Text of US HB 1397 (2011)

I 112TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1397 To prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 6, 2011 Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. POLIS, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. NADLER, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. DOYLE, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. HOLT, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. PE- TERS, Mr. ISRAEL, Ms. CHU, Mr. WU, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. ACKERMAN, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. MORAN, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Mr. KEATING, Mr. FILNER, Mr. COOPER, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. WAXMAN, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. OLVER, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. FARR, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. GUTIER- REZ, Mr. STARK, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. HONDA, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Ms. MOORE, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. BECERRA, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Mr. SIRES, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. HIGGINS, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. WEINER, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. HIRONO, Mrs. BIGGERT, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. COHEN, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. PASCRELL, Ms. WATERS, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. NEAL, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, and Ms. FUDGE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1397 IH A BILL To prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Employment Non-Dis- 4 crimination Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 6 The purposes of this Act are— 7 (1) to address the history and widespread pat- 8 tern of discrimination on the basis of sexual orienta- 9 tion or gender identity by private sector employers 10 and local, State, and Federal Government employers; 11 (2) to provide a comprehensive Federal prohibi- 12 tion of employment discrimination on the basis of 13 sexual orientation or gender identity, including 14 meaningful and effective remedies for any such dis- 15 crimination; and 16 (3) to invoke congressional powers, including 17 the powers to enforce the 14th Amendment to the 18 Constitution, and to regulate interstate commerce 19 and provide for the general welfare pursuant to sec- 20 tion 8 of article I of the Constitution, in order to 21 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:24 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1397 IH prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of 1 sexual orientation or gender identity. 2 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act: 4 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 5 means the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis- 6 sion. 7 (2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en- 8 tity’’ means an employer, employment agency, labor 9 organization, or joint labor-management committee. 10 (3) EMPLOYEE.— 11 (A) IN GENERAL.—the term ‘‘employee’’ 12 means— 13 (i) an employee as defined in section 14 701(f) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 15 U.S.C. 2000e(f)); 16 (ii) a Presidential appointee or State 17 employee to which section 302(a)(1) of the 18 Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 19 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16(a)(1)) applies; 20 (iii) a covered employee, as defined in 21 section 101 of the Congressional Account- 22 ability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301) or sec- 23 tion 411(c) of title 3, United States Code; 24 or 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1397 IH (iv) an employee or applicant to which 1 section 717(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 2 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16(a)) applies. 3 (B) EXCEPTION.—The provisions of this 4 Act that apply to an employee or individual 5 shall not apply to a volunteer who receives no 6 compensation. 7 (4) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ 8 means— 9 (A) a person engaged in an industry affect- 10 ing commerce (as defined in section (701)(h) of 11 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 12 2000e(h))) who has 15 or more employees (as 13 defined in subparagraphs (A)(i) and (B) of 14 paragraph (3)) for each working day in each of 15 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or 16 preceding calendar year, and any agent of such 17 a person, but does not include a bona fide pri- 18 vate membership club (other than a labor orga- 19 nization) that is exempt from taxation under 20 section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 21 1986; 22 (B) an employing authority to which sec- 23 tion 302(a)(1) of the Government Employee 24 Rights Act of 1991 applies; 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1397 IH (C) an employing office, as defined in sec- 1 tion 101 of the Congressional Accountability 2 Act of 1995 or section 411(c) of title 3, United 3 States Code; or 4 (D) an entity to which section 717(a) of 5 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies. 6 (5) EMPLOYMENT AGENCY.—The term ‘‘em- 7 ployment agency’’ has the meaning given the term in 8 section 701(c) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 9 U.S.C. 2000e(c)). 10 (6) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 11 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear- 12 ance, or mannerisms or other gender-related charac- 13 teristics of an individual, with or without regard to 14 the individual’s designated sex at birth. 15 (7) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘labor 16 organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 17 section 701(d) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 18 U.S.C. 2000e(d)). 19 (8) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the 20 meaning given the term in section 701(a) of the 21 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(a)). 22 (9) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘‘sexual 23 orientation’’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, 24 or bisexuality. 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1397 IH (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 1 ing given the term in section 701(i) of the Civil 2 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(i)). 3 (b) APPLICATION OF DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 4 this section, a reference in section 701 of the Civil Rights 5 Act of 1964— 6 (1) to an employee or an employer shall be con- 7 sidered to refer to an employee (as defined in para- 8 graph (3)) or an employer (as defined in paragraph 9 (4)), respectively, except as provided in paragraph 10 (2) below; and 11 (2) to an employer in subsection (f) of that sec- 12 tion shall be considered to refer to an employer (as 13 defined in paragraph (4)(A)). 14 SEC. 4. EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. 15 (a) EMPLOYER PRACTICES.—It shall be an unlawful 16 employment practice for an employer— 17 (1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any 18 individual, or otherwise discriminate against any in- 19 dividual with respect to the compensation, terms, 20 conditions, or privileges of employment of the indi- 21 vidual, because of such individual’s actual or per- 22 ceived sexual orientation or gender identity; or 23 (2) to limit, segregate, or classify the employees 24 or applicants for employment of the employer in any 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1397 IH way that would deprive or tend to deprive any indi- 1 vidual of employment or otherwise adversely affect 2 the status of the individual as an employee, because 3 of such individual’s actual or perceived sexual ori- 4 entation or gender identity. 5 (b) EMPLOYMENT AGENCY PRACTICES.—It shall be 6 an unlawful employment practice for an employment agen- 7 cy to fail or refuse to refer for employment, or otherwise 8 to discriminate against, any individual because of the ac- 9 tual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity of 10 the individual or to classify or refer for employment any 11 individual on the basis of the actual or perceived sexual 12 orientation or gender identity of the individual. 13 (c) LABOR ORGANIZATION PRACTICES.—It shall be 14 an unlawful employment practice for a labor organiza- 15 tion— 16 (1) to exclude or to expel from its membership, 17 or otherwise to discriminate against, any individual 18 because of the actual or perceived sexual orientation 19 or gender identity of the individual; 20 (2) to limit, segregate, or classify its member- 21 ship or applicants for membership, or to classify or 22 fail or refuse to refer for employment any individual, 23 in any way that would deprive or tend to deprive any 24 individual of employment, or would limit such em- 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1397 IH ployment or otherwise adversely affect the status of 1 the individual as an employee or as an applicant for 2 employment because of such individual’s actual or 3 perceived sexual orientation or gender identity; or 4 (3) to cause or attempt to cause an employer to 5 discriminate against an individual in violation of this 6 section. 7 (d) TRAINING PROGRAMS.—It shall be an unlawful 8 employment practice for any employer, labor organization, 9 or joint labor-management committee controlling appren- 10 ticeship or other training or retraining, including on-the- 11 job training programs, to discriminate against any indi- 12 vidual because of the actual or perceived sexual orientation 13 or gender identity of the individual in admission to, or em- 14 ployment in, any program established to provide appren- 15 ticeship or other training. 16 (e) ASSOCIATION.—An unlawful employment practice 17 described in any of subsections (a) through (d) shall be 18 considered to include an action described in that sub- 19 section, taken against an individual based on the actual 20 or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity of a per- 21 son with whom the individual associates or has associated. 22 (f) NO PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT OR QUOTAS.— 23 Nothing in this Act shall be construed or interpreted to 24 require or permit— 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1397 IH (1) any covered entity to grant preferential 1 treatment to any individual or to any group because 2 of the actual or perceived sexual orientation or gen- 3 der identity of such individual or group on account 4 of an imbalance which may exist with respect to the 5 total number or percentage of persons of any actual 6 or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity 7 employed by any employer, referred or classified for 8 employment by any employment agency or labor or- 9 ganization, admitted to membership or classified by 10 any labor organization, or admitted to, or employed 11 in, any apprenticeship or other training program, in 12 comparison with the total number or percentage of 13 persons of such actual or perceived sexual orienta- 14 tion or gender identity in any community, State, sec- 15 tion, or other area, or in the available work force in 16 any community, State, section, or other area; or 17 (2) the adoption or implementation by a cov- 18 ered entity of a quota on the basis of actual or per- 19 ceived sexual orientation or gender identity. 20 (g) DISPARATE IMPACT.—Only disparate treatment 21 claims may be brought under this Act. 22 SEC. 5. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. 23 It shall be an unlawful employment practice for a cov- 24 ered entity to discriminate against an individual because 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1397 IH such individual (1) opposed any practice made an unlawful 1 employment practice by this Act; or (2) made a charge, 2 testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an in- 3 vestigation, proceeding, or hearing under this Act. 4 SEC. 6. EXEMPTION FOR RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 5 This Act shall not apply to a corporation, association, 6 educational institution, or society that is exempt from the 7 religious discrimination provisions of title VII of the Civil 8 Rights Acts of 1964 pursuant to section 702(a) or 9 703(e)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e–1(a); 2000e– 10 2(e)(2)). 11 SEC. 7. NONAPPLICATION TO MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 12 FORCES; VETERANS’ PREFERENCES. 13 (a) ARMED FORCES.— 14 (1) EMPLOYMENT.—In this Act, the term ‘‘em- 15 ployment’’ does not apply to the relationship be- 16 tween the United States and members of the Armed 17 Forces. 18 (2) ARMED FORCES.—In paragraph (1) the 19 term ‘‘Armed Forces’’ means the Army, Navy, Air 20 Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. 21 (b) VETERANS’ PREFERENCES.—This title does not 22 repeal or modify any Federal, State, territorial, or local 23 law creating a special right or preference concerning em- 24 ployment for a veteran. 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1397 IH SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION. 1 (a) EMPLOYER RULES AND POLICIES.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be 3 construed to prohibit a covered entity from enforcing 4 rules and policies that do not intentionally cir- 5 cumvent the purposes of this Act, if the rules or 6 policies are designed for, and uniformly applied to, 7 all individuals regardless of actual or perceived sex- 8 ual orientation or gender identity. 9 (2) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—Nothing in this 10 Act shall be construed to limit a covered entity from 11 taking adverse action against an individual because 12 of a charge of sexual harassment against that indi- 13 vidual, provided that rules and policies on sexual 14 harassment, including when adverse action is taken, 15 are designed for, and uniformly applied to, all indi- 16 viduals regardless of actual or perceived sexual ori- 17 entation or gender identity. 18 (3) CERTAIN SHARED FACILITIES.—Nothing in 19 this Act shall be construed to establish an unlawful 20 employment practice based on actual or perceived 21 gender identity due to the denial of access to shared 22 shower or dressing facilities in which being seen 23 unclothed is unavoidable, provided that the employer 24 provides reasonable access to adequate facilities that 25 are not inconsistent with the employee’s gender iden- 26 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1397 IH tity as established with the employer at the time of 1 employment or upon notification to the employer 2 that the employee has undergone or is undergoing 3 gender transition, whichever is later. 4 (4) ADDITIONAL FACILITIES NOT REQUIRED.— 5 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require the 6 construction of new or additional facilities. 7 (5) DRESS AND GROOMING STANDARDS.—Noth- 8 ing in this Act shall prohibit an employer from re- 9 quiring an employee, during the employee’s hours at 10 work, to adhere to reasonable dress or grooming 11 standards not prohibited by other provisions of Fed- 12 eral, State, or local law, provided that the employer 13 permits any employee who has undergone gender 14 transition prior to the time of employment, and any 15 employee who has notified the employer that the em- 16 ployee has undergone or is undergoing gender tran- 17 sition after the time of employment, to adhere to the 18 same dress or grooming standards for the gender to 19 which the employee has transitioned or is 20 transitioning. 21 (b) EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.—Nothing in this Act shall 22 be construed to require a covered entity to treat an unmar- 23 ried couple in the same manner as the covered entity 24 treats a married couple for purposes of employee benefits. 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 1397 IH (c) DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE.—As used in this Act, 1 the term ‘‘married’’ refers to marriage as such term is 2 defined in section 7 of title I, United States Code (referred 3 to as the Defense of Marriage Act). 4 SEC. 9. COLLECTION OF STATISTICS PROHIBITED. 5 The Commission shall not collect statistics on actual 6 or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity from 7 covered entities, or compel the collection of such statistics 8 by covered entities. 9 SEC. 10. ENFORCEMENT. 10 (a) ENFORCEMENT POWERS.—With respect to the 11 administration and enforcement of this Act in the case of 12 a claim alleged by an individual for a violation of this 13 Act— 14 (1) the Commission shall have the same powers 15 as the Commission has to administer and enforce— 16 (A) title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 17 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.); or 18 (B) sections 302 and 304 of the Govern- 19 ment Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 20 2000e–16b and 2000e–16c), 21 in the case of a claim alleged by such individual for 22 a violation of such title, or of section 302(a)(1) of 23 the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 24 U.S.C. 2000e–16b(a)(1)), respectively; 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 1397 IH (2) the Librarian of Congress shall have the 1 same powers as the Librarian of Congress has to ad- 2 minister and enforce title VII of the Civil Rights Act 3 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) in the case of a 4 claim alleged by such individual for a violation of 5 such title; 6 (3) the Board (as defined in section 101 of the 7 Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 8 1301)) shall have the same powers as the Board has 9 to administer and enforce the Congressional Ac- 10 countability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) in 11 the case of a claim alleged by such individual for a 12 violation of section 201(a)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 13 1311(a)(1)); 14 (4) the Attorney General shall have the same 15 powers as the Attorney General has to administer 16 and enforce— 17 (A) title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 18 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.); or 19 (B) sections 302 and 304 of the Govern- 20 ment Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 21 2000e–16b and 2000e–16c); 22 in the case of a claim alleged by such individual for 23 a violation of such title, or of section 302(a)(1) of 24 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 15 •HR 1397 IH the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 1 U.S.C. 2000e–16b(a)(1)), respectively; 2 (5) the President, the Commission, and the 3 Merit Systems Protection Board shall have the same 4 powers as the President, the Commission, and the 5 Board, respectively, have to administer and enforce 6 chapter 5 of title 3, United States Code, in the case 7 of a claim alleged by such individual for a violation 8 of section 411 of such title; and 9 (6) a court of the United States shall have the 10 same jurisdiction and powers as the court has to en- 11 force— 12 (A) title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 13 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) in the case of 14 a claim alleged by such individual for a viola- 15 tion of such title; 16 (B) sections 302 and 304 of the Govern- 17 ment Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 18 2000e–16b and 2000e–16c) in the case of a 19 claim alleged by such individual for a violation 20 of section 302(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 21 2000e–16b(a)(1)); 22 (C) the Congressional Accountability Act 23 of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) in the case of 24 a claim alleged by such individual for a viola- 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 16 •HR 1397 IH tion of section 201(a)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1 1311(a)(1)); and 2 (D) chapter 5 of title 3, United States 3 Code, in the case of a claim alleged by such in- 4 dividual for a violation of section 411 of such 5 title. 6 (b) PROCEDURES AND REMEDIES.—The procedures 7 and remedies applicable to a claim alleged by an individual 8 for a violation of this Act are— 9 (1) the procedures and remedies applicable for 10 a violation of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 11 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) in the case of a 12 claim alleged by such individual for a violation of 13 such title; 14 (2) the procedures and remedies applicable for 15 a violation of section 302(a)(1) of the Government 16 Employee Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1202(a)(1)) 17 in the case of a claim alleged by such individual for 18 a violation of such section; 19 (3) the procedures and remedies applicable for 20 a violation of section 201(a)(1) of the Congressional 21 Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1311(a)(1)) in 22 the case of a claim alleged by such individual for a 23 violation of such section; and 24 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 17 •HR 1397 IH (4) the procedures and remedies applicable for 1 a violation of section 411 of title 3, United States 2 Code, in the case of a claim alleged by such indi- 3 vidual for a violation of such section. 4 (c) OTHER APPLICABLE PROVISIONS.—With respect 5 to a claim alleged by a covered employee (as defined in 6 section 101 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 7 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301)) for a violation of this Act, title 8 III of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 9 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) shall apply in the same manner as 10 such title applies with respect to a claim alleged by such 11 a covered employee for a violation of section 201(a)(1) of 12 such Act (2 U.S.C. 1311(a)(1)). 13 SEC. 11. STATE AND FEDERAL IMMUNITY. 14 (a) ABROGATION OF STATE IMMUNITY.—A State 15 shall not be immune under the 11th Amendment to the 16 Constitution from a suit brought in a Federal court of 17 competent jurisdiction for a violation of this Act. 18 (b) WAIVER OF STATE IMMUNITY.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.— 20 (A) WAIVER.—A State’s receipt or use of 21 Federal financial assistance for any program or 22 activity of a State shall constitute a waiver of 23 sovereign immunity, under the 11th Amend- 24 ment to the Constitution or otherwise, to a suit 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:24 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 18 •HR 1397 IH brought by an employee or applicant for em- 1 ployment of that program or activity under this 2 Act for a remedy authorized under subsection 3 (d). 4 (B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 5 term ‘‘program or activity’’ has the meaning 6 given the term in section 606 of the Civil 7 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d–4a). 8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—With respect to a par- 9 ticular program or activity, paragraph (1) applies to 10 conduct occurring on or after the day, after the date 11 of enactment of this Act, on which a State first re- 12 ceives or uses Federal financial assistance for that 13 program or activity. 14 (c) REMEDIES AGAINST STATE OFFICIALS.—An offi- 15 cial of a State may be sued in the official capacity of the 16 official by any employee or applicant for employment who 17 has complied with the applicable procedures of section 10, 18 for equitable relief that is authorized under this Act. In 19 such a suit the court may award to the prevailing party 20 those costs authorized by section 722 of the Revised Stat- 21 utes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1988). 22 (d) REMEDIES AGAINST THE UNITED STATES AND 23 THE STATES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 24 this Act, in an action or administrative proceeding against 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 19 •HR 1397 IH the United States or a State for a violation of this Act, 1 remedies (including remedies at law and in equity, and 2 interest) are available for the violation to the same extent 3 as the remedies are available for a violation of title VII 4 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) 5 by a private entity, except that— 6 (1) punitive damages are not available; and 7 (2) compensatory damages are available to the 8 extent specified in section 1977A(b) of the Revised 9 Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a(b)). 10 SEC. 12. ATTORNEYS’ FEES. 11 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, in 12 an action or administrative proceeding for a violation of 13 this Act, an entity described in section 10(a) (other than 14 paragraph (4) of such section), in the discretion of the 15 entity, may allow the prevailing party, other than the 16 Commission or the United States, a reasonable attorney’s 17 fee (including expert fees) as part of the costs. The Com- 18 mission and the United States shall be liable for the costs 19 to the same extent as a private person. 20 SEC. 13. POSTING NOTICES. 21 A covered entity who is required to post notices de- 22 scribed in section 711 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 23 U.S.C. 2000e–10) shall post notices for employees, appli- 24 cants for employment, and members, to whom the provi- 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 20 •HR 1397 IH sions specified in section 10(b) apply, that describe the 1 applicable provisions of this Act in the manner prescribed 2 by, and subject to the penalty provided under, section 711 3 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 4 SEC. 14. REGULATIONS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsections 6 (b), (c), and (d), the Commission shall have authority to 7 issue regulations to carry out this Act. 8 (b) LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS.—The Librarian of 9 Congress shall have authority to issue regulations to carry 10 out this Act with respect to employees and applicants for 11 employment of the Library of Congress. 12 (c) BOARD.—The Board referred to in section 13 10(a)(3) shall have authority to issue regulations to carry 14 out this Act, in accordance with section 304 of the Con- 15 gressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1384), 16 with respect to covered employees, as defined in section 17 101 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1301). 18 (d) PRESIDENT.—The President shall have authority 19 to issue regulations to carry out this Act with respect to 20 covered employees, as defined in section 411(c) of title 3, 21 United States Code. 22 SEC. 15. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS. 23 This Act shall not invalidate or limit the rights, rem- 24 edies, or procedures available to an individual claiming 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS 21 •HR 1397 IH discrimination prohibited under any other Federal law or 1 regulation or any law or regulation of a State or political 2 subdivision of a State. 3 SEC. 16. SEVERABILITY. 4 If any provision of this Act, or the application of the 5 provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be in- 6 valid, the remainder of this Act and the application of the 7 provision to any other person or circumstances shall not 8 be affected by the invalidity. 9 SEC. 17. EFFECTIVE DATE. 10 This Act shall take effect on the date that is 6 11 months after the date of enactment of this Act and shall 12 not apply to conduct occurring before the effective date. 13 Æ VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Apr 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1397.IH H1397 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS