[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 517 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 517

To prevent discrimination and retaliation against incarcerated workers, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 16, 2023

  Mr. Booker introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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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