I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9693 

To promote the economic security and safety of survivors of domestic violence, 

dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 

Mrs. DINGELL (for herself, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. KUSTER, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Mr. POCAN, Ms. ROSS, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Ms. LEE of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on 

Financial Services, Ways and Means, the Judiciary, House Administration, Oversight and Accountability, and Energy and Commerce, 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 promote the economic security and safety of survivors 

of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 

stalking, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Security And Financial Empowerment for Survivors Act 

6 of 2024’’ or the ‘‘SAFE for Survivors Act of 2024’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Rule of construction regarding more protective laws, agreements, programs, and plans. 

Sec. 5. Arbitration. 

TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER 

GRANTS ON WORKPLACE RESPONSES TO ASSIST VICTIMS OF 

DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE 

Sec. 101. Grant program reauthorization. 

TITLE II—SAFE LEAVE FOR ADDRESSING QUALIFYING ACTS OF 

VIOLENCE 

Sec. 201. Entitlement to safe leave for addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 

Sec. 202. Prohibited acts. 

Sec. 203. Enforcement. 

Sec. 204. Existing leave usable for a qualifying act of violence. 

Sec. 205. Emergency benefits. 

Sec. 206. Regulations. 

TITLE III—SURVIVORS’ EMPLOYMENT SUSTAINABILITY 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Definitions. 

Sec. 303. Prohibited discriminatory acts. 

Sec. 304. Remedies and enforcement. 

Sec. 305. Rulemaking. 

Sec. 306. Attorney’s fees. 

TITLE IV—ENTITLEMENT TO UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION 

FOR VICTIMS OF A QUALIFYING ACT OF VIOLENCE 

Sec. 401. Unemployment compensation for victims of a qualifying act of violence. 

TITLE V—INSURANCE PROTECTIONS AND SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS 

OF A QUALIFYING ACT OF VIOLENCE 

Subtitle A—Insurance Protections 

Sec. 501. Definitions. 

Sec. 502. Discriminatory acts prohibited. 

Sec. 503. Insurance protocols for victims of a qualifying act of violence. 

Sec. 504. Reasons for adverse actions. 

Sec. 505. Life insurance. 

Sec. 506. Subrogation without consent prohibited. 

Sec. 507. Enforcement. 

Sec. 508. Applicability. 


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Subtitle B—Supporting and Empowering Victims 

Sec. 511. Qualifying acts of violence education and information programs for 

victims. 

Sec. 512. Investing in public health infrastructure to improve support for victims. 

TITLE VI—SEVERABILITY 

Sec. 601. Severability. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Gender-based violence is prevalent in the 

4 United States. According to the Centers for Disease 

5 Control and Prevention, almost 1 in 4 women report 

6 having experienced severe physical violence from an 

7 intimate partner in their lifetime and 1 in 4 women 

8 reported an attempted or completed rape during 

9 their lifetime. Such violence has a devastating im10 pact on women’s physical and emotional health, fi11 nancial security, and ability to maintain their jobs, 

12 and thus impacts interstate commerce and economic 

13 security. 

14 (2) A large percentage of the workforce are sur15 vivors of domestic and sexual violence, and many of 

16 them struggle to remain connected to the workforce 

17 as they face numerous challenges in obtaining and 

18 maintaining employment as a consequence of the 

19 abuse. 

20 (3) The Office on Violence Against Women of 

21 the Department of Justice defines domestic violence 


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1 as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship 

2 that is used by one intimate partner to gain or 

3 maintain power and control over another intimate 

4 partner. Domestic violence can include physical, sex5 ual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or 

6 threats of actions that influence another person. Do7 mestic violence includes any behaviors that intimi8 date, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, ter9 rorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or 

10 wound an individual. 

11 (4) Homicide is one of the leading causes of 

12 death for women on the job. Domestic partners or 

13 relatives commit 43 percent of workplace homicides 

14 against women. One study found that intimate part15 ner violence resulted in 142 homicides among women 

16 at work in the United States from 2003 to 2008, a 

17 figure which represents 22 percent of the 648 work18 place homicides among women during the period. In 

19 fact, in 2010, homicides against women at work in20 creased by 13 percent despite continuous declines in 

21 overall workplace homicides in recent years. 

22 (5) Women in the United States are 28 times 

23 more likely to be murdered with guns than women 

24 in other high-income countries. Female intimate 

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1 arm than all other means combined. The presence of 

2 a gun in domestic violence situations increases the 

3 risk of homicide for women by 500 percent. 

4 (6) Violence can have a dramatic impact on the 

5 survivor of such violence. Studies indicate that 44 

6 percent of surveyed employed adults experienced the 

7 effect of domestic violence in the workplace, domes8 tic violence victims report that they lost a job, and 

9 1 in 3 domestic violence victims report that they lost 

10 a job due to domestic violence. Another recent sur11 vey found that 78 percent of offenders used work12 place resources to express anger, check up on, pres13 sure, or threaten a survivor of sexual assault, wheth14 er occurring in or out of the workplace, can impair 

15 an employee’s work performance, require time away 

16 from work, and undermine the employee’s ability to 

17 maintain a job. Nearly 50 percent of sexual assault 

18 survivors lose their jobs or are forced to quit in the 

19 aftermath of the assaults. 

20 (7) In a study commission by the Office on Vio21 lence Against Women of the Department of Justice, 

22 66 percent of respondents said an abusive partner 

23 had disrupted their ability to complete education or 

24 training through tactics such as not allowing them 

25 access to money to pay for school, socially isolating 


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1 the survivor, controlling or monitoring their mobility, 

2 using physical or sexual violence, and damaging or 

3 destroying personal property. 

4 (8) Significant barriers survivors confront in5 clude housing, transportation, and child care. Nine6 ty-two percent of homeless women have experienced 

7 domestic violence, and more than 50 percent cite do8 mestic violence as the direct cause for homelessness. 

9 Survivors are deprived of their autonomy, liberty, 

10 and security, and face tremendous threats to their 

11 health and safety. 

12 (9) The National Institutes of Health report 

13 that survivors of severe intimate partner violence 

14 lose nearly 8,000,000 days of paid work, which is 

15 the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs 

16 and almost 5,600,000 days of household productivity 

17 each year. Therefore, women disproportionately need 

18 time off to care for their health or to find safety so19 lutions, such as obtaining a restraining order or 

20 finding housing, to avoid or prevent further violence. 

21 (10) Annual costs of intimate partner violence 

22 are estimated over $8,300,000,000. According to the 

23 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 

24 costs of intimate partner violence against women in 

25 1995 exceeded an estimated $5,800,000,000. These 


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1 costs included nearly $4,100,000,000 in the direct 

2 costs of medical and mental health care and nearly 

3 $1,800,000,000 in the indirect costs of lost produc4 tivity. These statistics are generally considered to be 

5 underestimated because the costs associated with the 

6 criminal justice system are not included. 

7 (11) Studies estimate that work days lost due 

8 to intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or 

9 stalking over victims’ lifetimes are worth an esti10 mated $137,800,000,000 (calculated using 2022 dol11 lars). According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 

12 about 3,400,000 of all persons age 16 or older were 

13 victims of stalking in 2019. Moreover, 17 percent of 

14 stalking victims describe losing a job or job opportu15 nities, 1 in 8 employed stalking victims lose time 

16 from work as a result of their victimization, and 

17 more than half lose 5 days of work or more. 

18 (12) Fifty-five percent of senior executives re19 cently surveyed said domestic violence has a harmful 

20 effect on their company’s productivity. Seventy-eight 

21 percent of human resources professionals consider 

22 partner violence a workplace issue. However, more 

23 than 70 percent of United States workplaces have no 

24 formal program or policy that addresses workplace 

25 violence, let alone domestic violence. In fact, only 20 


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1 percent of employers provided training on domestic 

2 violence. 

3 (13) Studies indicate that one of the best pre4 dictors of whether a survivor will be able to stay 

5 away from his or her abuser is the degree of his or 

6 her economic independence. However, domestic vio7 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking 

8 often negatively impact a survivor’s ability to main9 tain employment. 

10 (14) Abusers frequently seek to exert financial 

11 control over their partners by actively interfering 

12 with their ability to work, including preventing their 

13 partners from going to work, harassing their part14 ners at work, limiting their partners’ access to cash 

15 or transportation, and sabotaging their partners’ 

16 child care arrangements. 

17 (15) Economic abuse refers to behaviors that 

18 control an intimate partner’s ability to acquire, use, 

19 and maintain access to, money, credit, ownership of 

20 assets, or access to governmental or private financial 

21 benefits, including defaulting on joint obligations 

22 (e.g. school loans, credit card debt, mortgage, or 

23 rent). Other forms may include— 

24 (A) preventing someone from attending 

25 school; 


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1 (B) threatening to or actually terminating 

2 employment; 

3 (C) controlling or withholding access to 

4 cash, checking, or credit accounts; and 

5 (D) attempts to damage or sabotage an in6 timate partner’s creditworthiness, including 

7 forcing a survivor to write bad checks, taking 

8 on debt in the survivor’s name, including forc9 ing a survivor to default on payments related to 

10 household needs, such as housing, or forcing a 

11 survivor into bankruptcy. 

12 (16) Economic abuse is a significant aspect of 

13 teen dating violence, and has harmful long-term im14 pacts on educational attainment, employment oppor15 tunities, and financial independence. 

16 (17) The Patient Protection and Affordable 

17 Care Act (Public Law 111–148), and the amend18 ments made by such Act, ensures that most health 

19 plans must cover preventive services, including 

20 screening and counseling for domestic violence, at no 

21 additional cost. In addition, it prohibits insurance 

22 companies from discriminating against patients for 

23 preexisting conditions, like domestic violence. 


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1 (18) Yet, more can be done to help survivors. 

2 Federal law in effect on the day before the date of 

3 enactment of this Act does not explicitly— 

4 (A) authorize survivors of domestic vio5 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalk6 ing to take leave from work to seek legal assist7 ance and redress, counseling, or assistance with 

8 safety planning activities; 

9 (B) address the eligibility of survivors of 

10 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual as11 sault, stalking, sexual harassment, family vio12 lence, gender-based violence and harassment, or 

13 trafficking for unemployment compensation; 

14 (C) provide job protection to survivors of 

15 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual as16 sault, stalking, sexual harassment, family vio17 lence, gender-based violence and harassment, or 

18 trafficking; 

19 (D) prohibit insurers and employers who 

20 self-insure employee benefits from discrimi21 nating against survivors of domestic violence, 

22 dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, sexual 

23 harassment, family violence, gender-based vio24 lence and harassment, or trafficking, and those 

25 who help them in determining eligibility, rates 


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1 charged, and standards for payment of claims; 

2 or 

3 (E) prohibit insurers from disclosing infor4 mation about abuse and the location of the sur5 vivors through insurance databases and other 

6 means. 

7 (19) October is National Domestic Violence 

8 Awareness Month. 

9 (20) This Act aims to empower survivors of do10 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 

11 stalking to be free from violence, hardship, and con12 trol, which restrains basic human rights to freedom 

13 and safety in the United States. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) COMMUNICATION OF AN INTIMATE VISUAL

17 DEPICTION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘communica19 tion of an intimate visual depiction’’, when used 

20 with respect to an individual, includes a trans21 mission, dissemination, or receipt through elec22 tronic or other communication containing at 

23 least 1 intimate visual depiction of the indi24 vidual without the individual’s consent. 

25 (B) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 


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1 (i) INTIMATE VISUAL DEPICTION.— 

2 The term ‘‘intimate visual depiction’’ 

3 means any— 

4 (I) photograph, motion picture 

5 film, videotape, digital image, image 

6 from social media, or any other re7 cording or other image of an indi8 vidual (other than the person taking 

9 the image), which individual is identi10 fiable from the image itself or from 

11 information displayed with or other12 wise connected to the image, that de13 picts— 

14 (aa) sexual activity, includ15 ing sexual intercourse or mas16 turbation; or 

17 (bb) an individual’s intimate 

18 body parts, whether nude or visi19 ble through less than opaque 

20 clothing; or 

21 (II) deepfake of the individual 

22 used to realistically depict the indi23 vidual such that a reasonable person 

24 would believe the individual is actually 

25 depicted, that depicts— 


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1 (aa) sexual activity, includ2 ing sexual intercourse or mas3 turbation; or 

4 (bb) an individual’s intimate 

5 body parts, whether nude or visi6 ble through less than opaque 

7 clothing. 

8 (ii) CONSENT.—The term ‘‘consent’’ 

9 means an affirmative, conscious, and vol10 untary authorization made by an individual 

11 free from force, fraud, duress, misrepre12 sentation, or coercion. 

13 (iii) DEEPFAKE.—The term 

14 ‘‘deepfake’’ means a video or image that is 

15 generated or substantially modified using 

16 machine-learning techniques or any other 

17 computer-generated or machine-generated 

18 means to falsely depict an individual’s ap19 pearance or conduct. 

20 (2) DATING VIOLENCE; SEXUAL ASSAULT; 

21 STALKING.—The terms ‘‘dating violence’’, ‘‘sexual 

22 assault’’, and ‘‘stalking’’ have the meanings given 

23 the terms in section 40002 of the Violence Against 

24 Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291). 

25 (3) DOMESTIC PARTNER.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘domestic 

2 partner’’, with respect to an individual, means 

3 another individual with whom the first indi4 vidual is in a committed relationship, as defined 

5 under subparagraph (B). 

6 (B) COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP.—In this 

7 paragraph, the term ‘‘committed relationship’’ 

8 means a relationship in which the covered indi9 vidual, and the domestic partner of the covered 

10 individual, share responsibility for a significant 

11 measure of each other’s common welfare. This 

12 includes any relationship between individuals of 

13 the same or different sex that is granted legal 

14 recognition by a State or other political subdivi15 sion as a marriage or analogous relationship 

16 (including a civil union). 

17 (4) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘domestic 

18 violence’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

19 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 

20 (34 U.S.C. 12291), except that the reference in such 

21 section to the term ‘‘jurisdiction receiving grant 

22 funding’’ shall be deemed to mean the jurisdiction in 

23 which the victim lives. 

24 (5) EMPLOY; STATE.—The terms ‘‘employ’’ and 

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1 tion 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

2 U.S.C. 203). 

3 (6) EMPLOYEE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘employee’’ 

5 means any individual employed by an employer. 

6 In the case of an individual employed by a pub7 lic agency, such term means an individual em8 ployed as described in section 3(e)(2) of the 

9 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

10 203(e)(2)). 

11 (B) BASIS.—The term includes an indi12 vidual employed as described in subparagraph 

13 (A) on a full- or part-time basis, for a fixed 

14 time period, on a temporary basis, pursuant to 

15 a detail, or as a participant in a work assign16 ment as a condition of receipt of Federal or 

17 State income-based public assistance. 

18 (7) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ has the 

19 meaning given the term in section 701(b) of the 

20 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(b)). 

21 (8) EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.—The term ‘‘em22 ployment benefits’’ means all benefits provided or 

23 made available to employees by an employer, includ24 ing group life insurance, health insurance, disability 

25 insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational beneVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Oct 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9693.IH H9693

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1 fits, and pensions, regardless of whether such bene2 fits are provided by a practice or written policy of 

3 an employer or through an employee benefit plan, as 

4 defined in section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement 

5 Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002(3)). 

6 (9) FAMILY OR HOUSEHOLD MEMBER.—The 

7 term ‘‘family or household member’’, used with re8 spect to an individual, means an individual who— 

9 (A) is a son or daughter, parent, spouse, 

10 domestic partner, or any other individual re11 lated by blood or affinity whose close associa12 tion with the individual is the equivalent of a 

13 family relationship; and 

14 (B) is not the abuser (as defined in section 

15 501) involved. 

16 (10) FAMILY VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘family vi17 olence’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

18 302 of the Family Violence Prevention and Services 

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 10402), except that such term shall 

20 include an action committed against that individual 

21 by any family member or any person who resides in 

22 that individual’s household. 

23 (11) GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND HARASS24 MENT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘gender2 based violence and harassment’’ means violence 

3 and harassment directed at an individual be4 cause of their sex or gender, or affecting indi5 viduals of a particular sex or gender dispropor6 tionately, and includes sexual harassment. 

7 (B) VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT.—In this 

8 paragraph, the term ‘‘violence and harassment’’ 

9 means a range of unacceptable behaviors and 

10 practices, or threats thereof, whether a single 

11 occurrence or repeated, that aim at, result in, 

12 or are likely to result in physical, psychological, 

13 sexual, economic, or technological harm, and in14 cludes sexual harassment. 

15 (12) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the 

16 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Fair 

17 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 

18 (13) PUBLIC AGENCY.—The term ‘‘public agen19 cy’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 

20 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

21 203). 

22 (14) PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘public 

23 assistance’’ includes cash, benefits issued under a 

24 supplemental nutrition assistance program under 

25 section 4 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 


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1 U.S.C. 2013), medical assistance, housing assist2 ance, and other benefits provided on the basis of in3 come by a public agency. 

4 (15) QUALIFYING ACT OF VIOLENCE.—The 

5 term ‘‘qualifying act of violence’’ means an act, con6 duct, or pattern of conduct that is or could con7 stitute any of the following: 

8 (A) Domestic violence. 

9 (B) Family violence. 

10 (C) Sexual assault. 

11 (D) Sexual harassment. 

12 (E) Stalking. 

13 (F) Dating violence. 

14 (G) Trafficking. 

15 (H) Communication of an intimate visual 

16 depiction. 

17 (I) Other forms of gender-based violence or 

18 harassment. 

19 (J) An act, conduct, or pattern of con20 duct— 

21 (i) in which an individual causes or 

22 threatens to cause bodily injury or death to 

23 another individual; 

24 (ii) in which an individual exhibits, 

25 draws, brandishes, or uses a firearm, or 


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1 other dangerous weapon, with respect to 

2 another individual; or 

3 (iii) in which an individual uses, or 

4 makes a reasonably perceived or actual 

5 threat to use force against another indi6 vidual to cause bodily injury or death. 

7 (16) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘sexual 

8 harassment’’ means conduct that is considered to be 

9 sexual harassment under applicable Federal, Tribal, 

10 or State law. 

11 (17) TRAFFICKING.—The term ‘‘trafficking’’ 

12 means an act or threat of an act that may constitute 

13 sex trafficking or human trafficking, as prescribed 

14 by Federal, Tribal, or State law. 

15 (18) VICTIM OF A QUALIFYING ACT OF VIO16 LENCE.—The term ‘‘victim of a qualifying act of vio17 lence’’ includes— 

18 (A) an individual who has experienced or is 

19 experiencing a qualifying act of violence; and 

20 (B) an individual whose family or house21 hold member has experienced or is experiencing 

22 a qualifying act of violence. 

23 (19) VICTIM SERVICES ORGANIZATION.—The 

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1 fying act of violence, including telephonic or web2 based hotlines, legal assistance and legal advocacy, 

3 economic advocacy, emergency and transitional shel4 ter, accompaniment and advocacy through medical, 

5 civil or criminal justice, immigration, and social sup6 port systems, crisis intervention, short-term indi7 vidual and group support services, information and 

8 referrals, culturally specific services, population spe9 cific services, and other related supportive services. 

10 SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING MORE PRO11 TECTIVE LAWS, AGREEMENTS, PROGRAMS, 

12 AND PLANS. 

13 Nothing in this Act, including the amendments made 

14 by this Act, shall be construed to supersede any provision 

15 of any Federal, State, or local law, collective bargaining 

16 agreement, or employment benefits program or plan that 

17 provides— 

18 (1) greater leave rights for victims of a quali19 fying act of violence than the rights established 

20 under this Act; or 

21 (2) leave benefits for a larger population of vic22 tims of a qualifying act of violence (as defined in 

23 such law, agreement, program, or plan) than the vic24 tims of a qualifying act of violence covered under 

25 this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. ARBITRATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of this Act, no predispute arbitration agreement or 

4 predispute joint-action waiver, as those terms are defined 

5 in section 401 of title 9, United States Code, that relates 

6 to a claim arising out of title II, title III, or title V, shall 

7 be valid or enforceable. 

8 (b) APPLICABILITY.—An issue as to whether title II, 

9 title III, or title V applies with respect to a dispute shall 

10 be determined under Federal law. The applicability of 

11 such a title to an agreement to arbitrate and the validity 

12 and enforceability of an agreement to which such a title 

13 applies shall be determined by a court, rather than an ar14 bitrator, irrespective of whether the party resisting arbi15 tration challenges the arbitration agreement specifically or 

16 in conjunction with other terms of the contract containing 

17 such agreement, and irrespective of whether the agree18 ment purports to delegate such determinations to an arbi19 trator. 


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1 TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF 

2 NATIONAL RESOURCE CEN3 TER GRANTS ON WORKPLACE 

4 RESPONSES TO ASSIST VIC5 TIMS OF DOMESTIC AND SEX6 UAL VIOLENCE 

7 SEC. 101. GRANT PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION. 

8 (a) INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIM

9 SERVICE PROVIDERS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZA10 TIONS.—Section 41501(a) of the Violence Against Women 

11 Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12501(a)) is amended by striking 

12 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘, and to victim serv13 ices organizations (as defined in section 3 of the SAFE 

14 for Survivors Act of 2024) (including community based 

15 organizations) and Tribal, State, and territorial domestic 

16 violence or sexual assault coalitions to enable the organiza17 tions and coalitions to provide resource materials or other 

18 assistance to employers, labor organizations, or employ19 ees.’’. 

20 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—Section 41501 

21 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 

22 12501) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(h) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amount appro25 priated pursuant to subsection (f) for each fiscal 


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1 year, the Attorney General shall not use more than 

2 2.5 percent for the administration and monitoring of 

3 grants made available under this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) EVALUATIONS.—From the amount appro5 priated pursuant to subsection (f) for each fiscal 

6 year, the Director of the Office on Violence Against 

7 Women shall not use more than 5 percent to award 

8 contracts or cooperative agreements to entities with 

9 demonstrated expertise in program evaluation to 

10 evaluate programs under this section.’’. 

11 TITLE II—SAFE LEAVE FOR AD12 DRESSING QUALIFYING ACTS 

13 OF VIOLENCE 

14 SEC. 201. ENTITLEMENT TO SAFE LEAVE FOR ADDRESSING 

15 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, 

16 SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING. 

17 (a) SAFE LEAVE GENERALLY.—An employer shall 

18 provide each employee employed by the employer not less 

19 than 40 work days of leave in a 12-month period to be 

20 used as described in subsection (d) (referred to in this title 

21 as ‘‘safe leave’’), of which not fewer than 10 workdays (of 

22 the employee’s choice) shall be paid. The remaining days 

23 of safe leave may be unpaid leave, except that the em24 ployee may elect to substitute the leave under section 204. 

25 An employee may take not more than a total of 40 work 


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1 days of paid or unpaid safe leave in a 12-month period 

2 under this section (which may be taken intermittently or 

3 on a reduced leave schedule), in addition to any leave 

4 taken under title I of the Family and Medical Leave Act 

5 of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.) or subchapter V of chap6 ter 63 of title 5, United States Code. 

7 (b) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

8 construed as requiring financial or other reimbursement 

9 to an employee from an employer upon the employee’s ter10 mination, resignation, retirement, or other separation 

11 from employment for earned paid safe leave that has not 

12 been used. 

13 (c) REINSTATEMENT.—If an employee is separated 

14 from employment with an employer and is rehired, within 

15 12 months after that separation, by the same employer, 

16 the employer shall (in addition to providing unpaid safe 

17 leave in accordance with subsection (a)) reinstate the em18 ployee’s previously earned paid safe leave. The employee 

19 shall be entitled to use the earned paid safe leave and earn 

20 additional paid safe leave at the recommencement of em21 ployment with the employer. 

22 (d) USES.—Safe leave earned under this section may 

23 be used by an employee for an absence resulting from a 

24 qualifying act of violence if the time is for the employee 

25 or employee’s family or household member to— 


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1 (1) seek, receive, or secure counseling; 

2 (2) seek or secure temporary or permanent relo3 cation or take steps to secure an existing home; 

4 (3) seek, receive, or follow up on assistance 

5 from an organization or agency providing services to 

6 victims; 

7 (4) seek legal assistance or attend legal pro8 ceedings, including preparation for or participation 

9 in any related administrative, civil, or criminal legal 

10 proceeding or other related activities; 

11 (5) seek medical attention for physical or psy12 chological injury or disability caused or aggravated 

13 by a qualifying act of violence; 

14 (6) attend or make arrangements for the fu15 neral or alternative to a funeral or wake of a victim 

16 of a qualifying act of violence who died as a result 

17 of a qualifying act of violence or grieve the death of 

18 a victim who died as a result of a qualifying act of 

19 violence; 

20 (7) obtain or provide childcare or adult depend21 ent care necessary as a result of a qualifying act of 

22 violence; 

23 (8) enroll a child in a new school or make a 

24 care arrangement; 


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1 (9) access financial services or meet with a fi2 nancial professional to address financial issues re3 sulting from the qualifying act of violence; 

4 (10) enroll, renew, or otherwise obtain benefits 

5 or public assistance or other services; 

6 (11) access accessibility accommodations, in7 cluding retrofitting home or vehicle or securing or 

8 being fitted for accessibility equipment; or 

9 (12) take any other steps necessary to protect 

10 or restore their physical, mental, emotional, and eco11 nomic well-being or the well-being of a family mem12 ber recovering from covered acts. 

13 (e) PROCEDURES.— 

14 (1) REQUEST.—Safe leave shall be provided 

15 upon the oral or written request of an employee. 

16 Such request shall— 

17 (A) include the expected duration of the 

18 period of such leave; and 

19 (B) be provided as soon as practicable 

20 after the employee is aware of the need for such 

21 period. 

22 (2) CERTIFICATION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the period in ques24 tion covers more than 3 workdays, an employer 

25 may require that a request for safe leave under 


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1 this section for a purpose described in sub2 section (d) be supported— 

3 (i) by any form of certification, as de4 termined by the employee, consisting of— 

5 (I) a sworn statement of the em6 ployee or the family or household 

7 member, or another person with 

8 knowledge of the situation, as the case 

9 may be; 

10 (II) documentation from an em11 ployee or volunteer working for a vic12 tim services organization, an attorney, 

13 a police officer, a medical professional, 

14 a social worker, an antiviolence coun15 selor, a member of the clergy, or an16 other professional, affirming that the 

17 employee or a family or household 

18 member of the employee is a victim of 

19 a qualifying act of violence; 

20 (III) a police or court record in21 dicating that the employee, or a fam22 ily or household member of the em23 ployee, was a victim of a qualifying 

24 act of violence; 


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1 (IV) a court order protecting or 

2 separating the employee or a family or 

3 household member of the employee 

4 from the perpetrator of a qualifying 

5 act of violence or other evidence from 

6 the court or prosecuting attorney that 

7 the employee or family or household 

8 member has appeared in court or is 

9 scheduled to appear in court in a pro10 ceeding related to a qualifying act of 

11 violence; or 

12 (V) other corroborating evidence 

13 concerning the employee or family or 

14 household member; and 

15 (ii) if the victim is the employee’s 

16 family or household member, in order to 

17 verify the employee’s relationship with the 

18 victim, by information that may include a 

19 sworn statement of the employee, a birth 

20 certificate, a court document, or other cor21 roborating evidence. 

22 (B) SURVIVOR INFORMATION PROTEC23 TIONS.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—The facts to be dis25 closed in any certification shall be limited 


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1 to the minimum necessary to verify a need 

2 for the employee to be absent from work in 

3 connection with a qualifying act of vio4 lence, and the employee shall not be re5 quired to explain the details of the quali6 fying act of violence or how leave will be 

7 used. 

8 (ii) LIMITATION ON INFORMATION RE9 QUIREMENTS.—An employer may not re10 quire an employee, in order to obtain leave 

11 under this section, to produce, discuss with 

12 the employer, or provide— 

13 (I) any additional information, 

14 beyond the information enumerated in 

15 this subsection that establishes that 

16 the employee is eligible for leave 

17 under this section; or 

18 (II) any information that would 

19 compromise the safety of the employee 

20 or family or household member in any 

21 way. 

22 (C) TIMELINESS.—The employee shall pro23 vide a copy of such certification to the employer 

24 in a timely manner, and not later than 30 days 

25 after the first day of the period of leave, to the 


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1 extent practicable. The employer shall not delay 

2 the commencement of the period of leave on the 

3 basis that the employer has not yet received the 

4 certification. 

5 (3) PROHIBITION.—An employer may not re6 quire, as a condition of providing safe leave under 

7 this title, that the employee involved search for or 

8 find a replacement employee to cover the hours dur9 ing which the employee is using safe leave. 

10 (f) CONFIDENTIALITY; NONDISCLOSURE FOR VIC11 TIMS.— 

12 (1) CONFIDENTIALITY.—All information pro13 vided to the employer pursuant to subsection (e), 

14 and the fact that the employee or family or house15 hold member is a victim of a qualifying act of vio16 lence, and the employee has requested or obtained 

17 safe leave pursuant to this section, shall be retained 

18 in the strictest confidence by the employer, except to 

19 the extent that disclosure is— 

20 (A) requested or consented to by the em21 ployee in writing; or 

22 (B) otherwise required by applicable Fed23 eral or State law. 

24 (2) CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS.—The 

25 provision of any information under this section does 


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1 not waive or diminish the confidential or privileged 

2 nature of communications between a victim of a 

3 qualifying act of violence with one or more of the in4 dividuals or entities providing information under 

5 subclause (II), (III), (IV), or (V) of clause (i), or 

6 clause (ii), of subsection (e)(2)(A). 

7 (3) NONDISCLOSURE.—If an employer pos8 sesses health information about an employee or an 

9 employee’s family or household member in connec10 tion with a certification under this section, such in11 formation shall— 

12 (A) be maintained on a separate form and 

13 in a separate file from other personnel informa14 tion; 

15 (B) be treated as a confidential medical 

16 record; and 

17 (C) not be disclosed except to the affected 

18 employee or with the written permission of the 

19 affected employee. 

20 (g) EMPLOYMENT AND BENEFITS.— 

21 (1) RESTORATION TO POSITION.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

23 paragraph (2), any employee who takes leave 

24 under this section for the intended purpose of 


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1 the leave shall be entitled, on return from such 

2 leave— 

3 (i) to be restored by the employer to 

4 the position of employment held by the em5 ployee when the leave commenced; or 

6 (ii) to be restored to an equivalent po7 sition with equivalent employment benefits, 

8 pay, and other terms and conditions of em9 ployment. 

10 (B) LOSS OF BENEFITS.—The taking of 

11 leave under this section shall not result in the 

12 loss of any employment benefit accrued prior to 

13 the date on which the leave commenced. 

14 (C) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this sub15 section shall be construed to entitle any re16 stored employee to any accrual, right, benefit, 

17 or position described in section 104(a)(3) of the 

18 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 

19 U.S.C. 2614(a)(3)). 

20 (D) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

21 paragraph shall be construed to prohibit an em22 ployer from requiring an employee on leave 

23 under this section to report periodically to the 

24 employer on the status and intention of the em25 ployee to return to work. 


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1 (2) MAINTENANCE OF HEALTH BENEFITS.— 

2 During any period that an employee takes leave 

3 under this section, the employer shall maintain cov4 erage under any group health plan (meaning a group 

5 health plan as defined in section 5000(b)(1) of the 

6 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or an employee wel7 fare benefit plan as defined in section 3(1) of the 

8 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 

9 (29 U.S.C. 1002(1))) for the duration of such leave 

10 at the level and under the conditions coverage would 

11 have been provided if the employee had continued in 

12 employment continuously for the duration of such 

13 leave. 

14 SEC. 202. PROHIBITED ACTS. 

15 (a) INTERFERENCE WITH RIGHTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any 

17 person to interfere with, restrain, deny, or retaliate 

18 against an individual because of the exercise of, or 

19 the attempt to exercise, any right provided under 

20 section 201, including through— 

21 (A) discharging or in any other manner 

22 discriminating against (including retaliating 

23 against) an individual because the individual 

24 has requested, indicated an intent to request, or 

25 taken safe leave; or 


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1 (B) using the request for or use of such 

2 leave as a negative factor in an employment ac3 tion. 

4 (2) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION OF RETALIA5 TION.—Any adverse action (including any action de6 scribed in paragraph (1)) taken against an employee 

7 in the 12-month period after an employee takes any 

8 leave for which the employee is eligible shall estab9 lish a rebuttal presumption that the action of the 

10 employer is retaliating against such employee in vio11 lation of paragraph (1). 

12 (3) DISCRIMINATION.—It shall be unlawful for 

13 any employer to discharge or in any other manner 

14 discriminate against any individual for opposing any 

15 practice made unlawful by section 201. 

16 (b) INTERFERENCE WITH PROCEEDINGS OR INQUIR17 IES.—It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge or 

18 in any other manner discriminate against any individual 

19 because such individual— 

20 (1) has filed any charge, or has instituted or 

21 caused to be instituted any proceeding, under or re22 lated to section 201; 

23 (2) has given, or is about to give, any informa24 tion in connection with any inquiry or proceeding re25 lating to any right provided under section 201; or 


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1 (3) has testified, or is about to testify, in any 

2 inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided 

3 under section 201. 

4 SEC. 203. ENFORCEMENT. 

5 (a) CIVIL ACTION BY AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS.— 

6 (1) LIABILITY.—Any employer that violates sec7 tion 201 or 202 shall be liable to any individual af8 fected— 

9 (A) for damages equal to— 

10 (i) the greater of, $1,000 or the 

11 amount of— 

12 (I) any wages, salary, employ13 ment benefits, or other compensation 

14 denied or lost to such individual by 

15 reason of the violation; or 

16 (II) in a case in which wages, 

17 salary, employment benefits, or other 

18 compensation has not been denied or 

19 lost to the individual, any actual mon20 etary losses sustained by the indi21 vidual as a direct result of the viola22 tion; 

23 (ii) the interest on the amount de24 scribed in clause (i) calculated at the pre25 vailing rate; and 


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1 (iii) an additional amount as liq2 uidated damages equal to the sum of the 

3 amount described in clause (i) and the in4 terest described in clause (ii), except that 

5 if an employer that has violated section 

6 201 or 202 proves to the satisfaction of 

7 the court that the act or omission that vio8 lated section 201 or 202 was in good faith 

9 and that the employer had reasonable 

10 grounds for believing that the act or omis11 sion was not a violation of section 201 or 

12 202, such court may, in the discretion of 

13 the court, reduce the amount of the liabil14 ity to the amount and interest determined 

15 under clauses (i) and (ii), respectively; and 

16 (B) for such equitable relief as may be ap17 propriate, including employment, reinstatement, 

18 and promotion. 

19 (2) RIGHT OF ACTION.—An action to recover 

20 the damages or equitable relief prescribed in para21 graph (1) may be maintained against any employer 

22 in any Federal or State court of competent jurisdic23 tion by any one or more affected individuals for and 

24 on behalf of— 

25 (A) the individuals; or 


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1 (B) the individuals and other individuals 

2 similarly situated. 

3 (3) FEES AND COSTS.—The court in such an 

4 action shall, in addition to any judgment awarded to 

5 the plaintiff, allow a reasonable attorney’s fee, rea6 sonable expert witness fees, and other costs of the 

7 action to be paid by the defendant. 

8 (4) LIMITATIONS.—The right provided by para9 graph (2) to bring an action by or on behalf of any 

10 affected individual shall terminate— 

11 (A) on the filing of a complaint by the Sec12 retary of Labor in an action under subsection 

13 (b) in which restraint is sought of any further 

14 delay in the payment of the amount described 

15 in paragraph (1)(A) to such individual by an 

16 employer responsible under paragraph (1) for 

17 the payment; or 

18 (B) on the filing of a complaint by the Sec19 retary of Labor in an action under subsection 

20 (b) in which a recovery is sought of the dam21 ages described in paragraph (1)(A) owing to an 

22 affected individual by an employer liable under 

23 paragraph (1), 


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1 unless the action described in subparagraph (A) or 

2 (B) is dismissed without prejudice on motion of the 

3 Secretary of Labor. 

4 (b) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY OF LABOR.— 

5 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—The Secretary 

6 of Labor shall receive, investigate, and attempt to 

7 resolve complaints of violations of section 201 and 

8 202 in the same manner as the Secretary of Labor 

9 receives, investigates, and attempts to resolve com10 plaints of violations of sections 6 and 7 of the Fair 

11 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206 and 

12 207). 

13 (2) CIVIL ACTION.—The Secretary of Labor 

14 may bring an action in any court of competent juris15 diction to recover the damages described in sub16 section (a)(1)(A). 

17 (3) SUMS RECOVERED.—Any sums recovered by 

18 the Secretary of Labor pursuant to paragraph (2) 

19 shall be held in a special deposit account and shall 

20 be paid, on order of the Secretary, directly to each 

21 individual affected. Any such sums not paid to such 

22 an individual because of inability to do so within a 

23 period of 3 years shall be deposited into the Treas24 ury of the United States as miscellaneous receipts. 


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1 (4) CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES.—In addition 

2 to the penalties payable to an affected individual 

3 under this subsection, any employer that violates 

4 section 201 or 202 shall be subject to a penalty pay5 able to the Secretary of Labor of $1,000 per viola6 tion for each individual affected. 

7 (c) LIMITATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), an action may be brought under this sub10 section not later than 2 years after the date of the 

11 last event constituting the alleged violation for which 

12 the action is brought. 

13 (2) WILLFUL VIOLATION.—In the case of such 

14 action brought for a willful violation of section 202, 

15 such action may be brought within 3 years after the 

16 date of the last event constituting the alleged viola17 tion for which such action is brought. 

18 (3) COMMENCEMENT.—In determining when an 

19 action is commenced by the Secretary of Labor 

20 under this section for the purposes of this sub21 section, it shall be considered to be commenced on 

22 the date when the complaint is filed. 

23 (d) ACTION FOR INJUNCTION BY SECRETARY OF

24 LABOR.—The district courts of the United States shall 


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1 have jurisdiction, for cause shown, in an action brought 

2 by the Secretary of Labor— 

3 (1) to restrain violations of section 201 or 202, 

4 including the restraint of any withholding of pay5 ment of wages, salary, employment benefits, or other 

6 compensation, plus interest, found by the court to be 

7 due to affected individuals; or 

8 (2) to award such other equitable relief as may 

9 be appropriate, including employment, reinstate10 ment, and promotion. 

11 (e) SOLICITOR OF LABOR.—The Solicitor of Labor 

12 may appear for and represent the Secretary of Labor on 

13 any litigation brought under this section. 

14 (f) EMPLOYER LIABILITY UNDER OTHER LAWS.— 

15 Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the li16 ability of an employer to an individual, for harm suffered 

17 relating to the individual’s experience of a qualifying act 

18 of violence, pursuant to any other Federal or State law, 

19 including a law providing for a legal remedy. 

20 (g) OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS.— 

21 (1) BOARD.—In the case of a covered employee, 

22 as defined in section 101 of the Congressional Ac23 countability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301), other 

24 than an applicant for employment, the authority of 

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1 cised by the Board of Directors of the Office of Con2 gressional Workplace Rights. 

3 (2) PRESIDENT; MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION

4 BOARD.—In the case of a covered employee, as de5 fined in section 411(c) of title 3, United States 

6 Code, the authority of the Secretary of Labor under 

7 this title shall be exercised by the President and the 

8 Merit Systems Protection Board. 

9 (3) OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT.—In 

10 the case of a Federal officer or employee covered 

11 under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 5, United 

12 States Code, the authority of the Secretary of Labor 

13 under this title shall be exercised by the Office of 

14 Personnel Management. 

15 (4) LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS.—In the case of 

16 employees of the Library of Congress, the authority 

17 of the Secretary of Labor under this title shall be 

18 exercised by the Librarian of Congress. 

19 (5) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—In the case of 

20 employees of the Government Accountability Office, 

21 the authority of the Secretary of Labor under this 

22 title shall be exercised by the Comptroller General of 

23 the United States. 


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1 SEC. 204. EXISTING LEAVE USABLE FOR A QUALIFYING ACT 

2 OF VIOLENCE. 

3 An employee who is entitled to take paid or unpaid 

4 leave (including family, medical, sick, annual, personal, or 

5 similar leave) from employment, pursuant to Federal law 

6 (including the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 

7 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.) or subchapter V of chapter 63 of 

8 title 5, United States Code), State law, local law, a collec9 tive bargaining agreement, or an employment benefits pro10 gram or plan, may elect to substitute any period of such 

11 leave for an equivalent period of leave provided under sec12 tion 201. 

13 SEC. 205. EMERGENCY BENEFITS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State may use funds provided 

15 to the State under part A of title IV of the Social Security 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) to provide nonrecurrent short17 term emergency benefits to an individual for any period 

18 of leave the individual takes pursuant to section 201 of 

19 this Act. 

20 (b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual who is eligible 

22 for assistance under the State program funded 

23 under that part and for leave under section 201 

24 shall be eligible for such emergency benefits, except 

25 as provided in paragraph (2). 


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1 (2) CALCULATION.—In calculating eligibility for 

2 such emergency benefits, the State shall count only 

3 the cash available or accessible to the individual. 

4 (c) TIMING.— 

5 (1) APPLICATIONS.—An individual seeking 

6 emergency benefits under subsection (a) from a 

7 State shall submit an application to the State. 

8 (2) BENEFITS.—The State shall provide bene9 fits to an eligible applicant under paragraph (1) on 

10 an expedited basis, and not later than seven days 

11 after the applicant submits an application under 

12 paragraph (1). 

13 SEC. 206. REGULATIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

15 (1) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE REGULATIONS.—Ex16 cept as provided in subsection (b), the Secretary of 

17 Labor shall issue regulations to carry out this title. 

18 (2) REGULATIONS REGARDING NOTICES.—The 

19 regulations described in paragraph (1) shall include 

20 regulations requiring every employer to post and 

21 keep posted, in conspicuous places on the premises 

22 of the employer where notices to employees are cus23 tomarily placed, a notice, to be prepared or approved 

24 by the Secretary of Labor, summarizing the provi25 sions of this title and providing information on proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Oct 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9693.IH H9693

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1 cedures for filing complaints. The Secretary of 

2 Labor shall develop such a notice and provide copies 

3 to employers upon request without charge. 

4 (b) OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS.—The au5 thorities described in section 203(g) shall apply with re6 spect to promulgating regulations to carry out this Act 

7 for the respective employees of each administrative officer 

8 described in such subsection. The regulations prescribed 

9 under this subsection shall, to the extent appropriate, be 

10 consistent with the regulations prescribed by the Secretary 

11 of Labor under subsection (a). 

12 TITLE III—SURVIVORS’ 

13 EMPLOYMENT SUSTAINABILITY 

14 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

15 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Survivors’ Employ16 ment Sustainability Act’’. 

17 SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this title: 

19 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘board’’ has the mean20 ing given the term in section 101 of the Congres21 sional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301). 

22 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘commission’’ 

23 means the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis24 sion. 


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1 (3) COVERED FAMILY OR HOUSEHOLD MEM2 BER.—The term ‘‘covered family or household mem3 ber’’ means a family or household member who has 

4 experienced or is experiencing a qualifying act of vio5 lence. 

6 (4) DISCRIMINATE.—The term ‘‘discrimi7 nate’’— 

8 (A) used with respect to an employer and 

9 the terms, conditions, or privileges of employ10 ment, includes— 

11 (i) failing to implement, on request 

12 from an individual, in response to an ac13 tual or threatened qualifying act of vio14 lence, a reasonable safety procedure or job15 related modification to enhance the secu16 rity of that individual or safeguard the 

17 workplace involved (such as installation of 

18 a lock, change of a telephone number or 

19 seating assignment, provision of a transfer, 

20 provision of leave, modification of a sched21 ule, or adjustment of a work requirement), 

22 unless the employer can demonstrate that 

23 granting the request would impose an 

24 undue hardship on the operation of the 

25 business of the employer; and 


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1 (ii) harassment or retaliation de2 scribed in section 303(a); and 

3 (B) used with respect to a public agency 

4 and the amount, terms, or conditions of public 

5 assistance, includes— 

6 (i) failing to implement, on request 

7 from an individual, in response to an ac8 tual or threatened qualifying act of vio9 lence, a reasonable safety procedure, unless 

10 the public agency can demonstrate that 

11 granting the request would impose an 

12 undue hardship on the operation of the 

13 public agency; and 

14 (ii) harassment or retaliation de15 scribed in section 303(b). 

16 (5) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ 

17 means— 

18 (A) an employee (including an applicant), 

19 as defined in section 701(f) of the Civil Rights 

20 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(f)); 

21 (B) a covered employee (including an ap22 plicant), as defined in section 101 of the Con23 gressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

24 1301), and an individual described in section 

25 201(d) of that Act (2 U.S.C. 1311(d)); 


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1 (C) a covered employee (including an appli2 cant), as defined in section 411(c) of title 3, 

3 United States Code; 

4 (D) a State employee (including an appli5 cant) described in section 304(a) of the Govern6 ment Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 

7 2000e–16c(a)); and 

8 (E) an employee (including an applicant) 

9 to which section 717(a) of the Civil Rights Act 

10 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16(a)) applies. 

11 (6) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ 

12 means— 

13 (A) an employer, as defined in section 

14 701(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

15 U.S.C. 2000e(b)); 

16 (B) an employing office, as defined in sec17 tion 101 of the Congressional Accountability 

18 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301); 

19 (C) an employing office, as defined in sec20 tion 411(c) of title 3, United States Code; 

21 (D) an entity employing a State employee 

22 described in section 304(a) of the Government 

23 Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 

24 2000e–16c(a)); and 


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1 (E) an entity to which section 717(a) of 

2 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e– 

3 16(a)) applies. 

4 (7) QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘quali5 fied employee’’ means an employee who is a qualified 

6 individual, as defined in section 101 of the Ameri7 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

8 12111). 

9 (8) REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara11 graph (C), the term ‘‘reasonable accommoda12 tion’’ means a reasonable job-related modifica13 tion or safety procedure, made to address the 

14 impacts of a qualifying act of violence or en15 hance the security of a qualified employee who 

16 is the victim of the qualifying act of violence. 

17 (B) INCLUDED ACCOMMODATIONS.—Sub18 ject to subparagraph (C), the term ‘‘reasonable 

19 accommodation’’ includes an accommodation, 

20 made as described in subparagraph (A), that 

21 is— 

22 (i) any change or adjustment to a job 

23 or work environment that permits such an 

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1 tions of a job, or to enjoy the benefits and 

2 privileges of employment; 

3 (ii) a transfer, reassignment, or other 

4 change in the work location; 

5 (iii) a modified or flexible work sched6 ule; 

7 (iv) a change to work contact informa8 tion, including a name change or limit on 

9 dissemination of contact information; 

10 (v) a change to a workstation or seat11 ing assignment; 

12 (vi) implementation of a confiden13 tiality measure, including removal of ref14 erences to the employee from the employ15 er’s website; 

16 (vii) implementation of an enhanced 

17 safety protocol including providing access 

18 to a parking space close to the worksite or 

19 installation of a lock or other security de20 vice; 

21 (viii) assistance in documenting quali22 fying acts of violence that occur in the 

23 workplace or in a work-related setting; 

24 (ix) implementation of a safety proce25 dure; 


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1 (x) provision of leave or time off; 

2 (xi) restructuring of the job functions 

3 of the employee; or 

4 (xii) any other adjustment to a job 

5 structure, workplace facility, or work re6 quirement in response to the qualifying act 

7 of violence. 

8 (C) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘reasonable 

9 accommodation’’ does not include an accommo10 dation if the employer involved can demonstrate 

11 that the accommodation would impose an undue 

12 hardship on the operation of the business of an 

13 employer. 

14 (9) UNDUE HARDSHIP.—The term ‘‘undue 

15 hardship’’ has the meaning give the term in section 

16 101 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

17 (42 U.S.C. 12111). 

18 SEC. 303. PROHIBITED DISCRIMINATORY ACTS. 

19 (a) DISCRIMINATION BY EMPLOYERS.—It shall be an 

20 unlawful practice for an employer to fail or refuse to hire 

21 or discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate 

22 (including harassment or retaliation in any form or man23 ner) against any individual with respect to the compensa24 tion, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment of the 

25 individual, because— 


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1 (1) the individual is, or the employer perceives 

2 that individual to be, a victim of a qualifying act of 

3 violence; 

4 (2) that individual attended, participated in, 

5 prepared for, or requested leave related to an event 

6 that resulted in the individual becoming a victim of 

7 a qualifying act of violence; 

8 (3) that individual, in response to an actual or 

9 threatened qualifying act of violence, requested a 

10 reasonable accommodation; or 

11 (4) the workplace is disrupted or threatened by 

12 the action of a person whom that individual states 

13 has committed or threatened to commit a qualifying 

14 act of violence. 

15 (b) DISCRIMINATION BY PUBLIC AGENCIES.—It shall 

16 be an unlawful practice for a public agency to deny, re17 duce, or terminate the benefits of, or otherwise sanction 

18 any individual, or otherwise discriminate (including har19 assment or retaliation in any form or manner) against any 

20 individual with respect to the amount, terms, or conditions 

21 of public assistance of the individual, because— 

22 (1) the individual is, or the public agency in23 volved perceives that individual to be, a victim of a 

24 qualifying act of violence; or 


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1 (2) that individual attended, participated in, or 

2 prepared for, an event that resulted in the individual 

3 becoming a victim of a qualifying act of violence. 

4 (c) FAILURE TO PROVIDE ACCOMMODATION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be an unlawful prac6 tice for an employer to— 

7 (A) fail to make a reasonable accommoda8 tion for a qualified employee who is a victim of 

9 a qualifying act of violence and whose status as 

10 such a victim is known or should have been 

11 known to the employer, to address the impacts 

12 of the violence or enhance the security of the 

13 victim involved; 

14 (B) refuse or otherwise fail to engage in an 

15 interactive process within a reasonable time 

16 with a qualified employee described in subpara17 graph (A), who has requested a reasonable ac18 commodation under this subsection; 

19 (C) require a qualified employee described 

20 in subparagraph (A) to accept an accommoda21 tion other than a reasonable accommodation ar22 rived at through the interactive process; 

23 (D) require a qualified employee described 

24 in subparagraph (A) to take leave; and 


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1 (E) take adverse action relating to a term, 

2 condition, or privilege of employment against a 

3 qualified employee on account of the qualified 

4 employee requesting or using a reasonable ac5 commodation. 

6 (2) PRESUMPTION.—If an employer takes any 

7 adverse action (including any action described in 

8 paragraph (1)(E)) against a qualified employee with9 in 12 months after the employee uses any leave to 

10 which the individual was entitled under paragraph 

11 (1), there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the 

12 practice of the employer is adverse action against 

13 such employee in violation of paragraph (1)(E). 

14 (3) DOCUMENTATION.—An employer required 

15 under this subsection to make a reasonable accom16 modation may require a qualified employee request17 ing a reasonable accommodation pursuant to this 

18 subsection to provide certification that the person is 

19 a victim of a qualifying act of violence. The person 

20 requesting a reasonable accommodation pursuant to 

21 this subsection shall provide a copy of such certifi22 cation to the employer within a reasonable period 

23 after the request is made. An employer may not re24 quire a specific form of certification and a qualified 

25 employee may satisfy the requirements of this subVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Oct 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9693.IH H9693

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1 section by submitting any of the following forms of 

2 certification: 

3 (A) Sworn statement of the qualified em4 ployee, the qualified employee’s family member, 

5 or another person with knowledge of the quali6 fying act of violence. 

7 (B) Documentation from a survivor serv8 ices organization, an attorney, law enforcement 

9 personnel, a medical professional, a social work10 er, an antiviolence counselor, a cultural or reli11 gious provider, or another professional who as12 sisted the qualified employee in addressing the 

13 qualifying act of violence, affirming that the 

14 qualified employee is a victim of a qualifying 

15 act of violence. 

16 (C) A police or court record demonstrating 

17 that the qualified employee is a victim of a 

18 qualifying act of violence. 

19 (D) Other corroborating evidence con20 cerning the qualified employee demonstrating 

21 the qualified employee’s status as a victim of a 

22 qualifying act of violence. 

23 (d) CONFIDENTIALITY; NONDISCLOSURE FOR VIC24 TIMS.— 


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1 (1) CONFIDENTIALITY.—All information pro2 vided to the employer pursuant to subsection (a) or 

3 (c), and the fact that the employee is a victim of a 

4 qualifying act of violence (or that the employee’s 

5 covered family or household member is such a vic6 tim), and that the employee has requested or ob7 tained leave or a reasonable accommodation pursu8 ant to this section, shall be retained in the strictest 

9 confidence by the employer, except to the extent that 

10 disclosure is— 

11 (A) requested or consented to by the em12 ployee in writing; or 

13 (B) otherwise required by applicable Fed14 eral or State law. 

15 (2) CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS.—The 

16 provision of any information under this section does 

17 not waive or diminish the confidential or privileged 

18 nature of communications between a victim of a 

19 qualifying act of violence with one or more of the in20 dividuals or entities providing information as de21 scribed in section 201(f)(2). 

22 (3) NONDISCLOSURE.—If an employer pos23 sesses health information about an employee (or an 

24 employee’s covered family or household member) in 


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1 connection with a request or determination made 

2 under this section, such information shall— 

3 (A) be maintained on a separate form and 

4 in a separate file from other personnel informa5 tion; 

6 (B) be treated as a confidential medical 

7 record; and 

8 (C) not be disclosed except to the affected 

9 employee or with the written permission of the 

10 affected employee. 

11 SEC. 304. REMEDIES AND ENFORCEMENT. 

12 (a) EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION.— 

13 (1) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY TITLE VII OF THE

14 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The powers, remedies, 

16 and procedures provided in sections 705, 706, 

17 707, 709, 710, and 711 of the Civil Rights Act 

18 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–4 et seq.) to the 

19 Commission, the Attorney General, or any per20 son alleging a violation of title VII of such Act 

21 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) shall be the powers, 

22 remedies, and procedures this Act provides to 

23 the Commission, the Attorney General, or any 

24 person, respectively, alleging an unlawful prac25 tice in violation of subsection (a) or (c) of secVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Oct 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9693.IH H9693

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1 tion 303 against an employee described in sec2 tion 302(5)(A) except as provided in subpara3 graphs (B) and (C) of this paragraph. 

4 (B) COSTS AND FEES.—The powers, rem5 edies, and procedures provided in subsections 

6 (b) and (c) of section 722 of the Revised Stat7 utes (42 U.S.C. 1988) shall be the powers, rem8 edies, and procedures this Act provides to the 

9 Commission, the Attorney General, or any per10 son alleging such practice. 

11 (C) DAMAGES.—The powers, remedies, and 

12 procedures provided in section 1977A of the 

13 Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), including 

14 the limitations contained in subsection (b)(3) of 

15 such section 1977A, shall be the powers, rem16 edies, and procedures this Act provides to the 

17 Commission, the Attorney General, or any per18 son alleging such practice (not an employment 

19 practice specifically excluded from coverage 

20 under section 1977A(a)(1) of the Revised Stat21 utes (42 U.S.C. 1981a(a)(1))). 

22 (2) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CONGRESSIONAL

23 ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The powers, remedies, 

25 and procedures provided in the Congressional 


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1 Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et 

2 seq.) for the purposes of addressing allegations 

3 of violations of section 201(a)(1) of such Act (2 

4 U.S.C. 1311(a)(1)) shall be the powers, rem5 edies, and procedures this Act provides to ad6 dress an allegation of an unlawful practice in 

7 violation of subsection (a) or (c) of section 303 

8 against an employee described in section 

9 302(5)(B), except as provided in subparagraphs 

10 (B) and (C) of this paragraph. 

11 (B) COSTS AND FEES.—The powers, rem12 edies, and procedures provided in subsections 

13 (b) and (c) of section 722 of the Revised Stat14 utes (42 U.S.C. 1988) for the purposes of ad15 dressing allegations of such a violation shall be 

16 the powers, remedies, and procedures this Act 

17 provides to address allegations of such practice. 

18 (C) DAMAGES.—The powers, remedies, and 

19 procedures provided in section 1977A of the 

20 Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), including 

21 the limitations contained in subsection (b)(3) of 

22 such section 1977A, for purposes of addressing 

23 allegations of such a violation, shall be the pow24 ers, remedies, and procedures this Act provides 

25 to address any allegation of such practice (not 


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1 an employment practice specifically excluded 

2 from coverage under section 1977A(a)(1) of the 

3 Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a(a)(1))). 

4 (3) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 5 OF

5 TITLE 3, UNITED STATES CODE.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The powers, remedies, 

7 and procedures provided in chapter 5 of title 3, 

8 United States Code, to the President, the Com9 mission, the Merit Systems Protection Board, 

10 or any person alleging a violation of section 

11 411(a)(1) of such title shall be the powers, rem12 edies, and procedures this Act provides to the 

13 President, the Commission, the Board, or any 

14 person, respectively, alleging an unlawful prac15 tice in violation of subsection (a) or (c) of sec16 tion 303 against an employee described in sec17 tion 302(5)(C), except as provided in subpara18 graphs (B) and (C) of this paragraph. 

19 (B) COSTS AND FEES.—The powers, rem20 edies, and procedures provided in subsections 

21 (b) and (c) of section 722 of the Revised Stat22 utes (42 U.S.C. 1988) shall be the powers, rem23 edies, and procedures this Act provides to the 

24 President, the Commission, the Board, or any 

25 person alleging such practice. 


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1 (C) DAMAGES.—The powers, remedies, and 

2 procedures provided in section 1977A of the 

3 Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), including 

4 the limitations contained in subsection (b)(3) of 

5 such section 1977A, shall be the powers, rem6 edies, and procedures this Act provides to the 

7 President, the Commission, the Board, or any 

8 person alleging such practice (not an employ9 ment practice specifically excluded from cov10 erage under section 1977A(a)(1) of the Revised 

11 Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a(a)(1))). 

12 (4) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY GOVERNMENT

13 EMPLOYEE RIGHTS ACT OF 1991.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The powers, remedies, 

15 and procedures provided in sections 302 and 

16 304 of the Government Employee Rights Act of 

17 1991 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16b; 2000e–16c) to the 

18 Commission or any person alleging a violation 

19 of section 302(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 2000e–16b(a)(1)) shall be the powers, remedies, 

21 and procedures this Act provides to the Com22 mission or any person, respectively, alleging an 

23 unlawful practice in violation of subsection (a) 

24 or (c) of section 303 against an employee de25 scribed in section 302(5)(D), except as provided 


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1 in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this para2 graph. 

3 (B) COSTS AND FEES.—The powers, rem4 edies, and procedures provided in subsections 

5 (b) and (c) of section 722 of the Revised Stat6 utes (42 U.S.C. 1988) shall be the powers, rem7 edies, and procedures this Act provides to the 

8 Commission or any person alleging such prac9 tice. 

10 (C) DAMAGES.—The powers, remedies, and 

11 procedures provided in section 1977A of the 

12 Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), including 

13 the limitations contained in subsection (b)(3) of 

14 such section 1977A, shall be the powers, rem15 edies, and procedures this Act provides to the 

16 Commission or any person alleging such prac17 tice (not an employment practice specifically ex18 cluded from coverage under section 

19 1977A(a)(1) of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 

20 1981a(a)(1))). 

21 (5) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY SECTION 717 OF

22 THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The powers, remedies, 

24 and procedures provided in section 717 of the 

25 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16) 


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1 to the Commission, the Attorney General, the 

2 Librarian of Congress, or any person alleging a 

3 violation of that section shall be the powers, 

4 remedies, and procedures this Act provides to 

5 the Commission, the Attorney General, the Li6 brarian of Congress, or any person, respectively, 

7 alleging an unlawful practice in violation of sub8 section (a) or (c) of section 303 against an em9 ployee described in section 302(5)(E), except as 

10 provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this 

11 paragraph. 

12 (B) COSTS AND FEES.—The powers, rem13 edies, and procedures provided in subsections 

14 (b) and (c) of section 722 of the Revised Stat15 utes (42 U.S.C. 1988) shall be the powers, rem16 edies, and procedures this Act provides to the 

17 Commission, the Attorney General, the Librar18 ian of Congress, or any person alleging such 

19 practice. 

20 (C) DAMAGES.—The powers, remedies, and 

21 procedures provided in section 1977A of the 

22 Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), including 

23 the limitations contained in subsection (b)(3) of 

24 such section 1977A, shall be the powers, rem25 edies, and procedures this Act provides to the 


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1 Commission, the Attorney General, the Librar2 ian of Congress, or any person alleging such 

3 practice (not an employment practice specifi4 cally excluded from coverage under section 

5 1977A(a)(1) of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 

6 1981a(a)(1))). 

7 (b) DISCRIMINATION BY A PUBLIC AGENCY.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any public agency that vio9 lates section 303(b) shall be liable to any individual 

10 affected— 

11 (A) for damages equal to— 

12 (i) the value of the benefits denied or 

13 lost to such individual by reason of the vio14 lation, or in a case in which benefits have 

15 not been denied or lost to the individual, 

16 any actual monetary losses sustained by 

17 the individual as a direct result of the vio18 lation; and 

19 (ii) punitive damages of not more 

20 than $100,000; and 

21 (B) for such equitable relief as may be ap22 propriate. 

23 (2) RIGHT OF ACTION.—An action to recover 

24 the damages or equitable relief prescribed in para25 graph (1) may be maintained against any public 


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1 agency in any Federal or State court of competent 

2 jurisdiction by any one or more affected individuals 

3 for and on behalf of— 

4 (A) the individuals; or 

5 (B) the individuals and other individuals 

6 similarly situated. 

7 (3) FEES AND COSTS.—The court in such an 

8 action shall, in addition to any judgment awarded to 

9 the plaintiff, allow a reasonable attorney’s fee, rea10 sonable expert witness fees, and other costs of the 

11 action to be paid by the defendant. 

12 SEC. 305. RULEMAKING. 

13 (a) EEOC RULEMAKING.—The Commission shall 

14 issue regulations, to carry out this title. 

15 (b) OCWR RULEMAKING.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

17 after the Commission issues regulations under sub18 section (a), the Board shall (in accordance with sec19 tion 304 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 

20 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1384)), subject to paragraph (2), 

21 issue regulations to implement the provisions of this 

22 title made applicable to employees described in sec23 tion 302(5)(B), under section 304(a)(2). 

24 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Section 304 of the Congres25 sional Accountability Act of 1995 shall be applied 


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1 under paragraph (1) by disregarding subsections 

2 (b)(4) and (c) of such section, and the references in 

3 subsections (d) and (e) of such section to ‘‘sub4 section (c)’’ and ‘‘approval’’. 

5 (3) PARALLEL WITH AGENCY REGULATIONS.— 

6 The regulations issued under paragraph (1) shall be 

7 the same as substantive regulations issued by the 

8 Commission under subsection (a) except to the ex9 tent that the Board may determine, for good cause 

10 shown and stated together with the regulations 

11 issued under paragraph (1) that a modification of 

12 such substantive regulations would be more effective 

13 for the implementation of the rights and protection 

14 under this title. 

15 SEC. 306. ATTORNEY’S FEES. 

16 Section 722(b) of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 

17 1988(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘the Survivors’ Employ18 ment Sustainability Act,’’ after ‘‘title VI of the Civil 

19 Rights Act of 1964,’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—ENTITLEMENT TO UN2 EMPLOYMENT COMPENSA3 TION FOR VICTIMS OF A 

4 QUALIFYING ACT OF VIO5 LENCE 

6 SEC. 401. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS 

7 OF A QUALIFYING ACT OF VIOLENCE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3304 of the Internal Rev9 enue Code of 1986, as previously amended by this title, 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (18), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

13 at the end; 

14 (B) by redesignating paragraph (19) as 

15 paragraph (20); and 

16 (C) by inserting after paragraph (18) the 

17 following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(19) an individual shall not be denied com19 pensation under such State law solely on the basis 

20 of the individual having a voluntary separation from 

21 work if such separation is attributable to such indi22 vidual being a victim of a qualifying act of violence; 

23 and’’; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub25 section: 


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1 ‘‘(g) VICTIMS OF A QUALIFYING ACT OF VIO2 LENCE.— 

3 ‘‘(1) DOCUMENTATION.—For purposes of sub4 section (a)(19), a voluntary separation of an indi5 vidual shall be considered to be attributable to such 

6 individual being a victim of a qualifying act of vio7 lence if such individual submits such evidence as the 

8 State deems sufficient. 

9 ‘‘(2) SUFFICIENT DOCUMENTATION.—For pur10 poses of paragraph (1), a State shall deem suffi11 cient— 

12 ‘‘(A) evidence of such qualifying act of vio13 lence in the form of— 

14 ‘‘(i) a sworn statement and a form of 

15 identification; 

16 ‘‘(ii) a police or court record; 

17 ‘‘(iii) documentation from a profes18 sional from whom such individual has 

19 sought assistance, including those associ20 ated with medical, legal, or religious pro21 fessions or a victim services organization; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(iv) any other documentation deter24 mined appropriate by the Secretary of 

25 Labor or the State; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) an attestation that such voluntary 

2 separation is attributable to such qualifying act 

3 of violence. 

4 ‘‘(3) QUALIFYING ACT OF VIOLENCE, VICTIM OF

5 A QUALIFYING ACT OF VIOLENCE, AND VICTIM SERV6 ICES ORGANIZATION DEFINED.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara8 graph (B), in this section, the terms ‘qualifying 

9 act of violence’, ‘victim of a qualifying act of vi10 olence’, and ‘victim services organization’, and 

11 have the meaning given such terms in section 3 

12 of the SAFE for Survivors Act of 2024, except 

13 that if the corresponding paragraph for any 

14 such term is amended after the date of enact15 ment of this subsection, such amendment shall 

16 not apply for the purpose of this section until 

17 the earlier of— 

18 ‘‘(i) the date the State changes its 

19 statutes, regulations, or policies in order to 

20 comply with such amendment; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) the date that is 2 years after the 

22 date of enactment of such amendment. 

23 ‘‘(B) STATES MAY APPLY BROADER DEFI24 NITION.—A State may adopt a broader defini25 tion of any term under subparagraph (A).’’. 


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1 (b) UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION PERSONNEL

2 TRAINING.—Section 303(a) of the Social Security Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 503(a)) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

5 (12) as paragraphs (5) through (13), respectively; 

6 and 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol8 lowing new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(4) Such methods of administration as will en10 sure that— 

11 ‘‘(A) applicants for unemployment com12 pensation and individuals inquiring about such 

13 compensation are adequately notified of the 

14 provisions of subsections (a)(19) and (g) of sec15 tion 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

16 (relating to the availability of unemployment 

17 compensation for victims of a qualifying act of 

18 violence); and 

19 ‘‘(B) claims reviewers and hearing per20 sonnel are adequately trained in— 

21 ‘‘(i) the nature and dynamics of a 

22 qualifying act of violence (as those terms 

23 are defined in subsection (g) of such sec24 tion 3304); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) methods of ascertaining and 

2 keeping confidential information about pos3 sible experiences of a qualifying act of vio4 lence (as so defined) to ensure that— 

5 ‘‘(I) requests for unemployment 

6 compensation based on separations 

7 stemming from a qualifying act of vio8 lence (as so defined) are reliably 

9 screened, identified, and adjudicated; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(II) full confidentiality is pro12 vided for the individual’s claim and 

13 submitted evidence; and’’. 

14 (c) QUALIFYING ACT OF VIOLENCE TRAINING

15 GRANT PROGRAM.— 

16 (1) GRANT AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of 

17 Labor (in this subsection referred to as the ‘‘Sec18 retary’’) is authorized to award a grant to a na19 tional, State, or local victim services organization in 

20 order for such organization to— 

21 (A) develop and disseminate a model train22 ing program (and related materials) for the 

23 training required under section 303(a)(4)(B) of 

24 the Social Security Act, as added by subsection 

25 (b); and 


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1 (B) provide technical assistance with re2 spect to such model training program; and 

3 (2) APPLICATION.—A national, State, or local 

4 victim services organization seeking a grant under 

5 this subsection shall submit an application to the 

6 Secretary at such time, in such form and manner, 

7 and containing such information as the Secretary 

8 specifies. 

9 (3) REPORTS.— 

10 (A) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Sec11 retary shall annually submit a report to Con12 gress on the grant program established under 

13 this subsection. 

14 (B) REPORTS AVAILABLE TO PUBLIC.— 

15 The Secretary shall establish procedures for the 

16 dissemination to the public of each report sub17 mitted under subparagraph (A). Such proce18 dures shall include the use of the Internet to 

19 disseminate such reports. 

20 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 (A) AUTHORIZATION.—There are author22 ized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2025 

23 such sums as may be necessary to carry out the 

24 provisions of paragraph (1). 


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1 (B) THREE-YEAR AVAILABILITY OF GRANT

2 FUNDS.—The recipient of a grant under para3 graph (1) shall return to the Secretary any un4 used portion of such grant not later than 3 

5 years after the date the grant was awarded, to6 gether with any earnings on such unused por7 tion. 

8 (d) EFFECT ON EXISTING LAWS, ETC.— 

9 (1) MORE PROTECTIVE LAWS, AGREEMENTS, 

10 PROGRAMS, AND PLANS.—Nothing in this section 

11 shall be construed to supersede any provision of any 

12 Federal, State, or local law, collective bargaining 

13 agreement, or employment benefits program or plan 

14 that provides greater unemployment insurance bene15 fits for victims of a qualifying act of violence than 

16 the rights established under this section. 

17 (2) LESS PROTECTIVE LAWS, AGREEMENTS, 

18 PROGRAMS, AND PLANS.—The rights established for 

19 victims of a qualifying act of violence under this sec20 tion shall not be diminished by any more restrictive 

21 State or local law, collective bargaining agreement, 

22 or employment benefits program or plan. 

23 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

24 subsections (a) and (b) shall apply to weeks of unemploy25 ment beginning on or after the earlier of— 


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1 (1) the date the State changes its statutes, reg2 ulations, or policies in order to comply with such 

3 amendments; or 

4 (2) January 1, 2027. 

5 TITLE V—INSURANCE PROTEC6 TIONS AND SUPPORT FOR 

7 VICTIMS OF A QUALIFYING 

8 ACT OF VIOLENCE 

9 Subtitle A—Insurance Protections 

10 SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this title: 

12 (1) ABUSER.—The term ‘‘abuser’’ means the 

13 individual who commits a qualifying act of violence. 

14 (2) INSURED.—The term ‘‘insured’’ means a 

15 party named on a policy, certificate, or health ben16 efit plan, including an individual, a corporation, a 

17 partnership, an association, an unincorporated orga18 nization, or any similar entity, as the person with 

19 legal rights to the benefits provided by the policy, 

20 certificate, or health benefit plan. For group insur21 ance, the term includes a person who is a beneficiary 

22 covered by a group policy, certificate, or health ben23 efit plan. For life insurance, the term refers to the 

24 person whose life is covered under an insurance pol25 icy. 


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1 (3) INSURER.—The term ‘‘insurer’’ means any 

2 person, reciprocal exchange, inter insurer, Lloyds in3 surer, fraternal benefit society, or other legal entity 

4 engaged in the business of insurance, including 

5 agents, brokers, adjusters, and third-party adminis6 trators. The term includes employers who provide or 

7 make available employment benefits through an em8 ployee benefit plan, as defined in section 3(3) of the 

9 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 

10 (29 U.S.C. 1002(3)). The term also includes health 

11 insurance issuers, as defined by section 2791(b) of 

12 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg– 

13 91(b)), health benefit plans, and life, disability, and 

14 property and casualty insurers. 

15 (4) POLICY.—The term ‘‘policy’’ means a con16 tract of insurance, certificate, indemnity, suretyship, 

17 or annuity issued, proposed for issuance, or intended 

18 for issuance by an insurer, including endorsements 

19 or riders to an insurance policy or contract. 

20 SEC. 502. DISCRIMINATORY ACTS PROHIBITED. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—No insurer may, directly or indi22 rectly, engage in any of the following acts or practices on 

23 the basis that the applicant or insured, or any person em24 ployed by the applicant or insured or with whom the appli25 cant or insured is known to have a relationship or associaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Oct 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9693.IH H9693

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1 tion, is, has been, or may be a victim of a qualifying act 

2 of violence or has incurred or may incur claims related 

3 to a qualifying act of violence: 

4 (1) Denying, refusing to issue, renew, or re5 issue, or canceling or otherwise terminating an in6 surance policy or health benefit plan. 

7 (2) Restricting, excluding, or limiting insurance 

8 coverage for losses or denying a claim, except as oth9 erwise permitted or required by State laws relating 

10 to life insurance beneficiaries. 

11 (3) Adding a premium differential to any insur12 ance policy or health benefit plan. 

13 (b) PROHIBITION ON LIMITATION OF CLAIMS.—No 

14 insurer may, directly or indirectly, deny or limit payment 

15 to an insured who is a victim of a qualifying act of violence 

16 if the claim for payment is a result of such qualifying act 

17 of violence. 

18 (c) PROHIBITION ON TERMINATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—No insurer may terminate 

20 health coverage for a victim of a qualifying act of vi21 olence because coverage was originally issued in the 

22 name of the abuser and the abuser has divorced, 

23 separated from, or lost custody of the victim or the 

24 victim’s coverage has terminated voluntarily or invol25 untarily and the victim does not qualify for an exVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Oct 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9693.IH H9693

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1 tension of coverage under part 6 of subtitle B of 

2 title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security 

3 Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1161 et seq.) or section 

4 4980B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

5 (2) PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS.—Nothing in para6 graph (1) shall be construed to prohibit the insurer 

7 from requiring that the victim of a qualifying act of 

8 violence pay the full premium for the victim’s cov9 erage under the health plan if the requirements are 

10 applied to all insured of the insurer. 

11 (3) EXCEPTION.—An insurer may terminate 

12 group coverage to which this subsection applies after 

13 the continuation coverage period required by this 

14 subsection has been in force for 18 months if it of15 fers conversion to an equivalent individual plan. 

16 (4) CONTINUATION COVERAGE.—The continu17 ation of health coverage required by this subsection 

18 shall be satisfied by any extension of coverage under 

19 part 6 of subtitle B of title I of the Employee Re20 tirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

21 1161 et seq.) or section 4980B of the Internal Rev22 enue Code of 1986 provided to a victim of domestic 

23 violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking 

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1 sion of coverage otherwise provided for under such 

2 part 6 or section 4980B. 

3 (d) USE OF INFORMATION.— 

4 (1) LIMITATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—In order to protect the 

6 safety and privacy of victims of qualifying acts 

7 of violence, no person employed by or con8 tracting with an insurer or health benefit plan 

9 may (without the consent of the victim)— 

10 (i) use, disclose, or transfer informa11 tion relating to the status of a victim of a 

12 qualifying act of violence as such a victim, 

13 a qualifying act of violence, medical condi14 tions related to a qualifying act of violence, 

15 or the applicant’s or insured’s status as a 

16 family member, employer, associate, or 

17 person in a relationship with a victim of a 

18 qualifying act of violence for any purpose 

19 unrelated to the direct provision of health 

20 care services unless such use, disclosure, or 

21 transfer is required by an order of an enti22 ty with authority to regulate insurance or 

23 an order of a court of competent jurisdic24 tion; or 


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1 (ii) disclose or transfer information 

2 relating to an applicant’s or insured’s mail3 ing address or telephone number or the 

4 mailing address and telephone number of a 

5 shelter for victims of a qualifying act of vi6 olence, unless such disclosure or transfer— 

7 (I) is required in order to provide 

8 insurance coverage; and 

9 (II) does not have the potential 

10 to endanger the safety of a victim of 

11 a qualifying act of violence. 

12 (B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

13 this paragraph may be construed to limit or 

14 preclude a victim of a qualifying act of violence 

15 from obtaining the victim’s own insurance 

16 records from an insurer. 

17 (2) AUTHORITY OF VICTIMS.—A victim of a 

18 qualifying act of violence, at the absolute discretion 

19 of the victim, may provide evidence of a qualifying 

20 act of violence to an insurer for the limited purpose 

21 of facilitating treatment of a condition related to 

22 such qualifying act of violence or demonstrating that 

23 a condition is related to such qualifying act of vio24 lence. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed 


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1 as authorizing an insurer to disregard such provided 

2 evidence. 

3 SEC. 503. INSURANCE PROTOCOLS FOR VICTIMS OF A 

4 QUALIFYING ACT OF VIOLENCE. 

5 Each insurer shall develop and adhere to written poli6 cies specifying procedures to be followed by employees, 

7 contractors, producers, agents, and brokers for the pur8 pose of protecting the safety and privacy of a victim of 

9 a qualifying act of violence and otherwise implementing 

10 this subtitle when taking an application, investigating a 

11 claim, or taking any other action relating to a policy or 

12 claim involving a victim of a qualifying act of violence. 

13 SEC. 504. REASONS FOR ADVERSE ACTIONS. 

14 An insurer that takes an action that adversely affects 

15 a victim of a qualifying act of violence shall advise the 

16 applicant or insured who is the victim of a qualifying act 

17 of violence of the specific reasons for the action in writing. 

18 For purposes of this section, reference to general under19 writing practices or guidelines shall not constitute a spe20 cific reason. 

21 SEC. 505. LIFE INSURANCE. 

22 Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to prohibit 

23 a life insurer from declining to issue a life insurance policy 

24 if the applicant or prospective owner of the policy is or 


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1 would be designated as a beneficiary of the policy, and 

2 if— 

3 (1) the applicant or prospective owner of the 

4 policy lacks an insurable interest in the insured; or 

5 (2) the applicant or prospective owner of the 

6 policy is known, on the basis of police or court 

7 records, to have committed a qualifying act of vio8 lence against the proposed insured. 

9 SEC. 506. SUBROGATION WITHOUT CONSENT PROHIBITED. 

10 Subrogation of claims resulting from a qualifying act 

11 of violence is prohibited without the informed consent of 

12 the victim of a qualifying act of violence. 

13 SEC. 507. ENFORCEMENT. 

14 (a) FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.—Any act or 

15 practice prohibited by this subtitle shall be treated as an 

16 unfair and deceptive act or practice pursuant to section 

17 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) 

18 and the Federal Trade Commission shall enforce this sub19 title in the same manner, by the same means, and with 

20 the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all ap21 plicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Com22 mission Act were incorporated into and made a part of 

23 this subtitle, including issuing a cease and desist order 

24 granting any individual relief warranted under the cirVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Oct 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00080 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9693.IH H9693

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1 cumstances, including temporary, preliminary, and perma2 nent injunctive relief and compensatory damages. 

3 (b) PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—An applicant or insured who 

5 believes that the applicant or insured has been ad6 versely affected by an act or practice of an insurer 

7 in violation of this subtitle may maintain an action 

8 against the insurer in a Federal or State court of 

9 original jurisdiction. 

10 (2) RELIEF.—Upon proof of such conduct by a 

11 preponderance of the evidence in an action described 

12 in paragraph (1), the court may award appropriate 

13 relief, including temporary, preliminary, and perma14 nent injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive 

15 damages, as well as the costs of suit and reasonable 

16 fees for the aggrieved individual’s attorneys and ex17 pert witnesses. 

18 (3) STATUTORY DAMAGES.—With respect to 

19 compensatory damages in an action described in 

20 paragraph (1), the aggrieved individual may elect, at 

21 any time prior to the rendering of final judgment, to 

22 recover in lieu of actual damages, an award of statu23 tory damages in the amount of $5,000 for each vio24 lation. 


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1 SEC. 508. APPLICABILITY. 

2 This subtitle shall apply with respect to any action 

3 taken after the enactment of this Act. 

4 Subtitle B—Supporting and 

5 Empowering Victims 

6 SEC. 511. QUALIFYING ACTS OF VIOLENCE EDUCATION AND 

7 INFORMATION PROGRAMS FOR VICTIMS. 

8 (a) PUBLIC EDUCATION PROGRAM.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor, in 

10 conjunction with the Secretary of Health and 

11 Human Services (through the Director of the Cen12 ters for Disease Control and Prevention and the 

13 grant recipient carrying out the National Resource 

14 Center on Domestic Violence) and the Attorney Gen15 eral (through the Principal Deputy Director of the 

16 Office on Violence Against Women), shall coordinate 

17 and provide for a national public outreach and edu18 cation campaign, including culturally appropriate 

19 materials, to raise public awareness of qualifying 

20 acts of violence, including outreach and education 

21 for employers, service providers, teachers, and other 

22 key partners. 

23 (2) DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary of Labor, 

24 in conjunction with the Secretary of Health and 

25 Human Services and the Attorney General, as de26 scribed in paragraph (1), may disseminate informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Oct 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00082 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9693.IH H9693

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1 tion through the public outreach and education cam2 paign on the resources and rights referred to in this 

3 subsection directly or through arrangements with 

4 health agencies, professional and nonprofit organiza5 tions, consumer groups, labor organizations, institu6 tions of higher education, clinics, the media, and 

7 Federal, State, and local agencies. 

8 (3) INFORMATION.—The information dissemi9 nated under paragraph (2) shall include, at a min10 imum, a description of— 

11 (A) the resources and rights that are— 

12 (i) available to victims of qualifying 

13 acts of violence; and 

14 (ii) established in this Act and the Vi15 olence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 

16 U.S.C. 12291 et seq.); 

17 (B) guidelines and best practices on pre18 vention of qualifying acts of violence; 

19 (C) resources that promote healthy rela20 tionships and communication skills; 

21 (D) resources that encourage bystander 

22 intervention in a situation involving qualifying 

23 acts of violence; 

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1 nomic security of victims of qualifying acts of 

2 violence; and 

3 (F) resources and rights that the heads of 

4 Federal agencies described in paragraph (2) de5 termine are appropriate to include. 

6 (b) INFORMATION PROGRAM FOR EMPLOYERS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor and 

8 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in 

9 consultation with major women’s advocacy groups 

10 and medical and public health organizations, shall 

11 develop and disseminate to employers information on 

12 the entitlement of victims of a qualifying act of vio13 lence to safe leave under title II. 

14 (2) INFORMATION.—The information dissemi15 nated under paragraph (1) shall include, at a min16 imum— 

17 (A) information describing employers’ re18 sponsibilities and employees’ rights under title 

19 II; 

20 (B) recommendations for carrying out 

21 those responsibilities and providing for those 

22 rights; 

23 (C) recommendations for supporting em24 ployees when the employees seek safe leave 

25 under title II; 


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1 (D) information on best practices for sup2 porting victims of a qualifying act of violence; 

3 (E) information on best practices for pre4 venting qualifying acts of violence; and 

5 (F) information explaining how to obtain 

6 additional copies of the information developed 

7 under paragraph (1) for distribution to the em8 ployees. 

9 (c) STUDY ON WORKPLACE RESPONSES.—The Sec10 retary of Labor, in conjunction with the Secretary of 

11 Health and Human Services, shall conduct a study on the 

12 status of workplace responses to employees who experience 

13 a qualifying act of violence while employed, in each State 

14 and nationally, to improve the access of victims of a quali15 fying act of violence to supportive resources and economic 

16 security. 

17 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

19 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

20 2025 through 2029. 

21 SEC. 512. INVESTING IN PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE 

22 TO IMPROVE SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS. 

23 Section 303(c) of the Family Violence Prevention and 

24 Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10403(c)) is amended by striking 


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1 ‘‘314’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘314 

2 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.’’. 

3 TITLE VI—SEVERABILITY 

4 SEC. 601. SEVERABILITY. 

5 If any provision of this Act, any amendment made 

6 by this Act, or the application of such provision or amend7 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconsti8 tutional, the remainder of the provisions of this Act, the 

9 amendments made by this Act, and the application of such 

10 provisions or amendments to any person or circumstance 

11 shall not be affected. 

Æ 


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