II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2043 

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

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 31, 2017 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. FRANKEN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. LEAHY, and 

Mr. CARDIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

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 Act of 2017’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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Sec. 2. Findings. 

TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER 

GRANTS ON WORKPLACE RESPONSES TO ASSIST SURVIVORS OF 

DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE 

Sec. 101. Grant program reauthorization. 

TITLE II—SAFE LEAVE FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, 

DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Entitlement to safe leave for addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 

Sec. 203. Existing leave usable for addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 

Sec. 204. Emergency benefits. 

Sec. 205. Rule of construction. 

Sec. 206. Regulations. 

TITLE III—SURVIVORS’ EMPLOYMENT SUSTAINABILITY 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Prohibited discriminatory acts. 

Sec. 303. Enforcement. 

Sec. 304. Regulations. 

Sec. 305. Attorney’s fees. 

TITLE IV—ENTITLEMENT TO UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION 

FOR SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, 

SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING 

Sec. 401. Unemployment compensation and training provisions. 

TITLE V—INSURANCE PROTECTIONS AND SUPPORT FOR SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL 

ASSAULT, OR STALKING 

Subtitle A—Insurance Protections 

Sec. 501. Definitions. 

Sec. 502. Discriminatory acts prohibited. 

Sec. 503. Insurance protocols for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, 

sexual assault, or stalking. 

Sec. 504. Reasons for adverse actions. 

Sec. 505. Life insurance. 

Sec. 506. Subrogation without consent prohibited. 

Sec. 507. Enforcement. 

Sec. 508. Applicability. 

Subtitle B—Supporting and Empowering Survivors 

Sec. 511. Study and reports on barriers to survivors’ economic security access. 

Sec. 512. GAO study. 

Sec. 513. Domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking education and information programs for survivors. 

Sec. 514. Investing in public health infrastructure to improve support for survivors. 


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Sec. 515. Financial literacy and advocacy for survivors of domestic violence, 

dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 

TITLE VI—SEVERABILITY 

Sec. 601. Severability. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Over 1 in 3 women experience sexual vio4 lence, and 1 in 5 women have survived completed or 

5 attempted rape. Such violence has a devastating im6 pact on women’s physical and emotional health, fi7 nancial security, and ability to maintain their jobs, 

8 and thus impacts interstate commerce and economic 

9 security. 

10 (2) The Office on Violence Against Women of 

11 the Department of Justice defines domestic violence 

12 as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship 

13 that is used by one intimate partner to gain or 

14 maintain power and control over another intimate 

15 partner. Domestic violence can include physical, sex16 ual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or 

17 threats of actions that influence another person. Do18 mestic violence includes any behaviors that intimi19 date, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, ter20 rorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or 

21 wound an individual. 

22 (3) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre23 vention report that domestic violence or intimate 


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1 partner violence is a serious public health issue for 

2 millions of individuals in the United States. Nearly 

3 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men in the United States 

4 have suffered sexual violence, physical violence, or 

5 stalking by an intimate partner. 

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

7 death for women on the job. Domestic partners or 

8 relatives commit 43 percent of workplace homicides 

9 against women. One study found that intimate part10 ner violence resulted in 142 homicides among women 

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

12 figure which represents 22 percent of the 648 work13 place homicides among women during the period. In 

14 fact, in 2010, homicides against women at work in15 creased by 13 percent despite continuous declines in 

16 overall workplace homicides in recent years. 

17 (5) Women in the United States are 11 times 

18 more likely to be murdered with guns than women 

19 in other high-income countries. Female intimate 

20 partners are more likely to be murdered with a fire21 arm than all other means combined. The presence of 

22 a gun in domestic violence situations increases the 

23 risk of homicide for women by 500 percent. 

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

25 survivor of such violence. Studies indicate that 44 


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1 percent of surveyed employed adults experienced the 

2 effect of domestic violence in the workplace, and 64 

3 percent indicated their workplace performance was 

4 affected by such violence. Another recent survey 

5 found that 78 percent of offenders used workplace 

6 resources to express anger, check up on, pressure, or 

7 threaten a survivor. Sexual assault, whether occur8 ring in or out of the workplace, can impair an em9 ployee’s work performance, require time away from 

10 work, and undermine the employee’s ability to main11 tain a job. Nearly 50 percent of sexual assault sur12 vivors lose their jobs or are forced to quit in the 

13 aftermath of the assaults. 

14 (7) Studies find that 60 percent of single 

15 women lack economic security and 81 percent of 

16 households with single mothers live in economic inse17 curity. Significant barriers that survivors confront 

18 include access to housing, transportation, and child 

19 care. Ninety-two percent of homeless women have 

20 experienced domestic violence, and more than 50 

21 percent of such women cite domestic violence as the 

22 direct cause for homelessness. Survivors are deprived 

23 of their autonomy, liberty, and security, and face 

24 tremendous threats to their health and safety. 


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1 (8) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre2 vention report that survivors of severe intimate part3 ner violence lose nearly 8,000,000 days of paid work, 

4 which is the equivalent of more than 32,000 full5 time jobs and almost 5,600,000 days of household 

6 productivity each year. Therefore, women dispropor7 tionately need time off to care for their health or to 

8 find safety solutions, such as obtaining a restraining 

9 order or finding housing, to avoid or prevent further 

10 violence. 

11 (9) Annual costs of intimate partner violence 

12 are estimated to be more than $8,300,000,000. Ac13 cording to the Centers for Disease Control and Pre14 vention, the costs of intimate partner violence 

15 against women in 1995 exceeded an estimated 

16 $5,800,000,000. These costs included nearly 

17 $4,100,000,000 in the direct costs of medical and 

18 mental health care and nearly $1,800,000,000 in the 

19 indirect costs of lost productivity. These statistics 

20 are generally considered to be underestimated be21 cause the costs associated with the criminal justice 

22 system are not included. 

23 (10) Fifty-five percent of senior executives re24 cently surveyed said domestic violence has a harmful 

25 effect on their company’s productivity, and more 


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1 than 70 percent said domestic violence negatively af2 fects attendance. Seventy-eight percent of human re3 sources professionals consider partner violence a 

4 workplace issue. However, more than 70 percent of 

5 United States workplaces have no formal program or 

6 policy that addresses workplace violence, let alone 

7 domestic violence. In fact, only four percent of em8 ployers provided training on domestic violence. 

9 (11) Studies indicate that one of the best pre10 dictors of whether a survivor will be able to stay 

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

12 her economic independence. However, domestic vio13 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking 

14 often negatively impact a survivor’s ability to main15 tain employment. 

16 (12) Abusers frequently seek to exert financial 

17 control over their partners by actively interfering 

18 with their ability to work, including preventing their 

19 partners from going to work, harassing their part20 ners at work, limiting their partners’ access to cash 

21 or transportation, and sabotaging their partners’ 

22 child care arrangements. 

23 (13) Economic abuse refers to behaviors that 

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

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


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1 assets, or access to governmental or private financial 

2 benefits, including defaulting on joint obligations 

3 (such as school loans, credit card debt, mortgages, 

4 or rent). Other forms of such abuse may include pre5 venting someone from attending school, threatening 

6 to or actually terminating employment, controlling 

7 or withholding access to cash, checking, or credit ac8 counts, and attempting to damage or sabotage the 

9 creditworthiness of an intimate partner, including 

10 forcing an intimate partner to write bad checks, 

11 forcing an intimate partner to default on payments 

12 related to household needs, such as housing, or forc13 ing an intimate partner into bankruptcy. 

14 (14) The Patient Protection and Affordable 

15 Care Act (Public Law 111–148), and the amend16 ments made by such Act, ensures that most health 

17 plans must cover preventive services, including 

18 screening and counseling for domestic violence, at no 

19 additional cost. In addition, it prohibits insurance 

20 companies from discriminating against patients for 

21 preexisting conditions, like domestic violence. 

22 (15) Yet, more can be done to help survivors. 

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

24 enactment of this Act does not explicitly— 


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1 (A) authorize survivors of domestic vio2 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalk3 ing to take leave from work to seek legal assist4 ance and redress, counseling, or assistance with 

5 safety planning activities; 

6 (B) address the eligibility of survivors of 

7 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual as8 sault, or stalking for unemployment compensa9 tion; 

10 (C) provide job protection to survivors of 

11 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual as12 sault, or stalking; 

13 (D) prohibit insurers and employers who 

14 self-insure employee benefits from discrimi15 nating against survivors of domestic violence, 

16 dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking and 

17 those who help them in determining eligibility, 

18 rates charged, and standards for payment of 

19 claims; or 

20 (E) prohibit insurers from disclosing infor21 mation about abuse and the location of the sur22 vivors through insurance databases and other 

23 means. 

24 (16) October is National Domestic Violence 

25 Awareness Month. 


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1 (17) This Act aims to empower survivors of do2 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 

3 stalking to be free from violence, hardship, and con4 trol, which restrains basic human rights to freedom 

5 and safety in the United States. 

6 TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF 

7 NATIONAL RESOURCE CEN8 TER GRANTS ON WORKPLACE 

9 RESPONSES TO ASSIST SUR10 VIVORS OF DOMESTIC AND 

11 SEXUAL VIOLENCE 

12 SEC. 101. GRANT PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION. 

13 (a) INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE TO SURVIVOR

14 SERVICE PROVIDERS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZA15 TIONS.—Section 41501(a) of the Violence Against Women 

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

17 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘, and to survivor serv18 ices organizations (as defined in section 201 of the Secu19 rity and Financial Empowerment Act of 2017) (including 

20 community based organizations) and tribal, State, and ter21 ritorial domestic violence or sexual assault coalitions to en22 able the organizations and coalitions to provide resource 

23 materials or other assistance to employers, labor organiza24 tions, or employees.’’. 


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1 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—Section 41501 

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

3 12501) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amount appro6 priated pursuant to subsection (e) for each fiscal 

7 year, the Attorney General shall not use more than 

8 2.5 percent for the administration and monitoring of 

9 grants made available under this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) EVALUATIONS.—From the amount appro11 priated pursuant to subsection (e) for each fiscal 

12 year, the Director shall not use more than 5 percent 

13 to award contracts or cooperative agreements to en14 tities with demonstrated expertise in program eval15 uation, to evaluate programs under this section.’’. 

16 TITLE II—SAFE LEAVE FOR AD17 DRESSING DOMESTIC VIO18 LENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, 

19 SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALK20 ING 

21 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

22 As used in this title, the following definitions apply: 

23 (1) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE; DATING VIOLENCE; 

24 SEXUAL ASSAULT; STALKING.—The terms ‘‘domestic 

25 violence’’, ‘‘dating violence’’, ‘‘sexual assault’’, and 


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1 ‘‘stalking’’ have the meanings given the terms in sec2 tion 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 

3 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291). 

4 (2) DOMESTIC PARTNER.— 

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

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

7 another individual with whom the first indi8 vidual is in a committed relationship. 

9 (B) COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP DE10 FINED.—The term ‘‘committed relationship’’ 

11 means a relationship between two individuals, 

12 each at least 18 years of age, in which each in13 dividual is the other individual’s sole domestic 

14 partner and both individuals share responsi15 bility for a significant measure of each other’s 

16 common welfare. The term includes any such 

17 relationship between two individuals, including 

18 individuals of the same sex, that is granted 

19 legal recognition by a State or political subdivi20 sion of a State as a marriage or analogous rela21 tionship, including a civil union or domestic 

22 partnership. 

23 (3) 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 (4) EMPLOYEE.— 

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

5 means any person employed by an employer. In 

6 the case of an individual employed by a public 

7 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 a person 

12 employed as described in subparagraph (A) on 

13 a full- or part-time basis, for a fixed time pe14 riod, on a temporary basis, pursuant to a detail, 

15 or as a participant in a work assignment as a 

16 condition of receipt of Federal or State income17 based public assistance. 

18 (5) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’— 

19 (A) means any person engaged in com20 merce or in any industry or activity affecting 

21 commerce who employs 15 or more individuals; 

22 and 

23 (B) includes any person acting directly or 

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1 cy that employs individuals as described in sec2 tion 3(e)(2) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

3 1938, but does not include any labor organiza4 tion (other than when acting as an employer) or 

5 anyone acting in the capacity of officer or agent 

6 of such labor organization. 

7 (6) EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.—The term ‘‘em8 ployment benefits’’ means all benefits provided or 

9 made available to employees by an employer, includ10 ing group life insurance, health insurance, disability 

11 insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational bene12 fits, and pensions, regardless of whether such bene13 fits are provided by a practice or written policy of 

14 an employer or through an ‘‘employee benefit plan’’, 

15 as defined in section 3(3) of the Employee Retire16 ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

17 1002(3)). 

18 (7) FAMILY OR HOUSEHOLD MEMBER.—The 

19 term ‘‘family or household member’’, used with re20 spect to a person, means an individual who— 

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

22 domestic partner, or any other individual re23 lated by blood or affinity whose close associa24 tion with the person is the equivalent of a fam25 ily relationship; and 


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

2 501) involved. 

3 (8) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the 

4 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Fair 

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

6 (9) PUBLIC AGENCY.—The term ‘‘public agen7 cy’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 

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

9 203). 

10 (10) PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘public 

11 assistance’’ includes cash, benefits issued under a 

12 supplement nutrition assistance program under sec13 tion 4 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

14 U.S.C. 2013), medical assistance, housing assist15 ance, and other benefits provided on the basis of in16 come by a public agency. 

17 (11) SURVIVOR OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DAT18 ING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING.— 

19 The term ‘‘survivor of domestic violence, dating vio20 lence, sexual assault, or stalking’’ includes— 

21 (A) a person who has experienced or is ex22 periencing domestic violence, dating violence, 

23 sexual assault, or stalking; and 

24 (B) a person whose family or household 

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1 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

2 or stalking. 

3 (12) SURVIVOR SERVICES ORGANIZATION.—The 

4 term ‘‘survivor services organization’’ means a non5 profit, nongovernmental organization that provides 

6 assistance to survivors of domestic violence, dating 

7 violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or to advocates 

8 for such survivors, including a rape crisis center, an 

9 organization carrying out a domestic violence pro10 gram, an organization operating a shelter or pro11 viding counseling services, an organization providing 

12 assistance through the legal process, or another enti13 ty that provides assistance to such survivors. 

14 SEC. 202. 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 30 days of safe leave in a 12-month period. The leave 

20 may be unpaid leave, unless the employee uses paid leave 

21 from the portion earned under subsection (b) or sub22 stitutes leave under section 203. An employee may take 

23 not more than a total of 30 days of safe leave in a 12- 

24 month period under this section, including the portion of 

25 the leave described in subsection (b), in addition to any 


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1 leave taken (directly or indirectly) under title I of the 

2 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611 

3 et seq.), or subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 5, United 

4 States Code. 

5 (b) SAFE LEAVE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a portion of the 30 days 

7 of safe leave described in subsection (a), the em8 ployer shall provide each employee employed by the 

9 employer not less than one hour of earned paid safe 

10 leave for every 30 hours worked, to be used as de11 scribed in subsection (c). An employer shall not be 

12 required, under this subsection, to permit an em13 ployee to earn or use more than 56 hours of such 

14 leave at a time, unless the employer chooses to set 

15 a higher limit. 

16 (2) EXEMPT EMPLOYEES.— 

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

18 paragraph (3), for purposes of this subsection, 

19 an employee who is exempt from overtime re20 quirements under section 13(a)(1) of the Fair 

21 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

22 213(a)(1)) shall be assumed to work 40 hours 

23 in each workweek. 

24 (B) SHORTER NORMAL WORKWEEK.—If 

25 the normal workweek of such an employee is 


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1 less than 40 hours, the employee shall earn 

2 paid safe leave based upon that normal work3 week. 

4 (3) DATES FOR BEGINNING TO EARN PAID

5 SAFE LEAVE AND USE.—Employees shall begin to 

6 earn paid safe leave under this subsection at the 

7 commencement of their employment. An employee 

8 shall be entitled to use the earned paid safe leave be9 ginning on the 60th calendar day following com10 mencement of the employee’s employment. After 

11 that 60th calendar day, the employee may use the 

12 paid safe leave as the leave is earned. An employer 

13 may, at the discretion of the employer, loan paid 

14 safe leave to an employee for use by such employee 

15 in advance of the employee earning such safe leave 

16 as provided in this subsection and may permit use 

17 before the 60th day of employment. 

18 (4) CARRYOVER.— 

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

20 subparagraph (B), paid safe leave earned under 

21 this subsection shall carry over from one year 

22 to the next. 

23 (B) CONSTRUCTION.—This title shall not 

24 be construed to require an employer to permit 


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1 an employee to earn or use more than 56 hours 

2 of paid safe leave at a given time. 

3 (5) EMPLOYERS WITH EXISTING POLICIES.— 

4 Any employer with a paid leave policy who makes 

5 available an amount of safe paid leave that is suffi6 cient to meet the requirements of this subsection 

7 and that may be used for the same purposes and 

8 under the same conditions as the purposes and con9 ditions outlined in subsection (c) shall not be re10 quired to permit an employee to earn additional paid 

11 safe leave under this subsection. 

12 (6) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 

13 shall be construed as requiring financial or other re14 imbursement to an employee from an employer upon 

15 the employee’s termination, resignation, retirement, 

16 or other separation from employment for earned 

17 paid safe leave that has not been used. 

18 (7) REINSTATEMENT.—If an employee is sepa19 rated from employment with an employer and is re20 hired, within 12 months after that separation, by the 

21 same employer, the employer shall (in addition to 

22 providing unpaid safe leave in accordance with sub23 section (a)) reinstate the employee’s previously 

24 earned paid safe leave. The employee shall be enti25 tled to use the earned paid safe leave and earn addiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Nov 01, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2043.IS S2043

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1 tional paid safe leave at the recommencement of em2 ployment with the employer. 

3 (c) USES.—Safe leave earned under this section may 

4 be used by an employee for an absence resulting from do5 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalk6 ing, if the leave is to— 

7 (1) seek medical attention for the employee or 

8 the employee’s family or household member, to re9 cover from physical or psychological injury or dis10 ability caused by domestic violence, dating violence, 

11 sexual assault, or stalking; 

12 (2) obtain or assist a family or household mem13 ber in obtaining services from a survivor services or14 ganization; 

15 (3) obtain or assist a family or household mem16 ber in obtaining behavioral health services or coun17 seling; 

18 (4) participate in safety planning, temporary or 

19 permanent relocation, or taking other actions, to in20 crease the safety of the employee or family or house21 hold member; or 

22 (5) take legal action, including preparing for or 

23 participating in any civil or criminal legal proceeding 

24 related to or resulting from domestic violence, dating 

25 violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 


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1 (d) PROCEDURES.— 

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

3 upon the oral or written request of an employee. 

4 Such request shall— 

5 (A) include the expected duration of the 

6 period of such leave; and 

7 (B) be provided as soon as practicable 

8 after the employee is aware of the need for such 

9 period. 

10 (2) SCHEDULING.—An employee shall make a 

11 reasonable effort to schedule a period of safe leave 

12 under this title in a manner that does not unduly 

13 disrupt the operations of the employer, unless sched14 uling the period of leave in that manner is not prac15 ticable. 

16 (3) CERTIFICATION.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—An employer may re18 quire that a request for safe leave under this 

19 section for a purpose described in subsection (c) 

20 be supported— 

21 (i) by any form of certification (but 

22 the employer may not specify the par23 ticular form of certification to be provided) 

24 consisting of— 


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1 (I) a sworn statement of the em2 ployee or the family or household 

3 member, as the case may be; 

4 (II) a police report indicating 

5 that the employee, or a family or 

6 household member of the employee, 

7 was a survivor of domestic violence, 

8 dating violence, sexual assault, or 

9 stalking; 

10 (III) a court order protecting or 

11 separating the employee or a family or 

12 household member of the employee 

13 from the perpetrator of an act of do14 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

15 assault, or stalking, or other evidence 

16 from the court or prosecuting attorney 

17 that the employee or family or house18 hold member has appeared in court or 

19 is scheduled to appear in court in a 

20 proceeding related to domestic vio21 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

22 or stalking; 

23 (IV) documentation from an em24 ployee or volunteer working for a sur25 vivor services organization, an attorVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Nov 01, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2043.IS S2043

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1 ney, a police officer, a medical profes2 sional, a social worker, an antiviolence 

3 counselor, a member of the clergy, or 

4 another professional, affirming that 

5 the employee or a family or household 

6 member of the employee is a survivor 

7 of domestic violence, dating violence, 

8 sexual assault, or stalking; or 

9 (V) other corroborating evidence 

10 concerning the employee or family or 

11 household member; and 

12 (ii) if the survivor is the employee’s 

13 family or household member, in order to 

14 verify the employee’s relationship with the 

15 survivor, by information that may include 

16 a sworn statement of the employee, a birth 

17 certificate, a court document, or other cor18 roborating evidence. 

19 (B) SURVIVOR INFORMATION PROTEC20 TIONS.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—The certification 

22 shall state the reason that the safe leave is 

23 required with the facts to be disclosed lim24 ited to the minimum necessary to establish 

25 a need for the employee to be absent from 


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1 work, and the employee shall not be re2 quired to explain the details of the domes3 tic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

4 or stalking involved. 

5 (ii) LIMITATION ON INFORMATION RE6 QUIREMENTS.—An employer may not re7 quire an employee, in order to obtain leave 

8 under this section, to produce, discuss with 

9 the employer, or provide— 

10 (I) any additional information, 

11 beyond the information enumerated in 

12 this subsection that establishes that 

13 the employee is eligible for leave 

14 under this section; or 

15 (II) any information that would 

16 compromise the safety of the employee 

17 or family or household member in any 

18 way. 

19 (C) TIMELINESS.—The employee shall pro20 vide a copy of such certification to the employer 

21 in a timely manner, not later than 30 days 

22 after the first day of the period of leave to the 

23 extent possible. The employer shall not delay 

24 the commencement of the period of leave on the 


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1 basis that the employer has not yet received the 

2 certification. 

3 (4) PROHIBITION.—An employer may not re4 quire, as a condition of providing safe leave under 

5 this title, that the employee involved search for or 

6 find a replacement employee to cover the hours dur7 ing which the employee is using safe leave. 

8 (e) CONFIDENTIALITY; NONDISCLOSURE FOR SUR9 VIVORS.— 

10 (1) CONFIDENTIALITY.—All information pro11 vided to the employer pursuant to subsection (c) or 

12 (d), and the facts that the employee or family or 

13 household member is a survivor of domestic violence, 

14 dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and the 

15 employee has requested or obtained safe leave pursu16 ant to this section, shall be retained in the strictest 

17 confidence by the employer, except to the extent that 

18 disclosure is— 

19 (A) requested or consented to by the em20 ployee in writing; or 

21 (B) otherwise required by applicable Fed22 eral or State law. 

23 (2) CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS.—The 

24 provision of any information under this section does 

25 not waive or diminish the confidential or privileged 


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1 nature of communications between a survivor of do2 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 

3 stalking with one or more of the individuals or enti4 ties providing information under subclause (II), 

5 (III), (IV), or (V) of clause (i), or clause (ii), of sub6 section (d)(3)(A). 

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

9 employee’s family or household member, such infor10 mation shall— 

11 (A) be maintained on a separate form and 

12 in a separate file from other personnel informa13 tion; 

14 (B) be treated as a confidential medical 

15 record; and 

16 (C) not be disclosed except to the affected 

17 employee or with the written permission of the 

18 affected employee. 

19 (f) EMPLOYMENT AND BENEFITS.— 

20 (1) RESTORATION TO POSITION.— 

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

22 paragraph (2), any employee who takes leave 

23 under this section for the intended purpose of 

24 the leave shall be entitled, on return from such 

25 leave— 


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1 (i) to be restored by the employer to 

2 the position of employment held by the em3 ployee when the leave commenced; or 

4 (ii) to be restored to an equivalent po5 sition with equivalent employment benefits, 

6 pay, and other terms and conditions of em7 ployment. 

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

9 leave under this section shall not result in the 

10 loss of any employment benefit accrued prior to 

11 the date on which the leave commenced. 

12 (C) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this sub13 section shall be construed to entitle any re14 stored employee to any accrual, right, benefit, 

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

16 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 

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

18 (D) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

19 paragraph shall be construed to prohibit an em20 ployer from requiring an employee on leave 

21 under this section to report periodically to the 

22 employer on the status and intention of the em23 ployee to return to work. 

24 (2) EXEMPTION CONCERNING CERTAIN HIGHLY

25 COMPENSATED EMPLOYEES.— 


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1 (A) DENIAL OF RESTORATION.—An em2 ployer may deny restoration under paragraph 

3 (1) to any employee described in subparagraph 

4 (B) if— 

5 (i) such denial is necessary to prevent 

6 substantial and grievous economic injury to 

7 the operations of the employer; 

8 (ii) the employer notifies the employee 

9 of the intent of the employer to deny res10 toration on such basis at the time the em11 ployer determines that such injury would 

12 occur; and 

13 (iii) in any case in which the leave has 

14 commenced, the employee elects not to re15 turn to employment after receiving such 

16 notice. 

17 (B) AFFECTED EMPLOYEES.—An employee 

18 referred to in subparagraph (A) is a salaried 

19 employee who is among the highest paid 10 per20 cent of the employees employed by the employer 

21 within 75 miles of the facility at which the em22 ployee is employed. 

23 (3) MAINTENANCE OF HEALTH BENEFITS.— 

24 (A) COVERAGE.—Except as provided in 

25 subparagraph (B), during any period that an 


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1 employee takes leave under this section, the em2 ployer shall maintain coverage under any group 

3 health plan (meaning a group health plan as 

4 defined in section 5000(b)(1) of the Internal 

5 Revenue Code of 1986 or an employee welfare 

6 benefit plan as defined in section 3(1) of the 

7 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 

8 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002(1))) for the duration of 

9 such leave at the level and under the conditions 

10 coverage would have been provided if the em11 ployee had continued in employment continu12 ously for the duration of such leave. 

13 (B) FAILURE TO RETURN FROM LEAVE.— 

14 The employer may recover the premium that 

15 the employer paid for maintaining coverage for 

16 the employee under such group health plan dur17 ing any period of leave under this section if— 

18 (i) the employee fails to return from 

19 leave under this section after the period of 

20 leave to which the employee is entitled has 

21 expired; and 

22 (ii) the employee fails to return to 

23 work for a reason other than— 

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1 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

2 assault, or stalking, that entitles the 

3 employee to leave pursuant to this 

4 section; or 

5 (II) other circumstances beyond 

6 the control of the employee. 

7 (C) CERTIFICATION.— 

8 (i) ISSUANCE.—An employer may re9 quire an employee who claims that the em10 ployee is unable to return to work because 

11 of a reason described in subclause (I) or 

12 (II) of subparagraph (B)(ii) to provide, 

13 within a reasonable period after making 

14 the claim, certification to the employer 

15 that the employee is unable to return to 

16 work because of the circumstances that 

17 formed the basis for that claim. 

18 (ii) CONTENTS.—An employee may 

19 satisfy the certification requirement of 

20 clause (i) by providing to the employer— 

21 (I) a sworn statement of the em22 ployee; 

23 (II) documentation from an em24 ployee, agent, or volunteer of a sur25 vivor services organization, an attorVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Nov 01, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2043.IS S2043

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1 ney, a member of the clergy, or a 

2 medical or other professional, from 

3 whom the employee or the employee’s 

4 family or household member has 

5 sought assistance in addressing do6 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

7 assault, or stalking, including the ef8 fects of domestic violence, dating vio9 lence, sexual assault, or stalking; 

10 (III) a police or court record; or 

11 (IV) other corroborating evi12 dence. 

13 (D) LIMITATION ON INFORMATION RE14 QUIREMENTS.—An employer may not require 

15 an employee, under subparagraph (C), to 

16 produce, discuss with the employer, or pro17 vide— 

18 (i) any additional information, beyond 

19 the information enumerated in this para20 graph that establishes that the employee is 

21 unable to return as described in subpara22 graph (C)(i); or 

23 (ii) any information that would com24 promise the safety of the employee or fam25 ily or household member in any way. 


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1 (E) CONFIDENTIALITY.—All information 

2 provided to the employer pursuant to subpara3 graph (C), including a statement of the em4 ployee or any other documentation, record, or 

5 corroborating evidence, and the fact that the 

6 employee is not returning to work because of a 

7 reason described in subclause (I) or (II) of sub8 paragraph (B)(ii), shall be retained in the 

9 strictest confidence by the employer, except to 

10 the extent that disclosure is— 

11 (i) requested or consented to by the 

12 employee in writing; or 

13 (ii) otherwise required by applicable 

14 Federal or State law. 

15 (F) CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS.— 

16 The provision of any information under this 

17 paragraph does not waive or diminish the con18 fidential or privileged nature of communications 

19 between a survivor of domestic violence, dating 

20 violence, sexual assault, or stalking with one or 

21 more of the individuals or entities providing in22 formation under subclause (II), (III), or (IV) of 

23 subparagraph (C)(ii). 

24 (g) PROHIBITED ACTS.— 


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1 (1) INTERFERENCE WITH RIGHTS.—Section 

2 105(a) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 

3 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2615(a)) shall apply with respect 

4 to this title. 

5 (2) INTERFERENCE WITH PROCEEDINGS OR IN6 QUIRIES.—Section 105(b) of the Family and Medical 

7 Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2615(b)) shall apply 

8 with respect to this title. 

9 (3) PUBLIC AGENCY SANCTIONS.—It shall be 

10 unlawful for any public agency to deny, reduce, or 

11 terminate the benefits of, or otherwise sanction any 

12 individual, or otherwise discriminate (including har13 assment or retaliation in any form or manner) 

14 against any individual with respect to the amount, 

15 terms, or conditions of public assistance of the indi16 vidual, because the individual— 

17 (A) exercised or attempted to exercise any 

18 right provided under this section for the indi19 vidual or the individual’s family or household 

20 member; or 

21 (B) opposed any practice made unlawful by 

22 this section. 

23 (h) ENFORCEMENT.— 

24 (1) CIVIL ACTION BY AFFECTED INDIVID25 UALS.— 


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1 (A) LIABILITY.—Any employer that vio2 lates subsection (g) shall be liable to any indi3 vidual affected— 

4 (i) for damages equal to— 

5 (I) the amount of— 

6 (aa) any wages, salary, em7 ployment benefits, or other com8 pensation denied or lost to such 

9 individual by reason of the viola10 tion; or 

11 (bb) in a case in which 

12 wages, salary, employment bene13 fits, or other compensation has 

14 not been denied or lost to the in15 dividual, any actual monetary 

16 losses sustained by the individual 

17 as a direct result of the violation; 

18 (II) the interest on the amount 

19 described in subclause (I) calculated 

20 at the prevailing rate; and 

21 (III) an additional amount as liq22 uidated damages equal to the sum of 

23 the amount described in subclause (I) 

24 and the interest described in sub25 clause (II), except that if an employer 


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1 that has violated subsection (g) proves 

2 to the satisfaction of the court that 

3 the act or omission that violated sub4 section (g) was in good faith and that 

5 the employer had reasonable grounds 

6 for believing that the act or omission 

7 was not a violation of subsection (g), 

8 such court may, in the discretion of 

9 the court, reduce the amount of the li10 ability to the amount and interest de11 termined under subclauses (I) and 

12 (II), respectively; and 

13 (ii) for such equitable relief as may be 

14 appropriate, including employment, rein15 statement, and promotion. 

16 (B) RIGHT OF ACTION.—An action to re17 cover the damages or equitable relief prescribed 

18 in subparagraph (A) may be maintained against 

19 any employer in any Federal or State court of 

20 competent jurisdiction by any one or more af21 fected individuals for and on behalf of— 

22 (i) the individuals; or 

23 (ii) the individuals and other individ24 uals similarly situated. 


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1 (C) FEES AND COSTS.—The court in such 

2 an action shall, in addition to any judgment 

3 awarded to the plaintiff, allow a reasonable at4 torney’s fee, reasonable expert witness fees, and 

5 other costs of the action to be paid by the de6 fendant. 

7 (D) LIMITATIONS.—The right provided by 

8 subparagraph (B) to bring an action by or on 

9 behalf of any affected individual shall termi10 nate— 

11 (i) on the filing of a complaint by the 

12 Secretary of Labor in an action under 

13 paragraph (4) in which restraint is sought 

14 of any further delay in the payment of the 

15 amount described in subparagraph (A)(i) 

16 to such individual by an employer respon17 sible under subparagraph (A) for the pay18 ment; or 

19 (ii) on the filing of a complaint by the 

20 Secretary of Labor in an action under 

21 paragraph (2) in which a recovery is 

22 sought of the damages described in sub23 paragraph (A)(i) owing to an affected indi24 vidual by an employer liable under sub25 paragraph (A), 


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1 unless the action described in clause (i) or (ii) 

2 is dismissed without prejudice on motion of the 

3 Secretary of Labor. 

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

5 (A) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—The Sec6 retary of Labor shall receive, investigate, and 

7 attempt to resolve complaints of violations of 

8 subsection (g) in the same manner as the Sec9 retary of Labor receives, investigates, and at10 tempts to resolve complaints of violations of 

11 sections 6 and 7 of the Fair Labor Standards 

12 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206 and 207). 

13 (B) CIVIL ACTION.—The Secretary of 

14 Labor may bring an action in any court of com15 petent jurisdiction to recover the damages de16 scribed in paragraph (1)(A)(i). 

17 (C) SUMS RECOVERED.—Any sums recov18 ered by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to sub19 paragraph (B) shall be held in a special deposit 

20 account and shall be paid, on order of the Sec21 retary, directly to each individual affected. Any 

22 such sums not paid to such an individual be23 cause of inability to do so within a period of 

24 three years shall be deposited into the Treasury 

25 of the United States as miscellaneous receipts. 


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1 (3) LIMITATION.— 

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

3 subparagraph (B), an action may be brought 

4 under this subsection not later than two years 

5 after the date of the last event constituting the 

6 alleged violation for which the action is brought. 

7 (B) WILLFUL VIOLATION.—In the case of 

8 such action brought for a willful violation of 

9 subsection (g), such action may be brought 

10 within three years after the date of the last 

11 event constituting the alleged violation for 

12 which such action is brought. 

13 (C) COMMENCEMENT.—In determining 

14 when an action is commenced by the Secretary 

15 of Labor under this subsection for the purposes 

16 of this paragraph, it shall be considered to be 

17 commenced on the date when the complaint is 

18 filed. 

19 (4) ACTION FOR INJUNCTION BY SECRETARY

20 OF LABOR.—The district courts of the United States 

21 shall have jurisdiction, for cause shown, in an action 

22 brought by the Secretary of Labor— 

23 (A) to restrain violations of subsection (g), 

24 including the restraint of any withholding of 

25 payment of wages, salary, employment benefits, 


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1 or other compensation, plus interest, found by 

2 the court to be due to affected individuals; or 

3 (B) to award such other equitable relief as 

4 may be appropriate, including employment, re5 instatement, and promotion. 

6 (5) SOLICITOR OF LABOR.—The Solicitor of 

7 Labor may appear for and represent the Secretary 

8 of Labor on any litigation brought under this sub9 section. 

10 (6) EMPLOYER LIABILITY UNDER OTHER

11 LAWS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 

12 limit the liability of an employer or public agency to 

13 an individual, for harm suffered relating to the indi14 vidual’s experience of domestic violence, dating vio15 lence, sexual assault, or stalking, pursuant to any 

16 other Federal or State law, including a law providing 

17 for a legal remedy. 

18 (7) LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.—Notwithstanding 

19 any other provision of this subsection, in the case of 

20 the Library of Congress, the authority of the Sec21 retary of Labor under this subsection shall be exer22 cised by the Librarian of Congress. 

23 (8) CERTAIN PUBLIC AGENCY EMPLOYERS.— 

24 (A) AGENCIES.—Notwithstanding any 

25 other provision of this subsection, in the case of 


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1 a public agency that employs individuals as de2 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 

3 3(e)(2) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

4 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(e)(2)) (other than an en5 tity of the legislative branch of the Federal 

6 Government), subparagraph (B) shall apply. 

7 (B) AUTHORITY.—In the case described in 

8 subparagraph (A), the powers, remedies, and 

9 procedures provided in the case of a violation of 

10 chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code, in 

11 that title to an employing agency, in chapter 12 

12 of that title to the Merit Systems Protection 

13 Board, or in that title to any person alleging a 

14 violation of chapter 63 of that title, shall be the 

15 powers, remedies, and procedures this sub16 section provides in the case of a violation of 

17 subsection (g) to that agency, that Board, or 

18 any person alleging a violation of subsection 

19 (g), concerning an employee who is an indi20 vidual described in subparagraph (A). 

21 (9) PUBLIC AGENCIES PROVIDING PUBLIC AS22 SISTANCE.—Consistent with regulations prescribed 

23 under section 206(d), the President shall ensure that 

24 any public agency that violates subsection (g)(3), or 

25 subsection (g)(2) by discriminating as described in 


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1 subsection (g)(3), shall provide to any individual who 

2 receives a less favorable amount, term, or condition 

3 of public assistance as a result of the violation— 

4 (A)(i) the amount of any public assistance 

5 denied or lost to such individual by reason of 

6 the violation; and 

7 (ii) the interest on the amount described in 

8 clause (i), calculated at the prevailing rate; and 

9 (B) such equitable relief as may be appro10 priate. 

11 SEC. 203. EXISTING LEAVE USABLE FOR ADDRESSING DO12 MESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEX13 UAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING. 

14 An employee who is entitled to take paid or unpaid 

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

16 similar leave) from employment, pursuant to State or local 

17 law, a collective bargaining agreement, or an employment 

18 benefits program or plan, may elect to substitute any pe19 riod of such leave for an equivalent period of leave pro20 vided under section 202. 

21 SEC. 204. EMERGENCY BENEFITS. 

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

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

24 Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) to provide nonrecurrent short25 term emergency benefits to an individual for any period 


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1 of leave the individual takes pursuant to section 202 of 

2 this Act. 

3 (b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

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

5 for assistance under the State program funded 

6 under that part and for leave under section 202 

7 shall be eligible for such emergency benefits, except 

8 as provided in paragraph (2). 

9 (2) CALCULATION.—In calculating eligibility for 

10 such emergency benefits, the State shall count only 

11 the cash available or accessible to the individual. 

12 (c) TIMING.— 

13 (1) APPLICATIONS.—An individual seeking 

14 emergency benefits under subsection (a) from a 

15 State shall submit an application to the State. 

16 (2) BENEFITS.—The State shall provide bene17 fits to an eligible applicant under paragraph (1) on 

18 an expedited basis, and not later than seven days 

19 after the applicant submits an application under 

20 paragraph (1). 

21 SEC. 205. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

22 (a) MORE PROTECTIVE LAWS, AGREEMENTS, PRO23 GRAMS, AND PLANS.—Nothing in this title shall be con24 strued to supersede any provision of any Federal, State, 


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1 or local law, collective bargaining agreement, or employ2 ment benefits program or plan that provides— 

3 (1) greater leave rights for survivors of domes4 tic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalk5 ing than the rights established under this Act; or 

6 (2) leave benefits for a larger population of sur7 vivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

8 assault, or stalking (as defined in such law, agree9 ment, program, or plan) than the survivors of do10 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 

11 stalking covered under this Act. 

12 (b) LESS PROTECTIVE LAWS, AGREEMENTS, PRO13 GRAMS, AND PLANS.—The rights established for survivors 

14 of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 

15 stalking under this Act shall not be diminished by any 

16 State or local law, collective bargaining agreement, or em17 ployment benefits program or plan. 

18 SEC. 206. REGULATIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

20 (1) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE REGULATIONS.—Ex21 cept as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d), the 

22 Secretary of Labor shall issue regulations to carry 

23 out this title. 

24 (2) REGULATIONS REGARDING NOTICES.—The 

25 regulations described in paragraph (1) shall include 


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1 regulations requiring every employer to post and 

2 keep posted, in conspicuous places on the premises 

3 of the employer where notices to employees are cus4 tomarily placed, a notice, to be prepared or approved 

5 by the Secretary of Labor, summarizing the provi6 sions of this title and providing information on pro7 cedures for filing complaints. The Secretary of 

8 Labor shall develop such a notice and provide copies 

9 to employers upon request without charge. 

10 (b) LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.—The Librarian of Con11 gress shall prescribe the regulations described in sub12 section (a) with respect to employees of the Library of 

13 Congress. The regulations prescribed under this sub14 section shall, to the extent appropriate, be consistent with 

15 the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under 

16 subsection (a). 

17 (c) CERTAIN PUBLIC AGENCY EMPLOYERS.—The Of18 fice of Personnel Management shall prescribe the regula19 tions described in subsection (a) with respect to individ20 uals described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 

21 3(e)(2) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

22 U.S.C. 203(e)(2)) (other than an individual employed by 

23 an entity of the legislative branch of the Federal Govern24 ment). The regulations prescribed under this subsection 

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1 ulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under sub2 section (a). 

3 (d) PUBLIC AGENCIES PROVIDING PUBLIC ASSIST4 ANCE.—The President shall prescribe the regulations de5 scribed in subsection (a) with respect to applicants for and 

6 recipients of public assistance, in the case of violations of 

7 section 202(g)(3), or section 202(g)(2) due to discrimina8 tion described in section 202(g)(3). The regulations pre9 scribed under this subsection shall, to the extent appro10 priate, be consistent with the regulations prescribed by the 

11 Secretary 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. PROHIBITED DISCRIMINATORY ACTS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for an em19 ployer to fail or refuse to hire or discharge any individual, 

20 or otherwise discriminate (including harassment or retalia21 tion in any form or manner) against any individual with 

22 respect to the compensation, terms, conditions, or privi23 leges of employment of the individual, and it shall be un24 lawful for a public agency to deny, reduce, or terminate 

25 the benefits of, or otherwise sanction any individual, or 


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1 otherwise discriminate (including harassment or retalia2 tion in any form or manner) against any individual with 

3 respect to the amount, terms, or conditions of public as4 sistance of the individual, because— 

5 (1) the individual involved is or the employer or 

6 public agency involved perceives that individual to be 

7 a survivor of domestic violence, dating violence, sex8 ual assault, or stalking, or a survivor of communica9 tion of an intimate image of the individual; 

10 (2) that individual attended, participated in, 

11 prepared for, or requested leave to attend, partici12 pate in, or prepare for, a criminal or civil court pro13 ceeding relating to an incident that caused the indi14 vidual to be a survivor of domestic violence, dating 

15 violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or a survivor of 

16 communication of an intimate image of the indi17 vidual; 

18 (3) that individual, in response to actual or 

19 threatened domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

20 assault, or stalking, or actual or threatened commu21 nication of an intimate image of the individual, re22 quested that the employer or public agency imple23 ment a reasonable safety procedure or a job-related 

24 modification to enhance the security of that indi25 vidual or safeguard the workplace involved; or 


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1 (4) the workplace is disrupted or threatened by 

2 the action of a person whom that individual states 

3 has committed or threatened to commit an act that 

4 caused or would cause the individual to be a survivor 

5 of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

6 or stalking, or a survivor of communication of an in7 timate image of the individual. 

8 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) COMMUNICATION OF AN INTIMATE

10 IMAGE.—The term ‘‘communication of an intimate 

11 image’’, used with respect to an individual, includes 

12 a transmission, dissemination, or receipt through 

13 electronic or other communication containing at 

14 least one intimate image of the individual that ap15 pears to have been transmitted or disseminated by 

16 a person who— 

17 (A) obtained the image under cir18 cumstances in which a reasonable person would 

19 know or understand that the image was to re20 main private; 

21 (B) knows or should have known that the 

22 depicted individual has not consented to the dis23 closure of the image; and 


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1 (C) knows or reasonably should know that 

2 the disclosure would cause harm to the depicted 

3 individual. 

4 (2) DISCRIMINATE.—The term ‘‘discriminate’’, 

5 used with respect to the terms, conditions, or privi6 leges of employment or with respect to the terms or 

7 conditions of public assistance, includes failing to 

8 implement, on request from an individual, in re9 sponse to actual or threatened domestic violence, 

10 dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or actual 

11 or threatened communication of an intimate image 

12 of the individual, a reasonable safety procedure or a 

13 job-related modification to enhance the security of 

14 that individual or safeguard the workplace involved 

15 (such as installation of a lock, change of a telephone 

16 number or seating assignment, provision of a trans17 fer, provision of leave, modification of a schedule, or 

18 adjustment of a work requirement), unless the em19 ployer or public agency can demonstrate that grant20 ing the request would impose an undue hardship on 

21 the operation of the employer or public agency. 

22 (3) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE; DATING VIOLENCE; 

23 SEXUAL ASSAULT; STALKING.—The terms ‘‘domestic 

24 violence’’, ‘‘dating violence’’, ‘‘sexual assault’’, and 

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1 tion 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 

2 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291). 

3 (4) INTIMATE IMAGE.—The term ‘‘intimate 

4 image’’ means any photograph, motion picture film, 

5 videotape, digital image, image from social media, or 

6 any other recording or other image of an individual 

7 (other than the person taking the image) who is 

8 identifiable from the image itself or from informa9 tion displayed with or otherwise connected to the 

10 image, that— 

11 (A) was taken in a private setting; 

12 (B) does not depict a matter of public con13 cern; and 

14 (C) depicts— 

15 (i) sexual activity, including sexual 

16 intercourse or masturbation; or 

17 (ii) a person’s intimate body parts, 

18 whether nude or visible through less than 

19 opaque clothing. 

20 (5) SAFE LEAVE TERMS.—The terms ‘‘employ’’, 

21 ‘‘employee’’, ‘‘employer’’, ‘‘employment benefits’’, 

22 ‘‘person’’, ‘‘public agency’’, ‘‘public assistance’’, 

23 ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘survivor of domestic violence, dating 

24 violence, sexual assault, or stalking’’ have the mean25 ings given the terms in section 201. 


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1 (6) UNDUE HARDSHIP.—The term ‘‘undue 

2 hardship’’ means an action requiring significant dif3 ficulty or expense. 

4 SEC. 303. ENFORCEMENT. 

5 (a) CIVIL ACTION BY INDIVIDUALS.— 

6 (1) LIABILITY.—Any employer that violates sec7 tion 302 shall be liable to any individual affected 

8 for— 

9 (A) damages equal to the amount of any 

10 wages, salary, employment benefits, or other 

11 compensation denied or lost to such individual 

12 by reason of the violation, and the interest on 

13 that amount calculated at the prevailing rate; 

14 (B) compensatory damages, including dam15 ages for future pecuniary losses, emotional 

16 pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, 

17 loss of enjoyment or life, and other nonpecu18 niary losses; 

19 (C) such punitive damages, up to three 

20 times the amount of actual damages sustained, 

21 as the court described in paragraph (2) shall 

22 determine to be appropriate; and 

23 (D) such equitable relief as may be appro24 priate, including employment, reinstatement, 

25 and promotion. 


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

2 the damages or equitable relief prescribed in para3 graph (1) may be maintained against any employer 

4 in any Federal or State court of competent jurisdic5 tion by any one or more affected individuals de6 scribed in section 302. 

7 (b) ACTION BY SECRETARY OF LABOR.—The Sec8 retary of Labor may bring a civil action in any Federal 

9 or State court of competent jurisdiction to recover the 

10 damages or equitable relief described in subsection (a)(1). 

11 (c) LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.—Notwithstanding any 

12 other provision of this section, in the case of the Library 

13 of Congress, the authority of the Secretary of Labor under 

14 this section shall be exercised by the Librarian of Con15 gress. 

16 (d) CERTAIN PUBLIC AGENCY EMPLOYERS.— 

17 (1) AGENCIES.—Notwithstanding any other 

18 provision of this section, in the case of a public 

19 agency that employs individuals as described in sub20 paragraph (A) or (B) of section 3(e)(2) of the Fair 

21 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(e)(2)) 

22 (other than an entity of the legislative branch of the 

23 Federal Government), paragraph (2) shall apply. 

24 (2) AUTHORITY.—In the case described in 

25 paragraph (1), the powers, remedies, and procedures 


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1 provided (in the case of a violation of section 

2 2302(b)(1)(A) of title 5, United States Code) in title 

3 5, United States Code, to an employing agency, the 

4 Office of Special Counsel, the Merit Systems Protec5 tion Board, or any person alleging a violation of 

6 such section 2302(b)(1)(A), shall be the powers, 

7 remedies, and procedures this section provides in the 

8 case of a violation of section 302 to that agency, 

9 that Office, that Board, or any person alleging a vio10 lation of section 302, respectively, concerning an em11 ployee who is an individual described in paragraph 

12 (1). 

13 (e) PUBLIC AGENCIES PROVIDING PUBLIC ASSIST14 ANCE.—Consistent with regulations prescribed under sec15 tion 304(d), the President shall ensure that any public 

16 agency that violates section 302(a) by taking an action 

17 prohibited under section 302(a) with respect to the 

18 amount, terms, or conditions of public assistance, shall 

19 provide to any individual who receives a less favorable 

20 amount, term, or condition of public assistance as a result 

21 of the violation— 

22 (1)(A) the amount of any public assistance de23 nied or lost to such individual by reason of the viola24 tion; and 


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1 (B) the interest on the amount described in 

2 subparagraph (A), calculated at the prevailing rate; 

3 and 

4 (2) such equitable relief as may be appropriate. 

5 SEC. 304. REGULATIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsections 

7 (b), (c), and (d), the Secretary of Labor shall issue regula8 tions to carry out this title. 

9 (b) LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.—The Librarian of Con10 gress shall prescribe the regulations described in sub11 section (a) with respect to employees of the Library of 

12 Congress. The regulations prescribed under this sub13 section shall, to the extent appropriate, be consistent with 

14 the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under 

15 subsection (a). 

16 (c) CERTAIN PUBLIC AGENCY EMPLOYERS.—The Of17 fice of Personnel Management, after consultation with the 

18 Office of Special Counsel and the Merit Systems Protec19 tion Board, shall prescribe the regulations described in 

20 subsection (a) with respect to individuals described in sub21 paragraph (A) or (B) of section 3(e)(2) of the Fair Labor 

22 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(e)(2)) (other than 

23 an individual employed by an entity of the legislative 

24 branch of the Federal Government). The regulations pre25 scribed under this subsection shall, to the extent approVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Nov 01, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2043.IS S2043

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1 priate, be consistent with the regulations prescribed by the 

2 Secretary of Labor under subsection (a). 

3 (d) PUBLIC AGENCIES PROVIDING PUBLIC ASSIST4 ANCE.—The President shall prescribe the regulations de5 scribed in subsection (a) with respect to applicants for and 

6 recipients of public assistance, in the case of violations of 

7 section 302(a) by a public agency due to taking an action 

8 prohibited under section 302(a) with respect to the 

9 amount, terms, or conditions of public assistance. The reg10 ulations prescribed under this subsection shall, to the ex11 tent appropriate, be consistent with the regulations pre12 scribed by the Secretary of Labor under subsection (a). 

13 SEC. 305. ATTORNEY’S FEES. 

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

15 1988(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘the Survivors’ Employ16 ment Sustainability Act,’’ after ‘‘title VI of the Civil 

17 Rights Act of 1964,’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—ENTITLEMENT TO UN2 EMPLOYMENT COMPENSA3 TION FOR SURVIVORS OF DO4 MESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING 

5 VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, 

6 OR STALKING 

7 SEC. 401. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION AND TRAINING 

8 PROVISIONS. 

9 (a) UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.—Section 3304 

10 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to approval 

11 of State unemployment compensation laws) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

14 at the end; 

15 (B) by redesignating paragraph (19) as 

16 paragraph (20); and 

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

18 following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(19) compensation shall not be denied where 

20 an individual is separated from employment due to 

21 circumstances resulting from the individual being a 

22 survivor of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

23 assault, or stalking, nor shall States impose addi24 tional conditions that restrict the individual’s eligi25 bility for or receipt of benefits beyond those required 


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1 of other individuals who are forced to leave their 

2 jobs or are deemed to have good cause for volun3 tarily separating from a job in the State; and’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub5 section: 

6 ‘‘(g) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of subsection 

7 (a)(19)— 

8 ‘‘(1) DOCUMENTATION.—In determining eligi9 bility for compensation due to circumstances result10 ing from an individual being a survivor of domestic 

11 violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalk12 ing— 

13 ‘‘(A) States shall adopt, or have adopted, 

14 by statute, regulation, or policy a list of forms 

15 of documentation that may be presented to 

16 demonstrate eligibility; and 

17 ‘‘(B) presentation of any one of such forms 

18 of documentation shall be sufficient to dem19 onstrate eligibility, except that a State may re20 quire the presentation of a form of identifica21 tion in addition to the sworn statement of appli22 cant described in paragraph (2)(A). 

23 ‘‘(2) LIST OF FORMS OF DOCUMENTATION.— 

24 The list referred to in paragraph (1)(A) shall, at a 


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1 minimum, include the following forms of documenta2 tion: 

3 ‘‘(A) A sworn statement of the applicant. 

4 ‘‘(B) A police or court record concerning 

5 the applicant. 

6 ‘‘(C) Documentation from an employee or 

7 volunteer working for a survivor services organi8 zation, an attorney, a police officer, a medical 

9 professional, a social worker, an antiviolence 

10 counselor, a member of the clergy, or another 

11 professional, affirming that the applicant is a 

12 survivor of domestic violence, dating violence, 

13 sexual assault, or stalking. 

14 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘domestic vio15 lence’, ‘dating violence’, ‘sexual assault’, ‘stalking’, 

16 ‘survivor of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

17 assault, or stalking’, and ‘survivor services organiza18 tion’ have the meanings given such terms in section 

19 201 of the Security and Financial Empowerment 

20 Act of 2017.’’. 

21 (b) UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION PERSONNEL

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

23 U.S.C. 503(a)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

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

3 and 

4 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol5 lowing new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(4) Such methods of administration as will en7 sure that— 

8 ‘‘(A) applicants for unemployment com9 pensation and individuals inquiring about such 

10 compensation are adequately notified of the 

11 provisions of subsections (a)(19) and (g) of sec12 tion 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

13 (relating to the availability of unemployment 

14 compensation for survivors of domestic violence, 

15 dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking); and 

16 ‘‘(B) claims reviewers and hearing per17 sonnel are adequately trained in— 

18 ‘‘(i) the nature and dynamics of do19 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual as20 sault, or stalking (as such terms are de21 fined in section 201 of the Security and 

22 Financial Empowerment Act of 2017); and 

23 ‘‘(ii) methods of ascertaining and 

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1 ing violence, sexual assault, or stalking (as 

2 so defined) to ensure that— 

3 ‘‘(I) requests for unemployment 

4 compensation based on separations 

5 stemming from domestic violence, dat6 ing violence, sexual assault, or stalk7 ing (as so defined) are reliably 

8 screened, identified, and adjudicated; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(II) full confidentiality is pro11 vided for the individual’s claim and 

12 submitted evidence; and’’. 

13 (c) TANF PERSONNEL TRAINING.—Section 402(a) 

14 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 602(a)) is amended 

15 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(8) CERTIFICATION THAT THE STATE WILL

17 PROVIDE INFORMATION TO SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC

18 VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR

19 STALKING.—A certification by the chief officer of 

20 the State that the State has established and is en21 forcing standards and procedures to— 

22 ‘‘(A) ensure that applicants for assistance 

23 under the program and individuals inquiring 

24 about such assistance are adequately notified 

25 of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the provisions of subsections 

2 (a)(19) and (g) of section 3304 of the In3 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 

4 the availability of unemployment com5 pensation for survivors of domestic vio6 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 

7 stalking); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) assistance made available by the 

9 State to survivors of domestic violence, 

10 dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking 

11 (as defined in section 201 of the Security 

12 and Financial Empowerment Act of 2017); 

13 ‘‘(B) ensure that case workers and other 

14 agency personnel responsible for administering 

15 the State program funded under this part are 

16 adequately trained in— 

17 ‘‘(i) the nature and dynamics of do18 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual as19 sault, or stalking (as such terms are de20 fined in section 201 of the Security and 

21 Financial Empowerment Act of 2017); 

22 ‘‘(ii) State standards and procedures 

23 relating to the prevention of, and assist24 ance for individuals who are survivors of, 


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1 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

2 assault, or stalking (as so defined); and 

3 ‘‘(iii) methods of ascertaining and 

4 keeping confidential information about pos5 sible experiences of domestic violence, dat6 ing violence, sexual assault, or stalking (as 

7 so defined); 

8 ‘‘(C) if a State has elected to establish and 

9 enforce standards and procedures regarding the 

10 screening for, and identification of, domestic vi11 olence pursuant to paragraph (7), ensure 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(i) applicants for assistance under 

14 the program and individuals inquiring 

15 about such assistance are adequately noti16 fied of options available under such stand17 ards and procedures; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) case workers and other agency 

19 personnel responsible for administering the 

20 State program funded under this part are 

21 provided with adequate training regarding 

22 such standards and procedures and options 

23 available under such standards and proce24 dures; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) ensure that the training required 

2 under subparagraphs (B) and, if applicable, 

3 (C)(ii) is provided through a training program 

4 operated by an eligible entity (as defined in sec5 tion 401(d)(2) of the Security and Financial 

6 Empowerment Act of 2017).’’. 

7 (d) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEX8 UAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING TRAINING GRANT PRO9 GRAM.— 

10 (1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of 

11 Labor (in this subsection referred to as the ‘‘Sec12 retary’’) is authorized to award— 

13 (A) a grant to a national survivor services 

14 organization in order for such organization to— 

15 (i) develop and disseminate a model 

16 training program (and related materials) 

17 for the training required under section 

18 303(a)(4)(B) of the Social Security Act, as 

19 added by subsection (b), and under sub20 paragraphs (B) and, if applicable, (C)(ii) 

21 of section 402(a)(8) of such Act, as added 

22 by subsection (c); and 

23 (ii) provide technical assistance with 

24 respect to such model training program; 

25 and 


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1 (B) grants to State, tribal, or local agen2 cies in order for such agencies to contract with 

3 eligible entities to provide State, tribal, or local 

4 case workers and other State, tribal, or local 

5 agency personnel responsible for administering 

6 the temporary assistance to needy families pro7 gram established under part A of title IV of the 

8 Social Security Act in a State or Indian res9 ervation with the training required under sub10 paragraphs (B) and, if applicable, (C)(ii) of 

11 such section 402(a)(8). 

12 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—For purposes 

13 of paragraph (1)(B), the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ 

14 means an entity— 

15 (A) that is— 

16 (i) a State or tribal domestic violence 

17 coalition or sexual assault coalition; 

18 (ii) a State or local survivor services 

19 organization with recognized expertise in 

20 the dynamics of domestic violence, dating 

21 violence, sexual assault, or stalking whose 

22 primary mission is to provide services to 

23 survivors of domestic violence, dating vio24 lence, sexual assault, or stalking, such as 


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1 a rape crisis center or domestic violence 

2 program; or 

3 (iii) an organization with dem4 onstrated expertise in State or county wel5 fare laws and implementation of such laws 

6 and experience with disseminating informa7 tion on such laws and implementation, but 

8 only if such organization will provide the 

9 required training in partnership with an 

10 entity described in clause (i) or (ii); and 

11 (B) that— 

12 (i) has demonstrated expertise in the 

13 dynamics of both domestic violence and 

14 sexual assault, such as a joint domestic vi15 olence and sexual assault coalition; or 

16 (ii) will provide the required training 

17 in partnership with an entity described in 

18 clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) in 

19 order to comply with the dual domestic vio20 lence and sexual assault expertise require21 ment under clause (i). 

22 (3) APPLICATION.—An entity seeking a grant 

23 under this subsection shall submit an application to 

24 the Secretary at such time, in such form and manVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Nov 01, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2043.IS S2043

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1 ner, and containing such information as the Sec2 retary specifies. 

3 (4) REPORTS.— 

4 (A) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Sec5 retary shall annually submit a report to Con6 gress on the grant program established under 

7 this subsection. 

8 (B) REPORTS AVAILABLE TO PUBLIC.— 

9 The Secretary shall establish procedures for the 

10 dissemination to the public of each report sub11 mitted under subparagraph (A). Such proce12 dures shall include the use of the Internet to 

13 disseminate such reports. 

14 (5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

15 (A) AUTHORIZATION.—There are author16 ized to be appropriated— 

17 (i) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2018 to 

18 carry out the provisions of paragraph 

19 (1)(A); and 

20 (ii) $12,000,000 for each of fiscal 

21 years 2019 through 2022 to carry out the 

22 provisions of paragraph (1)(B). 

23 (B) THREE-YEAR AVAILABILITY OF GRANT

24 FUNDS.—Each recipient of a grant under this 

25 subsection shall return to the Secretary any unVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Nov 01, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2043.IS S2043

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1 used portion of such grant not later than 3 

2 years after the date the grant was awarded, to3 gether with any earnings on such unused por4 tion. 

5 (C) AMOUNTS RETURNED.—Any amounts 

6 returned pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall be 

7 available without further appropriation to the 

8 Secretary for the purpose of carrying out the 

9 provisions of paragraph (1)(B). 

10 (e) EFFECT ON EXISTING LAWS, ETC.— 

11 (1) MORE PROTECTIVE LAWS, AGREEMENTS, 

12 PROGRAMS, AND PLANS.—Nothing in this title shall 

13 be construed to supersede any provision of any Fed14 eral, State, or local law, collective bargaining agree15 ment, or employment benefits program or plan that 

16 provides greater unemployment insurance benefits 

17 for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, 

18 sexual assault, or stalking than the rights estab19 lished under this title. 

20 (2) LESS PROTECTIVE LAWS, AGREEMENTS, 

21 PROGRAMS, AND PLANS.—The rights established for 

22 survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sex23 ual assault, or stalking under this title shall not be 

24 diminished by any more restrictive State or local 


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1 law, collective bargaining agreement, or employment 

2 benefits program or plan. 

3 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

4 (1) UNEMPLOYMENT AMENDMENTS.— 

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

6 subparagraph (B) and paragraph (2), the 

7 amendments made by this section shall apply in 

8 the case of compensation paid for weeks begin9 ning on or after the expiration of 180 days 

10 from the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 (B) EXTENSION OF EFFECTIVE DATE FOR

12 STATE LAW AMENDMENT.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of 

14 Labor identifies a State as requiring a 

15 change to its statutes, regulations, or poli16 cies in order to comply with the amend17 ments made by this section (excluding the 

18 amendment made by subsection (c)), such 

19 amendments shall apply in the case of 

20 compensation paid for weeks beginning 

21 after the earlier of— 

22 (I) the date the State changes its 

23 statutes, regulations, or policies in 

24 order to comply with such amend25 ments; or 


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1 (II) the end of the first session of 

2 the State legislature which begins 

3 after the date of enactment of this 

4 Act or which began prior to such date 

5 and remained in session for at least 

6 25 calendar days after such date, 

7 except that in no case shall such amend8 ments apply before the date that is 180 

9 days after the date of enactment of this 

10 Act. 

11 (ii) SESSION DEFINED.—In this sub12 paragraph, the term ‘‘session’’ means a 

13 regular, special, budget, or other session of 

14 a State legislature. 

15 (2) TANF AMENDMENT.— 

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

17 subparagraph (B), the amendment made by 

18 subsection (c) shall take effect on the date of 

19 enactment of this Act. 

20 (B) EXTENSION OF EFFECTIVE DATE FOR

21 STATE LAW AMENDMENT.—In the case of a 

22 State plan under part A of title IV of the Social 

23 Security Act which the Secretary of Health and 

24 Human Services determines requires State ac25 tion (including legislation, regulation, or other 


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1 administrative action) in order for the plan to 

2 meet the additional requirements imposed by 

3 the amendment made by subsection (c), the 

4 State plan shall not be regarded as failing to 

5 comply with the requirements of such amend6 ment on the basis of its failure to meet these 

7 additional requirements before the first day of 

8 the first calendar quarter beginning after the 

9 close of the first regular session of the State 

10 legislature that begins after the date of enact11 ment of this Act. For purposes of the previous 

12 sentence, in the case of a State that has a two13 year legislative session, each year of the session 

14 is considered to be a separate regular session of 

15 the State legislature. 

16 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘do17 mestic violence’’, ‘‘dating violence’’, ‘‘sexual assault’’, 

18 ‘‘stalking’’, ‘‘survivor of domestic violence, dating violence, 

19 sexual assault, or stalking’’, and ‘‘survivor services organi20 zation’’ have the meanings given such terms in section 

21 201. 


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1 TITLE V—INSURANCE PROTEC2 TIONS AND SUPPORT FOR 

3 SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VI4 OLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, 

5 SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALK6 ING 

7 Subtitle A—Insurance Protections 

8 SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this title: 

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

11 person who commits an act of domestic violence, 

12 dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking against a 

13 survivor of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

14 assault, or stalking. 

15 (2) DATING VIOLENCE; DOMESTIC VIOLENCE; 

16 SEXUAL ASSAULT; STALKING.—The terms ‘‘dating 

17 violence’’, ‘‘domestic violence’’, ‘‘sexual assault’’, and 

18 ‘‘stalking’’ have the meanings given such terms in 

19 section 201. 

20 (3) INSURED.—The term ‘‘insured’’ means a 

21 party named on a policy, certificate, or health ben22 efit plan, including an individual, a corporation, a 

23 partnership, an association, an unincorporated orga24 nization, or any similar entity, as the person with 

25 legal rights to the benefits provided by the policy, 


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1 certificate, or health benefit plan. For group insur2 ance, the term includes a person who is a beneficiary 

3 covered by a group policy, certificate, or health ben4 efit plan. For life insurance, the term refers to the 

5 person whose life is covered under an insurance pol6 icy. 

7 (4) INSURER.—The term ‘‘insurer’’ means any 

8 person, reciprocal exchange, inter insurer, Lloyds in9 surer, fraternal benefit society, or other legal entity 

10 engaged in the business of insurance, including 

11 agents, brokers, adjusters, and third-party adminis12 trators. The term includes employers who provide or 

13 make available employment benefits through an em14 ployee benefit plan, as defined in section 3(3) of the 

15 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 

16 (29 U.S.C. 1002(3)). The term also includes health 

17 insurance issuers, as defined by section 2791 of the 

18 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–91), 

19 health benefit plans, and life, disability, and prop20 erty and casualty insurers. 

21 (5) POLICY.—The term ‘‘policy’’ means a con22 tract of insurance, certificate, indemnity, suretyship, 

23 or annuity issued, proposed for issuance, or intended 

24 for issuance by an insurer, including endorsements 

25 or riders to an insurance policy or contract. 


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1 (6) SURVIVOR OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING

2 VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING.—The 

3 term ‘‘survivor of domestic violence, dating violence, 

4 sexual assault, or stalking’’ has the meaning given 

5 such term in section 201. 

6 (7) SURVIVOR SERVICES ORGANIZATION.—The 

7 term ‘‘survivor services organization’’ has the mean8 ing given such term in section 201. 

9 SEC. 502. DISCRIMINATORY ACTS PROHIBITED. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—No insurer may, directly or indi11 rectly, engage in any of the following acts or practices on 

12 the basis that the applicant or insured, or any person em13 ployed by the applicant or insured or with whom the appli14 cant or insured is known to have a relationship or associa15 tion, is, has been, or may be a survivor of domestic vio16 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking or has 

17 incurred or may incur claims related to domestic violence, 

18 dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking: 

19 (1) Denying, refusing to issue, renew, or re20 issue, or canceling or otherwise terminating an in21 surance policy or health benefit plan. 

22 (2) Restricting, excluding, or limiting insurance 

23 coverage for losses or denying a claim, except as oth24 erwise permitted or required by State laws relating 

25 to life insurance beneficiaries. 


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1 (3) Adding a premium differential to any insur2 ance policy or health benefit plan. 

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

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

5 to an insured who is a survivor of domestic violence, dat6 ing violence, sexual assault, or stalking if the claim for 

7 payment is a result of such violence, assault, or stalking. 

8 (c) PROHIBITION ON TERMINATION.— 

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

10 health coverage for a survivor of domestic violence, 

11 dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking because 

12 coverage was originally issued in the name of the 

13 abuser and the abuser has divorced, separated from, 

14 or lost custody of the survivor or the survivor’s cov15 erage has terminated voluntarily or involuntarily and 

16 the survivor does not qualify for an extension of cov17 erage under part 6 of subtitle B of title I of the Em18 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 

19 U.S.C. 1161 et seq.) or section 4980B of the Inter20 nal Revenue Code of 1986. 

21 (2) PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS.—Nothing in para22 graph (1) shall be construed to prohibit the insurer 

23 from requiring that the survivor of domestic vio24 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking pay 

25 the full premium for the survivor’s coverage under 


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1 the health plan if the requirements are applied to all 

2 insured of the insurer. 

3 (3) EXCEPTION.—An insurer may terminate 

4 group coverage to which this subsection applies after 

5 the continuation coverage period required by this 

6 subsection has been in force for 18 months if it of7 fers conversion to an equivalent individual plan. 

8 (4) CONTINUATION COVERAGE.—The continu9 ation of health coverage required by this subsection 

10 shall be satisfied by any extension of coverage under 

11 part 6 of subtitle B of title I of the Employee Re12 tirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

13 1161 et seq.) or section 4980B of the Internal Rev14 enue Code of 1986 provided to a survivor of domes15 tic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalk16 ing and is not intended to be in addition to any ex17 tension of coverage otherwise provided for under 

18 such part 6 or section 4980B. 

19 (d) USE OF INFORMATION.— 

20 (1) LIMITATION.— 

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

22 safety and privacy of survivors of domestic vio23 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalk24 ing, no person employed by or contracting with 


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1 an insurer or health benefit plan may (without 

2 the consent of the survivor)— 

3 (i) use, disclose, or transfer informa4 tion relating to domestic violence, dating 

5 violence, sexual assault, or stalking status, 

6 acts of such violence, assault, or stalking, 

7 medical conditions related to domestic vio8 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 

9 stalking, or the applicant’s or insured’s 

10 status as a family member, employer, asso11 ciate, or person in a relationship with a 

12 survivor of domestic violence, dating vio13 lence, sexual assault, or stalking for any 

14 purpose unrelated to the direct provision of 

15 health care services unless such use, disclo16 sure, or transfer is required by an order of 

17 an entity with authority to regulate insur18 ance or an order of a court of competent 

19 jurisdiction; or 

20 (ii) disclose or transfer information 

21 relating to an applicant’s or insured’s mail22 ing address or telephone number or the 

23 mailing address and telephone number of a 

24 shelter for survivors of domestic violence, 


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1 dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, 

2 unless such disclosure or transfer— 

3 (I) is required in order to provide 

4 insurance coverage; and 

5 (II) does not have the potential 

6 to endanger the safety of a survivor of 

7 domestic violence, dating violence, sex8 ual assault, or stalking. 

9 (B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

10 this paragraph may be construed to limit or 

11 preclude a survivor of domestic violence, dating 

12 violence, sexual assault, or stalking from obtain13 ing the survivor’s own insurance records from 

14 an insurer. 

15 (2) AUTHORITY OF SURVIVORS.—A survivor of 

16 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 

17 stalking, at the absolute discretion of the survivor, 

18 may provide evidence of domestic violence, dating vi19 olence, sexual assault, or stalking to an insurer for 

20 the limited purpose of facilitating treatment of a 

21 condition related to such violence, assault, or stalk22 ing or demonstrating that a condition is related to 

23 such violence, assault, or stalking. Nothing in this 

24 paragraph shall be construed as authorizing an in25 surer to disregard such provided evidence. 


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1 SEC. 503. INSURANCE PROTOCOLS FOR SURVIVORS OF DO2 MESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEX3 UAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING. 

4 Insurers shall develop and adhere to written policies 

5 specifying procedures to be followed by employees, con6 tractors, producers, agents, and brokers for the purpose 

7 of protecting the safety and privacy of a survivor of do8 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking 

9 and otherwise implementing this subtitle when taking an 

10 application, investigating a claim, or taking any other ac11 tion relating to a policy or claim involving a survivor of 

12 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalk13 ing. 

14 SEC. 504. REASONS FOR ADVERSE ACTIONS. 

15 An insurer that takes an action that adversely affects 

16 a survivor of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual as17 sault, or stalking shall advise the applicant or insured who 

18 is the survivor of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

19 assault, or stalking of the specific reasons for the action 

20 in writing. For purposes of this section, reference to gen21 eral underwriting practices or guidelines shall not con22 stitute a specific reason. 

23 SEC. 505. LIFE INSURANCE. 

24 Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to prohibit 

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

26 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 an act of domestic vio8 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking 

9 against the proposed insured. 

10 SEC. 506. SUBROGATION WITHOUT CONSENT PROHIBITED. 

11 Subrogation of claims resulting from domestic vio12 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking is prohib13 ited without the informed consent of the survivor of do14 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalk15 ing. 

16 SEC. 507. ENFORCEMENT. 

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

18 practice prohibited by this subtitle shall be treated as an 

19 unfair and deceptive act or practice pursuant to section 

20 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) 

21 and the Federal Trade Commission shall enforce this sub22 title in the same manner, by the same means, and with 

23 the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all ap24 plicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Com25 mission Act were incorporated into and made a part of 


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1 this subtitle, including issuing a cease and desist order 

2 granting any individual relief warranted under the cir3 cumstances, including temporary, preliminary, and perma4 nent injunctive relief and compensatory damages. 

5 (b) PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION.— 

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

7 believes that the applicant or insured has been ad8 versely affected by an act or practice of an insurer 

9 in violation of this subtitle may maintain an action 

10 against the insurer in a Federal or State court of 

11 original jurisdiction. 

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

13 preponderance of the evidence in an action described 

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

15 relief, including temporary, preliminary, and perma16 nent injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive 

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

18 fees for the aggrieved individual’s attorneys and ex19 pert witnesses. 

20 (3) STATUTORY DAMAGES.—With respect to 

21 compensatory damages in an action described in 

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

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

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1 tory damages in the amount of $5,000 for each vio2 lation. 

3 SEC. 508. APPLICABILITY. 

4 This subtitle shall apply with respect to any action 

5 taken after the enactment of this Act. 

6 Subtitle B—Supporting and 

7 Empowering Survivors 

8 SEC. 511. STUDY AND REPORTS ON BARRIERS TO SUR9 VIVORS’ ECONOMIC SECURITY ACCESS. 

10 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Health and Human 

11 Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, shall 

12 conduct a study on the barriers that survivors of domestic 

13 violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking 

14 throughout the United States experience in maintaining 

15 economic security as a result of issues related to domestic 

16 violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 

17 (b) REPORTS.—Not later than January 1, 2019, and 

18 every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary of Health and 

19 Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of 

20 Labor, shall submit a report to Congress on the study con21 ducted under subsection (a). 

22 (c) CONTENTS.—The study and reports under this 

23 section shall include— 

24 (1) identification of geographic areas in which 

25 State laws, regulations, and practices have a strong 


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1 impact on the ability of survivors of domestic vio2 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking to 

3 exercise— 

4 (A) any rights under this Act without com5 promising personal safety or the safety of oth6 ers, including family members and excluding 

7 the abuser; and 

8 (B) other components of economic security; 

9 (2) identification of geographic areas with 

10 shortages in resources for such survivors, with an 

11 accompanying analysis of the extent and impact of 

12 such shortage; 

13 (3) analysis of factors related to industries, 

14 workplace settings, employer practices, trends, and 

15 other elements that impact the ability of such sur16 vivors to exercise any rights under this Act without 

17 compromising personal safety or the safety of others, 

18 including family members; 

19 (4) the recommendations of the Secretary of 

20 Health and Human Services and the Secretary of 

21 Labor with respect to resources, oversight, and en22 forcement tools to ensure successful implementation 

23 of the provisions of this Act in order to support the 

24 economic security and safety of survivors of domestic 


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1 violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking; 

2 and 

3 (5) best practices for States, employers, health 

4 carriers, insurers, and other private entities in ad5 dressing issues related to domestic violence, dating 

6 violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 

7 SEC. 512. GAO STUDY. 

8 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

10 shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education, 

11 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report that examines, 

12 with respect to survivors of domestic violence, dating vio13 lence, sexual assault, or stalking who are, or were, enrolled 

14 at institutions of higher education and borrowed a loan 

15 made, insured, or guaranteed under title IV of the Higher 

16 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) for which 

17 the survivors have not repaid the total interest and prin18 cipal due, each of the following: 

19 (1) The implications of domestic violence, dat20 ing violence, sexual assault, or stalking on a bor21 rower’s ability to repay their Federal student loans. 

22 (2) The adequacy of policies and procedures re23 garding Federal student loan deferment, forbear24 ance, and grace periods when a survivor has to sus25 pend or terminate the survivor’s enrollment at an inVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Nov 01, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00082 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2043.IS S2043

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1 stitution of higher education due to domestic vio2 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 

3 (3) The adequacy of institutional policies and 

4 practices regarding retention or transfer of credits 

5 when a survivor has to suspend or terminate the 

6 survivor’s enrollment at an institution of higher edu7 cation due to domestic violence, dating violence, sex8 ual assault, or stalking. 

9 (4) The availability or any options for a sur10 vivor of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual as11 sault, or stalking who attended an institution of 

12 higher education that committed unfair, deceptive, 

13 or abusive acts or practices, or otherwise substan14 tially misrepresented information to students, to be 

15 able to seek a defense to repayment of the survivor’s 

16 Federal student loan. 

17 (5) The limitations faced by a survivor of do18 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 

19 stalking to obtain any relief or restitution on the 

20 survivor’s Federal student loan debt due to the use 

21 of forced arbitration, gag orders, or bans on class 

22 actions. 


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1 SEC. 513. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEX2 UAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING EDUCATION 

3 AND INFORMATION PROGRAMS FOR SUR4 VIVORS. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘em6 ploy’’, ‘‘employee’’, ‘‘employer’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the 

7 meanings given such terms in section 201. 

8 (b) 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 to raise public awareness of domes19 tic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 

20 stalking, including outreach and education for em21 ployers, service providers, teachers, and other key 

22 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 03:29 Nov 01, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2043.IS S2043

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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 survivors of domestic 

13 violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 

14 stalking; and 

15 (ii) established in this Act and the Vi16 olence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 

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

18 (B) guidelines and best practices on pre19 vention of domestic violence, dating violence, 

20 stalking, and sexual assault; 

21 (C) resources that promote healthy rela22 tionships and communication skills; 

23 (D) resources that encourage bystander 

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1 olence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual as2 sault; 

3 (E) resources that promote workplace poli4 cies that support and help maintain the eco5 nomic security of survivors of domestic violence, 

6 dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking; and 

7 (F) resources and rights that the heads of 

8 Federal agencies described in paragraph (2) de9 termine are appropriate to include. 

10 (c) INFORMATION PROGRAM FOR EMPLOYERS.— 

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

12 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in 

13 consultation with major women’s advocacy groups 

14 and medical and public health organizations, shall 

15 develop and disseminate to employers information on 

16 the entitlement of survivors of domestic violence, 

17 dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking to safe 

18 leave under title II. 

19 (2) INFORMATION.—The information dissemi20 nated under paragraph (1) shall include, at a min21 imum— 

22 (A) information describing employers’ re23 sponsibilities and employees’ rights under title 

24 II; 


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1 (B) recommendations for carrying out 

2 those responsibilities and providing for those 

3 rights; 

4 (C) recommendations for supporting em5 ployees when the employees seek safe leave 

6 under title II; 

7 (D) information on best practices for sup8 porting survivors of domestic violence, dating 

9 violence, sexual assault, or stalking; 

10 (E) information on best practices for pre11 venting domestic violence, dating violence, sex12 ual assault, and stalking; and 

13 (F) information explaining how to obtain 

14 additional copies of the information developed 

15 under paragraph (1) for distribution to the em16 ployees. 

17 (d) STUDY ON WORKPLACE RESPONSES.—The Sec18 retary of Labor, in conjunction with the Secretary of 

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

20 status of workplace responses to employees who experience 

21 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalk22 ing while employed, in each State and nationally, to im23 prove the access of survivors of domestic violence, dating 

24 violence, sexual assault, or stalking to supportive resources 

25 and economic security. 


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1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

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

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

4 2018 through 2022. 

5 SEC. 514. INVESTING IN PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE 

6 TO IMPROVE SUPPORT FOR SURVIVORS. 

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

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

9 ‘‘314’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘314 

10 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022.’’. 

11 SEC. 515. FINANCIAL LITERACY AND ADVOCACY FOR SUR12 VIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VI13 OLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING. 

14 (a) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this section, 

15 the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means an entity that is— 

16 (1) a State or tribal domestic violence coalition 

17 or sexual assault coalition, consistent with this Act; 

18 (2) a State or local survivor services organiza19 tion; or 

20 (3) an organization with demonstrated expertise 

21 in providing financial literacy support and advocacy 

22 services, but only if such organization will provide 

23 such support and services in partnership with an en24 tity described in paragraph (1) or (2). 


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1 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Health 

2 and Human Services is authorized to award competitive 

3 grants to eligible entities to— 

4 (1) develop and disseminate a model program, 

5 and related materials, for providing financial literacy 

6 support and advocacy services to survivors of domes7 tic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalk8 ing, and such support and services shall take place 

9 in national resource centers, established and oper10 ated under section 41501 of the Violence Against 

11 Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12501); and 

12 (2) provide technical assistance with respect to 

13 such model program. 

14 (c) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity seeking a 

15 grant under this section shall submit an application to the 

16 Secretary of Health and Human Services at such time, 

17 in such form and manner, and containing such informa18 tion as the Secretary specifies. 

19 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of 

20 Health and Human Services shall annually submit a re21 port to Congress on the grant program established under 

22 this section. 

23 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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1 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to 

2 be appropriated $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2018 to 

3 carry out this section. 

4 (2) THREE-YEAR AVAILABILITY OF GRANT

5 FUNDS.—Not later than three years after the date 

6 on which a grant is awarded under this section, the 

7 recipient of such grant shall return to the Secretary 

8 of Health and Human Services any unused portion 

9 of such grant, together with any earnings on such 

10 unused portion. 

11 TITLE VI—SEVERABILITY 

12 SEC. 601. SEVERABILITY. 

13 If any provision of this Act, any amendment made 

14 by this Act, or the application of such provision or amend15 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconsti16 tutional, the remainder of the provisions of this Act, the 

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

18 provisions or amendments to any person or circumstance 

19 shall not be affected. 

Æ 


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