§7704a Sexual Harassment or Sexual Assault as Grounds for Suspension or Revocation

Summary

A person who holds a license, a certificate of registry, or a merchant mariner’s document can lose it if a hearing shows an official finding of sexual harassment within 5 years before the start of the suspension or revocation case. If a hearing shows an official finding of sexual assault within 10 years before the start of the case, the license or document must be revoked. An "official finding" means either a court or agency decision that the person committed sexual harassment or assault under federal, State, local, or Tribal law, or a Coast Guard investigation that finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the person committed it and that the person was given proper due process. A Coast Guard investigation finding must be reviewed and confirmed by an administrative law judge in the same suspension or revocation proceeding. A court or agency finding is binding in those proceedings.