A ban on consensual romantic relationships between judges and their employees, and continued investigation and public report of judges accused of sexual misconduct even if they retire or resign were among proposals offered Tuesday during a hearing on the federal judiciary's efforts to deal with workplace misconduct.

During the daylong hearing, 10 members of the Judicial Conference committees on Codes of Conduct and Judicial Conduct and Disability heard suggestions on the committees' proposed amendments to the codes and rules from federal judges, former law clerks, law students and legal ethics and federal court scholars, among others.

Much of the testimony focused on providing alternative channels for reporting sexual misconduct instead of only to the chief judges of the district or circuit courts, and increased transparency in the investigation and resolution of complaints.