I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 501 
To prohibit discrimination on the basis of military service, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 22, 2015 
Mr. KILMER (for himself, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. ISRAEL, Ms. NORTON, Mr. COOK, 
Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, and 
Mr. KING of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to 
the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To prohibit discrimination on the basis of military service, 
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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans and 
Servicemembers Employment Rights and Housing Act of 
2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF MILITARY 
SERVICE. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) CIVIL
RIGHTS
DEFINITIONS.—The terms 
‘‘complaining party’’, ‘‘demonstrates’’, ‘‘employee’’, 
‘‘employer’’, ‘‘employment agency’’, ‘‘labor organiza-
tion’’, ‘‘person’’, ‘‘respondent’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the 
meanings given the terms in section 701 of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e). 
(2) MEMBER OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES.— 
The term ‘‘member of the uniformed services’’ 
means an individual who— 
(A) is a member of— 
(i) the uniformed services (as defined 
in section 101 of title 10, United States 
Code); or 
(ii) the National Guard in State sta-
tus under title 32, United States Code; or 
(B) was discharged or released from serv-
ice in the uniformed services (as so defined) or 
the National Guard in such status under condi-
tions other than dishonorable. 
(3) MILITARY
SERVICE.—The term ‘‘military 
service’’ means status as a member of the uniformed 
services. 
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(b) EMPLOYER PRACTICES.—It shall be an unlawful 
employment practice for an employer— 
(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any 
individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any 
individual with respect to the individual’s compensa-
tion, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, 
because of such individual’s military service; or 
(2) to limit, segregate, or classify the employ-
er’s employees or applicants for employment in any 
way which would deprive or tend to deprive any indi-
vidual of employment opportunities or otherwise ad-
versely affect the individual’s status as an employee, 
because of such individual’s military service. 
(c) EMPLOYMENT AGENCY PRACTICES.—It shall be 
an unlawful employment practice for an employment agen-
cy to fail or refuse to refer for employment, or otherwise 
discriminate against, any individual because of the individ-
ual’s military service, or to classify or refer for employ-
ment any individual on the basis of the individual’s mili-
tary service. 
(d) LABOR ORGANIZATION PRACTICES.—It shall be 
an unlawful employment practice for a labor organiza-
tion— 
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(1) to exclude or to expel from its membership, 
or otherwise to discriminate against, any individual 
because of the individual’s military service; 
(2) to limit, segregate, or classify its member-
ship or applicants for membership, or to classify or 
fail or refuse to refer for employment any individual, 
in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive 
any individual of employment opportunities, or 
would limit such employment opportunities or other-
wise adversely affect the individual’s status as an 
employee or as an applicant for employment, be-
cause of such individual’s military service; or 
(3) to cause or attempt to cause an employer to 
discriminate against an individual in violation of this 
section. 
(e) TRAINING PROGRAMS.—It shall be an unlawful 
employment practice for any employer, labor organization, 
or joint labor-management committee controlling appren-
ticeship or other training or retraining, including on-the- 
job training programs, to discriminate against any indi-
vidual because of the individual’s military service in admis-
sion to, or employment in, any program established to pro-
vide apprenticeship or other training. 
(f) BUSINESSES OR ENTERPRISES WITH PERSONNEL 
QUALIFIED ON BASIS OF MILITARY SERVICE.—Notwith-
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standing any other provision of this section, it shall not 
be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to 
hire and employ employees, for an employment agency to 
classify, or refer for employment any individual, for a 
labor organization to classify its membership or to classify 
or refer for employment any individual, or for an em-
ployer, labor organization, or joint labor-management 
committee controlling apprenticeship or other training or 
retraining programs to admit or employ any individual in 
any such program, on the basis of the individual’s military 
service in those certain instances where military service 
is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably nec-
essary to the normal operation of that particular business 
or enterprise. 
(g) NATIONAL
SECURITY.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of this section, it shall not be an unlawful 
employment practice for an employer to fail or refuse to 
hire and employ any individual for any position, for an 
employer to discharge any individual from any position, 
or for an employment agency to fail or refuse to refer any 
individual for employment in any position, or for a labor 
organization to fail or refuse to refer any individual for 
employment in any position, if— 
(1) the occupancy of such position, or access to 
the premises in or upon which any part of the duties 
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of such position is performed or is to be performed, 
is subject to any requirement imposed in the interest 
of the national security of the United States under 
any security program in effect pursuant to or ad-
ministered under any statute of the United States or 
any Executive order of the President; and 
(2) such individual has not fulfilled or has 
ceased to fulfill that requirement. 
(h) SENIORITY OR MERIT SYSTEM; QUANTITY OR 
QUALITY
OF PRODUCTION; ABILITY TESTS.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of this section, it shall not 
be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to 
apply different standards of compensation, or different 
terms, conditions, or privileges of employment pursuant 
to a bona fide seniority or merit system, or a system which 
measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or 
to employees who work in different locations, provided 
that such differences are not the result of an intention 
to discriminate because of military service, nor shall it be 
an unlawful employment practice for an employer to give 
and to act upon the results of any professionally developed 
ability test provided that such test, its administration, or 
action upon the results is not designed, intended, or used 
to discriminate because of military service. 
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(i) PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT NOT TO BE GRANT-
ED ON ACCOUNT OF EXISTING NUMBER OR PERCENTAGE 
IMBALANCE.—Nothing contained in this section shall be 
interpreted to require any employer, employment agency, 
labor organization, or joint labor-management committee 
subject to this section to grant preferential treatment to 
any individual or to any group because of the military 
service of such individual or group on account of an imbal-
ance which may exist with respect to the total number or 
percentage of persons with military service employed by 
any employer, referred or classified for employment by any 
employment agency or labor organization, admitted to 
membership or classified by any labor organization, or ad-
mitted to, or employed in, any apprenticeship or other 
training program, in comparison with the total number or 
percentage of persons with military service in any commu-
nity, State, section, or other area, or in the available work 
force in any community, State, section, or other area. 
(j) BURDEN
OF PROOF
IN DISPARATE IMPACT 
CASES.— 
(1) DISPARATE IMPACT.— 
(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—An unlawful em-
ployment practice based on disparate impact is 
established under this section only if— 
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(i) a complaining party demonstrates 
that a respondent uses a particular em-
ployment practice that causes a disparate 
impact on the basis of military service and 
the respondent fails to demonstrate that 
the challenged practice is job related for 
the position in question and consistent 
with business necessity; or 
(ii) the complaining party makes the 
demonstration described in subparagraph 
(C) with respect to an alternative employ-
ment practice and the respondent refuses 
to adopt such alternative employment prac-
tice. 
(B) DEMONSTRATION OF CAUSATION.— 
(i) PARTICULAR EMPLOYMENT PRAC-
TICES.—With respect to demonstrating 
that a particular employment practice 
causes a disparate impact as described in 
subparagraph (A)(i), the complaining party 
shall demonstrate that each particular 
challenged employment practice causes a 
disparate impact, except that if the com-
plaining party can demonstrate to the 
court that the elements of a respondent’s 
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decisionmaking process are not capable of 
separation for analysis, the decisionmaking 
process may be analyzed as one employ-
ment practice. 
(ii) DEMONSTRATION OF NONCAUSA-
TION.—If the respondent demonstrates 
that a specific employment practice does 
not cause the disparate impact, the re-
spondent shall not be required to dem-
onstrate that such practice is required by 
business necessity. 
(C) ALTERNATIVE
EMPLOYMENT
PRAC-
TICE.—The demonstration referred to by sub-
paragraph (A)(ii) shall be in accordance with 
the law as it existed on June 4, 1989, with re-
spect to the concept of ‘‘alternative employment 
practice’’. 
(2) BUSINESS NECESSITY NO DEFENSE TO IN-
TENTIONAL
DISCRIMINATION.—A 
demonstration 
that an employment practice is required by business 
necessity may not be used as a defense against a 
claim of intentional discrimination under this sec-
tion. 
(3) RULES
CONCERNING
CONTROLLED
SUB-
STANCES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 
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this section, a rule barring the employment of an in-
dividual who currently and knowingly uses or pos-
sesses a controlled substance, as defined in section 
102(6) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
802(6)) and included in schedule I or II of the 
schedules specified in that section, other than the 
use or possession of a drug taken under the super-
vision of a licensed health care professional, or any 
other use or possession authorized by the Controlled 
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) or any other 
provision of Federal law, shall be considered an un-
lawful employment practice under this section only if 
such rule is adopted or applied with an intent to dis-
criminate because of military service. 
(k) PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATORY USE OF TEST 
SCORES.—It shall be an unlawful employment practice for 
a respondent, in connection with the selection or referral 
of applicants or candidates for employment or promotion, 
to adjust the scores of, use different cutoff scores for, or 
otherwise alter the results of, employment related tests on 
the basis of military service. 
(l) IMPERMISSIBLE CONSIDERATION
OF MILITARY 
SERVICE IN EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.—Except as other-
wise provided in this section, an unlawful employment 
practice is established when the complaining party dem-
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