(c) APPLICATION.—Section 9 of title 1, United States 
Code, as added by this Act, shall apply to any case pend-
ing or filed on or after the date of enactment of this sub-
title. 
Subtitle B—Arbitration 
SEC. 511. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Preservation of 
Civil Rights Protections Act of 2004’’. 
SEC. 512. AMENDMENT TO FEDERAL ARBITRATION ACT. 
Section 1 of title 9, United States Code, is amended 
by striking ‘‘of seamen’’ and all that follows through 
‘‘commerce’’. 
SEC. 513. UNENFORCEABILITY OF ARBITRATION CLAUSES 
IN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS. 
(a) PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEE RIGHTS.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, any clause of any 
agreement between an employer and an employee that re-
quires arbitration of a dispute arising under the Constitu-
tion or laws of the United States shall not be enforceable. 
(b) EXCEPTIONS.—
(1) WAIVER
OR
CONSENT
AFTER
DISPUTE 
ARISES.—Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect 
to any dispute if, after such dispute arises, the par-
ties involved knowingly and voluntarily consent to 
submit such dispute to arbitration.
(2) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.—
Subsection (a) shall not preclude an employee or 
union from enforcing any of the rights or terms of 
a valid collective bargaining agreement. 
SEC. 514. APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS. 
This subtitle and the amendment made by section 
512 shall apply with respect to all employment contracts 
in force before, on, or after the date of enactment of this 
subtitle. 
Subtitle C—Expert Witness Fees 
SEC. 521. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this subtitle is to allow recovery of 
expert fees by prevailing parties under civil rights fee-
shifting statutes. 
SEC. 522. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) This subtitle is made necessary by the deci-
sion of the Supreme Court in West Virginia Univer-
sity Hospitals Inc. v. Casey, 499 U.S. 83 (1991). In 
Casey, the Court, per Justice Scalia, ruled that ex-
pert fees were not recoverable under section 722 of 
the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1988), as amended 
by the Civil Rights Attorneys’ Fees Awards Act of 
1976 (Public Law 94–559; 90 Stat. 2641), because 
the Civil Rights Attorneys’ Fees Awards Act of 1976
expressly authorized an award of an ‘‘attorney’s fee’’ 
to a prevailing party but said nothing expressly 
about expert fees. 
(2) This subtitle is especially necessary both be-
cause of the important roles played by experts in 
civil rights litigation and because expert fees often 
represent a major cost of the litigation. In fact, in 
Casey itself, as pointed out by Justice Stevens in 
dissent, the district court had found that the expert 
witnesses were ‘‘essential’’ and ‘‘necessary’’ to the 
successful prosecution of the plaintiffs case, and the 
expert fees were not paltry but amounted to 
$104,133. Justice Stevens also pointed out that the 
majority opinion requiring the plaintiff to ‘‘assume 
the cost of $104,133 in expert witness fees is at war 
with the congressional purpose of making the pre-
vailing party whole.’’. Casey (499 U.S. at 111). 
(3) Much of the rationale for denying expert 
fees as part of the shifting of attorney’s fees under 
provisions of law such as section 722 of the Revised 
Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1988), whose language does not 
expressly include expert fees, was based on the fact 
that many fee-shifting statutes enacted by Congress 
‘‘explicitly shift expert witness fees as well as attor-
ney’s fees.’’. Casey (499 U.S. at 88). In fact, Justice
Scalia pointed out that in 1976—the same year that 
Congress amended section 722 of the Revised Stat-
utes (42 U.S.C. 1988) by providing for the shifting 
of attorney’s fees—Congress expressly authorized 
the shifting of attorney’s fees and of expert fees in 
the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2601 
et seq.), the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 
U.S.C. 2051 et seq.), the Resource Conservation and 
Recovery Act of 1976 (Public Law 94–580; 90 Stat. 
2795), and the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act 
Amendments of 1976 (Public Law 94–477; 90 Stat. 
2073). Casey (499 U.S. at 88). Congress had done 
the same in other years on dozens of occasions. 
Casey (499 U.S. at 88–90 & n. 4). 
(4) In the same year that the Supreme Court 
decided Casey, Congress responded quickly but only 
through the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (Public Law 
102–166; 105 Stat. 1071) by amending title VII of 
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et 
seq.) and section 722 of the Revised Statutes (42 
U.S.C. 1988) with express authorizations of the re-
covery of expert fees in successful employment dis-
crimination litigation. It is long past time to correct, 
in Federal civil rights litigation, Casey’s denial of ex-
pert fees.
SEC. 523. EFFECTIVE PROVISIONS. 
(a) SECTION 722 OF THE REVISED STATUTES.—Sec-
tion 722 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1988) is 
amended—
(1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘(including 
expert fees)’’ after ‘‘attorney’s fee’’; and 
(2) by striking subsection (c). 
(b) FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938.—Section 
16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
216(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(including expert fees)’’ 
after ‘‘attorney’s fee’’. 
(c) VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.—Section 14(e) of 
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973l(e)) is 
amended by inserting ‘‘(including expert fees)’’ after ‘‘at-
torney’s fee’’. 
(d) FAIR HOUSING ACT.—Title VIII of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) is amended—
(1) in section 812(p), by inserting ‘‘(including 
expert fees)’’ after ‘‘attorney’s fee’’; 
(2) in section 813(c)(2), by inserting ‘‘(includ-
ing expert fees)’’ after ‘‘attorney’s fee’’; and 
(3) in section 814(d)(2), by inserting ‘‘(includ-
ing expert fees)’’ after ‘‘attorney’s fee’’. 
(e) IDEA.—Section 615(i)(3)(B) of the Individuals 
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415(i)(3)(B))
is amended by inserting ‘‘(including expert fees)’’ after 
‘‘attorney’s fees’’. 
(f) CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.—Section 204(b) of 
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a-3(b)) is 
amended by inserting ‘‘(including expert fees)’’ after ‘‘at-
torney’s fee’’. 
(g) REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973.—Section 505(b) 
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794a(b)) is 
amended by inserting ‘‘(including expert fees)’’ after ‘‘at-
torney’s fee’’. 
(h) EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY ACT.—Section 
706(d) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 
1691e(d)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(including expert 
fees)’’ after ‘‘attorney’s fee’’. 
(i) FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT.—The Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended—
(1) in section 616(a)(3), by inserting ‘‘(includ-
ing expert fees)’’ after ‘‘attorney’s fees’’; and 
(2) in section 617(a)(2), by inserting ‘‘(includ-
ing expert fees)’’ after ‘‘attorney’s fees’’. 
(j) FREEDOM
OF
INFORMATION
ACT.—Section 
552(a)(4)(E) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting ‘‘(including expert fees)’’ after ‘‘attorney 
fees’’.
(k) PRIVACY ACT.—Section 552a(g) of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ‘‘(includ-
ing expert fees)’’ after ‘‘attorney fees’’; 
(2) in paragraph (3)(B), by inserting ‘‘(includ-
ing expert fees)’’ after ‘‘attorney fees’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (4)(B), by inserting ‘‘(includ-
ing expert fees)’’ after ‘‘attorney fees’’. 
(l) TRUTH IN LENDING ACT.—Section 130(a)(3) of 
the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1640(a)(3)) is 
amended by inserting ‘‘(including expert fees)’’ after ‘‘at-
torney’s fee’’. 
Subtitle D—Equal Remedies Act of 
2004
SEC. 531. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Equal Remedies 
Act of 2004’’. 
SEC. 532. EQUALIZATION OF REMEDIES. 
Section 1977A of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 
1981a), as added by section 102 of the Civil Rights Act 
of 1991, is amended—
(1) in subsection (b)—
(A) by striking paragraph (3); and 
(B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 
paragraph (3); and
(2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘section—’’ 
and all that follows through the period, and insert-
ing ‘‘section, any party may demand a jury trial.’’. 
TITLE VI—PROHIBITIONS 
AGAINST SEX DISCRIMINATION 
SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Paycheck Fairness 
Act’’. 
SEC. 602. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Women have entered the workforce in 
record numbers. 
(2) Even today, women earn significantly lower 
pay than men for work on jobs that require equal 
skill, effort, and responsibility and that are per-
formed under similar working conditions. These pay 
disparities exist in both the private and govern-
mental sectors. In many instances, the pay dispari-
ties can only be due to continued intentional dis-
crimination or the lingering effects of past discrimi-
nation. 
(3) The existence of such pay disparities—
(A) depresses the wages of working fami-
lies who rely on the wages of all members of the 
family to make ends meet;
(B) prevents the optimum utilization of 
available labor resources; 
(C) has been spread and perpetuated, 
through commerce and the channels and instru-
mentalities of commerce, among the workers of 
the several States; 
(D) burdens commerce and the free flow of 
goods in commerce; 
(E) constitutes an unfair method of com-
petition in commerce; 
(F) leads to labor disputes burdening and 
obstructing commerce and the free flow of 
goods in commerce; 
(G) interferes with the orderly and fair 
marketing of goods in commerce; and 
(H) in many instances, may deprive work-
ers of equal protection on the basis of sex in 
violation of the 5th and 14th amendments. 
(4)(A) Artificial barriers to the elimination of 
discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis 
of sex continue to exist decades after the enactment 
of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
201 et seq.) and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 
U.S.C. 2000a et seq.).
(B) Elimination of such barriers would have 
positive effects, including—
(i) providing a solution to problems in the 
economy created by unfair pay disparities; 
(ii) substantially reducing the number of 
working women earning unfairly low wages, 
thereby reducing the dependence on public as-
sistance; 
(iii) promoting stable families by enabling 
all family members to earn a fair rate of pay; 
(iv) remedying the effects of past discrimi-
nation on the basis of sex and ensuring that in 
the future workers are afforded equal protection 
on the basis of sex; and 
(v) ensuring equal protection pursuant to 
Congress’s power to enforce the 5th and 14th 
amendments. 
(5) With increased information about the provi-
sions added by the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and wage 
data, along with more effective remedies, women will 
be better able to recognize and enforce their rights 
to equal pay for work on jobs that require equal 
skill, effort, and responsibility and that are per-
formed under similar working conditions.
(6) Certain employers have already made great 
strides in eradicating unfair pay disparities in the 
workplace and their achievements should be recog-
nized. 
SEC. 603. ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT OF EQUAL PAY RE-
QUIREMENTS. 
(a) REQUIRED DEMONSTRATION FOR AFFIRMATIVE 
DEFENSE.—Section 6(d)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)(1)) is amended by striking 
‘‘(iv) a differential’’ and all that follows through the period 
and inserting the following: ‘‘(iv) a differential based on 
a bona fide factor other than sex, such as education, train-
ing or experience, except that this clause shall apply only 
if—
‘‘(I) the employer demonstrates that—
‘‘(aa) such factor—
‘‘(AA) is job-related with respect to 
the position in question; or 
‘‘(BB) furthers a legitimate business 
purpose, except that this item shall not 
apply where the employee demonstrates 
that an alternative employment practice 
exists that would serve the same business 
purpose without producing such differen-