[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 5 (Wednesday, January 22, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S642-S644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. D'AMATO:
  S. 184. A bill to provide for adherence with the MacBride Principles 
of Economic Justice by United States persons doing business in Northern 
Ireland, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.


   the northern ireland fair employment practices and principles of 
                      economic justice act of 1997

  Mr. D'AMATO.
  Mr. President, I rise today to offer the Northern Ireland Fair 
Employment Practices and Principles of Economic Justice Act of 1997. 
This amendment seeks to deter efforts to use the work place as an arena 
of discrimination in Northern Ireland.
  The Northern Ireland Fair Employment Practices and Principles of 
Economic Justice Act of 1997 incorporates the MacBride Principles, 
which are modeled after the famous Sullivan Principles, one of the 
initial efforts to apply United States pressure to change the system of 
apartheid in South Africa. The MacBride Principles are named

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in honor of the late Sean MacBride, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and 
co-founder of Amnesty International.
  This amendment will enlist the cooperation of United States companies 
active in Northern Ireland in the campaign to force the end of 
discrimination in the workplace by:
  First, eliminating religious discrimination in managerial, 
supervisory, administrative, clerical, and technical jobs and 
significantly increasing the representation in such jobs of individuals 
from under represented religious groups.
  Second, providing adequate security for the protection of minority 
employees at the workplace.
  Third, banning provocative sectarian and political emblems from the 
workplace.
  Fourth, publicly advertising all job openings and undertaking special 
recruitment efforts to attract applicants from under represented 
religious groups, and establishing procedures to identify and recruit 
minority individuals with potential for further advancement, including 
managerial programs.
  Fifth, establishing layoff, recall, and termination procedures which 
do not favor particular religious groupings.
  Sixth, abolishing job reservations, apprenticeship restrictions, and 
differential employment criteria which discriminate on the basis of 
religious or ethnic origin.
  Seventh, developing and expanding upon existing training and 
educational programs that will prepare substantial numbers of minority 
employees for managerial, supervisory, administrative, clerical, and 
technical jobs.
  Eighth, appointing a senior management staff member to oversee the 
U.S. company's compliance with the principles described above.
  It is in the workplace in Northern Ireland, which can be used to 
eliminate discrimination, where improving the employment opportunities 
for the underprivileged will help factor out the economic causes of the 
current strife in Northern Ireland. This will hopefully begin the 
process toward a peaceful resolution of the so-called troubles.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 184

       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 ``Northern Ireland Fair 
     Employment Practices and Principles of Economic Justice Act 
     of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds the following:
       (1) Currently, overall unemployment in Northern Ireland is 
     approximately 13 percent, as compared to 9 percent in the 
     rest of the United Kingdom.
       (2) Unemployment in the minority community in Northern 
     Ireland is 16 percent (22 percent for males and 8 percent for 
     females), and in some portions of the minority community 
     unemployment has historically exceeded 70 percent.
       (3) The British Government Fair Employment Commission 
     (F.E.C.), formerly the Fair Employment Agency (F.E.A.), has 
     consistently reported that a member of the minority community 
     is two times more likely to be unemployed than a member of 
     the majority community.
       (4) The Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC), 
     Washington, District of Columbia, lists more than 90 United 
     States companies doing business in Northern Ireland, which 
     employ approximately 11,000 individuals.
       (5) The religious minority population of Northern Ireland 
     is subject to discriminatory hiring practices by some United 
     States businesses.
       (6) The MacBride Principles are a nine point set of 
     guidelines for fair employment in Northern Ireland which 
     establishes a corporate code of conduct to promote equal 
     access to regional employment but does not require 
     disinvestment, quotas, or reverse discrimination.

     SEC. 3. RESTRICTION ON IMPORTS.

       An article from Northern Ireland may not be entered, or 
     withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, in the customs 
     territory of the United States unless there is presented at 
     the time of entry to the customs officer concerned 
     documentation indicating that the enterprise which 
     manufactured or assembled such article was in compliance at 
     the time of manufacture with the principles described in 
     section 5.

     SEC. 4. COMPLIANCE WITH FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRINCIPLES.

       (a) Compliance.--Any United States person who--
       (1) has a branch or office in Northern Ireland, or
       (2) controls a corporation, partnership, or other 
     enterprise in Northern Ireland,

     in which more than ten people are employed shall take the 
     necessary steps to ensure that, in operating such branch, 
     office, corporation, partnership, or enterprise, those 
     principles relating to employment practices set forth in 
     section 5 are implemented and this Act is complied with.
       (b) Report.--Each United States person referred to in 
     subsection (a) shall submit to the Secretary--
       (1) a detailed and fully documented annual report, signed 
     under oath, on showing compliance with the provisions of this 
     Act; and
       (2) such other information as the Secretary determines is 
     necessary.

     SEC. 5. MACBRIDE PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMIC JUSTICE.

       The principles referred to in section 4 are the MacBride 
     Principles of Economic Justice, which are as follows:
       (1) Increasing the representation of individuals from 
     underrepresented religious groups in the workforce, including 
     managerial, supervisory, administrative, clerical, and 
     technical jobs.
       (2) providing adequate security for the protection of 
     minority employees at the workplace.
       (3) Banning provocative sectarian or political emblems from 
     the workplace.
       (4) Providing that all job openings be advertised publicly 
     and providing that special recruitment efforts be made to 
     attract applicants from underrepresented religious groups.
       (5) Providing that layoff, recall, and termination 
     procedures do not favor a particular religious group.
       (6) Abolishing job reservations, apprenticeship 
     restrictions, and differential employment criteria which 
     discriminate on the basis of religion.
       (7) Providing for the development of training programs that 
     will prepare substantial numbers of minority employees for 
     skilled jobs, including the expansion of existing programs 
     and the creation of new programs to train, upgrade, and 
     improve the skills of minority employees.
       (8) Establishing procedures to assess, identify, and 
     actively recruit minority employees with the potential for 
     further advancement.
       (9) Providing for the appointment of a senior management 
     staff member to be responsible for the employment efforts of 
     the entity and, within a reasonable period of time, the 
     implementation of the principles described in paragraphs (1) 
     through (8).

     SEC. 6. PROHIBITION.

       Nothing in this Act shall require quotas or reverse 
     discrimination or mandate their use.

     SEC. 7. WAIVER OF PROVISIONS.

       (a) Waiver of Provisions.--In any case in which the 
     President determines that compliance by a United States 
     person with the provisions of this Act would harm the 
     national security of the United States, the President may 
     waive those provisions with respect to that United States 
     person. The President shall publish in the Federal Register 
     each waiver granted under this section and shall submit to 
     the Congress a justification for granting each such waiver. 
     Any such waiver shall become effective at the end of ninety 
     days after the date on which the justification is submitted 
     to the Congress unless the Congress, within that ninety-day 
     period, adopts a joint resolution disapproving the waiver. In 
     the computation of such ninety-day period, there shall be 
     excluded the days on which either House of Congress is not in 
     session because of an adjournment of more than three days to 
     a day certain or because of an adjournment of the Congress 
     sine die.
       (b) Consideration of Resolutions.--
       (1) Any resolution described in subsection (a) shall be 
     considered in the Senate in accordance with the provisions of 
     section 601(b) of the International Security Assistance and 
     Arms Export Control Act of 1976.
       (2) For the purpose of expediting the consideration and 
     adoption of a resolution under subsection (a) in the House of 
     Representatives, a motion to proceed to the consideration of 
     such resolution after it has been reported by the appropriate 
     committee shall be treated as highly privileged in the House 
     of Representatives.

     SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS AND PRESUMPTIONS.

       (a) Definitions.--For the purpose of this Act--
       (1) the term ``United States person'' means any United 
     States resident or national and any domestic concern 
     (including any permanent domestic establishment of any 
     foreign concern);
       (2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Commerce; 
     and
       (3) the term ``Northern Ireland'' includes the counties of 
     Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, Tyrone, and Fermanagh.
       (b) Presumption.--A United States person shall be presumed 
     to control a corporation, partnership or other enterprise in 
     Northern Ireland if--
       (1) the United States person beneficially owns or controls 
     (whether directly or indirectly) more than 50 percent of the 
     outstanding voting securities of the corporation, 
     partnership, or enterprise;
       (2) the United States person beneficially owns or controls 
     (whether directly or indirectly) 25 percent or more of the 
     voting securities of the corporation, partnership, or 
     enterprise, if no other person owns or controls (whether 
     directly or indirectly) an equal or larger percentage;

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       (3) the corporation, partnership, or enterprise is operated 
     by the United States person pursuant to the provisions of an 
     exclusive management contract;
       (4) a majority of the members of the board of directors of 
     the corporation, partnership, or enterprise are also members 
     of the comparable governing body of the United States person;
       (5) the United States person has authority to appoint the 
     majority of the members of the board of directors of the 
     corporation, partnership, or enterprise; or
       (6) the United States person has authority to appoint the 
     chief operating officer of the corporation, partnership, or 
     enterprise.

     SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.
                                 ______