Title: Fair Calculations in Civil Damages Act of 2019
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Summary:
Fair Calculations in Civil Damages Act of 2019
This bill prohibits courts from awarding damages to plaintiffs in civil actions using a calculation for projected future earning potential that takes into account a plaintiff's race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or actual or perceived sexual orientation.
The bill requires the Department of Labor to develop guidance for economists to develop future earnings tables that do not rely on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or actual or perceived sexual orientation. Additionally, Labor and the Department of Justice must develop guidance for states on how to calculate future earnings in state tort proceedings in a manner that is free of such biases.
The Judicial Conference of the United States must report on damages awarded under federal law for personal injury, employment discrimination, tort damages, and cases involving protected classes of individuals sharing a common characteristic or identity who are legally protected against discrimination. The Administrative Office of the United States Courts must submit recommendations to ensure that future earnings calculations that take into account age and disability do not conflict with federal equal protection laws.
The bill requires the Federal Judicial Center to train federal judges on how to implement this bill.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4418 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4418

  To prohibit a court from awarding damages based on race, ethnicity, 
 gender, religion, or actual or perceived sexual orientation, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 19, 2019

  Mr. Kennedy (for himself and Mr. Casten of Illinois) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit a court from awarding damages based on race, ethnicity, 
 gender, religion, or actual or perceived sexual orientation, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Calculations in Civil Damages 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``future earnings table'' includes any table 
        or compilation of economic data used to determine--
                    (A) how many years an individual would have worked 
                in the future; or
                    (B) the average wage an individual would have 
                earned in the future; and
            (2) the term ``protected class'' means a group of 
        individuals sharing a common characteristic or identity who are 
        legally protected against discrimination.

SEC. 3. CALCULATIONS OF DAMAGES.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
court of the United States may award damages to a plaintiff in a civil 
action using a calculation for the projected future earning potential 
of that plaintiff that takes into account the race, ethnicity, gender, 
religion, or actual or perceived sexual orientation of the plaintiff.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to deny a court from ordering damages based on the fact that 
the plaintiff is a member of a protected class or for the purposes of 
Federal civil rights laws.

SEC. 4. INCLUSIVE FUTURE EARNINGS TABLES.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act--
            (1) the Secretary of Labor shall develop guidance for 
        forensic economists to develop inclusive future earnings tables 
        that do not rely on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or 
        actual or perceived sexual orientation; and
            (2) the Secretary of Labor and the Attorney General shall 
        develop guidance for States on how to make calculations of 
        future earnings in State tort proceedings free of bias on the 
        basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or actual or 
        perceived sexual orientation.

SEC. 5. STUDY AND REPORT.

    (a) Judicial Conference of the United States.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Judicial Conference of the United 
        States shall conduct a study on--
                    (A) damages awarded under Federal law for personal 
                injury; and
                    (B) the aggregate data described in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by case type, including employment 
                        discrimination and tort damages;
                            (ii) by protected classes, including race, 
                        ethnicity, gender, religion, and actual or 
                        perceived sexual orientation; and
                            (iii) any other information that the 
                        Judicial Conference of the United States 
                        determines is relevant.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Judicial Conference of the United 
        States shall submit to Congress a report on the study conducted 
        under paragraph (1).
    (b) Administrative Office of the United States Courts.--Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrative 
Office of the United States Courts shall conduct a study and submit to 
Congress recommendations resulting from the study on how to ensure that 
calculations of future earning potential of plaintiffs that take into 
account age and disability without conflicting with Federal equal 
protection laws.

SEC. 6. TRAINING.

    The Federal Judicial Center shall conduct training for Federal 
judges on how to implement this Act, including instructions on how to 
use tables on future earnings in evidence that comply with this Act.
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