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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2484

To provide equal leave benefits for adoptive parents.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 22, 1993

Mr. OBERSTAR (for himself and Mr. KILDEE) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

A BILL

To provide equal leave benefits for adoptive parents.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Leave Equity for

5 Adoptive Families Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. NONDISCRIMINATION.

7 It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an

8 employer to discriminate against an employee with respect

9 to a term or condition of any leave benefit on the basis

10 of the fact that a son or daughter of an employee is not

11 a biological child of the employee.
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1 SEC. 3. CIVIL ACTION.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the limitations con3 tained in this section, any person may bring a civil action

4 against an employer to enforce the provisions of section

5 2 in any appropriate court of the United States or in any

6 State court of competent jurisdiction.

7 (b) TIMING OF COMMENCEMENT OF CIVIL ACTION.—

8 No civil action may be commenced under subsection (a)

9 later than 1 year after the date of the last event that con10 stitutes the alleged violation of section 2.

11 (c) VENUE.—An action brought under subsection (a)

12 in a district court of the United States may be brought

13 in any appropriate judicial district under section 1391 of

14 title 28, United States Code.

15 (d) RELIEF.—In any civil action brought under sub16 section (a), the court may—

17 (1) grant as relief against any respondent that

18 violates section 2—

19 (A) any permanent or temporary injunc20 tion, temporary restraining order, or other equi21 table relief as the court determines appropriate,

22 and

23 (B) damages in an amount equal to any

24 wages, salary, employment benefits, or other

25 compensation denied or lost to the employee

26 bringing the action by reason of the violation of
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1 section 2, plus interest on the total monetary

2 damages calculated at the prevailing rate and

3 (2) award to a prevailing party (other than the

4 United States) in the action a reasonable attorney’s

5 fee.

6 SEC. 4. CONSTRUCTION.

7 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require an

8 employer to provide any leave benefit that the employer

9 would not otherwise have provided to an employee with

10 a biological child.

11 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

12 As used in this Act:

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

14 ‘‘industry or activity affecting commerce’’ mean any

15 activity, business, or industry in commerce or in

16 which a labor dispute would hinder or obstruct com17 merce or the free flow of commerce, and include

18 ‘‘commerce’’ and any ‘‘industry affecting com19 merce’’, as defined in paragraphs (3) and (1), re20 spectively, of section 120 of the Labor Management

21 Relations Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C. 142 (3) and (1)).

22 (2) EMPLOY.—The term ‘‘employ’’ has the

23 meaning given the term in section 3(g) of the Fair

24 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(g)).
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1 (3) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means

2 any individual employed by an employer.

3 (4) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ means

4 any person engaged in commerce or in any industry

5 or activity affecting commerce.

6 (5) EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.—The term ‘‘em7 ployment benefits’’ means all benefits provided or

8 made available to employees by an employer, includ9 ing health insurance, sick leave, and annual leave,

10 regardless of whether such benefits are provided by

11 a policy or practice of an employer or through an

12 ‘‘employee welfare benefit plan’’, as defined in sec13 tion 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Secu14 rity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002(1)).

15 (6) LEAVE BENEFIT.—The term ‘‘leave benefit’’

16 means—

17 (A) any leave provided by the employer to

18 enable a parent to prepare for the arrival of a

19 son or daughter or to care for a son or daugh20 ter;

21 (B) any right to reemployment with the

22 employer after the leave described in subpara23 graph (A); and
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1 (C) any right to the receipt of pay or em2 ployment benefits, or the accrual of seniority,

3 during the leave described in subparagraph (A).

4 (7) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ means the

5 biological parent, adoptive parent, prospective adop6 tive parent, legal guardian, or stepparent, of the

7 child.

8 (8) SON OR DAUGHTER.—The term ‘‘son or

9 daughter’’ means a biological or adopted child, a

10 stepchild, a legal ward, or a child placed for adop11 tion.

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