I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4016 
To provide unemployment insurance to those who are separated from their 
employment as a result of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
assault, or stalking. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 31, 2007 
Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD (for herself and Mr. POE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To provide unemployment insurance to those who are sepa-
rated from their employment as a result of domestic 
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unemployment Insur-
ance for Survivors Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, except as otherwise expressly provided: 
(1) COMMERCE.—The terms ‘‘commerce’’ and 
‘‘industry or activity affecting commerce’’ have the 
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commerce who employs 15 or more individuals; 
and 
(B) includes any person acting directly or 
indirectly in the interest of an employer in rela-
tion to an employee, and includes a public agen-
cy that employs individuals as described in sec-
tion 3(e)(2) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
1938, but does not include any labor organiza-
tion (other than when acting as an employer) or 
anyone acting in the capacity of officer or agent 
of such labor organization. 
(8) EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.—The term ‘‘em-
ployment benefits’’ means all benefits provided or 
made available to employees by an employer, includ-
ing group life insurance, health insurance, disability 
insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational bene-
fits, and pensions, regardless of whether such bene-
fits are provided by a practice or written policy of 
an employer or through an ‘‘employee benefit plan’’, 
as defined in section 3(3) of the Employee Retire-
ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 
1002(3)). 
(9) PARENT; SON OR DAUGHTER.—The terms 
‘‘parent’’ and ‘‘son or daughter’’ have the meanings 
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given the terms in section 101 of the Family and 
Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611). 
(10) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 3 of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 
(11) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘‘sexual as-
sault’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 
(42 U.S.C. 13925). 
(12) SEXUAL ASSAULT COALITION.—The term 
‘‘sexual assault coalition’’ means a nonprofit, non-
governmental membership organization that— 
(A) consists of the entities carrying out a 
majority of the sexual assault programs carried 
out within a State; 
(B) collaborates and coordinates activities 
with Federal, State, and local entities to further 
the purposes of sexual assault intervention and 
prevention; and 
(C) among other activities, provides train-
ing and technical assistance to entities carrying 
out sexual assault programs within a State, ter-
ritory, political subdivision, or area under Fed-
eral authority. 
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(13) STALKING.—The term ‘‘stalking’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 40002 of the Vio-
lence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 
13925). 
(14) VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING 
VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING.—The 
term ‘‘victim of domestic violence, dating violence, 
sexual assault, or stalking’’ includes a person who 
has been a victim of domestic violence, dating vio-
lence, sexual assault, or stalking and a person whose 
family or household member has been a victim of do-
mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
stalking. 
(15) VICTIM
SERVICES
ORGANIZATION.—The 
term ‘‘victim services organization’’ means a non-
profit, nongovernmental organization that provides 
assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating vio-
lence, sexual assault, or stalking, or to advocates for 
such victims, including a rape crisis center, an orga-
nization carrying out a domestic violence program, 
an organization operating a shelter or providing 
counseling services, or an organization providing as-
sistance through the legal process. 
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SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are, pursuant to the affirm-
ative power of Congress to enact legislation under the por-
tions of section 8 of article I of the Constitution relating 
to laying and collecting taxes, providing for the general 
welfare, and regulation of commerce among the several 
States, and under section 5 of the 14th amendment to 
the Constitution— 
(1) to promote the national interest in reducing 
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
and stalking by enabling victims of domestic vio-
lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking to 
maintain the financial independence necessary to 
leave abusive situations, achieve safety, and mini-
mize the physical and emotional injuries from do-
mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
stalking, and to reduce the devastating economic 
consequences of domestic violence, dating violence, 
sexual assault, or stalking to employers and employ-
ees; 
(2) to promote the national interest in ensuring 
that victims of domestic violence, dating violence, 
sexual assault, or stalking can recover from and cope 
with the effects of such victimization and participate 
in the criminal and civil justice processes without 
fear of adverse economic consequences; 
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(3) to minimize the negative impact on inter-
state commerce from dislocations of employees and 
harmful effects on productivity, loss of employment, 
health care costs, and employer costs, caused by do-
mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
stalking, including intentional efforts to frustrate 
the ability of women to participate in employment 
and interstate commerce; 
(4) to promote the purposes of the 14th amend-
ment to the Constitution by preventing sex-based 
discrimination and discrimination against victims of 
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
stalking in unemployment insurance, by addressing 
the failure of existing laws to protect the employ-
ment rights of victims of domestic violence, dating 
violence, sexual assault, or stalking, by protecting 
their civil and economic rights, and by furthering the 
equal opportunity of women for economic self-suffi-
ciency and employment free from discrimination; 
and 
(5) to accomplish the purposes described in 
paragraphs (1) through (4) by providing unemploy-
ment insurance to those who are separated from 
their employment as a result of domestic violence, 
dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, in a 
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manner that accommodates the legitimate interests 
of employers and protects the safety of all persons 
in the workplace. 
SEC. 4. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION AND TRAINING 
PROVISIONS. 
(a) UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.—Section 3304 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to approval 
of State unemployment compensation laws) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (18), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; 
(B) by redesignating paragraph (19) as 
paragraph (20); and 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (18) the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(19) compensation shall not be denied where 
an individual is separated from employment due to 
circumstances resulting from the individual’s experi-
ence of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual as-
sault, or stalking, nor shall States impose additional 
conditions that restrict the individual’s eligibility for 
or receipt of benefits beyond those required of other 
individuals who are forced to leave their jobs or are 
deemed to have good cause for voluntarily separating 
from a job in the State; and’’; and 
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