[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3567 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3567
To prevent discrimination and retaliation against incarcerated workers,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 22, 2023
Mr. Cleaver (for himself, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Thompson of
Mississippi, Ms. Norton, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, and Ms. Pressley)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce, 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 prevent discrimination and retaliation against incarcerated workers,
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 ``Combating Workplace Discrimination
in Correctional Facilities Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF REQUIRED PARTICIPATION IN THE INMATE WORK
PROGRAM.
(a) United States Code.--Section 4001(b) of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(3) The Attorney General may not require inmates to participate
in a work program.''.
(b) Code of Federal Regulations.--The Attorney General shall amend
sections 545.20 and 545.23 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations,
and any other regulations necessary, to comply with the amendment made
in paragraph (1).
SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE EXHAUSTION REQUIREMENT.
(a) In General.--Section 7(a) of the Civil Rights of
Institutionalized Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997e(a)) is amended to read
as follows:
``(a) Administrative Exhaustion Not Required.--A prisoner confined
in any jail, prison, or other correctional facility may bring an action
with respect to prison conditions under section 1979 of the Revised
Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1983) or another Federal law
without regard to whether the prisoner has exhausted the administrative
remedies that are available.''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply with respect to any action that is filed on or after the date of
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON RETALIATION AND DISCIPLINE FOR REFUSAL TO WORK.
(a) Prohibition of Retaliation for Refusal To Work.--Section 6 of
the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997d) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``No person'' and inserting ``(a) Reporting
Violations.--No person''; and
(2) by adding at the end:
``(b) Refusal To Work.--No prisoner (as defined in section 7) shall
be subjected to retaliation in any manner for refusal to work.''.
(b) Limitation on Discipline.--
(1) United states code.--Section 4042 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended--
(A) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection
(e); and
(B) by inserting after subsection (c) the
following:
``(d) Limitation on Discipline.--The Director of the Bureau of
Prisons may not discipline a prisoner for refusing to work.''.
(2) Code of federal regulations.--The Attorney General
shall amend sections 541.3 and 545.24(c) of title 28, Code of
Federal Regulations, and any other regulations necessary, to
comply with the amendment made in paragraph (1).
SEC. 5. NONDISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICES.
(a) Civil Rights Act of 1964.--
(1) In general.--Section 701 of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e) is amended--
(A) in subsection (b), by inserting ``(including an
entity that operates, directly or by contract, a
correctional facility, with respect to employment of
persons including incarcerated workers)'' after
``industry affecting commerce'';
(B) in subsection (f), by inserting ``(including an
incarcerated worker)'' after ``an individual'' the
first place it appears; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(o) The term `correctional facility' means a jail, prison, or
other detention facility used to house people who have been arrested,
detained, held, or convicted by a criminal justice agency or a court.
``(p) In subsections (b) and (f), the term `employ' has the meaning
given the term in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
U.S.C. 203).
``(q) The term `incarcerated worker' means an individual,
incarcerated or detained in a correctional facility operated by a
public agency or by a private entity through a contract with a public
agency, who performs labor offered or required by or through the
correctional facility, including labor associated with prison work
programs, work release programs, the UNICOR program, State prison
industries, public works programs, restitution centers, and
correctional facility operations and maintenance.''.
(2) Exception.--Section 703(a)(2) of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(a)(2)) is amended by inserting ``,
except that a correctional facility may segregate incarcerated
workers into separate facilities by sex if necessary to
maintain privacy or institutional order'' before the period.
(3) Conforming amendment.--Section 717(a) of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-16(a)) is amended by adding
at the end the following: ``This section shall not apply to a
Federal department, agency, or unit that operates, directly or
by contract, a correctional facility, with respect to
employment of persons including incarcerated workers.''.
(b) Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990; Rehabilitation Act of
1973.--
(1) In general.--Each agency that operates a correctional
facility (directly or by contract with a private entity)
shall--
(A) provide to each incarcerated worker notice of
the worker's rights under the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and
section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. 794), with respect to the correctional
facilities that the agency operates;
(B) implement policies and training to ensure
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
with respect to those facilities;
(C) annually prepare a report that contains an
evaluation of the agency's compliance with the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and section 504
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, with respect to
those facilities; and
(D) submit the report described in subparagraph (C)
to the Attorney General, who shall make the report
publicly available on the website of the Department of
Justice.
(2) Noncompliance.--The Attorney General shall determine,
and implement, appropriate remedies for the failure of an
agency covered by paragraph (1) to submit a report required by
paragraph (1).
(3) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``correctional
facility'' and ``incarcerated worker'' have the meanings given
the terms in section 701 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42
U.S.C. 2000e), as amended by this Act.
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