Text of US HB 2538 (2017)

I 115TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2538 To provide certain workplace protections to interns relating to discriminatory practices. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 18, 2017 Ms. MENG 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 Judi- ciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide certain workplace protections to interns relating to discriminatory practices. 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 ‘‘Intern Protection Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 5 As used in this Act— 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2538.IH H2538 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2538 IH (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 1 means the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis- 2 sion. 3 (2) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ 4 means— 5 (A) a person engaged in an industry affect- 6 ing commerce (as defined in section 701(h) of 7 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 8 2000e(h))) who has 15 or more employees (as 9 defined in subparagraphs (A)(i) and (B) of 10 paragraph (3)) for each working day in each of 11 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or 12 preceding calendar year, and any agent of such 13 a person, but does not include a bona fide pri- 14 vate membership club (other than a labor orga- 15 nization) that is exempt from taxation under 16 section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 17 1986; 18 (B) an employing authority to which sec- 19 tion 302(a)(1) of the Government Employee 20 Rights Act of 1991 applies; 21 (C) an employing office, as defined in sec- 22 tion 101 of the Congressional Accountability 23 Act of 1995 or section 411(c) of title 3, United 24 States Code; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2538.IH H2538 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2538 IH (D) an entity to which section 717(a) of 1 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies. 2 (3) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has the 3 meaning given such term in section 3 of the Ameri- 4 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5 12102). 6 (4) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 7 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear- 8 ance, or mannerisms or other gender-related charac- 9 teristics of an individual, with or without regard to 10 the individual’s designated sex at birth. 11 (5) INTERN.—The term ‘‘intern’’ means an in- 12 dividual who performs work for an employer, wheth- 13 er paid or unpaid for the purpose of training under 14 the following circumstances: 15 (A) The employer is not committed to hire 16 the individual performing the work at the con- 17 clusion of the training period. 18 (B) The work performed— 19 (i) provides or supplements training 20 that may enhance the employability of the 21 intern; 22 (ii) provides experience for the benefit 23 of the individual performing the work; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2538.IH H2538 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2538 IH (iii) does not displace regular employ- 1 ees; and 2 (iv) is performed under the close su- 3 pervision of existing staff. 4 (6) INTERNSHIP.—The term ‘‘internship’’ 5 means a position or job with an employer that is 6 filled by an intern. 7 (7) MILITARY STATUS.—The term ‘‘military 8 status’’ means an individual’s status as a member of 9 the Armed Forces or a veteran. 10 (8) PREDISPOSING GENETIC CHARACTERIS- 11 TICS.—The term ‘‘predisposing genetic characteris- 12 tics’’ means, with respect to an individual, any infor- 13 mation revealed by a genetic test of the individual or 14 a family member of the individual, or the manifesta- 15 tion of a disease or disorder in any family member 16 of the individual. 17 (9) RELIGION.—The term ‘‘religion’’ has the 18 meaning given such term in section 701(j) of the 19 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(j)). 20 (10) SEX.—The term ‘‘sex’’ includes all of the 21 aspects related to sex described in the term ‘‘because 22 of sex’’ defined in section 701(k) of the Civil Rights 23 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(k)). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2538.IH H2538 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2538 IH (11) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘‘sexual 1 orientation’’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, 2 or bisexuality. 3 SEC. 3. UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES RELAT- 4 ING TO INTERNS. 5 (a) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT.—It 6 shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer 7 to— 8 (1) refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to dis- 9 charge from internship an intern or to discriminate 10 against such intern in the terms, conditions, or privi- 11 leges of employment as an intern because of the in- 12 tern’s age, race, religion, color, national origin, sex, 13 sexual orientation, military status, disability, gender 14 identity, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital 15 status, or status as a victim of domestic violence; 16 (2) discriminate against an intern in terms of 17 receiving, classifying, disposing, or otherwise acting 18 upon applications for internships because of the in- 19 tern’s age, race, religion, color, national origin, sex, 20 sexual orientation, military status, disability, gender 21 identity, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital 22 status, or status as a victim of domestic violence; 23 (3) print or circulate or cause to be printed or 24 circulated any statement, advertisement, or publica- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2538.IH H2538 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2538 IH tion, or to use any form of application for employ- 1 ment as an intern or to make any inquiry in connec- 2 tion with prospective employment as an intern, 3 which expresses directly or indirectly, any limitation, 4 specification, or discrimination as to age, race, reli- 5 gion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, 6 military status, disability, gender identity, predis- 7 posing genetic characteristics, marital status, or sta- 8 tus as a victim of domestic violence; 9 (4) to compel an intern who is pregnant to take 10 a leave of absence, unless the intern is prevented by 11 such pregnancy from performing the activities in- 12 volved in the internship in a reasonable manner; or 13 (5) to discharge, expel, or otherwise discrimi- 14 nate against any person because he or she has op- 15 posed any practices forbidden under this Act or be- 16 cause he or she has filed a complaint, testified, or 17 assisted in any proceeding under this Act. 18 (b) SEXUAL OR OTHER HARASSMENT.—It shall be 19 an unlawful employment practice for an employer to— 20 (1) engage in unwelcome sexual advances, re- 21 quests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical 22 conduct of a sexual nature to an intern when— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2538.IH H2538 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2538 IH (A) submission to such conduct is made ei- 1 ther explicitly or implicitly a term or condition 2 of the intern’s continued position as an intern; 3 (B) submission to or rejection of such con- 4 duct by the intern is used as the basis for em- 5 ployment decisions affecting such intern; or 6 (C) such conduct has the purpose or effect 7 of unreasonably interfering with the intern’s 8 work performance by creating an intimidating, 9 hostile, or offensive working environment; or 10 (2) subject an intern to unwelcome harassment 11 based on age, race, religion, color, national origin, 12 sex, sexual orientation, military status, disability, 13 gender identity, predisposing genetic characteristics, 14 marital status, or status as a victim of domestic vio- 15 lence, where such harassment has the purpose or ef- 16 fect of unreasonably interfering with the intern’s 17 work performance by creating an intimidating, hos- 18 tile, or offensive working environment. 19 (c) AGE LIMITATION.—The prohibitions in this sec- 20 tion relating to discrimination based on age shall be lim- 21 ited to individuals who are at least 40 years of age. 22 SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT. 23 (a) ENFORCEMENT POWERS.—With respect to the 24 administration and enforcement of this Act, in the case 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2538.IH H2538 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2538 IH of a claim alleged by an individual for a violation of this 1 Act— 2 (1) the Commission shall have the same powers 3 as the Commission has to administer and enforce— 4 (A) title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 5 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.); or 6 (B) sections 302 and 304 of the Govern- 7 ment Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 8 2000e–16b and 2000e–16c), 9 in the case of a claim alleged by such individual for 10 a violation of such title, or of section 302(a)(1) of 11 the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 12 U.S.C. 2000e–16b(a)(1)), respectively; 13 (2) the Librarian of Congress shall have the 14 same powers as the Librarian of Congress has to ad- 15 minister and enforce title VII of the Civil Rights Act 16 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) in the case of a 17 claim alleged by such individual for a violation of 18 such title; 19 (3) the Board (as defined in section 101 of the 20 Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 21 1301)) shall have the same powers as the Board has 22 to administer and enforce the Congressional Ac- 23 countability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) in 24 the case of a claim alleged by such individual for a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2538.IH H2538 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2538 IH violation of section 201(a)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1 1311(a)(1)); 2 (4) the Attorney General shall have the same 3 powers as the Attorney General has to administer 4 and enforce— 5 (A) title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 6 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.); or 7 (B) sections 302 and 304 of the Govern- 8 ment Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 9 2000e–16b and 2000e–16c); 10 in the case of a claim alleged by such individual for 11 a violation of such title, or of section 302(a)(1) of 12 the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 13 U.S.C. 2000e–16b(a)(1)), respectively; 14 (5) the President, the Commission, and the 15 Merit Systems Protection Board shall have the same 16 powers as the President, the Commission, and the 17 Board, respectively, have to administer and enforce 18 chapter 5 of title 3, United States Code, in the case 19 of a claim alleged by such individual for a violation 20 of section 411 of such title; and 21 (6) a court of the United States shall have the 22 same jurisdiction and powers as the court has to en- 23 force— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2538.IH H2538 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2538 IH (A) title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) in the case of 2 a claim alleged by such individual for a viola- 3 tion of such title; 4 (B) sections 302 and 304 of the Govern- 5 ment Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 6 2000e–16b and 2000e–16c) in the case of a 7 claim alleged by such individual for a violation 8 of section 302(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 9 2000e–16b(a)(1)); 10 (C) the Congressional Accountability Act 11 of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) in the case of 12 a claim alleged by such individual for a viola- 13 tion of section 201(a)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 14 1311(a)(1)); and 15 (D) chapter 5 of title 3, United States 16 Code, in the case of a claim alleged by such in- 17 dividual for a violation of section 411 of such 18 title. 19 (b) PROCEDURES AND REMEDIES.—The procedures 20 and remedies applicable to a claim alleged by an individual 21 for a violation of this Act are— 22 (1) the procedures and remedies applicable for 23 a violation of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 24 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) in the case of a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2538.IH H2538 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2538 IH claim alleged by such individual for a violation of 1 such title; 2 (2) the procedures and remedies applicable for 3 a violation of section 302(a)(1) of the Government 4 Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 2000e– 5 16b(a)(1)) in the case of a claim alleged by such in- 6 dividual for a violation of such section; 7 (3) the procedures and remedies applicable for 8 a violation of section 201(a)(1) of the Congressional 9 Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1311(a)(1)) in 10 the case of a claim alleged by such individual for a 11 violation of such section; and 12 (4) the procedures and remedies applicable for 13 a violation of section 411 of title 3, United States 14 Code, in the case of a claim alleged by such indi- 15 vidual for a violation of such section. 16 (c) OTHER APPLICABLE PROVISIONS.—With respect 17 to a claim alleged by an individual for a violation of this 18 Act, title III of the Congressional Accountability Act of 19 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) shall apply in the same man- 20 ner as such title applies with respect to a claim alleged 21 by a covered employee (as defined in section 101 of the 22 Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 23 1301)) for a violation of section 201(a)(1) of such Act (2 24 U.S.C. 1311(a)(1)). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2538.IH H2538 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2538 IH SEC. 5. ATTORNEYS’ FEES. 1 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, in 2 an action or administrative proceeding for a violation of 3 this Act, an entity described in section 4(a) (other than 4 paragraph (4) of such section), in the discretion of the 5 entity, may allow the prevailing party, other than the 6 Commission or the United States, a reasonable attorney’s 7 fee (including expert fees) as part of the costs. The Com- 8 mission and the United States shall be liable for the costs 9 to the same extent as a private person. 10 SEC. 6. REGULATIONS. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsections 12 (b), (c), and (d), the Commission shall have authority to 13 issue regulations to carry out this Act. 14 (b) LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS.—The Librarian of 15 Congress shall have authority to issue regulations to carry 16 out this Act with respect to employees and applicants for 17 employment of the Library of Congress. 18 (c) BOARD.—The Board referred to in section 19 10(a)(3) shall have authority to issue regulations to carry 20 out this Act, in accordance with section 304 of the Con- 21 gressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1384), 22 with respect to covered employees, as defined in section 23 101 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1301). 24 (d) PRESIDENT.—The President shall have authority 25 to issue regulations to carry out this Act with respect to 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2538.IH H2538 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2538 IH covered employees, as defined in section 411(c) of title 3, 1 United States Code, and applicants for employment as 2 such employees. 3 SEC. 7. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS. 4 This Act shall not invalidate or limit the rights, rem- 5 edies, or procedures available to an individual claiming 6 discrimination prohibited under any other Federal law or 7 regulation or any law or regulation of a State or political 8 subdivision of a State. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2538.IH H2538 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS