voluntarily submitted by employers 7a7 ,voluntary submission and review of employer information ,the ,equal ,employment ,opportunity ,commission 7in this ,act referred to as the ,commission7 shall-- 7#a7 establish a process for employers-- 7,a7 to voluntarily submit validity evidence to the ,commission on the use 7including prospective use7 of competency-based assessments or other professionally developed selection procedures that are used to make employment decisions2 and 7,b7 to obtain a determination by the ,commission as to whether such use is job related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity within the meaning of section #gjc7k77#a77;,a77i7 of the ,civil ,rights ,act of #aifd 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bjjj;e-#b7k77#a77;,a77i772 7#b7 as part of establishing such process1 set forth the validity evidence that participating employers shall submit1 which may include-- 7,a7 the results of a criterion-related validity study2 7,b7 the results of a content validity study2 7,c7 the results of a construct validity study2 or 7,d7 the validity evidence from a study conducted by an entity other than the employer1 along with evidence from the employer that shows job similarity2 and 7#c7 allow employers to submit validity evidence for review regardless of the existence of an adverse impact from the use of the assessment or selection procedure involved on protected groups1 but require such submitted evidence to include any information available on whether the use has resulted in such an adverse impact4 7b7 ,review of submitted employer information ,subject to the payment required by subsection 7d71 the ,commission shall-- 7#a7 review the information submitted under subsection 7a72 and 7#b7 7,a7 determine that the use of the assessment or selection procedure identified by the employer is job related and consistent with business necessity as described in subsection 7a77#a77;,b72 or 7,b7 provide technical assistance to such employer that includes1 at a minimum-- 7i7 an explanation of why the ,commission cannot make that determination2 and 7ii7 steps the employer could take1 or changes the employer could implement1 that will enable the ,commission to make that determination4 7c7 ,safe harbor ,the determination from the ,commission under subsection 7b77#b77;,a7 that the employer's use of an assessment or selection procedure is job related and consistent with business necessity may be used by the employer to satisfy its burden of proof under section #gjc7k77#a77;,a77i7 of the ,civil ,rights ,act of #aifd 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bjjj;e-#b7k77#a77;,a77i774 7d7 ,fee payable for review 7#a7 ,in general ,to obtain review under subsection 7b71 an employer with more than #ajj employees shall pay to the ,commission a reasonable fee to offset the cost incurred by the ,commission to provide such review4 7#b7 ,relationship to ,,eeoc ,education1 ,technical ,assistance1 and ,training ,revolving ,fund ,fees received under paragraph 7#a7 shall be deposited in the ,,eeoc ,education1 ,technical ,assistance1 and ,training ,revolving ,fund described in section #gje7k7 of the ,civil ,rights ,act of #aifd 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bjjj;e-#d7k77 by the ,commission4 ,the amount of the fees shall be determined by the ,commission under paragraph 7#b7 of that section #gje7k71 and the review under subsection 7b7 shall be considered to be technical assistance under that section #gje7k74 7e7 ,limitation ,any information submitted by the employer under subsection 7a7 and any technical assistance provided by the ,commission under subsection 7b77#b77;,b7 regarding the assessment or selection proceeding involved-- 7#a7 shall not be used against such employer as a basis for an enforcement action on or after the date of the submission2 and 7#b7 shall be inadmissible in a ,federal or ,state court proceeding without the consent of such employer4 #d4 ,education and technical assistance ,the ,commission shall provide education and technical assistance on the use of competency-based assessments or other selection procedures described in section #c7;a77#a77;,a71 including education and technical assistance on the methods of validation of such an assessment or selection procedure and on the opportunity to voluntarily submit validity evidence to the ,commission to seek a determination described in section #c7;b77#b77;,a74 #e4 ,definitions ,for purposes of this ,act3 7#a7 ,competency-based assessment ,the term competency-based assessment means an assessment or selection procedure that purports to measure the knowledge1 skills1 abilities1 or personal or behavior characteristics that are necessary for1 or shown to predict1 successful job performance4 7#b7 ,employee2 employer ,the terms employee and employer have the meanings given the terms in section #gja of the ,civil ,rights ,act of #aifd 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bjjj;e74 #f4 ,effective date ,this ,act shall take effect #ij days after the date of enactment of this ,act4