II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1801

To promote the economic security and safety of victims of domestic and 

sexual violence, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 30, 2003

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. SCHUMER, and Mr. DAYTON) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Finance 

A BILL

To promote the economic security and safety of victims of 

domestic and sexual violence, 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’’ or the 

6 ‘‘SAFE Act’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 
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•S 1801 IS 

TITLE I—ENTITLEMENT TO EMERGENCY LEAVE FOR 

ADDRESSING DOMESTIC OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE 

Sec. 101. Purposes. 

Sec. 102. Entitlement to emergency leave for addressing domestic or sexual violence. 

Sec. 103. Existing leave usable for addressing domestic or sexual violence. 

Sec. 104. Emergency benefits. 

Sec. 105. Effect on other laws and employment benefits. 

Sec. 106. Conforming amendments. 

Sec. 107. Effective date. 

TITLE II—ENTITLEMENT TO UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION 

FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, 

SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING 

Sec. 201. Purposes. 

Sec. 202. Unemployment compensation and training provisions. 

TITLE III—VICTIMS’ EMPLOYMENT SUSTAINABILITY 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Purposes. 

Sec. 303. Prohibited discriminatory acts. 

Sec. 304. Enforcement. 

Sec. 305. Attorney’s fees. 

TITLE IV—VICTIMS OF ABUSE INSURANCE PROTECTION 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Definitions. 

Sec. 403. Discriminatory acts prohibited. 

Sec. 404. Insurance protocols for subjects of abuse. 

Sec. 405. Reasons for adverse actions. 

Sec. 406. Life insurance. 

Sec. 407. Subrogation without consent prohibited. 

Sec. 408. Enforcement. 

Sec. 409. Effective date. 

TITLE V—WORKPLACE SAFETY PROGRAM TAX CREDIT 

Sec. 501. Credit for costs to employers of implementing workplace safety programs. 

TITLE VI—NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON DOMESTIC AND 

SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE GRANT 

Sec. 601. National clearinghouse on domestic and sexual violence in the workplace grant. 

TITLE VII—SEVERABILITY 

Sec. 701. Severability.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 
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•S 1801 IS 

1 (1) Domestic violence crimes account for ap2 proximately 15 percent of total crime costs in the 

3 United States each year. 

4 (2) Violence against women has been reported 

5 to be the leading cause of physical injury to women. 

6 Such violence has a devastating impact on women’s 

7 physical and emotional health and financial security. 

8 (3) According to a recent National Institutes of 

9 Health—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

10 study, each year there are 5,300,000 non-fatal vio11 lent victimizations committed by intimate partners 

12 against women. Female murder victims were sub13 stantially more likely than male murder victims to 

have been killed by an intimate partner. About 1 14 ⁄3 of 

15 female murder victims, and about 4 percent of male 

16 murder victims, were killed by an intimate partner. 

17 (4) According to recent government estimates, 

18 approximately 987,400 rapes occur annually in the 

19 United States, 89 percent of the rapes perpetrated 

20 against female victims. Since 2001, rapes have actu21 ally increased by 4 percent. 

22 (5) Approximately 10,200,000 people have been 

23 stalked at some time in their lives. Four out of every 

24 5 stalking victims are women. Stalkers harass and 

25 terrorize their victims by spying on the victims, 
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•S 1801 IS 

1 standing outside their places of work or homes, mak2 ing unwanted phone calls, sending or leaving un3 wanted letters or items, or vandalizing property. 

4 (6) Employees in the United States who have 

5 been victims of domestic violence, dating violence, 

6 sexual assault, or stalking too often suffer adverse 

7 consequences in the workplace as a result of their 

8 victimization. 

9 (7) Victims of domestic violence, dating vio10 lence, sexual assault, and stalking are particularly 

11 vulnerable to changes in employment, pay, and bene12 fits as a result of their victimizations, and are, 

13 therefore, in need of legal protection. 

14 (8) The prevalence of domestic violence, dating 

15 violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other violence 

16 against women at work is dramatic. About 36,500 

17 individuals, 80 percent of whom are women, were 

18 raped or sexually assaulted in the workplace each 

19 year from 1993 through 1999. Half of all female 

20 victims of violent workplace crimes know their 

21 attackers. Nearly 1 out of 10 violent workplace inci22 dents are committed by partners or spouses. Women 

23 who work for State and local governments suffer a 

24 higher incidence of workplace assaults, including 

25 rapes, than women who work in the private sector. 
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1 (9) Homicide is the leading cause of death for 

2 women on the job. Husbands, boyfriends, and ex3 partners commit 15 percent of workplace homicides 

4 against women. 

5 (10) Studies indicate that between 35 and 56 

6 percent of employed battered women surveyed were 

7 harassed at work by their abusive partners. 

8 (11) According to a 1998 report of the General 

Accounting Office, between 1⁄4 and 1 9 ⁄2 of domestic 

10 violence victims surveyed in 3 studies reported that 

11 the victims lost a job due, at least in part, to domes12 tic violence. 

13 (12) Women who have experienced domestic vi14 olence or dating violence are more likely than other 

15 women to be unemployed, to suffer from health 

16 problems that can affect employability and job per17 formance, to report lower personal income, and to 

18 rely on welfare. 

19 (13) Abusers frequently seek to control their 

20 partners by actively interfering with their ability to 

21 work, including preventing their partners from going 

22 to work, harassing their partners at work, limiting 

23 the access of their partners to cash or transpor24 tation, and sabotaging the child care arrangements 

25 of their partners.
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•S 1801 IS 

(14) More than 1 1 ⁄2 of women receiving welfare 

2 have been victims of domestic violence as adults and 

between 1⁄4 and 1 3 ⁄3 reported being abused in the last 

4 year. 

5 (15) Victims of intimate partner violence lose 

6 8,000,000 days of paid work each year—the equiva7 lent of over 32,000 full-time jobs and 5,600,000 

8 days of household productivity. 

9 (16) Sexual assault, whether occurring in or out 

10 of the workplace, can impair an employee’s work 

11 performance, require time away from work, and un12 dermine the employee’s ability to maintain a job. Al13 most 50 percent of sexual assault survivors lose their 

14 jobs or are forced to quit in the aftermath of the as15 saults. 

16 (17) More than 35 percent of stalking victims 

17 report losing time from work due to the stalking and 

18 7 percent never return to work. 

19 (18)(A) According to the National Institute of 

20 Justice, crime costs an estimated $450,000,000,000 

21 annually in medical expenses, lost earnings, social 

22 service costs, pain, suffering, and reduced quality of 

23 life for victims, which harms the Nation’s produc24 tivity and drains the Nation’s resources. 
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•S 1801 IS 

1 (B) Violent crime accounts for 

2 $426,000,000,000 per year of this amount. 

3 (C) Rape exacts the highest costs per victim of 

4 any criminal offense, and accounts for 

5 $127,000,000,000 per year of the amount described 

6 in subparagraph (A). 

7 (19) Violent crime results in wage losses equiv8 alent to 1 percent of all United States earnings, and 

9 causes 3 percent of the Nation’s medical spending 

10 and 14 percent of the Nation’s injury-related med11 ical spending. 

12 (20) The Bureau of National Affairs has esti13 mated that domestic violence costs United States 

14 employers between $3,000,000,000 and 

15 $5,000,000,000 annually in lost time and produc16 tivity, while other reports have estimated the cost at 

17 between $5,800,000,000 and $13,000,000,000 annu18 ally. 

19 (21) United States medical costs for domestic 

20 violence have been estimated to be $31,000,000,000 

21 per year. 

22 (22) Surveys of business executives and cor23 porate security directors also underscore the heavy 

24 toll that workplace violence takes on women, busi-
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•S 1801 IS 

1 nesses, and interstate commerce in the United 

2 States. 

3 (23) Ninety-four percent of corporate security 

4 and safety directors at companies nationwide rank 

5 domestic violence as a high security concern. 

6 (24) Forty-nine percent of senior executives re7 cently surveyed said domestic violence has a harmful 

8 effect on their company’s productivity, 47 percent 

9 said domestic violence negatively affects attendance, 

10 and 44 percent said domestic violence increases 

11 health care costs. 

12 (25) Only 25 States have laws that explicitly 

13 provide unemployment insurance to domestic vio14 lence victims in certain circumstances, and none of 

15 the laws explicitly cover victims of sexual assault or 

16 stalking. 

17 (26) Only 6 States provide domestic violence 

18 victims with leave from work to go to court, to the 

19 doctor, or to take other steps to address the domes20 tic violence in their lives, and only Maine provides 

21 such leave to victims of sexual assault and stalking. 

22 (27) No States prohibit employment discrimina23 tion against victims of domestic violence, sexual as24 sault, or stalking. Five States provide limited protec25 tion to some victims under certain circumstances. 
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•S 1801 IS 

1 (28) Employees, including individuals partici2 pating in welfare to work programs, may need to 

3 take time during business hours to—

4 (A) obtain orders of protection; 

5 (B) seek medical or legal assistance, coun6 seling, or other services; or 

7 (C) look for housing in order to escape 

8 from domestic violence. 

9 (29) Domestic and sexual violence victims have 

10 been subjected to discrimination by private and 

11 State employers, including discrimination motivated 

12 by sex and stereotypic notions about women. 

13 (30) Domestic violence victims and third parties 

14 who help them have been subjected to discriminatory 

15 practices by health, life, disability, and property and 

16 casualty insurers and employers who self-insure em17 ployee benefits who have denied or canceled cov18 erage, rejected claims, and raised rates based on do19 mestic violence. Although some State legislatures 

20 have tried to address these problems, the scope of 

21 protection afforded by the laws adopted varies from 

22 State to State, with many failing to address the 

23 problem comprehensively. Moreover, Federal law 

24 prevents States from protecting the almost 40 per-
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•S 1801 IS 

1 cent of employees whose employers self-insure em2 ployee benefits. 

3 (31) Existing Federal law does not explicitly—

4 (A) authorize victims of domestic violence, 

5 dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking to 

6 take leave from work to seek legal assistance 

7 and redress, counseling, or assistance with safe8 ty planning activities; 

9 (B) address the eligibility of victims of do10 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

11 or stalking for unemployment compensation; 

12 (C) prohibit employment discrimination 

13 against actual or perceived victims of domestic 

14 violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 

15 stalking; or 

16 (D) prohibit insurers and employers who 

17 self-insure employee benefits from discrimi18 nating against domestic violence victims and 

19 those who help them in determining eligibility, 

20 rates charged, and standards for payment of 

21 claims; nor does it prohibit insurers from disclo22 sure of information about abuse and the vic23 tim’s location through insurance databases and 

24 other means.
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•S 1801 IS 

1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act, except as otherwise expressly provided: 

3 (1) COMMERCE.—The terms ‘‘commerce’’ and 

4 ‘‘industry or activity affecting commerce’’ have the 

5 meanings given the terms in section 101 of the 

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

7 2611).

8 (2) COURSE OF CONDUCT.—The term ‘‘course 

9 of conduct’’ means a course of repeatedly maintain10 ing a visual or physical proximity to a person or con11 veying verbal or written threats, including threats 

12 conveyed through electronic communications, or 

13 threats implied by conduct. 

14 (3) DATING VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘dating vio15 lence’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

16 826 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 

17 (20 U.S.C. 1152). 

18 (4) DOMESTIC OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE.—The 

19 term ‘‘domestic or sexual violence’’ means domestic 

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

21 (5) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘domestic 

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

23 826 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 

24 (20 U.S.C. 1152). 

25 (6) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COALITION.—The 

26 term ‘‘domestic violence coalition’’ means a non-
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•S 1801 IS 

1 profit, nongovernmental membership organization 

2 that—

3 (A) consists of the entities carrying out a 

4 majority of the domestic violence programs car5 ried out within a State; 

6 (B) collaborates and coordinates activities 

7 with Federal, State, and local entities to further 

8 the purposes of domestic violence intervention 

9 and prevention; and 

10 (C) among other activities, provides train11 ing and technical assistance to entities carrying 

12 out domestic violence programs within a State, 

13 territory, political subdivision, or area under 

14 Federal authority. 

15 (7) ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS.—The term 

16 ‘‘electronic communications’’ includes communica17 tions via telephone, mobile phone, computer, e-mail, 

18 video recorder, fax machine, telex, or pager. 

19 (8) EMPLOY; STATE.—The terms ‘‘employ’’ and 

20 ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given the terms in sec21 tion 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

22 U.S.C. 203). 

23 (9) EMPLOYEE.—

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

25 means any person employed by an employer. In 
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•S 1801 IS 

1 the case of an individual employed by a public 

2 agency, such term means an individual em3 ployed as described in section 3(e) of the Fair 

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

5 203(e)). 

6 (B) BASIS.—The term includes a person 

7 employed as described in subparagraph (A) on 

8 a full- or part-time basis, for a fixed time pe9 riod, on a temporary basis, pursuant to a detail, 

10 as an independent contractor, or as a partici11 pant in a work assignment as a condition of re12 ceipt of Federal or State income-based public 

13 assistance. 

14 (10) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’—

15 (A) means any person engaged in com16 merce or in any industry or activity affecting 

17 commerce who employs 15 or more individuals; 

18 and 

19 (B) includes any person acting directly or 

20 indirectly in the interest of an employer in rela21 tion to an employee, and includes a public agen22 cy, but does not include any labor organization 

23 (other than when acting as an employer) or 

24 anyone acting in the capacity of officer or agent 

25 of such labor organization. 
14

•S 1801 IS 

1 (11) EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.—The term ‘‘em2 ployment benefits’’ means all benefits provided or 

3 made available to employees by an employer, includ4 ing group life insurance, health insurance, disability 

5 insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational bene6 fits, and pensions, regardless of whether such bene7 fits are provided by a practice or written policy of 

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

9 as defined in section 3(3) of the Employee Retire10 ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

11 1002(3)). 

12 (12) FAMILY OR HOUSEHOLD MEMBER.—The 

13 term ‘‘family or household member’’ means a 

14 spouse, former spouse, parent, son or daughter, or 

15 person residing or formerly residing in the same 

16 dwelling unit. 

17 (13) PARENT; SON OR DAUGHTER.—The terms 

18 ‘‘parent’’ and ‘‘son or daughter’’ have the meanings 

19 given the terms in section 101 of the Family and 

20 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611). 

21 (14) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the 

22 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Fair 

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

24 (15) PUBLIC AGENCY.—The term ‘‘public agen25 cy’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 
15

•S 1801 IS 

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

2 203). 

3 (16) PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘public 

4 assistance’’ includes cash, food stamps, medical as5 sistance, housing assistance, and other benefits pro6 vided on the basis of income by a public agency. 

7 (17) REDUCED LEAVE SCHEDULE.—The term 

8 ‘‘reduced leave schedule’’ means a leave schedule 

9 that reduces the usual number of hours per work10 week, or hours per workday, of an employee.

11 (18) REPEATEDLY.—The term ‘‘repeatedly’’ 

12 means on 2 or more occasions. 

13 (19) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

14 means the Secretary of Labor. 

15 (20) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘‘sexual as16 sault’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

17 826 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1152). 

19 (21) SEXUAL ASSAULT COALITION.—The term 

20 ‘‘sexual assault coalition’’ means a nonprofit, non21 governmental membership organization that—

22 (A) consists of the entities carrying out a 

23 majority of the sexual assault programs carried 

24 out within a State;
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•S 1801 IS 

1 (B) collaborates and coordinates activities 

2 with Federal, State, and local entities to further 

3 the purposes of sexual assault intervention and 

4 prevention; and 

5 (C) among other activities, provides train6 ing and technical assistance to entities carrying 

7 out sexual assault programs within a State, ter8 ritory, political subdivision, or area under Fed9 eral authority. 

10 (22) STALKING.—The term ‘‘stalking’’ means 

11 engaging in a course of conduct directed at a spe12 cific person that would cause a reasonable person to 

13 suffer substantial emotional distress or to fear bodily 

14 injury, sexual assault, or death to the person, or the 

15 person’s spouse, parent, or son or daughter, or any 

16 other person who regularly resides in the person’s 

17 household, if the conduct causes the specific person 

18 to have such distress or fear. 

19 (23) VICTIM OF DOMESTIC OR SEXUAL VIO20 LENCE.—The term ‘‘victim of domestic or sexual vi21 olence’’ includes a person who has been a victim of 

22 domestic or sexual violence and a person whose fam23 ily or household member has been a victim of domes24 tic or sexual violence. 
17

•S 1801 IS 

1 (24) VICTIM SERVICES ORGANIZATION.—The 

2 term ‘‘victim services organization’’ means a non3 profit, nongovernmental organization that provides 

4 assistance to victims of domestic or sexual violence 

5 or to advocates for such victims, including a rape 

6 crisis center, an organization carrying out a domes7 tic violence program, an organization operating a 

8 shelter or providing counseling services, or an orga9 nization providing assistance through the legal proc10 ess. 

11 TITLE I—ENTITLEMENT TO 

12 EMERGENCY LEAVE FOR AD13 DRESSING DOMESTIC OR SEX14 UAL VIOLENCE 

15 SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 

16 The purposes of this title are, pursuant to the affirm17 ative power of Congress to enact legislation under the por18 tions of section 8 of article I of the Constitution relating 

19 to providing for the general welfare and to regulation of 

20 commerce among the several States, and under section 5 

21 of the 14th amendment to the Constitution—

22 (1) to promote the national interest in reducing 

23 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

24 and stalking by enabling victims of domestic or sex25 ual violence to maintain the financial independence 
18

•S 1801 IS 

1 necessary to leave abusive situations, achieve safety, 

2 and minimize the physical and emotional injuries 

3 from domestic or sexual violence, and to reduce the 

4 devastating economic consequences of domestic or 

5 sexual violence to employers and employees; 

6 (2) to promote the national interest in ensuring 

7 that victims of domestic or sexual violence can re8 cover from and cope with the effects of such vio9 lence, and participate in criminal and civil justice 

10 processes, without fear of adverse economic con11 sequences from their employers; 

12 (3) to ensure that victims of domestic or sexual 

13 violence can recover from and cope with the effects 

14 of such violence, and participate in criminal and civil 

15 justice processes, without fear of adverse economic 

16 consequences with respect to public benefits; 

17 (4) to promote the purposes of the 14th amend18 ment by preventing sex-based discrimination and 

19 discrimination against victims of domestic and sex20 ual violence in employment leave, addressing the 

21 failure of existing laws to protect the employment 

22 rights of victims of domestic or sexual violence, by 

23 protecting their civil and economic rights, and by 

24 furthering the equal opportunity of women for eco-
19

•S 1801 IS 

1 nomic self-sufficiency and employment free from dis2 crimination; 

3 (5) to minimize the negative impact on inter4 state commerce from dislocations of employees and 

5 harmful effects on productivity, employment, health 

6 care costs, and employer costs, caused by domestic 

7 or sexual violence, including intentional efforts to 

8 frustrate women’s ability to participate in employ9 ment and interstate commerce; 

10 (6) to further the goals of human rights and 

11 dignity reflected in instruments such as the United 

12 Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of 

13 Human Rights, and the International Covenant on 

14 Civil and Political Rights; and 

15 (7) to accomplish the purposes described in 

16 paragraphs (1) through (6) by—

17 (A) entitling employed victims of domestic 

18 or sexual violence to take leave to seek medical 

19 help, legal assistance, counseling, safety plan20 ning, and other assistance without penalty from 

21 their employers; and 

22 (B) prohibiting employers from discrimi23 nating against actual or perceived victims of do24 mestic or sexual violence, in a manner that ac25 commodates the legitimate interests of employ-
20

•S 1801 IS 

1 ers and protects the safety of all persons in the 

2 workplace. 

3 SEC. 102. ENTITLEMENT TO EMERGENCY LEAVE FOR AD4 DRESSING DOMESTIC OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE. 

5 (a) LEAVE REQUIREMENT.— 

6 (1) BASIS.—An employee who is a victim of do7 mestic or sexual violence may take leave from work 

8 to address domestic or sexual violence, by—

9 (A) seeking medical attention for, or recov10 ering from, physical or psychological injuries 

11 caused by domestic or sexual violence to the 

12 employee or the employee’s family or household 

13 member; 

14 (B) obtaining services from a victim serv15 ices organization for the employee or the em16 ployee’s family or household member; 

17 (C) obtaining psychological or other coun18 seling for the employee or the employee’s family 

19 or household member; 

20 (D) participating in safety planning, tem21 porarily or permanently relocating, or taking 

22 other actions to increase the safety of the em23 ployee or the employee’s family or household 

24 member from future domestic or sexual violence 

25 or ensure economic security; or
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•S 1801 IS 

1 (E) seeking legal assistance or remedies to 

2 ensure the health and safety of the employee or 

3 the employee’s family or household member, in4 cluding preparing for or participating in any 

5 civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or 

6 derived from domestic or sexual violence. 

7 (2) PERIOD.—An employee may take not more 

8 than 30 days of leave, as described in paragraph (1), 

9 in any 12-month period. 

10 (3) SCHEDULE.—Leave described in paragraph 

11 (1) may be taken intermittently or on a reduced 

12 leave schedule. 

13 (b) NOTICE.—The employee shall provide the em14 ployer with reasonable notice of the employee’s intention 

15 to take the leave, unless providing such notice is not prac16 ticable. 

17 (c) CERTIFICATION.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The employer may require 

19 the employee to provide certification to the employer 

20 that—

21 (A) the employee or the employee’s family 

22 or household member is a victim of domestic or 

23 sexual violence; and 

24 (B) the leave is for 1 of the purposes enu25 merated in subsection (a)(1). 
22

•S 1801 IS 

1 The employee shall provide a copy of such certifi2 cation to the employer within a reasonable period 

3 after the employer requests certification. 

4 (2) CONTENTS.—An employee may satisfy the 

5 certification requirement of paragraph (1) by pro6 viding to the employer—

7 (A) a sworn statement of the employee; 

8 (B) documentation from an employee, 

9 agent, or volunteer of a victim services organi10 zation, an attorney, a member of the clergy, or 

11 a medical or other professional, from whom the 

12 employee or the employee’s family or household 

13 member has sought assistance in addressing do14 mestic or sexual violence and the effects of the 

15 violence; 

16 (C) a police or court record; or 

17 (D) other corroborating evidence. 

18 (d) CONFIDENTIALITY.—All information provided to 

19 the employer pursuant to subsection (b) or (c), including 

20 a statement of the employee or any other documentation, 

21 record, or corroborating evidence, and the fact that the 

22 employee has requested or obtained leave pursuant to this 

23 section, shall be retained in the strictest confidence by the 

24 employer, except to the extent that disclosure is—
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•S 1801 IS 

1 (1) requested or consented to by the employee 

2 in writing; or 

3 (2) otherwise required by applicable Federal or 

4 State law. 

5 (e) EMPLOYMENT AND BENEFITS.—

6 (1) RESTORATION TO POSITION.—

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

8 paragraph (2), any employee who takes leave 

9 under this section for the intended purpose of 

10 the leave shall be entitled, on return from such 

11 leave—

12 (i) to be restored by the employer to 

13 the position of employment held by the em14 ployee when the leave commenced; or 

15 (ii) to be restored to an equivalent po16 sition with equivalent employment benefits, 

17 pay, and other terms and conditions of em18 ployment. 

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

20 leave under this section shall not result in the 

21 loss of any employment benefit accrued prior to 

22 the date on which the leave commenced. 

23 (C) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this sub24 section shall be construed to entitle any re25 stored employee to—
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•S 1801 IS 

1 (i) the accrual of any seniority or em2 ployment benefits during any period of 

3 leave; or 

4 (ii) any right, benefit, or position of 

5 employment other than any right, benefit, 

6 or position to which the employee would 

7 have been entitled had the employee not 

8 taken the leave.

9 (D) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

10 paragraph shall be construed to prohibit an em11 ployer from requiring an employee on leave 

12 under this section to report periodically to the 

13 employer on the status and intention of the em14 ployee to return to work. 

15 (2) EXEMPTION CONCERNING CERTAIN HIGHLY

16 COMPENSATED EMPLOYEES.—

17 (A) DENIAL OF RESTORATION.—An em18 ployer may deny restoration under paragraph 

19 (1) to any employee described in subparagraph 

20 (B) if—

21 (i) such denial is necessary to prevent 

22 substantial and grievous economic injury to 

23 the operations of the employer; 

24 (ii) the employer notifies the employee 

25 of the intent of the employer to deny res-
25

•S 1801 IS 

1 toration on such basis at the time the em2 ployer determines that such injury would 

3 occur; and 

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

5 commenced, the employee elects not to re6 turn to employment after receiving such 

7 notice. 

8 (B) AFFECTED EMPLOYEES.—An employee 

9 referred to in subparagraph (A) is a salaried 

10 employee who is among the highest paid 10 per11 cent of the employees employed by the employer 

12 within 75 miles of the facility at which the em13 ployee is employed. 

14 (3) MAINTENANCE OF HEALTH BENEFITS.—

15 (A) COVERAGE.—Except as provided in 

16 subparagraph (B), during any period that an 

17 employee takes leave under this section, the em18 ployer shall maintain coverage under any group 

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

20 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) for the du21 ration of such leave at the level and under the 

22 conditions coverage would have been provided if 

23 the employee had continued in employment con24 tinuously for the duration of such leave.
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•S 1801 IS 

1 (B) FAILURE TO RETURN FROM LEAVE.—

2 The employer may recover the premium that 

3 the employer paid for maintaining coverage for 

4 the employee under such group health plan dur5 ing any period of leave under this section if—

6 (i) the employee fails to return from 

7 leave under this section after the period of 

8 leave to which the employee is entitled has 

9 expired; and 

10 (ii) the employee fails to return to 

11 work for a reason other than—

12 (I) the continuation, recurrence, 

13 or onset of domestic or sexual vio14 lence, that entitles the employee to 

15 leave pursuant to this section; or 

16 (II) other circumstances beyond 

17 the control of the employee. 

18 (C) CERTIFICATION.—

19 (i) ISSUANCE.—An employer may re20 quire an employee who claims that the em21 ployee is unable to return to work because 

22 of a reason described in subclause (I) or 

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

24 within a reasonable period after making 

25 the claim, certification to the employer 
27

•S 1801 IS 

1 that the employee is unable to return to 

2 work because of that reason. 

3 (ii) CONTENTS.—An employee may 

4 satisfy the certification requirement of 

5 clause (i) by providing to the employer—

6 (I) a sworn statement of the em7 ployee; 

8 (II) documentation from an em9 ployee, agent, or volunteer of a victim 

10 services organization, an attorney, a 

11 member of the clergy, or a medical or 

12 other professional, from whom the 

13 employee has sought assistance in ad14 dressing domestic or sexual violence 

15 and the effects of that violence; 

16 (III) a police or court record; or 

17 (IV) other corroborating evi18 dence. 

19 (D) CONFIDENTIALITY.—All information 

20 provided to the employer pursuant to subpara21 graph (C), including a statement of the em22 ployee or any other documentation, record, or 

23 corroborating evidence, and the fact that the 

24 employee is not returning to work because of a 

25 reason described in subclause (I) or (II) of sub-
28

•S 1801 IS 

1 paragraph (B)(ii) shall be retained in the strict2 est confidence by the employer, except to the 

3 extent that disclosure is—

4 (i) requested or consented to by the 

5 employee; or 

6 (ii) otherwise required by applicable 

7 Federal or State law.

8 (f) PROHIBITED ACTS.—

9 (1) INTERFERENCE WITH RIGHTS.—

10 (A) EXERCISE OF RIGHTS.—It shall be un11 lawful for any employer to interfere with, re12 strain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to 

13 exercise, any right provided under this section. 

14 (B) EMPLOYER DISCRIMINATION.—It shall 

15 be unlawful for any employer to discharge or 

16 harass any individual, or otherwise discriminate 

17 against any individual with respect to com18 pensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of 

19 employment of the individual (including retalia20 tion in any form or manner) because the indi21 vidual—

22 (i) exercised any right provided under 

23 this section; or 

24 (ii) opposed any practice made unlaw25 ful by this section. 
29

•S 1801 IS 

1 (C) PUBLIC AGENCY SANCTIONS.—It shall 

2 be unlawful for any public agency to deny, re3 duce, or terminate the benefits of, otherwise 

4 sanction, or harass any individual, or otherwise 

5 discriminate against any individual with respect 

6 to the amount, terms, or conditions of public 

7 assistance of the individual (including retalia8 tion in any form or manner) because the indi9 vidual—

10 (i) exercised any right provided under 

11 this section; or 

12 (ii) opposed any practice made unlaw13 ful by this section. 

14 (2) INTERFERENCE WITH PROCEEDINGS OR IN15 QUIRIES.—It shall be unlawful for any person to dis16 charge or in any other manner discriminate (as de17 scribed in subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph 

18 (1)) against any individual because such indi19 vidual—

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

21 or caused to be instituted any proceeding, 

22 under or related to this section; 

23 (B) has given, or is about to give, any in24 formation in connection with any inquiry or 
30

•S 1801 IS 

1 proceeding relating to any right provided under 

2 this section; or 

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

4 any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right 

5 provided under this section. 

6 (g) ENFORCEMENT.—

7 (1) CIVIL ACTION BY AFFECTED INDIVID8 UALS.—

9 (A) LIABILITY.—Any employer or public 

10 agency that violates subsection (f) shall be lia11 ble to any individual affected— 

12 (i) for damages equal to—

13 (I) the amount of—

14 (aa) any wages, salary, em15 ployment benefits, public assist16 ance, or other compensation de17 nied or lost to such individual by 

18 reason of the violation; or 

19 (bb) in a case in which 

20 wages, salary, employment bene21 fits, public assistance, or other 

22 compensation has not been de23 nied or lost to the individual, any 

24 actual monetary losses sustained 
31

•S 1801 IS 

1 by the individual as a direct re2 sult of the violation; 

3 (II) the interest on the amount 

4 described in subclause (I) calculated 

5 at the prevailing rate; and 

6 (III) an additional amount as liq7 uidated damages equal to the sum of 

8 the amount described in subclause (I) 

9 and the interest described in sub10 clause (II), except that if an employer 

11 or public agency that has violated 

12 subsection (f) proves to the satisfac13 tion of the court that the act or omis14 sion that violated subsection (f) was 

15 in good faith and that the employer or 

16 public agency had reasonable grounds 

17 for believing that the act or omission 

18 was not a violation of subsection (f), 

19 such court may, in the discretion of 

20 the court, reduce the amount of the li21 ability to the amount and interest de22 termined under subclauses (I) and 

23 (II), respectively; and
32

•S 1801 IS 

1 (ii) for such equitable relief as may be 

2 appropriate, including employment, rein3 statement, and promotion. 

4 (B) RIGHT OF ACTION.—An action to re5 cover the damages or equitable relief prescribed 

6 in subparagraph (A) may be maintained against 

7 any employer or public agency in any Federal 

8 or State court of competent jurisdiction by any 

9 1 or more affected individuals for and on behalf 

10 of—

11 (i) the individuals; or

12 (ii) the individuals and other individ13 uals similarly situated. 

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

15 an action shall, in addition to any judgment 

16 awarded to the plaintiff, allow a reasonable at17 torney’s fee, reasonable expert witness fees, and 

18 other costs of the action to be paid by the de19 fendant. 

20 (D) LIMITATIONS.—The right provided by 

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

22 behalf of any affected individual shall termi23 nate—

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

25 Secretary in an action under paragraph (4) 
33

•S 1801 IS 

1 in which restraint is sought of any further 

2 delay in the payment of the amount de3 scribed in subparagraph (A)(i) to such in4 dividual by an employer or public agency 

5 responsible under subparagraph (A) for 

6 the payment; or 

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

8 Secretary in an action under paragraph (2) 

9 in which a recovery is sought of the dam10 ages described in subparagraph (A)(i) 

11 owing to an affected individual by an em12 ployer or public agency liable under sub13 paragraph (A), 

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

15 is dismissed without prejudice on motion of the 

16 Secretary. 

17 (2) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—

18 (A) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—The Sec19 retary shall receive, investigate, and attempt to 

20 resolve complaints of violations of subsection (f) 

21 in the same manner as the Secretary receives, 

22 investigates, and attempts to resolve complaints 

23 of violations of sections 6 and 7 of the Fair 

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

25 and 207). 
34

•S 1801 IS 

1 (B) CIVIL ACTION.—The Secretary may 

2 bring an action in any court of competent juris3 diction to recover the damages described in 

4 paragraph (1)(A)(i). 

5 (C) SUMS RECOVERED.—Any sums recov6 ered by the Secretary pursuant to subparagraph 

7 (B) shall be held in a special deposit account 

8 and shall be paid, on order of the Secretary, di9 rectly to each individual affected. Any such 

10 sums not paid to such an individual because of 

11 inability to do so within a period of 3 years 

12 shall be deposited into the Treasury of the 

13 United States as miscellaneous receipts. 

14 (3) LIMITATION.—

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

16 subparagraph (B), an action may be brought 

17 under this subsection not later than 2 years 

18 after the date of the last event constituting the 

19 alleged violation for which the action is brought. 

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

21 such action brought for a willful violation of 

22 subsection (f), such action may be brought 

23 within 3 years after the date of the last event 

24 constituting the alleged violation for which such 

25 action is brought. 
35

•S 1801 IS 

1 (C) COMMENCEMENT.—In determining 

2 when an action is commenced by the Secretary 

3 under this subsection for the purposes of this 

4 paragraph, it shall be considered to be com5 menced on the date when the complaint is filed. 

6 (4) ACTION FOR INJUNCTION BY SECRETARY.—

7 The district courts of the United States shall have 

8 jurisdiction, for cause shown, in an action brought 

9 by the Secretary—

10 (A) to restrain violations of subsection (f), 

11 including the restraint of any withholding of 

12 payment of wages, salary, employment benefits, 

13 public assistance, or other compensation, plus 

14 interest, found by the court to be due to af15 fected individuals; or 

16 (B) to award such other equitable relief as 

17 may be appropriate, including employment, re18 instatement, and promotion. 

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

20 Labor may appear for and represent the Secretary 

21 on any litigation brought under this subsection. 

22 (6) EMPLOYER LIABILITY UNDER OTHER

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

24 limit the liability of an employer or public agency to 

25 an individual, for harm suffered relating to the indi-
36

•S 1801 IS 

1 vidual’s experience of domestic or sexual violence, 

2 pursuant to any other Federal or State law, includ3 ing a law providing for a legal remedy. 

4 SEC. 103. EXISTING LEAVE USABLE FOR ADDRESSING DO5 MESTIC OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE. 

6 An employee who is entitled to take paid or unpaid 

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

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

9 law, a collective bargaining agreement, or an employment 

10 benefits program or plan, may elect to substitute any pe11 riod of such leave for an equivalent period of leave pro12 vided under section 102. 

13 SEC. 104. EMERGENCY BENEFITS. 

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

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

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

18 of leave the individual takes pursuant to section 102. 

19 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—In calculating the eligibility of an 

20 individual for such emergency benefits, the State shall 

21 count only the cash available or accessible to the indi22 vidual. 

23 (c) TIMING.—
37

•S 1801 IS 

1 (1) APPLICATIONS.—An individual seeking 

2 emergency benefits under subsection (a) from a 

3 State shall submit an application to the State. 

4 (2) BENEFITS.—The State shall provide bene5 fits to an eligible applicant under paragraph (1) on 

6 an expedited basis, and not later than 7 days after 

7 the applicant submits an application under para8 graph (1). 

9 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 404 of the 

10 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 604) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(l) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY BENE13 FITS.—A State that receives a grant under section 403 

14 may use the grant to provide nonrecurrent short-term 

15 emergency benefits, in accordance with section 104 of the 

16 Security and Financial Empowerment Act, to individuals 

17 who take leave pursuant to section 102 of that Act, with18 out regard to whether the individuals receive assistance 

19 under the State program funded under this part.’’. 

20 SEC. 105. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS AND EMPLOYMENT BEN21 EFITS. 

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, 
38

•S 1801 IS 

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

3 (1) greater leave benefits for victims of domes4 tic or sexual violence than the rights established 

5 under this title; or 

6 (2) leave benefits for a larger population of vic7 tims of domestic or sexual violence (as defined in 

8 such law, agreement, program, or plan) than the vic9 tims of domestic or sexual violence covered under 

10 this title. 

11 (b) LESS PROTECTIVE LAWS, AGREEMENTS, PRO12 GRAMS, AND PLANS.—The rights established for victims 

13 of domestic or sexual violence under this title shall not 

14 be diminished by any State or local law, collective bar15 gaining agreement, or employment benefits program or 

16 plan. 

17 SEC. 106. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

18 Section 1003(a)(1) of the Rehabilitation Act Amend19 ments of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 2000d–7(a)(1)) is amended by 

20 inserting ‘‘title I or III of the Security and Financial Em21 powerment Act,’’ before ‘‘or the provisions’’. 

22 SEC. 107. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

23 This title and the amendment made by this title take 

24 effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 
39

•S 1801 IS 

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

5 VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, 

6 OR STALKING 

7 SEC. 201. PURPOSES. 

8 The purposes of this title are, pursuant to the affirm9 ative power of Congress to enact legislation under the por10 tions of section 8 of article I of the Constitution relating 

11 to laying and collecting taxes, providing for the general 

12 welfare, and regulation of commerce among the several 

13 States, and under section 5 of the 14th amendment to 

14 the Constitution—

15 (1) to promote the national interest in reducing 

16 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

17 and stalking by enabling victims of domestic or sex18 ual violence to maintain the financial independence 

19 necessary to leave abusive situations, achieve safety, 

20 and minimize the physical and emotional injuries 

21 from domestic or sexual violence, and to reduce the 

22 devastating economic consequences of domestic or 

23 sexual violence to employers and employees; 

24 (2) to promote the national interest in ensuring 

25 that victims of domestic or sexual violence can re-
40

•S 1801 IS 

1 cover from and cope with the effects of such victim2 ization and participate in the criminal and civil jus3 tice processes without fear of adverse economic con4 sequences; 

5 (3) to minimize the negative impact on inter6 state commerce from dislocations of employees and 

7 harmful effects on productivity, loss of employment, 

8 health care costs, and employer costs, caused by do9 mestic or sexual violence including intentional efforts 

10 to frustrate the ability of women to participate in 

11 employment and interstate commerce; 

12 (4) to promote the purposes of the 14th amend13 ment to the Constitution by preventing sex-based 

14 discrimination and discrimination against victims of 

15 domestic and sexual violence in unemployment insur16 ance, by addressing the failure of existing laws to 

17 protect the employment rights of victims of domestic 

18 or sexual violence, by protecting their civil and eco19 nomic rights, and by furthering the equal oppor20 tunity of women for economic self-sufficiency and 

21 employment free from discrimination; and 

22 (5) to accomplish the purposes described in 

23 paragraphs (1) through (4) by providing unemploy24 ment insurance to those who are separated from 

25 their employment as a result of domestic or sexual 
41

•S 1801 IS 

1 violence, in a manner that accommodates the legiti2 mate interests of employers and protects the safety 

3 of all persons in the workplace. 

4 SEC. 202. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION AND TRAINING 

5 PROVISIONS. 

6 (a) UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.—Section 3304 

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

8 of State unemployment compensation laws) is amended—

9 (1) in subsection (a)—

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

11 at the end; 

12 (B) by redesignating paragraph (19) as 

13 paragraph (20); and 

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

15 following new paragraph: 

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

17 an individual is separated from employment due to 

18 circumstances resulting from the individual’s experi19 ence of domestic or sexual violence; and’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub21 section: 

22 ‘‘(g) CONSTRUCTION.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

24 (a)(19), an individual’s separation from employment 

25 shall be treated as due to circumstances resulting
42

•S 1801 IS 

1 from the individual’s experience of domestic or sex2 ual violence if the separation resulted from—

3 ‘‘(A) the individual’s reasonable fear of fu4 ture domestic or sexual violence at or en route 

5 to or from the individual’s place of employment; 

6 ‘‘(B) the individual’s wish to relocate in 

7 order to avoid future domestic or sexual vio8 lence against the individual or the individual’s 

9 family or household member (as such term is 

10 defined in section 3 of the Security and Finan11 cial Empowerment Act); 

12 ‘‘(C) the individual’s need to obtain treat13 ment to address the physical, psychological, or 

14 legal effects of domestic or sexual violence on 

15 the individual or the individual’s family or 

16 household member (as such term is defined in 

17 section 3 of the Security and Financial Em18 powerment Act); 

19 ‘‘(D) the employer’s denial of the individ20 ual’s request for leave from employment to ad21 dress domestic or sexual violence and its effects 

22 on the individual or the individual’s family or 

23 household member (as such term is defined in 

24 section 3 of the Security and Financial Em25 powerment Act), including leave authorized by 
43

•S 1801 IS 

1 section 102 of the Family and Medical Leave 

2 Act of 1993 or by title I of the Security and Fi3 nancial Empowerment Act;

4 ‘‘(E) the employer’s termination of the in5 dividual’s employment due to actions, including 

6 absences, taken by the individual that were nec7 essary to protect the individual or the individ8 ual’s family or household member (as such term 

9 is defined in section 3 of the Security and Fi10 nancial Empowerment Act) from domestic or 

11 sexual violence; 

12 ‘‘(F) the employer’s termination of the in13 dividual due to circumstances resulting from 

14 the individual’s being, or being perceived to be, 

15 a victim of domestic or sexual violence; or 

16 ‘‘(G) any other circumstance in which do17 mestic or sexual violence causes the individual 

18 to reasonably believe that separation from em19 ployment is necessary for the future safety of 

20 the individual or the individual’s family or 

21 household member (as such term is defined in 

22 section 3 of the Security and Financial Em23 powerment Act). 

24 ‘‘(2) REASONABLE EFFORTS TO RETAIN EM25 PLOYMENT.—For purposes of subsection (a)(19), if 
44

•S 1801 IS 

1 State law requires the individual to have made rea2 sonable efforts to retain employment as a condition 

3 for receiving unemployment compensation, such re4 quirement shall be met if the individual—

5 ‘‘(A) sought protection from, or assistance 

6 in responding to, domestic or sexual violence, 

7 including calling the police, obtaining services 

8 from a victim services organization (as defined 

9 in section 3 of the Security and Financial Em10 powerment Act), or seeking legal, social work, 

11 medical, clerical, or other assistance; 

12 ‘‘(B) sought safety, including refuge in a 

13 shelter or temporary or permanent relocation, 

14 whether or not the individual actually obtained 

15 such refuge or accomplished such relocation; or 

16 ‘‘(C) reasonably believed that options such 

17 as taking a leave of absence, transferring jobs, 

18 or receiving an alternative work schedule would 

19 not be sufficient to guarantee the safety of the 

20 individual or the individual’s family or house21 hold member (as such term is defined in section 

22 3 of the Security and Financial Empowerment 

23 Act). 

24 ‘‘(3) ACTIVE SEARCH FOR EMPLOYMENT.—For 

25 purposes of subsection (a)(19), if State law requires 
45

•S 1801 IS 

1 the individual to actively search for employment 

2 after separation from employment as a condition for 

3 receiving unemployment compensation—

4 ‘‘(A) such requirement shall be treated as 

5 met where the individual registers for work (the 

6 individual is not otherwise required to seek em7 ployment on a weekly basis); and 

8 ‘‘(B) such law may not categorize an em9 ployment opportunity as suitable work for the 

10 individual unless such employment opportunity 

11 reasonably accommodates the individual’s need 

12 to address the physical, psychological, legal, and 

13 other effects of domestic or sexual violence. 

14 ‘‘(4) PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO MEET

15 CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In determining if an 

17 individual meets the requirements of para18 graphs (1), (2), and (3), the unemployment 

19 agency of the State in which an individual is re20 questing unemployment compensation by reason 

21 of subsection (a)(19) may require the individual 

22 to provide certification that the separation from 

23 employment was due to circumstances resulting 

24 from the individual’s, or the individual’s family 

25 or household member’s (as such term is defined 
46

•S 1801 IS 

1 in section 3 of the Security and Financial Em2 powerment Act), experience of domestic or sex3 ual violence. 

4 ‘‘(B) SATISFACTION OF CERTIFICATION

5 REQUIREMENT.—An individual may satisfy the 

6 certification requirement of subparagraph (A) 

7 by providing to the unemployment agency—

8 ‘‘(i) a sworn statement of the indi9 vidual; 

10 ‘‘(ii) documentation from an em11 ployee, agent, or volunteer of a victim serv12 ices organization (as defined in section 3 of 

13 the Security and Financial Empowerment 

14 Act), an attorney, a member of the clergy, 

15 or a medical or other professional, from 

16 whom the individual or the individual’s 

17 family or household member (as such term 

18 is defined in section 3 of the Security and 

19 Financial Empowerment Act) has sought 

20 assistance in addressing domestic or sexual 

21 violence and the effects of that violence; 

22 ‘‘(iii) a police or court record; or 

23 ‘‘(iv) other corroborating evidence. 

24 ‘‘(C) CONFIDENTIALITY.—All information 

25 provided to the unemployment agency pursuant
47

•S 1801 IS 

1 to this paragraph, including a statement of an 

2 individual or any other documentation, record, 

3 or corroborating evidence, and the fact that an 

4 individual has applied for, inquired about, or 

5 obtained unemployment compensation available 

6 by reason of subsection (a)(19) shall be re7 tained in the strictest confidence by the individ8 ual’s former or current employer and the unem9 ployment agency, except to the extent that dis10 closure is—

11 ‘‘(i) requested or consented to by the 

12 individual in writing; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) otherwise required by applicable 

14 Federal or State law.’’. 

15 (b) UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION PERSONNEL

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

17 U.S.C. 503(a)) is amended—

18 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

19 (10) as paragraphs (5) through (11), respectively; 

20 and 

21 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol22 lowing new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(4) Such methods of administration as will en24 sure that—
48

•S 1801 IS 

1 ‘‘(A) applicants for unemployment com2 pensation and individuals inquiring about such 

3 compensation are adequately notified of the 

4 provisions of subsections (a)(19) and (g) of sec5 tion 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

6 (relating to the availability of unemployment 

7 compensation for victims of domestic or sexual 

8 violence); and 

9 ‘‘(B) claims reviewers and hearing per10 sonnel are adequately trained in—

11 ‘‘(i) the nature and dynamics of do12 mestic or sexual violence (as defined in 

13 section 3306(u) of the Internal Revenue 

14 Code of 1986); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) methods of ascertaining and 

16 keeping confidential information about pos17 sible experiences of domestic or sexual vio18 lence (as so defined) to ensure that—

19 ‘‘(I) requests for unemployment 

20 compensation based on separations 

21 stemming from such violence are reli22 ably screened, identified, and adju23 dicated; and 
49

•S 1801 IS 

1 ‘‘(II) full confidentiality is pro2 vided for the individual’s claim and 

3 submitted evidence; and’’. 

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

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

6 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(8) CERTIFICATION THAT THE STATE WILL

8 PROVIDE INFORMATION TO VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC

9 AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE.—A certification by the 

10 chief officer of the State that the State has estab11 lished and is enforcing standards and procedures 

12 to—

13 ‘‘(A) ensure that applicants for assistance 

14 under the program and individuals inquiring 

15 about such assistance are adequately notified 

16 of—

17 ‘‘(i) the provisions of subsections 

18 (a)(19) and (g) of section 3304 of the In19 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 

20 the availability of unemployment com21 pensation for victims of domestic or sexual 

22 violence); and 

23 ‘‘(ii) assistance made available by the 

24 State to victims of domestic or sexual vio25 lence; 
50

•S 1801 IS 

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

2 agency personnel responsible for administering 

3 the State program funded under this part are 

4 adequately trained in—

5 ‘‘(i) the nature and dynamics of do6 mestic or sexual violence (as defined in 

7 section 3306(u) of the Internal Revenue 

8 Code of 1986); 

9 ‘‘(ii) State standards and procedures 

10 relating to the prevention of, and assist11 ance for individuals who experience, do12 mestic or sexual violence (as so defined); 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(iii) methods of ascertaining and 

15 keeping confidential information about pos16 sible experiences of domestic or sexual vio17 lence (as so defined); 

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

19 enforce standards and procedures regarding the 

20 screening for and identification of domestic vio21 lence pursuant to paragraph (7), ensure that—

22 ‘‘(i) applicants for assistance under 

23 the program and individuals inquiring 

24 about such assistance are adequately noti-
51

•S 1801 IS 

1 fied of options available under such stand2 ards and procedures; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) case workers and other agency 

4 personnel responsible for administering the 

5 State program funded under this part are 

6 provided with adequate training regarding 

7 such standards and procedures and options 

8 available under such standards and proce9 dures; and 

10 ‘‘(D) ensure that the training required 

11 under subparagraphs (B) and, if applicable, 

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

13 operated by an eligible entity (as defined in sec14 tion 202(d)(2) of the Security and Financial 

15 Empowerment Act).’’. 

16 (d) DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE TRAINING

17 GRANT PROGRAM.—

18 (1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of 

19 Health and Human Services (in this subsection re20 ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) is authorized to 

21 award—

22 (A) a grant to a national victim services 

23 organization in order for such organization to—

24 (i) develop and disseminate a model 

25 training program (and related materials)
52

•S 1801 IS 

1 for the training required under section 

2 303(a)(4)(B) of the Social Security Act 

3 (42 U.S.C. 503(a)(4)(B)), as added by 

4 subsection (b), and under subparagraphs 

5 (B) and, if applicable, (C)(ii) of section 

6 402(a)(8) of the such Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 602(a)(8)), as added by subsection (c); and 

8 (ii) provide technical assistance with 

9 respect to such model training program; 

10 and 

11 (B) grants to State, tribal, or local agen12 cies in order for such agencies to contract with 

13 eligible entities to provide State, tribal, or local 

14 case workers and other State, tribal, or local 

15 agency personnel responsible for administering 

16 the temporary assistance to needy families pro17 gram established under part A of title IV of the 

18 Social Security Act in a State or Indian res19 ervation with the training required under sub20 paragraphs (B) and, if applicable, (C)(ii) of 

21 such section 402(a)(8). 

22 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—For purposes 

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

24 means an entity—

25 (A) that is—
53

•S 1801 IS 

1 (i) a State or tribal domestic violence 

2 coalition or sexual assault coalition; 

3 (ii) a State or local victim services or4 ganization with recognized expertise in the 

5 dynamics of domestic or sexual violence 

6 whose primary mission is to provide serv7 ices to victims of domestic or sexual vio8 lence, such as a rape crisis center or do9 mestic violence program; or 

10 (iii) an organization with dem11 onstrated expertise in State or county wel12 fare laws and implementation of such laws 

13 and experience with disseminating informa14 tion on such laws and implementation, but 

15 only if such organization will provide the 

16 required training in partnership with an 

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

18 (B) that—

19 (i) has demonstrated expertise in both 

20 domestic and sexual assault, such as a 

21 joint domestic violence and sexual assault 

22 coalition; or 

23 (ii) will provide the required training 

24 in partnership with an entity described in 

25 clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) in 
54

•S 1801 IS 

1 order to comply with the dual domestic vio2 lence and sexual assault expertise require3 ment under clause (i). 

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

5 under this subsection shall submit an application to 

6 the Secretary at such time, in such form and man7 ner, and containing such information as the Sec8 retary specifies. 

9 (4) REPORTS.—

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

13 this subsection. 

14 (B) REPORTS AVAILABLE TO PUBLIC.—

15 The Secretary shall establish procedures for the 

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

19 disseminate such reports. 

20 (5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

21 (A) AUTHORIZATION.—There are author22 ized to be appropriated—

23 (i) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 to 

24 carry out the provisions of paragraph 

25 (1)(A); and 
55

•S 1801 IS 

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

2 years 2005 through 2007 to carry out the 

3 provisions of paragraph (1)(B). 

4 (B) THREE-YEAR AVAILABILITY OF GRANT

5 FUNDS.—Each recipient of a grant under this 

6 subsection shall return to the Secretary of 

7 Health and Human Services any unused por8 tion of such grant not later than 3 years after 

9 the date the grant was awarded, together with 

10 any earnings on such unused portion. 

11 (C) AMOUNTS RETURNED.—Any amounts 

12 returned pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall be 

13 available without further appropriation to the 

14 Secretary of Health and Human Services for 

15 the purpose of carrying out the provisions of 

16 paragraph (1)(B). 

17 (e) DEFINITION OF DOMESTIC OR SEXUAL VIO18 LENCE.—Section 3306 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

19 1986 (relating to definitions) is amended by adding at the 

20 end the following: 

21 ‘‘(u) DOMESTIC OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE.—For pur22 poses of this chapter, the term ‘domestic or sexual vio23 lence’ means domestic violence, dating violence, sexual as24 sault, or stalking, as those terms are defined in section 

25 3 of the Security and Financial Empowerment Act.’’. 
56

•S 1801 IS 

1 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

2 (1) UNEMPLOYMENT AMENDMENTS.—

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

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

5 amendments made by this section shall apply in 

6 the case of compensation paid for weeks begin7 ning on or after the expiration of 180 days 

8 from the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 (B) EXTENSION OF EFFECTIVE DATE FOR

10 STATE LAW AMENDMENT.—

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

12 Labor identifies a State as requiring a 

13 change to its statutes or regulations in 

14 order to comply with the amendments 

15 made by this section (excluding the amend16 ment made by subsection (c)), such 

17 amendments shall apply in the case of 

18 compensation paid for weeks beginning 

19 after the earlier of—

20 (I) the date the State changes its 

21 statutes or regulations in order to 

22 comply with such amendments; or 

23 (II) the end of the first session of 

24 the State legislature which begins 

25 after the date of enactment of this
57

•S 1801 IS 

1 Act or which began prior to such date 

2 and remained in session for at least 

3 25 calendar days after such date; 

4 except that in no case shall such amend5 ments apply before the date that is 180 

6 days after the date of enactment of this 

7 Act. 

8 (ii) SESSION DEFINED.—In this sub9 paragraph, the term ‘‘session’’ means a 

10 regular, special, budget, or other session of 

11 a State legislature. 

12 (2) TANF AMENDMENT.—

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

14 subparagraph (B), the amendment made by 

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

16 enactment of this Act. 

17 (B) EXTENSION OF EFFECTIVE DATE FOR

18 STATE LAW AMENDMENT.—In the case of a 

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

20 Security Act which the Secretary of Health and 

21 Human Services determines requires State leg22 islation in order for the plan to meet the addi23 tional requirements imposed by the amendment 

24 made by subsection (c), the State plan shall not 

25 be regarded as failing to comply with the re-
58

•S 1801 IS 

1 quirements of such amendment on the basis of 

2 its failure to meet these additional requirements 

3 before the first day of the first calendar quarter 

4 beginning after the close of the first regular 

5 session of the State legislature that begins after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act. For purposes 

7 of the previous sentence, in the case of a State 

8 that has a 2-year legislative session, each year 

9 of the session is considered to be a separate 

10 regular session of the State legislature.

11 TITLE III—VICTIMS’

12 EMPLOYMENT SUSTAINABILITY 

13 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Victims’ Employment 

15 Sustainability Act’’.

16 SEC. 302. PURPOSES. 

17 The purposes of this title are, pursuant to the affirm18 ative power of Congress to enact legislation under the por19 tions of section 8 of article I of the Constitution relating 

20 to providing for the general welfare and to regulation of 

21 commerce among the several States, and under section 5 

22 of the 14th amendment to the Constitution—

23 (1) to promote the national interest in reducing 

24 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

25 and stalking by enabling victims of domestic or sex-
59

•S 1801 IS 

1 ual violence to maintain the financial independence 

2 necessary to leave abusive situations, achieve safety, 

3 and minimize the physical and emotional injuries 

4 from domestic or sexual violence, and to reduce the 

5 devastating economic consequences of domestic or 

6 sexual violence to employers and employees; 

7 (2) to promote the national interest in ensuring 

8 that victims of domestic or sexual violence can re9 cover from and cope with the effects of such vio10 lence, and participate in criminal and civil justice 

11 processes, without fear of adverse economic con12 sequences from their employers; 

13 (3) to ensure that victims of domestic or sexual 

14 violence can recover from and cope with the effects 

15 of such violence, and participate in criminal and civil 

16 justice processes, without fear of adverse economic 

17 consequences with respect to public benefits; 

18 (4) to promote the purposes of the 14th amend19 ment to the Constitution by preventing sex-based 

20 discrimination and discrimination against victims of 

21 domestic and sexual violence in employment, by ad22 dressing the failure of existing laws to protect the 

23 employment rights of victims of domestic or sexual 

24 violence, by protecting the civil and economic rights 

25 of victims of domestic or sexual violence, and by fur-
60

•S 1801 IS 

1 thering the equal opportunity of women for economic 

2 self-sufficiency and employment free from discrimi3 nation; 

4 (5) to minimize the negative impact on inter5 state commerce from dislocations of employees and 

6 harmful effects on productivity, employment, health 

7 care costs, and employer costs, caused by domestic 

8 or sexual violence, including intentional efforts to 

9 frustrate women’s ability to participate in employ10 ment and interstate commerce; and 

11 (6) to accomplish the purposes described in 

12 paragraphs (1) through (5) by prohibiting employers 

13 from discriminating against actual or perceived vic14 tims of domestic or sexual violence, in a manner that 

15 accommodates the legitimate interests of employers 

16 and protects the safety of all persons in the work17 place. 

18 SEC. 303. PROHIBITED DISCRIMINATORY ACTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—An employer shall not fail to hire, 

20 refuse to hire, discharge, or harass any individual, or oth21 erwise discriminate against any individual with respect to 

22 the compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of em23 ployment of the individual (including retaliation in any 

24 form or manner), and a public agency shall not deny, re25 duce, or terminate the benefits of, otherwise sanction, or 
61

•S 1801 IS 

1 harass any individual, or otherwise discriminate against 

2 any individual with respect to the amount, terms, or condi3 tions of public assistance of the individual (including retal4 iation in any form or manner), because—

5 (1) the individual involved—

6 (A) is or is perceived to be a victim of do7 mestic or sexual violence; 

8 (B) attended, participated in, prepared for, 

9 or requested leave to attend, participate in, or 

10 prepare for, a criminal or civil court proceeding 

11 relating to an incident of domestic or sexual vi12 olence of which the individual, or the family or 

13 household member of the individual, was a vic14 tim; or 

15 (C) requested an adjustment to a job 

16 structure, workplace facility, or work require17 ment, including a transfer, reassignment, or 

18 modified schedule, leave, a changed telephone 

19 number or seating assignment, installation of a 

20 lock, or implementation of a safety procedure, 

21 in response to actual or threatened domestic or 

22 sexual violence, regardless of whether the re23 quest was granted; or 

24 (2) the workplace is disrupted or threatened by 

25 the action of a person whom the individual states
62

•S 1801 IS 

1 has committed or threatened to commit domestic or 

2 sexual violence against the individual, or the individ3 ual’s family or household member.

4 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) DISCRIMINATE.—The term ‘‘discriminate’’, 

6 used with respect to the terms, conditions, or privi7 leges of employment or with respect to the terms or 

8 conditions of public assistance, includes not making 

9 a reasonable accommodation to the known limita10 tions of an otherwise qualified individual—

11 (A) who is a victim of domestic or sexual 

12 violence; 

13 (B) who is—

14 (i) an applicant or employee of the 

15 employer (including a public agency); or 

16 (ii) an applicant for or recipient of 

17 public assistance from the public agency; 

18 and 

19 (C) whose limitations resulted from cir20 cumstances relating to being a victim of domes21 tic or sexual violence; 

22 unless the employer or public agency can dem23 onstrate that the accommodation would impose an 

24 undue hardship on the operation of the employer or 

25 public agency. 
63

•S 1801 IS 

1 (2) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘quali2 fied individual’’ means—

3 (A) in the case of an applicant or employee 

4 described in paragraph (1)(B)(i), an individual 

5 who, with or without reasonable accommoda6 tion, can perform the essential functions of the 

7 employment position that such individual holds 

8 or desires; or 

9 (B) in the case of an applicant or recipient 

10 described in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), an individual 

11 who, with or without reasonable accommoda12 tion, can satisfy the essential requirements of 

13 the program providing the public assistance 

14 that the individual receives or desires. 

15 (3) REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION.—The term 

16 ‘‘reasonable accommodation’’ may include an adjust17 ment to a job structure, workplace facility, or work 

18 requirement, including a transfer, reassignment, or 

19 modified schedule, leave, a changed telephone num20 ber or seating assignment, installation of a lock, or 

21 implementation of a safety procedure, in response to 

22 actual or threatened domestic or sexual violence. 

23 (4) UNDUE HARDSHIP.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘undue hard25 ship’’ means an action requiring significant dif-
64

•S 1801 IS 

1 ficulty or expense, when considered in light of 

2 the factors set forth in subparagraph (B). 

3 (B) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In de4 termining whether a reasonable accommodation 

5 would impose an undue hardship on the oper6 ation of an employer or public agency, factors 

7 to be considered include—

8 (i) the nature and cost of the reason9 able accommodation needed under this sec10 tion; 

11 (ii) the overall financial resources of 

12 the facility involved in the provision of the 

13 reasonable accommodation, the number of 

14 persons employed at such facility, the ef15 fect on expenses and resources, or the im16 pact otherwise of such accommodation on 

17 the operation of the facility; 

18 (iii) the overall financial resources of 

19 the employer or public agency, the overall 

20 size of the business of an employer or pub21 lic agency with respect to the number of 

22 employees of the employer or public agen23 cy, and the number, type, and location of 

24 the facilities of an employer or public agen25 cy; and 
65

•S 1801 IS 

1 (iv) the type of operation of the em2 ployer or public agency, including the com3 position, structure, and functions of the 

4 workforce of the employer or public agen5 cy, the geographic separateness of the fa6 cility from the employer or public agency, 

7 and the administrative or fiscal relation8 ship of the facility to the employer or pub9 lic agency. 

10 SEC. 304. ENFORCEMENT. 

11 (a) CIVIL ACTION BY INDIVIDUALS.—

12 (1) LIABILITY.—Any employer or public agency 

13 that violates section 303 shall be liable to any indi14 vidual affected for—

15 (A) damages equal to the amount of 

16 wages, salary, employment benefits, public as17 sistance, or other compensation denied or lost 

18 to such individual by reason of the violation, 

19 and the interest on that amount calculated at 

20 the prevailing rate; 

21 (B) compensatory damages, including dam22 ages for future pecuniary losses, emotional 

23 pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, 

24 loss of enjoyment or life, and other nonpecu25 niary losses; 
66

•S 1801 IS 

1 (C) such punitive damages, up to 3 times 

2 the amount of actual damages sustained, as the 

3 court described in paragraph (2) shall deter4 mine to be appropriate; and 

5 (D) such equitable relief as may be appro6 priate, including employment, reinstatement, 

7 and promotion. 

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

9 the damages or equitable relief prescribed in para10 graph (1) may be maintained against any employer 

11 or public agency in any Federal or State court of 

12 competent jurisdiction by any 1 or more individuals 

13 described in section 303. 

14 (b) ACTION BY DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.—The At15 torney General may bring a civil action in any Federal 

16 or State court of competent jurisdiction to recover the 

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

18 SEC. 305. ATTORNEY’S FEES. 

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

20 1988(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘the Victims’ Employ21 ment Sustainability Act,’’ after ‘‘title VI of the Civil 

22 Rights Act of 1964,’’.
67

•S 1801 IS 

1 TITLE IV—VICTIMS OF ABUSE 

2 INSURANCE PROTECTION 

3 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Victims of Abuse In5 surance Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this title: 

8 (1) ABUSE.—The term ‘‘abuse’’ means the oc9 currence of 1 or more of the following acts by a cur10 rent or former household or family member, intimate 

11 partner, or caretaker: 

12 (A) Attempting to cause or causing an13 other person bodily injury, physical harm, sub14 stantial emotional distress, psychological trau15 ma, rape, sexual assault, or involuntary sexual 

16 intercourse. 

17 (B) Engaging in a course of conduct or re18 peatedly committing acts toward another per19 son, including following the person without 

20 proper authority and under circumstances that 

21 place the person in reasonable fear of bodily in22 jury or physical harm. 

23 (C) Subjecting another person to false im24 prisonment or kidnapping. 
68

•S 1801 IS 

1 (D) Attempting to cause or causing dam2 age to property so as to intimidate or attempt 

3 to control the behavior of another person. 

4 (2) HEALTH CARRIER.—The term ‘‘health car5 rier’’ means a person that contracts or offers to con6 tract on a risk-assuming basis to provide, deliver, ar7 range for, pay for, or reimburse any of the cost of 

8 health care services, including a sickness and acci9 dent insurance company, a health maintenance orga10 nization, a nonprofit hospital and health service cor11 poration or any other entity providing a plan of 

12 health insurance, health benefits or health services. 

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

14 party named on a policy, certificate, or health ben15 efit plan, including an individual, corporation, part16 nership, association, unincorporated organization, or 

17 any similar entity, as the person with legal rights to 

18 the benefits provided by the policy, certificate, or 

19 health benefit plan. For group insurance, such term 

20 includes a person who is a beneficiary covered by a 

21 group policy, certificate, or health benefit plan. For 

22 life insurance, the term refers to the person whose 

23 life is covered under an insurance policy. 

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

25 person, reciprocal exchange, inter insurer, Lloyds in-
69

•S 1801 IS 

1 surer, fraternal benefit society, or other legal entity 

2 engaged in the business of insurance, including 

3 agents, brokers, adjusters, and third-party adminis4 trators; and employers who provide or make avail5 able employment benefits through an employee ben6 efit plan, as defined in section 3(3) of the Employee 

7 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

8 102(3)). The term also includes health carriers, 

9 health benefit plans, and life, disability, and prop10 erty and casualty insurers. 

11 (5) POLICY.—The term ‘‘policy’’ means a con12 tract of insurance, certificate, indemnity, suretyship, 

13 or annuity issued, proposed for issuance or intended 

14 for issuance by an insurer, including endorsements 

15 or riders to an insurance policy or contract. 

16 (6) SUBJECT OF ABUSE.—The term ‘‘subject of 

17 abuse’’ means— 

18 (A) a person against whom an act of abuse 

19 has been directed; 

20 (B) a person who has prior or current in21 juries, illnesses, or disorders that resulted from 

22 abuse; or 

23 (C) a person who seeks, may have sought, 

24 or had reason to seek medical or psychological 
70

•S 1801 IS 

1 treatment for abuse, protection, court-ordered 

2 protection, or shelter from abuse. 

3 SEC. 403. DISCRIMINATORY ACTS PROHIBITED. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—No insurer may, directly or indi5 rectly, engage in any of the following acts or practices on 

6 the basis that the applicant or insured, or any person em7 ployed by the applicant or insured or with whom the appli8 cant or insured is known to have a relationship or associa9 tion, is, has been, or may be the subject of abuse or has 

10 incurred or may incur abuse-related claims: 

11 (1) Denying, refusing to issue, renew or reissue, 

12 or canceling or otherwise terminating an insurance 

13 policy or health benefit plan. 

14 (2) Restricting, excluding, or limiting insurance 

15 coverage for losses or denying a claim, except as oth16 erwise permitted or required by State laws relating 

17 to life insurance beneficiaries. 

18 (3) Adding a premium differential to any insur19 ance policy or health benefit plan. 

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

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

22 of a claim incurred by an innocent insured as a result of 

23 abuse. 

24 (c) PROHIBITION ON TERMINATION.—
71

•S 1801 IS 

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—No insurer or health carrier 

2 may terminate health coverage for a subject of abuse 

3 because coverage was originally issued in the name 

4 of the abuser and the abuser has divorced, separated 

5 from, or lost custody of the subject of abuse or the 

6 abuser’s coverage has terminated voluntarily or in7 voluntarily and the subject of abuse does not qualify 

8 for an extension of coverage under part 6 of subtitle 

9 B of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Se10 curity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1161 et seq.) or sec11 tion 4980B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

12 (2) PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS.—Nothing in para13 graph (1) shall be construed to prohibit the insurer 

14 from requiring that the subject of abuse pay the full 

15 premium for the subject’s coverage under the health 

16 plan if the requirements are applied to all insured of 

17 the health carrier. 

18 (3) EXCEPTION.—An insurer may terminate 

19 group coverage to which this subsection applies after 

20 the continuation coverage period required by this 

21 subsection has been in force for 18 months if it of22 fers conversion to an equivalent individual plan. 

23 (4) CONTINUATION COVERAGE.—The continu24 ation of health coverage required by this subsection 

25 shall be satisfied by any extension of coverage under
72

•S 1801 IS 

1 part 6 of subtitle B of title I of the Employee Re2 tirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

3 1161 et seq.) or section 4980B of the Internal Rev4 enue Code of 1986 provided to a subject of abuse 

5 and is not intended to be in addition to any exten6 sion of coverage otherwise provided for under such 

7 part 6 or section 4980B. 

8 (d) USE OF INFORMATION.—

9 (1) LIMITATION.—

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

11 safety and privacy of subjects of abuse, no per12 son employed by or contracting with an insurer 

13 or health benefit plan may— 

14 (i) use, disclose, or transfer informa15 tion relating to abuse status, acts of abuse, 

16 abuse-related medical conditions or the ap17 plicant’s or insured’s status as a family 

18 member, employer, associate, or person in 

19 a relationship with a subject of abuse for 

20 any purpose unrelated to the direct provi21 sion of health care services unless such 

22 use, disclosure, or transfer is required by 

23 an order of an entity with authority to reg24 ulate insurance or an order of a court of 

25 competent jurisdiction; or 
73

•S 1801 IS 

1 (ii) disclose or transfer information 

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

4 mailing address and telephone number of a 

5 shelter for subjects of abuse, unless such 

6 disclosure or transfer— 

7 (I) is required in order to provide 

8 insurance coverage; and 

9 (II) does not have the potential 

10 to endanger the safety of a subject of 

11 abuse. 

12 (B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

13 this paragraph may be construed to limit or 

14 preclude a subject of abuse from obtaining the 

15 subject’s own insurance records from an in16 surer. 

17 (2) AUTHORITY OF SUBJECT OF ABUSE.—A 

18 subject of abuse, at the absolute discretion of the 

19 subject of abuse, may provide evidence of abuse to 

20 an insurer for the limited purpose of facilitating 

21 treatment of an abuse-related condition or dem22 onstrating that a condition is abuse-related. Nothing 

23 in this paragraph shall be construed as authorizing 

24 an insurer or health carrier to disregard such pro25 vided evidence.
74

•S 1801 IS 

1 SEC. 404. INSURANCE PROTOCOLS FOR SUBJECTS OF 

2 ABUSE. 

3 Insurers shall develop and adhere to written policies 

4 specifying procedures to be followed by employees, con5 tractors, producers, agents, and brokers for the purpose 

6 of protecting the safety and privacy of a subject of abuse 

7 and otherwise implementing this title when taking an ap8 plication, investigating a claim, or taking any other action 

9 relating to a policy or claim involving a subject of abuse. 

10 SEC. 405. REASONS FOR ADVERSE ACTIONS. 

11 An insurer that takes an action that adversely affects 

12 a subject of abuse, shall advise the subject of abuse appli13 cant or insured of the specific reasons for the action in 

14 writing. For purposes of this section, reference to general 

15 underwriting practices or guidelines shall not constitute 

16 a specific reason. 

17 SEC. 406. LIFE INSURANCE. 

18 Nothing in this title shall be construed to prohibit 

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

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

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

22 if—

23 (1) the applicant or prospective owner of the 

24 policy lacks an insurable interest in the insured; or 

25 (2) the applicant or prospective owner of the 

26 policy is known, on the basis of police or court 
75

•S 1801 IS 

1 records, to have committed an act of abuse against 

2 the proposed insured. 

3 SEC. 407. SUBROGATION WITHOUT CONSENT PROHIBITED. 

4 Subrogation of claims resulting from abuse is prohib5 ited without the informed consent of the subject of abuse. 

6 SEC. 408. ENFORCEMENT. 

7 (a) FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Trade Commis9 sion shall have the power to examine and investigate 

10 any insurer to determine whether such insurer has 

11 been or is engaged in any act or practice prohibited 

12 by this title. 

13 (2) CEASE AND DESIST ORDERS.—If the Fed14 eral Trade Commission determines an insurer has 

15 been or is engaged in any act or practice prohibited 

16 by this title, the Commission may take action 

17 against such insurer by the issuance of a cease and 

18 desist order as if the insurer was in violation of sec19 tion 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Such 

20 cease and desist order may include any individual re21 lief warranted under the circumstances, including 

22 temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunctive 

23 and compensatory relief. 

24 (b) PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION.—
76

•S 1801 IS 

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

2 believes that the applicant or insured has been ad3 versely affected by an act or practice of an insurer 

4 in violation of this title may maintain an action 

5 against the insurer in a Federal or State court of 

6 original jurisdiction.

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

8 preponderance of the evidence in an action described 

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

10 relief, including temporary, preliminary, and perma11 nent injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive 

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

13 fees for the aggrieved individual’s attorneys and ex14 pert witnesses. 

15 (3) STATUTORY DAMAGES.—With respect to 

16 compensatory damages in an action described in 

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

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

19 recover in lieu of actual damages, an award of statu20 tory damages in the amount of $5,000 for each vio21 lation. 

22 SEC. 409. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

23 This title shall apply with respect to any action taken 

24 on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
77

•S 1801 IS 

1 TITLE V—WORKPLACE SAFETY 

2 PROGRAM TAX CREDIT 

3 SEC. 501. CREDIT FOR COSTS TO EMPLOYERS OF IMPLE4 MENTING WORKPLACE SAFETY PROGRAMS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub6 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

7 1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by 

8 adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 45G. WORKPLACE SAFETY PROGRAM CREDIT. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the 

11 workplace safety program credit determined under this 

12 section for the taxable year is, for any employer, an 

13 amount equal to 40 percent of the domestic and sexual 

14 violence safety and education costs paid or incurred by 

15 such employer during the taxable year. 

16 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

17 ‘‘(1) DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE SAFETY

18 AND EDUCATION COST.—

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

20 and sexual violence safety and education cost’ 

21 means any cost certified by the Secretary of 

22 Labor to the Secretary as being for the purpose 

23 of—

24 ‘‘(i) ensuring the safety of employees 

25 from domestic or sexual violence, 
78

•S 1801 IS 

1 ‘‘(ii) providing assistance to employees 

2 and the spouses and dependents of employ3 ees with respect to domestic or sexual vio4 lence, 

5 ‘‘(iii) providing legal or medical serv6 ices to employees and the spouses and de7 pendents of employees subjected to, or at 

8 risk from, domestic or sexual violence, 

9 ‘‘(iv) educating employees about the 

10 issue of domestic or sexual violence, or 

11 ‘‘(v) implementing human resource or 

12 personnel policies initiated to protect em13 ployees from domestic or sexual violence or 

14 to support employees who have been vic15 tims of domestic or sexual violence. 

16 ‘‘(B) TYPES OF COSTS.—Such term in17 cludes costs certified by the Secretary of Labor 

18 to the Secretary as being for the purpose of—

19 ‘‘(i) the hiring of new security per20 sonnel in order to address domestic or sex21 ual violence, 

22 ‘‘(ii) the creation of buddy systems or 

23 escort systems for walking employees to 

24 parking lots, parked cars, subway stations, 
79

•S 1801 IS 

1 or bus stops, in order to address domestic 

2 or sexual violence, 

3 ‘‘(iii) the purchase or installation of 

4 new security equipment, including surveil5 lance equipment, lighting fixtures, cardkey 

6 access systems, and identification systems, 

7 in order to address domestic or sexual vio8 lence, 

9 ‘‘(iv) the establishment of an employee 

10 assistance line or other employee assist11 ance services, in order to address domestic 

12 or sexual violence, for the use of individual 

13 employees, including counseling or referral 

14 services undertaken in consultation and co15 ordination with national, State, or local do16 mestic violence coalitions, sexual assault 

17 coalitions, domestic violence programs, or 

18 sexual assault programs, 

19 ‘‘(v) the retention of an attorney to 

20 provide legal services to employees seeking 

21 restraining orders or other legal recourse 

22 from domestic or sexual violence, 

23 ‘‘(vi) the establishment of medical 

24 services addressing the medical needs of 
80

•S 1801 IS 

1 employees who are victims of domestic or 

2 sexual violence, 

3 ‘‘(vii) the retention of a financial ex4 pert or an accountant to provide financial 

5 counseling to employees seeking to escape 

6 from domestic or sexual violence, 

7 ‘‘(viii) the establishment of an edu8 cation program for employees, consisting of 

9 seminars or training sessions about domes10 tic or sexual violence undertaken in con11 sultation and coordination with national, 

12 State, or local domestic violence coalitions, 

13 sexual assault coalitions, domestic violence 

14 programs, or sexual assault programs, 

15 ‘‘(ix) studies of the cost, impact, or 

16 extent of domestic or sexual violence at the 

17 employer’s place of business, if such stud18 ies are made available to the public and 

19 protect the identity of employees included 

20 in the study, 

21 ‘‘(x) the publication of a regularly dis22 seminated newsletter or other regularly 

23 disseminated educational materials about 

24 domestic or sexual violence, 
81

•S 1801 IS 

1 ‘‘(xi) the implementation of leave poli2 cies for the purpose of allowing or accom3 modating the needs of victims of domestic 

4 or sexual violence to pursue counseling, 

5 legal assistance, or safety planning, includ6 ing leave from work to attend meetings 

7 with attorneys, to give evidentiary state8 ments or depositions, and to attend hear9 ings or trials in court, 

10 ‘‘(xii) the implementation of flexible 

11 work policies for the purpose of allowing or 

12 accommodating the needs of employees 

13 who are victims of domestic or sexual vio14 lence, or employees at risk with respect to 

15 such crimes, to avoid assailants, 

16 ‘‘(xiii) the implementation of transfer 

17 policies for the purpose of allowing or ac18 commodating the needs of employees sub19 jected to domestic or sexual violence to 

20 change office locations within the company 

21 in order to avoid assailants or to allow the 

22 transfer of an employee who has per23 petrated domestic or sexual violence in 

24 order to protect the victim, including pay25 ment of costs for the transfer and reloca-
82

•S 1801 IS 

1 tion of an employee to another city, coun2 ty, State, or country for the purpose of 

3 maintaining an employee’s safety from do4 mestic or sexual violence, or 

5 ‘‘(xiv) the provision of any of the serv6 ices described in clauses (iv) through (viii) 

7 to the spouses or dependents of employees. 

8 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION OF POSSIBLE TAX

9 CONSEQUENCES.—In no event shall any cost for 

10 goods or services which may be included in the 

11 income of any employee receiving or benefiting 

12 from such goods or services be treated as a do13 mestic and sexual violence safety and education 

14 cost unless the employer notifies the employee 

15 in writing of the possibility of such inclusion. 

16 ‘‘(2) DOMESTIC OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE.—The 

17 term ‘domestic or sexual violence’ means domestic 

18 violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, 

19 as those terms are defined in section 3 of the Secu20 rity and Financial Empowerment Act. 

21 ‘‘(3) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COALITION; SEXUAL

22 ASSAULT COALITION.—The terms ‘domestic violence 

23 coalition’ and ‘sexual assault coalition’ have the 

24 meanings given the terms in section 3 of the Secu25 rity and Financial Empowerment Act.
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1 ‘‘(4) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘employee’ means 

2 a person who is an employee, as defined in section 

3 3(9) of the Security and Financial Empowerment 

4 Act, except that the person may be employed by any 

5 employer described in paragraph (5). 

6 ‘‘(5) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘employer’ means 

7 a person who is an employer, as defined in section 

8 3(10) of such Act, determined without regard to the 

9 number of individuals employed. 

10 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVISIONS.—No 

11 credit or deduction shall be allowed under any other provi12 sion of this title for any amount for which a credit is al13 lowed under this section.’’. 

14 (b) TREATMENT AS GENERAL BUSINESS CREDIT.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 38 

16 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 

17 general business credit) is amended by striking 

18 ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (14), by striking the 

19 period at the end of paragraph (15) and inserting ‘‘, 

20 plus’’, and by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(16) the workplace safety program credit de22 termined under section 45G.’’. 

23 (2) TRANSITIONAL RULE FOR CARRYBACKS.—

24 Subsection (d) of section 39 of such Code (relating 
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1 to transitional rules) is amended by adding at the 

2 end the following: 

3 ‘‘(11) NO CARRYBACK OF SECTION 45G CREDIT

4 BEFORE EFFECTIVE DATE.—No portion of the un5 used business credit for any taxable year which is 

6 attributable to the workplace safety program credit 

7 determined under section 45G may be carried back 

8 to a taxable year beginning before January 1, 

9 2004.’’. 

10 (3) DEDUCTION FOR UNUSED CREDITS.—Sub11 section (c) of section 196 of such Code (relating to 

12 deduction for certain unused business credits) is 

13 amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

14 (9), by striking the period at the end of paragraph 

15 (10) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the 

16 end the following: 

17 ‘‘(11) the workplace safety program credit de18 termined under section 45G.’’. 

19 (c) CREDIT NOT A DEFENSE IN LEGAL ACTIONS.—

20 The allowance of a credit under section 45G of the Inter21 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by this section) shall 

22 not absolve employers of their responsibilities under any 

23 other law and shall not be construed as a defense to any 

24 legal action (other than legal action by the Secretary of 

25 the Treasury under such Code). 
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1 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 

3 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add4 ing at the end the following:

‘‘Sec. 45G. Workplace safety program credit.’’.

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

6 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

7 December 31, 2003.

8 TITLE VI—NATIONAL CLEARING9 HOUSE ON DOMESTIC AND 

10 SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN THE 

11 WORKPLACE GRANT 

12 SEC. 601. NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON DOMESTIC AND 

13 SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE 

14 GRANT. 

15 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Attorney General may award 

16 a grant in accordance with this section to a private, non17 profit entity or tribal organization that meets the require18 ments of subsection (b), in order to provide for the estab19 lishment and operation of a national clearinghouse and re20 source center to provide information and assistance to em21 ployers, labor organizations, and advocates on behalf of 

22 victims of domestic or sexual violence, in their efforts to 

23 develop and implement appropriate responses to assist 

24 those victims. 
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1 (b) GRANTEES.—Each applicant for a grant under 

2 this section shall submit to the Attorney General an appli3 cation, which shall—

4 (1) demonstrate that the applicant—

5 (A) has a nationally recognized expertise in 

6 the area of domestic violence, dating violence, 

7 sexual assault, and stalking, and a record of 

8 commitment and quality responses to reduce 

9 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual as10 sault, and stalking; and 

11 (B) will provide matching funds from non12 Federal sources in an amount equal to not less 

13 than 10 percent of the total amount of the 

14 grant awarded under this section; and 

15 (2) include a plan to maximize, to the extent 

16 practicable, outreach to employers (including private 

17 companies, as well as public entities such as univer18 sities, and State and local governments) in devel19 oping and implementing appropriate responses to as20 sist employees who are victims of domestic or sexual 

21 violence. 

22 (c) USE OF GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant under this 

23 section may be used for staff salaries, travel expenses, 

24 equipment, printing, and other reasonable expenses nec25 essary to assemble, maintain, and disseminate to employ-
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1 ers, labor organizations, and advocates described in sub2 section (a), information on and appropriate responses to 

3 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 

4 stalking, including—

5 (1) training to promote a better understanding 

6 of appropriate assistance to employee victims; 

7 (2) conferences and other educational opportu8 nities; 

9 (3) development of protocols and model work10 place policies; 

11 (4) employer- and union-sponsored victim serv12 ices and outreach counseling; and 

13 (5) assessments of the workplace costs of do14 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 

15 stalking. 

16 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

18 $500,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008. 

19 TITLE VII—SEVERABILITY 

20 SEC. 701. SEVERABILITY. 

21 If any provision of this Act, any amendment made 

22 by this Act, or the application of such provision or amend23 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconsti24 tutional, the remainder of the provisions of this Act, the 

25 amendments made by this Act, and the application of such 
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1 provisions or amendments to any person or circumstance 

2 shall not be affected.

Æ