[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1843 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1843

    To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age 
 Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to clarify that an unlawful 
     practice occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to a 
 discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 20, 2007

 Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mr. Specter, Mr. Harkin, Mrs. Clinton, Ms. 
 Snowe, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Obama, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Leahy, Mrs. 
 McCaskill, Mr. Whitehouse, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Stabenow, and Mrs. Murray) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age 
 Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to clarify that an unlawful 
     practice occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to a 
 discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, 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 ``Fair Pay Restoration Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Supreme Court in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & 
        Rubber Co., No. 05-1074 (May 29, 2007), significantly impairs 
        statutory protections against discrimination in compensation 
        that Congress established and that have been bedrock principles 
        of American law for decades. The Ledbetter decision undermines 
        those statutory protections by unduly restricting the time 
        period in which victims of discrimination can challenge and 
        recover for discriminatory compensation decisions or other 
        practices, contrary to the intent of Congress.
            (2) The limitation imposed by the Court on the filing of 
        discriminatory compensation claims ignores the reality of wage 
        discrimination and is at odds with the robust application of 
        the civil rights laws that Congress intended.
            (3) With regard to any charge of discrimination under any 
        law, nothing in this Act is intended to preclude or limit an 
        aggrieved person's right to introduce evidence of an unlawful 
        employment practice that has occurred outside the time for 
        filing a charge of discrimination.
            (4) Nothing in this Act is intended to change the law in 
        effect as of May 28, 2007, concerning the treatment of when 
        pension benefits are considered paid.

SEC. 3. DISCRIMINATION IN COMPENSATION BECAUSE OF RACE, COLOR, 
              RELIGION, SEX, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN.

    Section 706(e) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-
5(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(3)(A) For purposes of this section, an unlawful employment 
practice occurs, with respect to discrimination in compensation in 
violation of this title, when a discriminatory compensation decision or 
other practice is adopted, when an individual becomes subject to a 
discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, or when an 
individual is affected by application of a discriminatory compensation 
decision or other practice, including each time wages, benefits, or 
other compensation is paid, resulting in whole or in part from such a 
decision or other practice.
    ``(B) Liability may accrue and (in addition to any relief 
authorized by section 1977A of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a)), 
an aggrieved person may obtain relief as provided in subsection (g)(1), 
including recovery of back pay for up to 2 years preceding the filing 
of the charge, in an action under this title concerning an unlawful 
employment practice with regard to discrimination in compensation, 
where the unlawful employment practice that has occurred during the 
charge filing period is similar or related to an unlawful employment 
practice with regard to discrimination in compensation that occurred 
outside the charge filing period.''.

SEC. 4. DISCRIMINATION IN COMPENSATION BECAUSE OF AGE.

    Section 7(d) of the Age Discrimination Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 
626(d)) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; and
                    (B) by striking ``(d)'' and inserting ``(d)(1)'';
            (2) in the third sentence, by striking ``Upon'' and 
        inserting the following:
    ``(2) Upon''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(3) For purposes of this section, an unlawful practice occurs, 
with respect to discrimination in compensation in violation of this 
Act, when a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is 
adopted, when a person becomes subject to a discriminatory compensation 
decision or other practice, or when a person is affected by application 
of a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, including 
each time wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid, resulting in 
whole or in part from such a decision or other practice.''.

SEC. 5. APPLICATION TO OTHER LAWS.

    (a) Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.--The amendments made 
by section 102 shall apply to claims of discrimination in compensation 
brought under title I and section 503 of the Americans with 
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12111 et seq., 12203), pursuant to 
section 107(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12117(a)), which adopts the 
powers, remedies, and procedures set forth in section 706 of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-5).
    (b) Rehabilitation Act of 1973.--The amendments made by section 102 
shall apply to claims of discrimination in compensation brought under 
sections 501 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791, 
794), pursuant to--
            (1) sections 501(g) and 504(d) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 
        791(g), 794(d)), respectively, which adopt the standards 
        applied under title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
        1990 for determining whether a violation has occurred in a 
        complaint alleging employment discrimination; and
            (2) paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 505(a) of such Act 
        (29 U.S.C. 794a(a)) (as amended by subsection (c)).
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Rehabilitation act of 1973.--Section 505(a) of the 
        Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794a(a)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting after ``(42 
                U.S.C. 2000e-5 (f) through (k))'' the following: ``(and 
                the application of section 706(e)(3) (42 U.S.C. 2000e-
                5(e)(3)) to claims of discrimination in 
                compensation)''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ``1964'' 
                the following: ``(42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) (and in 
                subsection (e)(3) of section 706 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                2000e-5), applied to claims of discrimination in 
                compensation)''.
            (2) Civil rights act of 1964.--Section 717 of the Civil 
        Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-16) is amended by adding at 
        the end the following--
    ``(f) Section 706(e)(3) shall apply to complaints of discrimination 
in compensation under this section.''.
            (3) Age discrimination act of 1967.--Section 15(f) of the 
        Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 
        633a(f)) is amended by striking ``of section'' and inserting 
        ``of sections 7(d)(3) and''.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, take effect as if 
enacted on May 28, 2007 and apply to all claims of discrimination in 
compensation under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 
2000e et seq.), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 
U.S.C. 621 et seq.), title I and section 503 of the Americans with 
Disabilities Act of 1990, and sections 501 and 504 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, that are pending on or after that date.
                                 <all>