[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3972 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3972
To prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of an
individual's status or history of unemployment.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 29, 2014
Ms. DeLauro (for herself and Mr. Johnson of Georgia) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of an
individual's status or history of unemployment.
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 Employment Opportunity Act of
2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that denial of employment
opportunities to individuals because they are or have been unemployed
is discriminatory and burdens commerce by--
(1) reducing personal consumption and undermining economic
stability and growth;
(2) squandering human capital essential to the Nation's
economic vibrancy and growth;
(3) increasing demands for State and Federal unemployment
insurance benefits, reducing trust fund assets, and leading to
higher payroll taxes for employers, cuts in benefits for
jobless workers, or both;
(4) imposing additional burdens on publicly funded health
and welfare programs; and
(5) depressing income, property, and other tax revenues
that States, localities and the Federal Government rely on to
support operations and institutions essential to commerce.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to prohibit consideration
of an individual's status as unemployed in screening for or filling
positions except where a requirement related to employment status is a
bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to successful
performance in the job and to eliminate the burdens imposed on commerce
by excluding such individuals from employment.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act--
(1) the term ``employer'' means any person engaged in
commerce or any industry or activity affecting commerce who has
15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more
calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, and
includes--
(A) any person who acts, directly or indirectly, in
the interest of an employer with respect to employing
individuals to work for the employer; and
(B) any successor in interest of an employer;
(2) the term ``employment agency'' means any person
regularly undertaking with or without compensation to procure
employees for an employer or to procure for individuals
opportunities to work for an employer and includes an agent of
such a person, and includes any person who maintains an
Internet website that publishes advertisements or announcements
of job openings;
(3) the term ``affected individual'' means any person who
was refused consideration for employment or was not hired by an
employer because of the person's current employment status, or
any person who was not considered, screened, or referred for
employment opportunities by an employment agency because of the
person's current employment status;
(4) the term ``status as unemployed'' means an individual's
present or past unemployment regardless of the length of time
such individual was unemployed; and
(5) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Labor.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITED ACTS.
(a) Employers.--It shall be an unlawful practice for an employer
to--
(1) refuse to consider for employment or refuse to offer
employment to an individual because of the individual's status
as unemployed;
(2) publish in print, on the Internet, or in any other
medium, an advertisement or announcement for any job that
includes--
(A) any provision stating or indicating that an
individual's status as unemployed disqualifies the
individual for a job; and
(B) any provision stating or indicating that an
employer will not consider an applicant for employment
based on that individual's status as unemployed; and
(3) direct or request that an employment agency take an
individual's status as unemployed into account in screening or
referring applicants for employment.
(b) Employment Agencies.--It shall be an unlawful practice for an
employment agency to--
(1) refuse to consider or refer an individual for
employment based on the individual's status as unemployed;
(2) limit, segregate, or classify individuals in any manner
that may limit their access to information about jobs or
referral for consideration of jobs because of their status as
unemployed; or
(3) publish, in print or on the Internet or in any other
medium, an advertisement or announcement for any job vacancy
that includes--
(A) any provision stating or indicating that an
individual's status as unemployed disqualifies the
individual for a job; and
(B) any provision stating or indicating that an
employer will not consider individuals for employment
based on that individual's status as unemployed.
(c) Interference With Rights, Proceedings or Inquiries.--It shall
be unlawful for any employer or employment agency to--
(1) interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or
the attempt to exercise, any right provided under this Act; or
(2) refuse to hire, to discharge, or in any other manner to
discriminate against any individual because such individual--
(A) opposed any practice made unlawful by this Act;
(B) has filed any charge, or has instituted or
caused to be instituted any proceeding, under or
related to this Act;
(C) has given, or is about to give, any information
in connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating
to any right provided under this Act; or
(D) has testified, or is about to testify, in any
inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided
under this Act.
(d) Bona Fide Occupational Qualification.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of this Act, consideration by an employer or employment
agency of an individual's status as unemployed shall not be an unlawful
employment practice where an individual's employment in a similar or
related job for a period of time reasonably proximate to the hiring of
such individual is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably
necessary to successful performance of the job that is being filled.
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Civil Action by Individual.--
(1) Liability for employers and employment agencies.--Any
employer or employment agency that violates sections 4(a) and
(b) shall be liable to any affected individual--
(A) for actual damages equal to--
(i) the amount of--
(I) any wages, salary, employment
benefits, or other compensation denied
or lost to such individual by reason of
the violation; or
(II) in a case in which wages,
salary, employment benefits, or other
compensation have not been denied or
lost to the individual, any actual
monetary losses sustained by the
individual as a direct result of the
violation or a civil penalty of $1,000
per violation per day, whichever is
greater;
(ii) the interest on the amount described
in clause (i) calculated at the prevailing
rate; and
(iii) an additional amount as liquidated
damages equal to the sum of the amount
described in clause (i) and the interest
described in clause (ii), except that if an
employer or employment agency that has violated
section 4 proves to the satisfaction of the
court that the act or omission that violated
section 4 was in good faith and that the
employer had reasonable grounds for believing
that the act or omission was not a violation of
section 4, such court may, in its discretion,
reduce the amount of the liability to the
amount and interest determined under clauses
(i) and (ii), respectively; and
(B) for such equitable relief as may be
appropriate, including employment and compensatory and
punitive damages.
(2) Right of action.--An action to recover the damages or
equitable relief prescribed in paragraph (1) of this subsection
may be maintained against any employer or employment agency in
any Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction by any one
or more persons for and in behalf of--
(A) the affected individual; or
(B) the affected individual and other individuals
similarly situated.
(3) Fees and costs.--The court in such an action shall, in
addition to any judgment awarded to the plaintiff, allow a
reasonable attorney's fee, reasonable expert witness fees, and
other costs of the action to be paid by the defendant.
(4) Limitations.--The right provided by paragraph (2) of
this subsection to bring an action by or on behalf of any
affected individual shall terminate--
(A) on the filing of a complaint by the Secretary
in an action under subsection (d) in which restraint is
sought of any violation of section 4; or
(B) on the filing of a complaint by the Secretary
in an action under subsection (b) in which a recovery
is sought of the damages described in paragraph (1)(A)
owing to an affected individual by an employer or
employment agency liable under paragraph (1), unless
the action described in subparagraph (A) or (B) is
dismissed without prejudice on motion of the Secretary.
(b) Action by the Secretary.--
(1) Administrative action.--The Secretary shall receive,
investigate, and attempt to resolve complaints of violations of
section 4 in the same manner that the Secretary receives,
investigates, and attempts to resolve complaints of violations
of sections 6 and 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
U.S.C. 206 and 207).
(2) Civil action.--The Secretary may bring an action in any
court of competent jurisdiction--
(A) to enjoin violations of this title and seek
other relief going forward necessary to prevent future
violations; and
(B) to recover--
(i) the damages described in subsection
(a)(1)(A);
(ii) in the case of a violation of section
4(c), a civil penalty of not less than $250 per
violation; or
(iii) such other equitable relief the Court
deems appropriate.
(3) Sums recovered.--Any sums recovered by the Secretary
pursuant to paragraph (2)(A) shall be held in a special deposit
account and shall be paid, on order of the Secretary, directly
to each affected individual. Any such sums recovered pursuant
to paragraph (2)(A) that are not paid to an affected individual
because of inability to do so within a period of 3 years and
any sums recovered pursuant to paragraph (2)(B) shall be
deposited into the Treasury of the United States as
miscellaneous receipts.
(c) Limitation.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), an
action under subsection (a) may be brought not later than 2
years after the date of the last event constituting the alleged
violation for which the action is brought, provided that the
limitations for filing an action shall be tolled during the
period that the Secretary is considering a complaint against
any defendant named in a complaint filed with the Secretary
under subsection (b)(1) above.
(2) Willful violation.--In the case of such action brought
for a willful violation of section 4, such action may be
brought within 3 years of the date of the last event
constituting the alleged violation for which such action is
brought, provided that the limitations for filing an action by
an individual shall be tolled during the period that the
Secretary is considering a complaint pursuant to subsection
(b)(1).
(3) Commencement.--In determining when an action is
commenced by the Secretary under this section for the purposes
of this subsection, it shall be considered to be commenced on
the date when the Secretary files a complaint in a court of
competent jurisdiction.
(d) Action for Injunction by Secretary.--The district courts of the
United States shall have jurisdiction, for cause shown, in an action
brought by the Secretary--
(1) to restrain violations of section 4; and
(2) to award such other equitable relief as may be
appropriate, including employment and monetary damages.
(e) Solicitor of Labor.--The Solicitor of Labor may appear for and
represent the Secretary on any litigation brought under this section.
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