I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 262 
To prevent hate crimes, to provide support services for victims of hate crimes, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 7, 2009 
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees 
on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, Education and Labor, Over-
sight and Government Reform, House Administration, and Financial 
Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To prevent hate crimes, to provide support services for 
victims of hate crimes, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘David Ray Ritcheson Hate Crime Prevention Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 
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TITLE I—ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF HATE CRIMES 
Sec. 101. Unemployment compensation. 
Sec. 102. Insurance protection for victims of hate crimes. 
Sec. 103. Entitlement to leave for victims of hate crimes. 
Sec. 104. Temporary housing assistance. 
Sec. 105. Counseling grant program. 
TITLE II—RESOURCES 
Sec. 201. National clearinghouse and resource center. 
Sec. 202. National hate crime hotline and Internet website grant. 
Sec. 203. Federal employee programs relating to hate crimes. 
TITLE III—EDUCATION AND PREVENTION SERVICES 
Sec. 301. Elementary and secondary hate crime educational grants. 
Sec. 302. College and university hate crime educational grants. 
TITLE I—ASSISTANCE FOR 
VICTIMS OF HATE CRIMES 
SEC. 101. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION. 
(a) UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.—Subsection 
(a) of section 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(18), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (19) 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by inserting after paragraph 
(19) the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(20) compensation shall be payable in the case 
of an individual separated from employment due to 
circumstances directly resulting from the individual’s 
experience as a victim of a hate crime.’’; 
(b) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO HATE CRIMES.— 
Section 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
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‘‘(g) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO HATE CRIMES.— 
‘‘(1) For purposes of determining, under sub-
section (a)(20), whether an individual’s separation 
from employment shall be treated as directly result-
ing from the individual’s experience as a victim of a 
hate crime, it shall be sufficient if the separation 
from employment resulted from— 
‘‘(A) the individual’s relocation to another 
geographic area in order to avoid future hate 
crimes against the individual or the individual’s 
family; 
‘‘(B) the individual’s need to recover from 
physical injury or emotional distress resulting 
from the individual’s experience as a victim of 
a hate crime; or 
‘‘(C) the employer’s denial of the individ-
ual’s request for the temporary leave from em-
ployment authorized by section 102 of the Fam-
ily and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to address 
the hate crime and its consequences. 
‘‘(2) For purposes of this section, the term 
‘hate crime’ means a criminal offense in which the 
prosecutor has determined that the defendant inten-
tionally selected a victim, or in the case of a prop-
erty crime, the property that is the object of the 
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crime, because of the actual or perceived race, color, 
religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, 
or sexual orientation of any person.’’. 
SEC. 102. INSURANCE PROTECTION FOR VICTIMS OF HATE 
CRIMES. 
(a) DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED.—An insurer may 
not take into account whether a person is or has been a 
victim of a hate crime when making a determination with 
respect to— 
(1) the eligibility (including continued eligi-
bility) of such person to enroll (or continue enroll-
ment) under the terms of the plan, coverage, or pol-
icy of insurance involved; 
(2) the rate or premium of a plan or policy of 
insurance involved; and 
(3) the amount of coverage provided (or a de-
termination of coverage for a claim made) under the 
plan, coverage, or policy of insurance involved. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.— 
(1) HATE CRIME.—For purposes of this section, 
the term ‘‘hate crime’’ means a criminal offense in 
which the prosecutor has determined that the de-
fendant intentionally selected a victim, or in the case 
of a property crime, the property that is the object 
of the crime, because of the actual or perceived race, 
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color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, dis-
ability, or sexual orientation of any person. 
(2) INSURER.—For purposes of this section, the 
term ‘‘insurer’’ includes a group health plan (as de-
fined in section 2791(a) of the Public Health Service 
Health Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–91(a)), a health insur-
ance issuer (as defined in section 2791(b)(2) of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg– 
91(b)(2)) offering group insurance coverage in con-
nection with a group health plan, and individual 
health insurance coverage (as defined in section 
2791(b)(5) of the Public Health Service Health Act 
(42 U.S.C. 300gg–91(b)(5)). 
(c) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to preempt any law, rule, or regula-
tion of a State or political subdivision of a State. 
SEC. 103. ENTITLEMENT TO LEAVE FOR VICTIMS OF HATE 
CRIMES. 
(a) ENTITLEMENT TO LEAVE FOR VICTIMS OF HATE 
CRIMES.— 
(1) 
AUTHORITY
FOR
LEAVE.—Section 
102(a)(1) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 
1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
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‘‘(F) In order to care for the spouse, or a 
son, daughter, or parent of the employee, if 
such spouse, son, daughter, or parent is ad-
dressing a hate crime and its consequences. 
‘‘(G) Because the employee is addressing a 
hate crime and its consequences, the employee 
is unable to perform the functions of the posi-
tion of such employee.’’. 
(2) DEFINITIONS.—Section 101 of the Family 
and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(20) HATE
CRIME.—The term ‘hate crime’ 
means a criminal offense in which the prosecutor 
has determined that the defendant intentionally se-
lected a victim, or in the case of a property crime, 
the property that is the object of the crime, because 
of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, na-
tional origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual 
orientation of any person. 
‘‘(21) ADDRESSING
A
HATE
CRIME
AND
ITS 
CONSEQUENCES.—The term ‘addressing a hate 
crime and its consequences’ means— 
‘‘(A) seeking medical attention for or re-
covering from injuries caused by being a victim 
of a hate crime; 
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‘‘(B) seeking legal assistance or remedies, 
including communicating with the police or an 
attorney, or participating in any legal pro-
ceeding related to being a victim of a hate 
crime; 
‘‘(C) attending support groups for victims 
of hate crimes; and 
‘‘(D) obtaining psychological counseling re-
lated to the experience of being a victim of a 
hate crime.’’. 
(3) INTERMITTENT OR REDUCED LEAVE.—Sec-
tion 102(b) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 
1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612(b)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(3) HATE
CRIMES.—Leave under subpara-
graph (F) or (G) of subsection (a)(1) may be taken 
by an employee intermittently or on a reduced leave 
schedule. The taking of leave intermittently or on a 
reduced leave schedule pursuant to this paragraph 
shall not result in a reduction in the total amount 
of leave to which the employee is entitled under sub-
section (a) beyond the amount of leave actually 
taken.’’. 
(4) PAID LEAVE.—Section 102(d)(2)(A) of the 
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 
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2612(d)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘(C), or (E)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(C), (E), (F), or (G)’’. 
(5) CERTIFICATION.—Section 103 of the Fam-
ily and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2613) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) HATE CRIMES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An employer may require 
that a request for leave under subparagraph (F) or 
(G) of section 102(a)(1) be supported by documenta-
tion of the hate crime. 
‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—An employer shall 
keep any information relating to a hate crime experi-
enced by the employee or the spouse, son, daughter, 
or parent of the employee confidential, including an 
employee’s statement, any corroborating evidence, 
and the fact that the employee has requested leave 
for the purpose of addressing a hate crime and its 
consequences, except to the extent— 
‘‘(A) consented to by the employee where 
disclosure is necessary to protect the employee’s 
safety or the safety of coworkers; or 
‘‘(B) requested by the employee to docu-
ment a hate crime to a court or agency.’’. 
(b) ENTITLEMENT TO LEAVE FOR FEDERAL EM-
PLOYEES AS VICTIMS OF HATE CRIMES.— 
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(1) 
AUTHORITY
FOR
LEAVE.—Section 
6382(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(E) In order to care for the spouse, or a son, 
daughter, or parent of the employee, if such spouse, 
son, daughter, or parent is addressing a hate crime 
and its consequences. 
‘‘(F) Because the employee is addressing a hate 
crime and its consequences, the employee is unable 
to perform the functions of the employee’s posi-
tion.’’. 
(2) DEFINITIONS.—Section 6381 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end of paragraph (10), by striking the period 
at the end of paragraph (11) and inserting a semi-
colon, and by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(12) the term ‘hate crime’ means a criminal 
offense in which the prosecutor has determined that 
the defendant intentionally selected a victim, or in 
the case of a property crime, the property that is the 
object of the crime, because of the actual or per-
ceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, 
gender, disability, or sexual orientation of any per-
son; and 
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