I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4636

To prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 23, 1994

Mr. STUDDS (for himself, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr.

EDWARDS of California, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. ANDREWS of Maine, Mr. BACCHUS of Florida, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. BEILENSON, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BLACKWELL, Mr. BONIOR, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr.

CARDIN, Mr. CLAY, Mrs. CLAYTON, Miss COLLINS of Michigan, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. COPPERSMITH, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DELLUMS,

Mr. DERRICK, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. DIXON, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. ENGLISH of

Arizona, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. FAZIO,

Mr. FILNER, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mr. FORD of Michigan, Ms.

FURSE, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HAMBURG, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr.

HOCHBRUECKNER, Mr. HOYER, Mr. HUFFINGTON, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr.

JOHNSTON of Florida, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KOPETSKI, Mr. KREIDLER,

Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. MACHTLEY, Mrs.

MALONEY, Ms. MARGOLIES-MEZVINSKY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MARTINEZ,

Mr. MATSUI, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. MEEHAN, Mrs.

MEEK, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MFUME, Mr. MILLER of California, Mr. MINETA, Mrs. MINK, Mr. MORAN, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OLVER, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. PAYNE

of New Jersey, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. REED, Mr. REYNOLDS,

Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SABO, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. SCHENK,

Mrs. SCHROEDER, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SHAYS, Mr.

SKAGGS, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. STARK, Mr. STOKES, Mr. TORRICELLI,

Mr. TOWNS, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mrs. UNSOELD, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr.

VENTO, Mr. WASHINGTON, Ms. WATERS, Mr. WATT, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr.

WYDEN, Mr. WYNN, and Mr. YATES) introduced the following bill; which

was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
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A BILL

To prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual

orientation.

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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Employment Non-Dis5 crimination Act of 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED.

7 A covered entity, in connection with employment or

8 employment opportunities, shall not—

9 (1) subject an individual to different standards

10 or treatment on the basis of sexual orientation;

11 (2) discriminate against an individual based on

12 the sexual orientation of persons with whom such in13 dividual is believed to associate or to have associ14 ated; or

15 (3) otherwise discriminate against an individual

16 on the basis of sexual orientation.

17 SEC. 3. BENEFITS.

18 This Act does not apply to the provision of employee

19 benefits to an individual for the benefit of his or her

20 partner.
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1 SEC. 4. NO DISPARATE IMPACT.

2 The fact that an employment practice has a disparate

3 impact, as the term ‘‘disparate impact’’ is used in section

4 703(k) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–

5 2(k)), on the basis of sexual orientation does not establish

6 a prima facie violation of this Act.

7 SEC. 5. QUOTAS AND PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT PROHIB8 ITED.

9 (a) QUOTAS.—A covered entity shall not adopt or im10 plement a quota on the basis of sexual orientation.

11 (b) PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT.—A covered entity

12 shall not give preferential treatment to an individual on

13 the basis of sexual orientation.

14 SEC. 6. RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

16 (b), this Act shall not apply to religious organizations.

17 (b) FOR-PROFIT ACTIVITIES.—This Act shall apply

18 to a religious organization’s for-profit activities subject to

19 taxation under section 511(a) of the Internal Revenue

20 Code of 1986 as in effect on the date of the enactment

21 of this Act.

22 SEC. 7. NONAPPLICATION TO MEMBERS OF THE ARMED

23 FORCES; VETERANS’ PREFERENCES.

24 (a) ARMED FORCES.—(1) For purposes of this Act,

25 the term ‘‘employment or employment opportunities’’ does
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1 not apply to the relationship between the United States

2 and members of the Armed Forces.

3 (2) As used in paragraph (1), the term ‘‘Armed

4 Forces’’ means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps,

5 and Coast Guard.

6 (b) VETERANS’ PREFERENCES.—This Act does not

7 repeal or modify any Federal, State, territorial, or local

8 law creating special rights or preferences for veterans.

9 SEC. 8. ENFORCEMENT.

10 (a) ENFORCEMENT POWERS.—With respect to the

11 administration and enforcement of this Act—

12 (1) the Commission and the Librarian of Con13 gress shall have the same powers, respectively, as

14 the Commission and the Librarian of Congress have

15 to administer and enforce title VII of the Civil

16 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.);

17 (2) the Attorney General of the United States

18 shall have the same powers as the Attorney General

19 has to administer and enforce such title; and

20 (3) the district courts of the United States shall

21 have the same jurisdiction and powers as such

22 courts have to enforce such title and section 309 of

23 the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1209).
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1 (b) PROCEDURES AND REMEDIES.—The procedures

2 and remedies applicable to a claim for a violation of this

3 Act are as follows:

4 (1) For a violation alleged by an individual,

5 other than an individual specified in paragraph (2)

6 or (3), the procedures and remedies applicable to a

7 claim brought by an individual for a violation of title

8 VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.

9 2000e et seq.) shall apply.

10 (2) For a violation alleged by an employee of

11 the House of Representatives or of an instrumental12 ity of the Congress, the procedures and remedies ap13 plicable to a claim by such employee for a violation

14 of section 117 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (2

15 U.S.C. 60l) shall apply.

16 (3) For a violation alleged by a Senate em17 ployee, the procedures and remedies applicable to a

18 claim by such employee for a violation of section 302

19 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1202)

20 shall apply.

21 SEC. 9. STATE AND FEDERAL IMMUNITY.

22 (a) STATE IMMUNITY.—A State shall not be immune

23 under the eleventh article of amendment to the Constitu24 tion of the United States from an action in a Federal court

25 of competent jurisdiction for a violation of this Act. In
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1 an action against a State for a violation of this Act, rem2 edies (including remedies at law and in equity) are avail3 able for the violation to the same extent as such remedies

4 are available in an action against any public or private

5 entity other than a State.

6 (b) LIABILITY OF THE UNITED STATES.—The

7 United States shall be liable for all remedies under this

8 Act to the same extent as a private person and shall be

9 liable to the same extent as a nonpublic party for interest

10 to compensate for delay in payment.

11 SEC. 10. ATTORNEYS’ FEES.

12 In any action or administrative proceeding com13 menced pursuant to this Act, the court or the Commission,

14 in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other

15 than the United States, a reasonable attorney’s fee, in16 cluding expert fees and other litigation expenses, and

17 costs. The United States shall be liable for the foregoing

18 the same as a private person.

19 SEC. 11. RETALIATION AND COERCION PROHIBITED.

20 (a) RETALIATION.—A covered entity shall not dis21 criminate against an individual because such individual

22 opposed any act or practice prohibited by this Act or be23 cause such individual made a charge, assisted, testified,

24 or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceed25 ing, or hearing under this Act.
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1 (b) COERCION.—A person shall not coerce, intimi2 date, threaten, or interfere with any individual in the exer3 cise or enjoyment of, or on account of his or her having

4 exercised, enjoyed, assisted, or encouraged the exercise or

5 enjoyment of, any right granted or protected by this Act.

6 SEC. 12. POSTING NOTICES.

7 A covered entity shall post notices for employees, ap8 plicants for employment, and members describing the ap9 plicable provisions of this Act in the manner prescribed

10 by, and subject to the penalty provided under, section 711

11 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–10).

12 SEC. 13. REGULATIONS.

13 The Commission shall have authority to issue regula14 tions to carry out this Act.

15 SEC. 14. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.

16 This Act shall not invalidate or limit the rights, rem17 edies, or procedures available to an individual claiming

18 discrimination prohibited under any other Federal law or

19 any law of a State or political subdivision of a State.

20 SEC. 15. SEVERABILITY.

21 If any provision of this Act, or the application of such

22 provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be in23 valid, the remainder of this Act and the application of such

24 provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be

25 affected thereby.
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1 SEC. 16. EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 This Act shall take effect 60 days after the date of

3 the enactment of this Act and shall not apply to conduct

4 occurring before such effective date.

5 SEC. 17. DEFINITIONS.

6 As used in this Act:

7 (1) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Equal

8 Employment Opportunity Commission.

9 (2) The term ‘‘covered entity’’ means an em10 ployer, employment agency, labor organization, joint

11 labor management committee, an entity to which

12 section 717(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

13 U.S.C. 2000e(a)) applies, an employing authority of

14 the House of Representatives, an employing office of

15 the Senate, or an instrumentality of the Congress.

16 (3) The term ‘‘employer’’ has the meaning

17 given such term in section 701(b) of the Civil Rights

18 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(b)).

19 (4) The term ‘‘employment agency’’ has the

20 meaning given such term in section 701(c) of the

21 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(c)).

22 (5) The term ‘‘employment or employment op23 portunities’’ includes job application procedures, hir24 ing, advancement, discharge, compensation, job

25 training, or any other term, condition, or privilege of

26 employment.
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1 (6) The term ‘‘instrumentalities of the Con2 gress’’ has the meaning given such term in section

3 117(b)(4) of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C.

4 60l(b)(4)).

5 (7) The term ‘‘labor organization’’ has the

6 meaning given such term in section 701(d) of the

7 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(d)).

8 (8) The term ‘‘person’’ has the meaning given

9 such term in section 701(a) of the Civil Rights Act

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

11 (9) The term ‘‘religious organization’’ means—

12 (A) a religious corporation, association, or

13 society; or

14 (B) a college, school, university, or other

15 educational institution, not otherwise a religious

16 organization, if—

17 (i) it is in whole or substantial part

18 controlled, managed, owned, or supported

19 by a religious corporation, association, or

20 society; or

21 (ii) its curriculum is directed toward

22 the propagation of a particular religion.

23 (10) The term ‘‘Senate employee’’ has the

24 meaning given such term in section 301(c) of the

25 Civil Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1201(c)).
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1 (11) The term ‘‘sexual orientation’’ means les2 bian, gay, bisexual, or heterosexual orientation, real

3 or perceived, as manifested by identity, acts, state4 ments, or associations.

5 (12) The term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given

6 such term in section 701(i) of the Civil Rights Act

7 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(i)).

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