Text of US SB 1858 (2015)

II 114TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1858 To prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 23, 2015 Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BROWN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. COONS, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. FRANKEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KING, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. PETERS, Mr. REED, Mr. REID, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. SCHUMER, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. UDALL, Mr. WARNER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Equality Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 5 Congress finds the following: 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1858 IS (1) Discrimination can occur on the basis of the 1 sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or preg- 2 nancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition of 3 an individual, as well as because of sex-based stereo- 4 types. Each of these factors alone can serve as the 5 basis for discrimination, and each is a form of sex 6 discrimination. 7 (2) A single instance of discrimination may 8 have more than 1 basis. For example, discrimination 9 against a married same-sex couple could be based on 10 the sex stereotype that marriage should only be be- 11 tween heterosexual couples, the sexual orientation of 12 the 2 individuals in the couple, or both. Discrimina- 13 tion against a pregnant lesbian could be based on 14 her sex, her sexual orientation, her pregnancy, or on 15 the basis of multiple factors. 16 (3) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (re- 17 ferred to as ‘‘LGBT’’) people commonly experience 18 discrimination in securing access to public accom- 19 modations—including restaurants, stores, places of 20 or establishments that provide entertainment, and 21 transportation. Forms of discrimination include the 22 exclusion and denial of entry, unequal or unfair 23 treatment, harassment, and violence. This discrimi- 24 nation prevents the full participation of LGBT peo- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1858 IS ple in society and disrupts the free flow of com- 1 merce. 2 (4) Women also face discrimination, in estab- 3 lishments such as stores and restaurants, and places 4 or establishments that provide other goods or serv- 5 ices, such as entertainment or transportation, in- 6 cluding sexual harassment, differential pricing, and 7 denial of services because they are pregnant or 8 breastfeeding. 9 (5) Regular and ongoing discrimination against 10 LGBT people, as well as women, in accessing public 11 accommodations contributes to negative social and 12 economic outcomes. 13 (6) Both LGBT people and women face wide- 14 spread discrimination in employment and various 15 services, including by entities that receive Federal fi- 16 nancial assistance. Such discrimination— 17 (A) is particularly troubling and inappro- 18 priate for programs and services funded wholly 19 or in part by the Federal Government; 20 (B) undermines national progress toward 21 equal treatment regardless of sex, sexual ori- 22 entation, or gender identity; and 23 (C) is inconsistent with the constitutional 24 principle of equal protection under the Four- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1858 IS teenth Amendment of the Constitution of the 1 United States. 2 (7) Workers who are LGBT, or are perceived to 3 be LGBT, have been subjected to a history and pat- 4 tern of persistent, widespread, and pervasive dis- 5 crimination on the bases of sexual orientation and 6 gender identity by private sector employers and Fed- 7 eral, State, and local government employers. 8 (8) Numerous provisions of Federal law ex- 9 pressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, 10 and Federal agencies and courts have correctly in- 11 terpreted these prohibitions on sex discrimination to 12 include discrimination based on sexual orientation, 13 gender identity, and sex stereotypes. In particular, 14 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has 15 explicitly interpreted sex discrimination to include 16 sexual orientation and gender identity. 17 (9) The absence of explicit prohibitions of dis- 18 crimination on the basis of sexual orientation and 19 gender identity under Federal statutory law, as well 20 as some conflicting case law on how broadly sex dis- 21 crimination provisions apply, has created uncertainty 22 for employers and other entities covered by these 23 laws. This lack of clear coverage also causes unnec- 24 essary hardships for LGBT people. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1858 IS (10) LGBT people often face discrimination 1 when seeking to rent or purchase housing, as well as 2 in every other aspect of obtaining and maintaining 3 housing. LGBT people in same-sex relationships are 4 often discriminated against when 2 names associated 5 with 1 gender appear on a housing application, and 6 transgender people often encounter discrimination 7 when credit checks or inquiries reveal a former 8 name. 9 (11) National surveys, including a study com- 10 missioned by the Department of Housing and Urban 11 Development, show that housing discrimination 12 against LGBT people is very prevalent. For in- 13 stance, when same-sex couples inquire about housing 14 that is available for rent, they are less likely to re- 15 ceive positive responses from landlords. According to 16 other studies, transgender people have half the 17 homeownership rate of non-transgender people and 18 about 1 in 5 transgender people experience home- 19 lessness. 20 (12) As a result of the absence of explicit prohi- 21 bitions against discrimination on the basis of sexual 22 orientation and gender identity, credit applicants 23 who are LGBT, or perceived to be LGBT, have un- 24 equal opportunities to establish credit. LGBT people 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1858 IS can experience being denied a mortgage, credit card, 1 student loan, or many other types of credit simply 2 because of their sexual orientation or gender iden- 3 tity. 4 (13) Numerous studies demonstrate that LGBT 5 people, especially transgender people and women, are 6 economically disadvantaged and at a higher risk for 7 poverty compared with other groups of people. 8 (14) The right to an impartial jury of one’s 9 peers and the reciprocal right to jury service are 10 fundamental to the free and democratic system of 11 justice in the United States and are based in the 12 Bill of Rights. There is, however, an unfortunate 13 and long-documented history in the United States of 14 attorneys discriminating against LGBT individuals, 15 or those perceived to be LGBT, in jury selection. 16 Failure to bar peremptory challenges based on the 17 actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender 18 identity of an individual not only erodes a funda- 19 mental right, duty, and obligation of being a citizen 20 of the United States, but also unfairly creates a sec- 21 ond class of citizenship for LGBT victims, witnesses, 22 plaintiffs, and defendants. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1858 IS SEC. 3. PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS. 1 (a) PROHIBITION ON DISCRIMINATION OR SEGREGA- 2 TION IN PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS.—Section 201 of the 3 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a) is amended— 4 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘sex, sexual 5 orientation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or national ori- 6 gin’’; and 7 (2) in subsection (b)— 8 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘sta- 9 dium’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘sta- 10 dium or other place of or establishment that 11 provides exhibition, entertainment, recreation, 12 exercise, amusement, gathering, or display;’’; 13 (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 14 paragraph (6); and 15 (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 16 following: 17 ‘‘(4) any establishment that provides a good, 18 service, or program, including a store, shopping cen- 19 ter, online retailer or service provider, salon, bank, 20 gas station, food bank, service or care center, shel- 21 ter, travel agency, or funeral parlor, or establish- 22 ment that provides health care, accounting, or legal 23 services; 24 ‘‘(5) any train service, bus service, car service, 25 taxi service, airline service, station, depot, or other 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1858 IS place of or establishment that provides transpor- 1 tation service; and’’. 2 (b) PROHIBITION ON DISCRIMINATION OR SEGREGA- 3 TION UNDER LAW.—Section 202 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 4 2000a–1) is amended by inserting ‘‘sex, sexual orienta- 5 tion, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or national origin’’. 6 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Title II of such Act 7 (42 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.) is amended by adding at the 8 end the following: 9 ‘‘SEC. 208. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 10 ‘‘A reference in this title to an establishment— 11 ‘‘(1) shall be construed to include an individual 12 whose operations affect commerce and who is a pro- 13 vider of a good, service, or program; and 14 ‘‘(2) shall not be construed to be limited to a 15 physical facility or place.’’. 16 SEC. 4. DESEGREGATION OF PUBLIC FACILITIES. 17 Section 301(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 18 U.S.C. 2000b(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘sex, sexual ori- 19 entation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or national origin’’. 20 SEC. 5. DESEGREGATION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION. 21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 401(b) of the Civil Rights 22 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000c(b)) is amended by inserting 23 ‘‘, sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or national 24 origin’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1858 IS (b) CIVIL ACTIONS BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 1 Section 407 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000c–6) is amended, 2 in subsection (a)(2), by inserting ‘‘, sexual orientation, 3 gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or national origin’’. 4 (c) CLASSIFICATION AND ASSIGNMENT.—Section 410 5 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000c–9) is amended by inserting 6 ‘‘, sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or national 7 origin’’. 8 SEC. 6. FEDERAL FUNDING. 9 Section 601 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 10 U.S.C. 2000d) is amended by inserting ‘‘sex, sexual ori- 11 entation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or national origin,’’. 12 SEC. 7. EMPLOYMENT. 13 (a) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Title VII of the 14 Civil Rights Act of 1964 is amended by inserting after 15 section 701 (42 U.S.C. 2000e) the following: 16 ‘‘SEC. 701A. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 17 ‘‘Section 1106 shall apply to this title except that for 18 purposes of that application, a reference in that section 19 to an ‘unlawful practice’ shall be considered to be a ref- 20 erence to an ‘unlawful employment practice’.’’. 21 (b) UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.—Section 22 703 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e– 23 2) is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1858 IS (1) in the section header, by striking ‘‘SEX,’’ 1 and inserting ‘‘SEX, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER 2 IDENTITY,’’; 3 (2) except in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘sex,’’ 4 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘sex, sexual ori- 5 entation, gender identity,’’; 6 (3) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘enter- 7 prise,’’ and inserting ‘‘enterprise, if, in a situation in 8 which sex is a bona fide occupational qualification, 9 individuals are recognized as qualified in accordance 10 with their gender identity,’’; and 11 (4) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘sex’’ the sec- 12 ond place it appears and inserting ‘‘sex, sexual ori- 13 entation, gender identity,’’. 14 (c) OTHER UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.— 15 Section 704(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 16 2000e–3(b)) is amended— 17 (1) by striking ‘‘sex,’’ the first place it appears 18 and inserting ‘‘sex, sexual orientation, gender iden- 19 tity,’’; and 20 (2) by striking ‘‘employment.’’ and inserting 21 ‘‘employment, if, in a situation in which sex is a 22 bona fide occupational qualification, individuals are 23 recognized as qualified in accordance with their gen- 24 der identity.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1858 IS (d) CLAIMS.—Section 706(g)(2)(A) of the Civil 1 Rights Act of 1964 (2000e–5(g)(2)(A)) is amended by 2 striking ‘‘sex,’’ and inserting ‘‘sex, sexual orientation, gen- 3 der identity,’’. 4 (e) EMPLOYMENT BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—Sec- 5 tion 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 6 2000e–16) is amended— 7 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘sex,’’ and in- 8 serting ‘‘sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,’’; 9 and 10 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘sex’’ and in- 11 serting ‘‘sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,’’. 12 (f) GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE RIGHTS ACT OF 13 1991.—The Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 14 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16a et seq.) is amended— 15 (1) in section 301(b), by striking ‘‘sex,’’ and in- 16 serting ‘‘sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,’’; 17 (2) in section 302(a)(1), by striking ‘‘sex,’’ and 18 inserting ‘‘sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,’’; 19 and 20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘SEC. 305. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION AND CLAIMS. 22 ‘‘Sections 1101(b), 1106, and 1107 of the Civil 23 Rights Act of 1964 shall apply to this title except that 24 for purposes of that application, a reference in that section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1858 IS 1106 to ‘race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gen- 1 der identity, or national origin’ shall be considered to be 2 a reference to ‘race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, 3 gender identity, national origin, age, or disability’.’’. 4 (g) CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 5 1995.—The Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 6 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended— 7 (1) in section 201(a)(1) (2 U.S.C. 1311(a)(1)) 8 by inserting ‘‘sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ 9 before ‘‘or national origin,’’; and 10 (2) by adding at the end of title II (42 U.S.C. 11 1311 et seq.) the following: 12 ‘‘SEC. 208. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION AND CLAIMS. 13 ‘‘Sections 1101(b), 1106, and 1107 of the Civil 14 Rights Act of 1964 shall apply to section 201 (and reme- 15 dial provisions of this Act related to section 201) except 16 that for purposes of that application, a reference in that 17 section 1106 to ‘race, color, religion, sex, sexual orienta- 18 tion, gender identity, or national origin’ shall be consid- 19 ered to be a reference to ‘race, color, religion, sex, sexual 20 orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, or dis- 21 ability’.’’. 22 (h) CIVIL SERVICE REFORM ACT OF 1978.—Chapter 23 23 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1858 IS (1) in section 2301(b)(2), by striking ‘‘sex,’’ 1 and inserting ‘‘sex, sexual orientation, gender iden- 2 tity,’’; 3 (2) in section 2302— 4 (A) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting 5 ‘‘sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or 6 national origin,’’; and 7 (B) in subsection (d)(1), by inserting ‘‘sex- 8 ual orientation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or na- 9 tional origin;’’; and 10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘SEC. 2307. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION AND CLAIMS. 12 ‘‘Sections 1101(b), 1106, and 1107 of the Civil 13 Rights Act of 1964 shall apply to this chapter (and reme- 14 dial provisions of this title related to this chapter) except 15 that for purposes of that application, a reference in that 16 section 1106 to ‘race, color, religion, sex, sexual orienta- 17 tion, gender identity, or national origin’ shall be consid- 18 ered to be a reference to ‘race, color, religion, sex, sexual 19 orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, a handi- 20 capping condition, marital status, or political affiliation’.’’. 21 SEC. 8. INTERVENTION. 22 Section 902 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 23 U.S.C. 2000h–2) is amended by inserting ‘‘, sexual ori- 24 entation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or national origin,’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 14 •S 1858 IS SEC. 9. MISCELLANEOUS. 1 Title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is amended— 2 (1) by redesignating sections 1101 through 3 1104 (42 U.S.C. 2000h et seq.) and sections 1105 4 and 1106 (42 U.S.C. 2000h–5, 2000h–6) as sections 5 1102 through 1105 and sections 1108 and 1109, re- 6 spectively; 7 (2) by inserting after the title heading the fol- 8 lowing: 9 ‘‘SEC. 1101. DEFINITIONS AND RULES. 10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In titles II, III, IV, VI, VII, and 11 IX (referred to individually in sections 1106 and 1107 as 12 a ‘covered title’): 13 ‘‘(1) RACE; COLOR; RELIGION; SEX; SEXUAL 14 ORIENTATION; GENDER IDENTITY; NATIONAL ORI- 15 GIN.—The term ‘race’, ‘color’, ‘religion’, ‘sex’, ‘sex- 16 ual orientation’, ‘gender identity’, or ‘national ori- 17 gin’, used with respect to an individual, includes— 18 ‘‘(A) the race, color, religion, sex, sexual 19 orientation, gender identity, or national origin, 20 respectively, of another person with whom the 21 individual is associated or has been associated; 22 and 23 ‘‘(B) a perception or belief, even if inac- 24 curate, concerning the race, color, religion, sex, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 15 •S 1858 IS sexual orientation, gender identity, or national 1 origin, respectively, of the individual. 2 ‘‘(2) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘gender 3 identity’ means the gender-related identity, appear- 4 ance, mannerisms, or other gender-related character- 5 istics of an individual, regardless of the individual’s 6 designated sex at birth. 7 ‘‘(3) INCLUDING.—The term ‘including’ means 8 including, but not limited to, consistent with the 9 term’s standard meaning in Federal law. 10 ‘‘(4) SEX.—The term ‘sex’ includes— 11 ‘‘(A) a sex stereotype; 12 ‘‘(B) pregnancy, childbirth, or a related 13 medical condition; and 14 ‘‘(C) sexual orientation or gender identity. 15 ‘‘(5) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘sexual 16 orientation’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, or 17 bisexuality. 18 ‘‘(b) RULES.—In a covered title referred to in sub- 19 section (a)— 20 ‘‘(1) (with respect to sex) pregnancy, childbirth, 21 or a related medical condition shall not receive less 22 favorable treatment than other physical conditions; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 16 •S 1858 IS ‘‘(2) (with respect to gender identity) an indi- 1 vidual shall not be denied access to a shared facility, 2 including a restroom, a locker room, and a dressing 3 room, that is in accordance with the individual’s 4 gender identity.’’; and 5 (3) by inserting after section 1105 the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘SEC. 1106. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 8 ‘‘(a) SEX.—Nothing in section 1101 or the provisions 9 of a covered title incorporating a term defined or a rule 10 specified in that section shall be construed— 11 ‘‘(1) to limit the protection against an unlawful 12 practice on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or a 13 related medical condition provided by section 701(k); 14 or 15 ‘‘(2) to limit the protection against an unlawful 16 practice on the basis of sex available under any pro- 17 vision of Federal law other than that covered title, 18 prohibiting a practice on the basis of sex. 19 ‘‘(b) CLAIMS AND REMEDIES NOT PRECLUDED.— 20 Nothing in section 1101 or a covered title shall be con- 21 strued to limit the claims or remedies available to any indi- 22 vidual for an unlawful practice on the basis of race, color, 23 religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or na- 24 tional origin including claims brought pursuant to section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 17 •S 1858 IS 1979 or 1980 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983, 1 1985) or any other law, including a Federal law amended 2 by the Equality Act, regulation, or policy. 3 ‘‘(c) NO NEGATIVE INFERENCE.—Nothing in section 4 1101 or a covered title shall be construed to support any 5 inference that any Federal law prohibiting a practice on 6 the basis of sex does not prohibit discrimination on the 7 basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condi- 8 tion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or a sex stereo- 9 type. 10 ‘‘SEC. 1107. CLAIMS. 11 ‘‘The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (42 12 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.) shall not provide a claim con- 13 cerning, or a defense to a claim under, a covered title, 14 or provide a basis for challenging the application or en- 15 forcement of a covered title.’’. 16 SEC. 10. HOUSING. 17 (a) FAIR HOUSING ACT.—The Fair Housing Act (42 18 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) is amended— 19 (1) in section 802, by adding at the end the fol- 20 lowing: 21 ‘‘(p) ‘Gender identity’, ‘sex’, and ‘sexual orientation’ 22 have the meanings given those terms in section 1101(a) 23 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 18 •S 1858 IS ‘‘(q) ‘Race’, ‘color’, ‘religion’, ‘sex’, ‘sexual orienta- 1 tion’, ‘gender identity’, ‘handicap’, ‘familial status’, or ‘na- 2 tional origin’, used with respect to an individual, in- 3 cludes— 4 ‘‘(1) the race, color, religion, sex, sexual ori- 5 entation, gender identity, handicap, familial status, 6 or national origin, respectively, of another person 7 with whom the individual is associated or has been 8 associated; and 9 ‘‘(2) a perception or belief, even if inaccurate, 10 concerning the race, color, religion, sex, sexual ori- 11 entation, gender identity, handicap, familial status, 12 or national origin, respectively, of the individual.’’; 13 (2) in section 804, by inserting ‘‘sexual orienta- 14 tion, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex,’’ each place that 15 term appears; 16 (3) in section 805, by inserting ‘‘sexual orienta- 17 tion, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex,’’ each place that 18 term appears; 19 (4) in section 806, by inserting ‘‘sexual orienta- 20 tion, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex,’’; 21 (5) in section 808(e)(6), by inserting ‘‘sexual 22 orientation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex,’’; and 23 (6) by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 19 •S 1858 IS ‘‘SEC. 821. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 1 ‘‘Sections 1101(b) and 1106 of the Civil Rights Act 2 of 1964 shall apply to this title and section 901, except 3 that for purposes of that application, a reference in that 4 section 1101(b) or 1106 to a ‘covered title’ shall be consid- 5 ered a reference to ‘this title and section 901’. 6 ‘‘SEC. 822. CLAIMS. 7 ‘‘Section 1107 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 shall 8 apply to this title and section 901, except that for pur- 9 poses of that application, a reference in that section 1107 10 to a ‘covered title’ shall be considered a reference to ‘this 11 title and section 901’.’’. 12 (b) PREVENTION OF INTIMIDATION IN FAIR HOUS- 13 ING CASES.—Section 901 of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 14 (42 U.S.C. 3631) is amended by inserting ‘‘sexual orienta- 15 tion (as such term is defined in section 802 of this Act), 16 gender identity (as such term is defined in section 802 17 of this Act),’’ after ‘‘sex,’’ each place that term appears. 18 SEC. 11. EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY. 19 (a) PROHIBITED DISCRIMINATION.—Section 20 701(a)(1) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 21 1691(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘sexual orientation, 22 gender identity,’’ after ‘‘status,’’. 23 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 702 of the Equal Credit 24 Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691a) is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 20 •S 1858 IS (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 1 subsections (h) and (i), respectively; 2 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘(f) The terms ‘gender identity’, ‘sex’, and ‘sexual 5 orientation’ have the meanings given those terms in sec- 6 tion 1101(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 7 2000e). 8 ‘‘(g) The term ‘race’, ‘color’, ‘religion’, ‘national ori- 9 gin’, ‘sex’, ‘sexual orientation’, ‘gender identity’, ‘marital 10 status’, or ‘age’, used with respect to an individual, in- 11 cludes— 12 ‘‘(1) the race, color, religion, national origin, 13 sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital sta- 14 tus, or age, respectively, of another person with 15 whom the individual is associated or has been associ- 16 ated; and 17 ‘‘(2) a perception or belief, even if inaccurate, 18 concerning the race, color, religion, national origin, 19 sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital sta- 20 tus, or age, respectively, of the individual.’’; and 21 (3) by adding at the end the following: 22 ‘‘(j) Sections 1101(b) and 1106 of the Civil Rights 23 Act of 1964 shall apply to this title, except that for pur- 24 poses of that application— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 21 •S 1858 IS ‘‘(1) a reference in those sections to a ‘covered 1 title’ shall be considered a reference to ‘this title’; 2 and 3 ‘‘(2) paragraph (1) of such section 1101(b) 4 shall apply with respect to all aspects of a credit 5 transaction.’’. 6 (c) RELATION TO STATE LAWS.—Section 705(a) of 7 the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691d(a)) 8 is amended by inserting ‘‘, sexual orientation, gender iden- 9 tity,’’ after ‘‘sex’’. 10 (d) CIVIL LIABILITY.—Section 706 of the Equal 11 Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691e) is amended by 12 adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(l) Section 1107 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 14 shall apply to this title, except that for purposes of that 15 application, a reference in that section to a ‘covered title’ 16 shall be considered a reference to ‘this title’.’’. 17 SEC. 12. JURIES. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 121 of title 28, United 19 States Code, is amended— 20 (1) in section 1862, by inserting ‘‘sexual ori- 21 entation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex,’’; 22 (2) in section 1867(e), in the second sentence, 23 by inserting ‘‘sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ 24 after ‘‘sex,’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 22 •S 1858 IS (3) in section 1869— 1 (A) in subsection (j), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 2 the end; 3 (B) in subsection (k), by striking the pe- 4 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(l) ‘gender identity’, ‘sex’, and ‘sexual orientation’ 7 have the meanings given such terms under section 1101(a) 8 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and 9 ‘‘(m) ‘race’, ‘color’, ‘religion’, ‘sex’, ‘sexual orienta- 10 tion’, ‘gender identity’, ‘economic status’, or ‘national ori- 11 gin’, used with respect to an individual, includes— 12 ‘‘(1) the race, color, religion, sex, sexual ori- 13 entation, gender identity, economic status, or na- 14 tional origin, respectively, of another person with 15 whom the individual is associated or has been associ- 16 ated; and 17 ‘‘(2) a perception or belief, even if inaccurate, 18 concerning the race, color, religion, sex, sexual ori- 19 entation, gender identity, economic status, or na- 20 tional origin, respectively, of the individual.’’; and 21 (4) by adding at the end the following: 22 ‘‘§ 1879. Rules of construction and claims 23 ‘‘Sections 1101(b), 1106, and 1107 of the Civil 24 Rights Act of 1964 shall apply to this chapter, except that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 23 •S 1858 IS for purposes of that application, a reference in those sec- 1 tions to a ‘covered title’ shall be considered a reference 2 to ‘this chapter’.’’. 3 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 4 The table of sections for chapter 121 of title 28, United 5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘1879. Rules of construction and claims.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1858.IS S1858 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS