[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.

                          ____________________