[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 6 (Monday, January 11, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H255-H257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FEDERAL INTERN PROTECTION ACT OF 2015
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3231) to amend title 5, United States Code, to protect
unpaid interns in the Federal government from workplace harassment and
discrimination, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3231
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 ``Federal Intern Protection
Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICES.
(a) In General.--Section 2302 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g)(1) All protections afforded to an employee under
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (D) of subsection (b)(1) shall be
afforded, in the same manner and to the same extent, to an
intern and an applicant for internship.
``(2) For purposes of the application of this subsection, a
reference to an employee shall be considered a reference to
an intern in--
``(A) section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42
U.S.C. 2000e-16);
``(B) sections 12 and 15 of the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 631, 633a); and
``(C) section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. 791).
``(3) In this subsection, the term `intern' means an
individual who performs uncompensated voluntary service in an
agency to earn credit awarded by an educational institution
or to learn a trade or occupation.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 3111(c)(1) of title 5,
United States Code, is amended by inserting ``section 2302(g)
(relating to prohibited personnel practices),'' before
``chapter 81''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.
General Leave
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and to include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Utah?
There was no objection.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in support of H.R. 3231, the Federal Intern Protection
Act of 2015, as introduced by the ranking member, Mr. Cummings. This is
a bill brought to my attention by him. We took it through the process
in our committee and marked it up, and here we are on the floor.
The bill establishes some important protections against the workplace
discrimination and harassment of both unpaid Federal interns and
applicants for Federal internships. Currently, there are no specific
provisions in law to protect these unpaid interns.
H.R. 3231 makes it illegal to discriminate, to sexually harass, or to
retaliate against unpaid Federal interns and applicants for Federal
internships.
Specifically, the bill protects against discrimination and harassment
on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin under
the Civil Rights Act of 1967, under the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act of 1967, and under the handicapping condition under the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Unpaid interns, similar to paid employees, are to be considered
protected against discrimination and harassment.
I thank Mr. Cummings for his passion on this issue to guard against
this discrimination and harassment. I look forward to supporting this
bill. I am glad we could bring it to the floor today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
The bill before us, the Federal Intern Protection Act, would close a
loophole in Federal employment law that currently leaves unpaid interns
open to discrimination and sexual harassment.
Earlier this year our committee held a hearing at which we heard
testimony about sexual harassment and retaliation in an EPA regional
office. During that hearing, both Chairman Chaffetz and I expressed our
disgust at the exploitation of these young women and demanded that
action be taken to prevent this in the future.
Unfortunately, the act of harassing unpaid interns on the basis of
race, religion, age, or, in this case, sex is not prohibited by Federal
law. Under current law, victims rely on the discretion of managers to
prevent the recurrence of this behavior, something that does not always
occur.
As one witness testified: ``Even after finding out about the numerous
harassment victims, the direct reporting manager continued to feed the
harasser a steady diet of young women.''
As we saw at our hearing, allowing this kind of behavior to go
unchecked can have serious consequences on the lives and careers of
those who are interested in government service and on those who are
simply trying to be all that God meant for them to be. There are many
unpaid interns who are willing to commit to working for the Federal
Government. We should protect them from this kind of despicable
behavior.
I want to take a moment to thank Chairman Chaffetz for helping us to
move this bill through the committee expeditiously and to bring it to
the floor. As a matter of fact, in our committee, we received a
unanimous vote on it, and I am hoping that there will be a unanimous
vote on the floor today.
I thank him and I thank his staff and our staff for pulling all of
this together to get us to this moment.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Scott).
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3231, the Federal Intern
Protection Act.
This bill would amend title 5 of the U.S. Code to extend protections
against discrimination and harassment to unpaid interns who work at
Federal agencies. The bill would define an intern as someone who
performs uncompensated voluntary service in an agency to earn credit
awarded by an educational institution or to learn a trade or
occupation.
Internships are often the first real entry into a profession; yet,
unpaid interns are not expressly protected from the discriminatory
practices prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and other
laws and regulations. This bill would remedy this problem and extend
those workplace protections to unpaid interns who may be vulnerable to
egregious treatment.
Madam Speaker, all too often, when unpaid interns have taken cases of
workplace discrimination to the courts, the courts have ruled against
them. In the Second Circuit, a unanimous panel of judges concluded that
unpaid interns are not employees covered by existing laws.
In the 1997 case of O'Connor v. Davis, an employee at a State
hospital harassed an unpaid intern, calling her Miss Sexual Harassment
and subjecting her to sexually explicit comments.
The court stated that it was not unsympathetic to O'Connor's
situation and acknowledged that she was not in quite the same position
to simply walk away from the alleged harassment, as her success at
school was dependent on her successfully completing her internship.
The Second Circuit noted that Ms. O'Connor's dependency on her
employer made her vulnerable to continued harassment much as an
employee dependent on a regular wage can be vulnerable to ongoing
misconduct.
Despite that, the Second Circuit concluded: ``It is for Congress, if
it should choose to do so, and not this court to provide a remedy under
either title VII or title IX for plaintiffs in O'Connor's position.''
As ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the
Workforce, I urge Congress to do more to protect unpaid interns, be it
in the Federal sector, in the Halls of Congress, or in the private
sector.
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce has jurisdiction
[[Page H256]]
over legislation that strengthens worker protections and defends the
civil rights laws of workers, including fighting against discrimination
and supporting diversity in the workplace.
Now that the House is about to complete the consideration of H.R.
3231, covering Federal workers, I am calling on the leadership of the
Committee on Education and the Workforce to move expeditiously to
consider the companion legislation, H.R. 3232, the Unpaid Intern
Protection Act. That bill would ensure that unpaid interns in the
private sector are free from discrimination and harassment as
prohibited by the Civil Rights Act.
{time} 1745
Extending workplace protections to nonpaid interns, who under current
law lack the protections provided by civil rights laws, should be a
priority for the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and that is
because internships have become such an important part of the
workforce.
According to the 2014 State of Internships Report from a college
intern database, InternMatch, about two-thirds of interns surveyed said
internships were important for long-term career advancement and about
the same number even stated that internships should be mandatory.
Student surveys showed that over 60 percent want to intern in the
private sector, about 14 percent in the government sector, and 19
percent in nonprofit organizations.
As Members of Congress, our position should be clear. Regardless of
whether an internship is at a Federal agency, on Capitol Hill, or at a
Fortune 500 company, we must ensure that the unpaid status of interns
does not leave them without a remedy when their civil rights are
violated. To that end, we should begin by passing H.R. 3231, the
Federal Intern Protection Act.
We should then start working on legislation to provide similar
protections to unpaid interns who work in the private sector.
I want to thank Ranking Member Cummings for his leadership on this
bill, along with my fellow cosponsors, the gentlewoman from New York
(Ms. Meng) and the Delegate from Washington, D.C. (Ms. Norton).
I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Madam Speaker, there are some good young people who are
getting their education. They are excited. They have their whole life
in front of them. They get this amazing opportunity to do this
internship. Maybe it is a month, maybe it is 3 months, maybe it is 6
months. It is just a limited portion of time. That is where they are
going to get a base of knowledge and experience that they are going to
be able then to parlay and take into the workforce. It is going to help
shape and mold their futures.
As Members, every one of us rely on interns. We have them in our
offices in our districts and we have them in our offices in Washington,
D.C. We see them in the private sector. We see them all over the place.
They provide a valuable role.
Unfortunately, there are some young people--and we have heard these
stories, and they are horrific--who go into this situation, and
somebody in power, somebody who does get a paycheck, somebody who does
control their time, does ask them to do tasks--does the unforgivable
and asks them--or does something to them that they should never do.
To hear this story that there isn't a law on the books so the courts
can help take care of it, that is just not an excuse. We do a lot of
things in this body, and I would like to think this is one of the
really good things that we do here today, is pass a piece of
legislation like this so we can protect these young people, because if
somebody does break the law and does go forward and does do something
unforgivable, they have some recourse.
If we are going to take their time and we are going to use the
resources of these young people, those people in charge should be held
accountable. I think that is the good we are doing here today.
So to those particularly young women--I am sure there are young men
out there too, I just haven't heard as many of their stories--to those
young women, at least, I hope we are listening and we are doing
something good. That is why I encourage the passage of this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman
from New York (Ms. Meng), one of the cosponsors of this bill.
Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express strong support for
H.R. 3231, the Federal Intern Protection Act of 2015.
Madam Speaker, internships are increasingly considered a resume
necessity for entry-level positions in both the public and private
sector. More and more, businesses, organizations, and government
agencies consider internships a prerequisite experience to full-time
employment. In fact, on college campuses across this country, career
service officers push their students to obtain competitive internships
because they provide valuable professional experiences and are
considered essential.
What we often forget is that unpaid interns are amongst the most
vulnerable of workers. They need these internships to succeed in their
careers. Yet, they are powerless to protect themselves from
discrimination and sexual harassment. Facing these challenges can be
devastating to young interns at the beginning of their careers.
One year ago, a brave and intelligent young woman, Christina, came to
my district office to talk to me about her experiences as an unpaid
intern. Christina had faced sexual harassment. She had no legal
recourse, but she refused to stay silent. She came to my office with a
fellow college student, Anna. They told me about the experiences of
many young college students who had faced sexual harassment as unpaid
interns. I stand here on their behalf today because we can do something
about this.
State legislatures across this country have started to listen. New
York, Oregon, Illinois, California, Connecticut, New Jersey,
Washington, D.C., and New York City have all passed some form of
protection for unpaid interns.
Unpaid internships in Federal agencies, in particular, are coveted
and competitive positions. The Federal Intern Protection Act of 2015
directly addresses this vulnerability by extending existing Federal
protections under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to unpaid interns
working for the Federal Government. We can provide vulnerable interns
in the Federal Government with the protections they deserve.
I would like to thank my colleague, Representative Cummings, for his
leadership on this issue. I also thank Representative Scott of Virginia
and Ms. Eleanor Holmes Norton and their staff for all of their hard
work.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume as I close.
Madam Speaker, there have been several cases where interns have tried
to bring suit and the courts have said that you have no remedy.
Chairman Chaffetz is absolutely right. It is sad when you can have such
an egregious act but no remedy. I think one of the most frustrating
things for anyone is when they have been harmed or when they have been
treated wrongfully and there is no remedy, there is a problem.
The courts have said over and over again: Congress, if you want there
to be a remedy, then you have to act. That is exactly what we are doing
today. I think it says a lot for us as a Congress, and I think it says
a lot for us as a Nation.
Going back to some of the words of Chairman Chaffetz, when we look at
unpaid interns, they do come to these offices trying to get experience
and trying to learn the duties and the responsibilities of a certain
job. They realize that by doing this, it may very well change in a
positive way the trajectory of their destiny. They come in with those
high expectations, only to have them destroyed. Sometimes the damage
can last not for a day or for a week, but for a lifetime.
Then there is another piece that I think a lot of people don't think
about, and that is that it is not always the deed, but it is also the
memory of having gone through these types of incidents.
I think this is a very important piece of legislation. I would urge
my colleagues to vote for it.
Again, I thank the chairman, because we sat there in a hearing and we
heard about a very bad case. A lot of people wonder about the value of
hearings
[[Page H257]]
sometimes, but out of that hearing came this legislation. So, again, I
thank the chairman for all of his hard work in helping us get the bill
to the floor.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the kind words, and I
appreciate the dedication and commitment of Mr. Cummings, Mr. Scott of
Virginia, and others who care deeply about this. I do as well. To be
able to play a role to help shepherd it to this point is an honor and a
privilege.
I urge its passage.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen). The question is on the
motion offered by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3231, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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