New Federal Law Mandates 90-Day Deadline for BOP to Fix Staff Sexual Harassment and Assault Failures

This new piece of legislation, the Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act, is all about forcing the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to clean up its act regarding sexual harassment and assault against its staff—like correctional officers—by people who are incarcerated. Essentially, Congress is stepping in because the BOP has been dropping the ball on a serious workplace safety issue.

The Mandate: Fix It Fast or Report Why Not

The core of this bill is speed and accountability. It requires the BOP to fully implement every single recommendation made by the Justice Department’s Inspector General (IG) in a 2023 report concerning inmate-on-staff sexual misconduct. And they have to do it fast: within 90 days of the law’s enactment. If the BOP misses that deadline, they can’t just shrug; they must immediately send a detailed report to Congress explaining the failure and providing a firm timeline for completion. This is the government equivalent of saying, “Your homework is due Monday, no exceptions.”

Why This Matters to Everyone

While this bill focuses on federal prisons, the principle is about workplace safety and government accountability. The IG previously found that the BOP wasn’t even collecting decent data on these incidents, meaning they had no idea how widespread the problem was. Think about your own workplace: if serious safety incidents aren't tracked, how can management prevent them? This bill addresses that failure head-on by mandating better data collection and mitigation strategies. For the thousands of federal correctional officers, this means a formal, national push to make their workplace safer.

The Accountability Chain: Data, Analysis, and National Rules

Once the BOP confirms they’ve implemented the IG’s fixes, the accountability process doesn't stop. The IG steps back in to review updated data covering incidents from fiscal years 2022 through 2025. This analysis will specifically look at whether the BOP is actually finding and stopping these incidents, and it will compare the punishments given out before and after this law was passed. This ensures the BOP isn't just checking boxes; they have to show measurable results.

Finally, the Attorney General gets the IG’s analysis and has one year to establish a national, official rule for the BOP. This rule must set clear standards for how the BOP prevents, reduces, and punishes sexual harassment and assault committed by incarcerated individuals against staff. This moves the BOP away from potentially patchwork local policies toward a unified, high-level standard. For incarcerated individuals who commit these acts, this means facing clearer, stricter, and more consistent enforcement of misconduct rules across the entire federal system.