I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4980 

To prohibit a court from awarding damages based on race, ethnicity, gender, 

religion, or actual or perceived sexual orientation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mr. CASTEN (for himself, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. CARSON) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prohibit a court from awarding damages based on race, 

ethnicity, gender, religion, or actual or perceived sexual 

orientation, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Calculations in 

5 Civil Damages Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘future earnings table’’ includes 

9 any table or compilation of economic data used to 

10 determine— 


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1 (A) how many years an individual would 

2 have worked in the future; or 

3 (B) the average wage an individual would 

4 have earned in the future; and 

5 (2) the term ‘‘protected class’’ means a group 

6 of individuals sharing a common characteristic or 

7 identity who are legally protected against discrimina8 tion. 

9 SEC. 3. CALCULATIONS OF DAMAGES. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi11 sion of law, no court of the United States may award dam12 ages to a plaintiff in a civil action using a calculation for 

13 the projected future earning potential of that plaintiff that 

14 takes into account the race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or 

15 actual or perceived sexual orientation of the plaintiff. 

16 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec17 tion shall be construed to deny a court from ordering dam18 ages based on the fact that the plaintiff is a member of 

19 a protected class or for the purposes of Federal civil rights 

20 laws. 

21 SEC. 4. INCLUSIVE FUTURE EARNINGS TABLES. 

22 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act— 

24 (1) the Secretary of Labor shall develop guid25 ance for forensic economists to develop inclusive fuVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Aug 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4980.IH H4980

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1 ture earnings tables that do not rely on race, eth2 nicity, gender, religion, or actual or perceived sexual 

3 orientation; and 

4 (2) the Secretary of Labor and the Attorney 

5 General shall develop guidance for States on how to 

6 make calculations of future earnings in State tort 

7 proceedings free of bias on the basis of race, eth8 nicity, gender, religion, or actual or perceived sexual 

9 orientation. 

10 SEC. 5. STUDY AND REPORT. 

11 (a) JUDICIAL CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED

12 STATES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Judicial Con15 ference of the United States shall conduct a study 

16 on— 

17 (A) damages awarded under Federal law 

18 for personal injury; and 

19 (B) the aggregate data described in para20 graph (1)— 

21 (i) by case type, including employment 

22 discrimination and tort damages; 

23 (ii) by protected classes, including 

24 race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and actual 

25 or perceived sexual orientation; and 


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1 (iii) any other information that the 

2 Judicial Conference of the United States 

3 determines is relevant. 

4 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Judicial Con6 ference of the United States shall submit to Con7 gress a report on the study conducted under para8 graph (1). 

9 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE UNITED

10 STATES COURTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, the Administrative Office of the 

12 United States Courts shall conduct a study and submit 

13 to Congress recommendations resulting from the study on 

14 how to ensure that calculations of future earning potential 

15 of plaintiffs that take into account age and disability with16 out conflicting with Federal equal protection laws. 

17 SEC. 6. TRAINING. 

18 The Federal Judicial Center shall conduct training 

19 for Federal judges on how to implement this Act, includ20 ing instructions on how to use tables on future earnings 

21 in evidence that comply with this Act. 

Æ 


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