[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2424 Introduced in House (IH)]
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2424
To require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to post
on its premises notices to employees regarding the applicable
provisions of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 1, 1999
Mr. Jackson of Illinois (for himself, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Frank of
Massachusetts, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Traficant, Mr. Frost, Ms.
Lee, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Lantos, Mr. DeFazio, Mrs. Clayton,
Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, Mr. Clay, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Gejdenson, Mr. Brown
of California, Mr. Owens, Mr. Hilliard, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Ms.
Kilpatrick, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Pastor, Mrs. Christensen, and Ms.
McKinney) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Banking and Financial Services, and in addition to the
Committees on Education and the Workforce, and Government Reform, 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 require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to post
on its premises notices to employees regarding the applicable
provisions of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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 ``Federal Reserve Board Civil Rights
Compliance Act of 1999''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a
milestone embodying a national policy of equal protection under
the law regardless of race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin.
(2) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects
individuals against discrimination in the workplace.
(3) Section 717 of title VII of such Act applies to all
personnel actions affecting employees and applicants for
employment in an ``executive agency''.
(4) An ``executive agency'' is defined in section 105 of
title 5, United States Code, to include an ``independent
establishment'' in the executive branch.
(5) The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
exercises extensive regulatory and enforcement authority as a
Federal banking agency (as defined in section 3 of the Federal
Deposit Insurance Act) with regard to State banks which are
members of a Federal reserve bank, bank holding companies, and
foreign bank operations in the United States under the Federal
Reserve Act, the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, the Banking
Act of 1933, the International Banking Act of 1978, the Federal
Deposit Insurance Act, and other Federal laws, including the
authority to remove directors, officers, and employees from
their positions in banks and bank holding companies, the
authority to impose large civil money penalties, and the
authority to order the divestiture of banks by bank holding
companies.
(6) The Supreme Court of the United States has stated in
the case of Bowsher, Comptroller General of the United States
v. Synar, Member of Congress, et al., 478 U.S. 714, 733 (1986),
that ``[i]nterpreting a law enacted by Congress to implement
the legislative mandate is the very essence of `execution' of
the law'' and noted that the exercise of judgment concerning
facts that affect the application of an Act is typically made
by officers charged with executing a statute, ibid.
(7) The activities of the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System clearly constitute ``execution of the law'' and
the Board is, therefore, clearly and unambiguously an
independent establishment in the executive branch (as such term
is used in section 104 of title 5, United States Code).
(8) The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is
responsible for enforcing compliance with title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, has consistently and properly
interpreted title VII as applying to the Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System.
(9) The United States Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit established, in the case of Hilliard v.
Volcker, 659 F.2d 1125 (D.C. Cir. 1981), that the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System is an executive agency
within the meaning of section 105 of title 5, United States
Code, and section 717 of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964.
(10) The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
did not argue to the contrary while the case of Hilliard v.
Volcker was before the United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit.
(11) On October 17, 1994, a jury in the case Bennett v.
Greenspan, C.A. No. 98-0813-RMU, (Dt. D.C.) found the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve liable for racial
discrimination, and retaliation, in violation of title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
(12) The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
has repeatedly suggested in correspondence with the Congress
that such Board is not an executive agency under section 105 of
title 5, United States Code, and is therefore not covered by
title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
(13) The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
has acted inconsistently with current law in suggesting,
despite--
(A) the unambiguous meaning of section 105 of title
5, United States Code,
(B) the unambiguous language title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, and
(C) the clear applicability of title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve in several cases brought against
the Board in the courts of the United States,
that the Board is not covered by title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964.
SEC. 3. REQUIRED POSTING OF NOTICES.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall post and
keep posted in conspicuous places upon its premises where such notices
to employees and applicants for employment are customarily posted, and
at such other places as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission may
determine, a notice to be prepared or approved by the Commission
setting forth--
(1) excerpts from or summaries of the pertinent provisions
of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e
et seq.), and
(2) information pertinent to the rights and procedures
applicable under such Acts to employees of, and applicants for
employment by, the Board.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON COMPLIANCE.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall submit
a report, to the Committee on Banking and Financial Services of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs of the Senate, describing in detail the actions taken by
the Board to achieve compliance with section 717 of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-16).
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