II 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2453 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES December 12, 2007 Mr. Alexander 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 to clarify requirements relating to nondiscrimination on the basis of national origin.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Protecting English in the Workplace Act.

2.

Requirements regarding speaking English while engaged in work

Section 703 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–2) is amended by adding at the end the following: (o)(1)Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, it shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to require an employee to speak, or an applicant for employment to agree to speak, English while engaged in work. (2)(A)An individual shall not be considered to be engaged in work under paragraph (1) during a bona fide meal period, a rest period, or any other break, during which the individual is not required to perform any duties. (B)In this paragraph, the term bona fide meal period means such a period, and the term rest period means such a period, within the meaning of section 785.19 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (or any corresponding similar regulation or ruling). .