[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 178 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 178

   To provide for adherence with the MacBride Principles of Economic 
 Justice by United States persons doing business in Northern Ireland, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 1997

Mr. Gilman (for himself and Mr. Manton) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on International Relations, and in 
 addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Rules, 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 for adherence with the MacBride Principles of Economic 
 Justice by United States persons doing business in Northern Ireland, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Northern Ireland Fair Employment 
Practices and Principles of Economic Justice Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Currently, overall unemployment in Northern Ireland is 
        approximately 13 percent, as compared to 9 percent in the rest 
        of the United Kingdom.
            (2) Unemployment in the minority community in Northern 
        Ireland is 16 percent (22 percent for males and 8 percent for 
        females), and in some portions of the minority community 
        unemployment has historically exceeded 70 percent.
            (3) The British Government Fair Employment Commission 
        (F.E.C.), formerly the Fair Employment Agency (F.E.A.), has 
        consistently reported that a member of the minority community 
        is two times more likely to be unemployed than a member of the 
        majority community.
            (4) The Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC), 
        Washington, District of Columbia, lists more than 90 United 
        States companies doing business in Northern Ireland, which 
        employ approximately 11,000 individuals.
            (5) The religious minority population of Northern Ireland 
        is subject to discriminatory hiring practices by some United 
        States businesses.
            (6) The MacBride Principles are a nine point set of 
        guidelines for fair employment in Northern Ireland which 
        establishes a corporate code of conduct to promote equal access 
        to regional employment but does not require disinvestment, 
        quotas, or reverse discrimination.

SEC. 3. RESTRICTION ON IMPORTS.

    An article from Northern Ireland may not be entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse for consumption, in the customs territory of the United 
States unless there is presented at the time of entry to the customs 
officer concerned documentation indicating that the enterprise which 
manufactured or assembled such article was in compliance at the time of 
manufacture with the principles described in section 5.

SEC. 4. COMPLIANCE WITH FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRINCIPLES.

    (a) Compliance.--Any United States person who--
            (1) has a branch or office in Northern Ireland, or
            (2) controls a corporation, partnership, or other 
        enterprise in Northern Ireland,
in which more than ten people are employed shall take the necessary 
steps to ensure that, in operating such branch, office, corporation, 
partnership, or enterprise, those principles relating to employment 
practices set forth in section 5 are implemented and this Act is 
complied with.
    (b) Report.--Each United States person referred to in subsection 
(a) shall submit to the Secretary--
            (1) a detailed and fully documented annual report, signed 
        under oath, on showing compliance with the provisions of this 
        Act; and
            (2) such other information as the Secretary determines is 
        necessary.

SEC. 5. MACBRIDE PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMIC JUSTICE.

    The principles referred to in section 4 are the MacBride Principles 
of Economic Justice, which are as follows:
            (1) Increasing the representation of individuals from 
        underrepresented religious groups in the workforce, including 
        managerial, supervisory, administrative, clerical, and 
        technical jobs.
            (2) Providing adequate security for the protection of 
        minority employees at the workplace.
            (3) Banning provocative sectarian or political emblems from 
        the workplace.
            (4) Providing that all job openings be advertised publicly 
        and providing that special recruitment efforts be made to 
        attract applicants from underrepresented religious groups.
            (5) Providing that layoff, recall, and termination 
        procedures do not favor a particular religious group.
            (6) Abolishing job reservations, apprenticeship 
        restrictions, and differential employment criteria which 
        discriminate on the basis of religion.
            (7) Providing for the development of training programs that 
        will prepare substantial numbers of minority employees for 
        skilled jobs, including the expansion of existing programs and 
        the creation of new programs to train, upgrade, and improve the 
        skills of minority employees.
            (8) Establishing procedures to assess, identify, and 
        actively recruit minority employees with the potential for 
        further advancement.
            (9) Providing for the appointment of a senior management 
        staff member to be responsible for the employment efforts of 
        the entity and, within a reasonable period of time, the 
        implementation of the principles described in paragraphs (1) 
        through (8).

SEC. 6. PROHIBITION.

    Nothing in this Act shall require quotas or reverse discrimination 
or mandate their use.

SEC. 7. WAIVER OF PROVISIONS.

    (a) Waiver of Provisions.--In any case in which the President 
determines that compliance by a United States person with the 
provisions of this Act would harm the national security of the United 
States, the President may waive those provisions with respect to that 
United States person. The President shall publish in the Federal 
Register each waiver granted under this section and shall submit to the 
Congress a justification for granting each such waiver. Any such waiver 
shall become effective at the end of ninety days after the date on 
which the justification is submitted to the Congress unless the 
Congress, within that ninety-day period, adopts a joint resolution 
disapproving the waiver. In the computation of such ninety-day period, 
there shall be excluded the days on which either House of Congress is 
not in session because of an adjournment of more than three days to a 
day certain or because of an adjournment of the Congress sine die.
    (b) Consideration of Resolutions.--
            (1) Any resolution described in subsection (a) shall be 
        considered in the Senate in accordance with the provisions of 
        section 601(b) of the International Security Assistance and 
        Arms Export Control Act of 1976.
            (2) For the purpose of expediting the consideration and 
        adoption of a resolution under subsection (a) in the House of 
        Representatives, a motion to proceed to the consideration of 
        such resolution after it has been reported by the appropriate 
        committee shall be treated as highly privileged in the House of 
        Representatives.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS AND PRESUMPTIONS.

    (a) Definitions.--For the purpose of this Act--
            (1) the term ``United States person'' means any United 
        States resident or national and any domestic concern (including 
        any permanent domestic establishment of any foreign concern);
            (2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Commerce; 
        and
            (3) the term ``Northern Ireland'' includes the counties of 
        Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, Tyrone, and Fermanagh.
    (b) Presumption.--A United States person shall be presumed to 
control a corporation, partnership, or other enterprise in Northern 
Ireland if--
            (1) the United States person beneficially owns or controls 
        (whether directly or indirectly) more than 50 percent of the 
        outstanding voting securities of the corporation, partnership, 
        or enterprise;
            (2) the United States person beneficially owns or controls 
        (whether directly or indirectly) 25 percent or more of the 
        voting securities of the corporation, partnership, or 
        enterprise, if no other person owns or controls (whether 
        directly or indirectly) an equal or larger percentage;
            (3) the corporation, partnership, or enterprise is operated 
        by the United States person pursuant to the provisions of an 
        exclusive management contract;
            (4) a majority of the members of the board of directors of 
        the corporation, partnership, or enterprise are also members of 
        the comparable governing body of the United States person;
            (5) the United States person has authority to appoint the 
        majority of the members of the board of directors of the 
        corporation, partnership, or enterprise; or
            (6) the United States person has authority to appoint the 
        chief operating officer of the corporation, partnership, or 
        enterprise.

SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act.
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