zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2009 - Declares that it is the purpose of this Act to provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by states or local governments. Directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to determine whether a state substantially provides for specified rights and responsibilities for public safety officers, including: (1) granting public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management, supervisory, and confidential employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees; and (2) requiring public safety employers to recognize and agree to bargain with the employees' labor organization. Requires the FLRA to issue, in accordance with the public safety employee rights and responsibilities, regulations establishing collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and employees in states that do not substantially provide for such rights and responsibilities. Directs the FLRA, in such cases, to: (1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation; (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a voting majority of the employees in an appropriate unit; (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good faith; (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor practices; and (5) resolve exceptions to arbitrators' awards. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of FLRA regulations and orders through appropriate state courts. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts, sickouts, work slowdowns, or strikes. Waives federal preemption of state law governing strikes by public safety officers. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act.

Date: 2009-08-06
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act - Directs the Secretary of Education (Secretary) to establish minimum standards that: (1) prohibit elementary and secondary school personnel from managing any student by using any mechanical or chemical restraint, physical restraint or escort that restricts breathing, or aversive behavioral intervention that compromises student health and safety; (2) prohibit such personnel from using physical restraint or seclusion, unless such measures are required to eliminate an imminent danger of physical injury to the student or others and certain precautions are taken; (3) require states and local educational agencies (LEAs) to ensure that a sufficient number of school personnel receive state-approved training and certification in first aid and certain safe and effective student management techniques; (4) prohibit physical restraint or seclusion from being written into a student's education plan, individual safety plan, behavioral plan, or individual education program as a planned intervention; and (5) require schools to establish procedures to quickly notify parents if physical restraint or seclusion is imposed on their child and quickly notify the state Protection and Advocacy System if the child is seriously injured or dies from such measures. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states and, through them, competitive subgrants to LEAs to: (1) establish, implement, and enforce policies and procedures to meet such standards; and (2) implement school-wide positive behavior supports. Directs the Secretary to conduct a national assessment of this Act's effectiveness. Gives Protection and Advocacy Systems the authority provided under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 to investigate, monitor, and enforce this Act's protections for students. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish standards for Head Start agencies that are consistent with the minimum standards for the management of elementary and secondary school students. Authorizes the Secretary to allocate funds to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to assist Head Start agencies in establishing, implementing, and enforcing policies and procedures to meet such standards.

Date: 2009-12-09
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Education
Equal Access to COBRA Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Public Health Service Act to extend COBRA coverage (health insurance continuation benefits) to qualified beneficiaries, defined to include domestic partners.

Date: 2010-03-25
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Health
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2009 - Declares that it is the purpose of this Act to provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by states or local governments. Directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to determine whether a state substantially provides for specified rights and responsibilities for public safety officers, including: (1) granting public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management, supervisory, and confidential employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees; and (2) requiring public safety employers to recognize and agree to bargain with the employees' labor organization. Requires the FLRA to issue, in accordance with the public safety employee rights and responsibilities, regulations establishing collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and employees in states that do not substantially provide for such rights and responsibilities. Directs the FLRA, in such cases, to: (1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation; (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a voting majority of the employees in an appropriate unit; (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good faith; (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor practices; and (5) resolve exceptions to arbitrators' awards. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of FLRA regulations and orders through appropriate state courts. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts, sickouts, work slowdowns, or strikes. Waives federal preemption of state law governing strikes by public safety officers. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act.

Date: 2010-04-12
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Government operations and politics
American Job Protection Act - Repeals provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that require large employers to offer their full-time employees the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential coverage. Applies the Internal Revenue Code as if such provisions had never been enacted.

Date: 2010-06-17
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Health
Keeping All Students Safe Act - Directs the Secretary of Education (Secretary) to establish minimum standards that: (1) prohibit elementary and secondary school personnel from managing any student by using any mechanical or chemical restraint, physical restraint or escort that restricts breathing, or aversive behavioral intervention that compromises student health and safety; (2) prohibit such personnel from using physical restraint or seclusion, unless such measures are required to eliminate an imminent danger of serious bodily injury to the student or others and certain precautions are taken; (3) require states to ensure that a sufficient number of school personnel receive state-approved training and certification in first aid and certain safe and effective student management techniques; (4) prohibit physical restraint or seclusion from being written into a student's education plan, individual safety plan, behavioral plan, or individual education program, unless certain conditions apply; and (5) require local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish procedures to quickly notify parents if physical restraint or seclusion is imposed on their child and quickly notify the state, LEA, and, if appropriate, certain other entities if the child is seriously injured or dies from such measures. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states and, through them, competitive subgrants to LEAs to: (1) establish, implement, and enforce policies and procedures to meet such standards; (2) improve state and local capacity to collect and analyze data related to physical restraint and seclusion; and (3) implement school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports. Directs the Secretary to conduct a national evaluation of this Act's effectiveness. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish standards for Head Start agencies that are consistent with the minimum standards for the management of elementary and secondary school students. Authorizes the Secretary to allocate funds to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to assist Head Start agencies in establishing, implementing, and enforcing policies and procedures to meet such standards. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include the implementation of positive behavior interventions and supports in school improvement efforts under part A of title I. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require recipients of Teacher Quality Partnership grants to prepare general and special education teachers to implement positive behavioral interventions and supports. Requires institutions of higher education to train prospective teachers on the effective implementation of positive behavioral interventions and supports.

Date: 2010-09-29
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Education
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2010 - Declares that it is the purpose of this Act to provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by states or local governments. Directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to determine whether a state substantially provides for specified rights and responsibilities for public safety officers, including: (1) granting public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management, supervisory, and confidential employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees; and (2) requiring public safety employers to recognize and agree to bargain with the employees' labor organization. Requires the FLRA to issue, in accordance with the public safety employee rights and responsibilities, regulations establishing collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and employees in states that do not substantially provide for such rights and responsibilities. Directs the FLRA, in such cases, to: (1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation; (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a voting majority of the employees in an appropriate unit; (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good faith; (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor practices; and (5) resolve exceptions to arbitrators' awards. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of FLRA regulations and orders through appropriate state courts. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts, sickouts, work slowdowns, or strikes. Waives federal preemption of state law governing strikes by public safety officers. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act.

Date: 2010-11-30
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Congressional Disclosures Protections Act of 2011 - Amends federal personnel law to: (1) define "covered disclosure" with respect to federal whistleblower protections to mean a disclosure of information made by an employee to either house of Congress or to a congressional committee or staff member which such employee reasonably believes evidences a violation of any law, gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety; (2) allow federal employees to seek de novo review of their whistleblower claims within one year of filing such claims; (3) expand legal remedies for whistleblowers, including triple damages for lost wages, triple attorney fees, and triple compensatory damages; and (4) require the Office of Special Counsel to provide legal representation to whistleblowers, upon request. Amends the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No Fear Act) to expand the reporting requirements of federal agencies relating to reimbursement of the expenses of employees who have filed whistleblower claims.

Date: 2011-01-07
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Veterans, Women, Families with Children, and Persons With Disabilities Housing Fairness Act of 2011 - Instructs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to conduct a nationwide testing program to: (1) detect and document differences in the treatment of persons seeking to rent or purchase housing or obtain or refinance a home mortgage loan; (2) measure patterns of adverse treatment because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability status, or national origin of a renter, home buyer, or borrower; and (3) measure the prevalence of such discriminatory practices across housing and mortgage lending markets. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 to require that only qualified private nonprofit fair housing enforcement organizations receive funds under the fair housing initiatives program for investigations of violations of the rights granted under the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Requires the design of the national education and outreach program to provide for the development and dissemination of websites and other media outlets among its fair housing media products. Requires private entities that formulate or carry out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices to be nonprofit in order to be eligible for contracts to establish or support education and outreach programs and to support community-based education and outreach activities. Requires the Secretary to establish minimum standards for the training of testers of organizations funded with any amounts made available under this Act. Directs the Secretary to implement a competitive matching grant program to assist public and private nonprofit organizations in: (1) conducting comprehensive studies of the causes and effects of housing discrimination and segregation on education, poverty, and economic development or on veterans and military personnel; and (2) implementing pilot projects that test solutions to help prevent or alleviate housing discrimination and segregation.

Date: 2011-01-12
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Housing and community development
Fair Employment Act of 2011 - Amends title VII (Equal Employment Opportunities) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to add unemployment status to the categories of prohibited discrimination. Defines "unemployment status" as being unemployed, having actively looked for employment during the then most recent four-week period, and currently being available for employment.

Date: 2011-03-16
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Investment Property Opportunity Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income gain from the sale of residential real property that is: (1) located in a distressed housing area (i.e., a county with high foreclosure rates and declining housing fair market values), (2) acquired within 18 months after enactment of this Act, and (3) held for more than three years.

Date: 2011-04-12
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Taxation
Fair Pay Act of 2011 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex, race, or national origin. (Allows payment of different wages under seniority systems, merit systems, systems that measure earnings by quantity or quality of production, or differentials based on bona fide factors that the employer demonstrates are job-related or further legitimate business interests.) Prohibits the discharge of, or any other discrimination against, an individual for opposing any act or practice made unlawful by this Act, or for assisting in an investigation or proceeding under it. Directs courts, in any action brought under this Act for violation of such prohibition, to allow expert fees as part of the costs awarded to prevailing plaintiffs. Allows any such action to be maintained as a class action. Directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to: (1) undertake studies and provide information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning effective means available to implement this Act; and (2) carry on a continuing program of research, education, and technical assistance with specified components related to the purposes of this Act. Makes conforming amendments relating to congressional and executive branch employees to the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 and the Presidential and Executive Office Accountability Act.

Date: 2011-04-12
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Transportation Opportunity and Accountability Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to ensure administrative compliance with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting discrimination by recipients of federal transportation funding. Allows a person aggrieved by violation of such nondiscrimination regulations to bring a civil action in federal or state court for equitable or legal relief, including reasonable attorney's fees, expert fees, and costs. Directs the Secretary to carry out research and demonstration activities relating to the impact of transportation planning, investment, and operations on low-income and minority populations, including populations that are transit dependent. Directs the Secretary to assess the extent to which nondiscrimination and equal opportunity exist in the United States in the construction and operation of federally-funded transportation projects.

Date: 2011-05-26
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Restoration of Civil Rights Act of 2011 - Amends the Revised Statutes to authorize vicarious liability (through any employee or agent) in certain civil actions by injured parties against any person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any state, territory, or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any U.S. citizen or person within the jurisdiction of the United States to a deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the U.S. Constitution and laws.

Date: 2011-05-26
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2011 - Declares it an unlawful practice for certain employers with at least 15 employees for each working day in each of at least 20 calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year to: (1) refuse to consider or offer employment to an individual based on present or past unemployment regardless of the length of time such individual was unemployed; (2) publish an advertisement or announcement for any job with provisions indicating that such an unemployed status disqualifies an individual and that an employer will not consider an applicant based on such status; and (3) direct or request that an employment agency account for such status when screening or referring applicants. Prohibits an employment agency (including agents and persons maintaining a website publishing job advertisements or announcements), based on such an individual's status as unemployed, from: (1) refusing to consider or refer an individual for employment; (2) limiting, segregating, or classifying individuals in any manner limiting access to job information; or (3) publishing an advertisement or announcement for any job vacancy that includes provisions indicating that such an individual is disqualified and that an employer will not consider such individuals. Allows consideration of an individual's status as unemployed where an individual's employment in a similar or related job for a period of time reasonably proximate to the hiring of such individual is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to successful performance of the job being filled. Authorizes, subject to termination upon the filing of certain complaints by the Secretary of Labor, one or more persons for and in behalf of the affected individual, or the affected individual and other individuals similarly situated, to bring actions in federal or state court for specified actual damages and equitable relief including employment and compensatory and punitive damages. Directs the Secretary to: (1) receive, investigate, and attempt to resolve complaints according to specified provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; and (2) pay directly to each affected individual applicable sums recovered in any civil actions brought by the Secretary under this Act. Sets forth a two-year statute of limitations period (three years for willful violations) for specified civil actions under this Act, subject to tolling when the Secretary is considering certain complaints.

Date: 2011-07-12
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Eliminate and Stop Abuse, Frequent Exploitation, and Trafficking on the Internet Task Force Act or the E-SAFETI Task Force Act - Establishes in the Department of State a three-year task force to be known as the Eliminate and Stop Abuse, Frequent Exploitation, and Trafficking on the Internet (E-SAFETI) Task Force to study and make recommendations to prevent internet-facilitated human trafficking. Defines "internet-facilitated human trafficking" as the use of the Internet to engage in severe forms of trafficking in persons as that term is defined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

Date: 2011-08-05
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
EPA Student Nondiscrimination Act - Prohibits student programs administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from establishing any requirement that an applicant possess any experience that constitutes an endorsement of a particular political position with regard to environmental protection. Prohibits funds from being used to provide financial compensation for: (1) the Student Diversity Internship Program Environmental Justice Eco-Ambassador Focus, or (2) student programs administered by EPA related to the study of greenhouse gas emissions. Requires the EPA Administrator to report on policies, procedures, and actions taken within the last three years in recruiting and hiring applicants for all EPA student programs, including: (1) efforts to recruit student advocates, (2) policies and procedures related to the review of student applications, (3) efforts to consider applicants with policy views or experience that were counter to stated agency goals, and (4) policies to ensure that applicants for such programs will be recruited and reviewed in accordance with this Act.

Date: 2011-09-09
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Environmental protection
Justice for Wards Cove Workers Act - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to remove a provision excluding from application of the Act any disparate impact case filed before March 1, 1975, and decided after October 30, 1983. (Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio, 1989, held that, in cases brought under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the burden is on the plaintiff to prove an employer had no business necessity for a practice with discriminatory effects.) Applies the amendments made by the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to a case that is subject to the removed provision in the same way such amendments apply to any other case brought under the employment discrimination provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Date: 2012-03-28
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Ending Tax Breaks for Discrimination Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny the tax deduction for business expenses (including advertising expenses) associated with the use of a private club that discriminates on the basis of sex, race, or color.

Date: 2012-04-17
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Taxation
Equal Employment Opportunity Restoration Act of 2012 - Amends the federal judicial code to permit one or more members of a group seeking relief for discriminatory employment practices under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, equal rights laws under the Revised Statutes, or the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 to sue on behalf of all members of the group if the representative party shows, by a reasonable inference, that: (1) members of the group are so numerous that their joinder is impracticable; (2) claims of the representative party are typical of the claims of the group the representative party seeks to represent and the representative party and the representative party's counsel will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the group; and (3) members of the group are, or have been, subject to an employment practice that has adversely affected or is adversely affecting a significant portion of the group's members. (Thus establishing a new standard for employees bringing group actions for certain employment discrimination, notwithstanding the Supreme Court decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, which required "convincing proof of a companywide discriminatory pay and promotion policy" as a prerequisite to class certification.) Permits a representative party to challenge a subjective employment practice covered by any of the above-referenced employment statutes in a group action filed under this Act to the same extent as the party may challenge any other employment practice covered by such a statute in such an action. Defines a "subjective employment practice" as: (1) an employer's policy of leaving personnel decisions to the unguided discretion of supervisors, managers, and other employees with authority to make such personnel decisions; or (2) an employment practice combining such a subjective employment practice with other types of personnel decisions. Prohibits the fact that individual supervisors, managers, or other employees with authority to make personnel decisions may exercise discretion in different ways in applying a subjective employment practice under such a statute from precluding a representative party from filing a corresponding group action. Allows a representative party to elect to proceed in a group action under this Act or in a class action under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Date: 2012-06-20
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
English Language Unity Act of 2011- Makes English the official language of the United States. Requires, subject to exceptions and rules of construction, that: (1) official functions of the United States be conducted in English; and (2) all naturalization ceremonies be conducted in English. Establishes a uniform English language rule for naturalization. Makes English language requirements and workplace policies, whether in the public or private sector, presumptively consistent with the laws of the United States. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue for public notice and comment a proposed rule for uniform testing of English language ability of candidates for naturalization based upon the principles that: (1) all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States; and (2) any exceptions to this standard should be limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asylum.

Date: 2011-03-08
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Pilot's Bill of Rights - Requires National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) proceedings for the review of decisions of the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to deny, amend, modify, suspend, or revoke an airman's certificate to be conducted, to the extent practicable, in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal Rules of Evidence. Requires the Administrator to: (1) provide timely, written notification to the subject of an investigation involving the approval, denial, suspension, modification, or revocation of an airman certificate of specified information pertinent to the investigation; and (2) provide him or her with access to relevant air traffic data. Authorizes the Administrator to delay such notification if it threatens the integrity of the investigation. Allows a substantially affected individual to elect to file an appeal of a certificate denial, a punitive civil action, or an emergency order of revocation in the U.S. district court in which individual resides, in which the action in question occurred, or the district court for the District of Columbia. Allows a substantially affected individual who elects not to file an appeal in a U.S. district court to file such appeal in the appropriate U.S. court of appeals. Directs the Administrator to begin a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) Improvement Program to improve the system of providing airmen with pertinent and timely information before a flight in the national airspace system. Requires the Administrator to establish a NOTAM Improvement Panel composed of representatives of relevant nonprofit and not-for-profit general aviation pilot groups to advise the Administrator in carrying out program goals. Requires the Comptroller General to: (1) assess the FAA process for the medical certification of airmen; and (2) report to Congress on revisions to the medical application form, the alignment of medical qualification policies with present-day qualified medical judgment and practices, and steps that could be taken to promote the public's understanding of the medical requirements determining an airman's medical certificate eligibility.

Date: 2011-07-06
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2011 - Declares it an unlawful practice for certain employers with at least 15 employees for each working day in each of at least 20 calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year to: (1) fail or refuse to consider for employment or to hire an individual as an employee based on present or past unemployment regardless of the length of time such individual was unemployed; (2) publish an advertisement or announcement for any job with provisions indicating that such an unemployed status disqualifies an individual and that an employer will not consider or hire an individual based on such status; and (3) direct or request that an employment agency account for such status when considering, screening, or referring applicants. Prohibits an employment agency (including agents and persons maintaining a website publishing job advertisements or announcements), based on such an individual's status as unemployed, from: (1) failing or refusing to consider, screen, or refer an individual for employment; (2) limiting, segregating, or classifying individuals in any manner limiting access to job information; or (3) publishing an advertisement or announcement for any job vacancy that includes provisions indicating that such an individual is disqualified and that an employer will not consider or hire such individuals. Prohibits similar employment practices by defined federal employing agencies covered under specified family and medical leave provisions for certain government employees. Allows consideration of an individual's status as unemployed if an individual's employment in a similar or related job for a period of time reasonably proximate to the hiring of such individual is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to successful performance of the job being filled. Authorizes, subject to possible termination upon the filing of certain complaints by the Secretary of Labor, one or more persons for and in behalf of the affected individual, or the affected individual and other individuals similarly situated, to bring actions in federal or state court for specified actual damages, punitive damages, and equitable relief, including employment. Directs the Secretary to: (1) receive, investigate, and attempt to resolve complaints according to specified provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; and (2) pay directly to each affected individual applicable sums recovered in any civil actions brought by the Secretary under this Act. Requires, with respect to the Government Printing Office (GPO) and the Library of Congress (LOC), that the Secretary's authority be exercised respectively by the Public Printer and Librarian of Congress. Sets forth a two-year statute of limitations period (three years for willful violations) for specified civil actions under this Act, subject to tolling when against the defendant involved.

Date: 2011-08-02
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Fair Claims Act - Amends the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to require the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to: (1) accept or deny a formal civil rights complaint against USDA sent by registered mail or delivered in person within 45 days of receipt; and (2) resolve such claim within 270 days of receipt, with exceptions for pending criminal investigations or alternative dispute procedures. Authorizes a claimant to file an appeal of the finding with the Assistant Secretary for Administration for any civil rights claim in which discrimination is found.

Date: 2012-04-26
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Amends the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year to establish a minimum of 25 (under current law, 23) Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams for a total of 57 (under current law, 55) Teams.

Date: 2012-05-16
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Protection of Homes, Small Businesses, and Private Property Act of 2012 - Declares that the power of eminent domain shall be available only for public use, which shall not include economic development. Applies such limitation to all exercises of eminent domain by the federal government or by state and local governments using federal funds.

Date: 2012-06-21
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
John Hope Franklin Tulsa-Greenwood Race Riot Claims Accountability Act of 2013 - Declares that any person (including the state of Oklahoma) who, in connection with the Greenwood community of Tulsa, Oklahoma, race riot of 1921 and its aftermath, acted under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of the state of Oklahoma to subject, or cause to be subjected, any person to the deprivation, on account of race, of any right secured at the time of the deprivation by Oklahoma law, shall be liable to the party injured in a civil action for redress (thereby allowing claims for damages notwithstanding the federal court decision in Alexander v. State of Oklahoma, which found that such claims were time-barred and not to be determined on the merits).

Prohibits the commencement of such a civil action more than five years after enactment of this Act.

Date: 2013-01-03
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Law
Veterans, Women, Families with Children, Race, and Persons with Disabilities Housing Fairness Act of 2013 or Housing Fairness Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to conduct a nationwide testing program to: (1) detect and document differences in the treatment of persons seeking to rent or purchase housing or obtain or refinance a home mortgage loan; (2) measure patterns of adverse treatment because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability status, or national origin of a renter, home buyer, or borrower; and (3) measure the prevalence of such discriminatory practices across housing and mortgage lending markets.

 Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 to require that only qualified private nonprofit fair housing enforcement organizations receive funds under the fair housing initiatives program for investigations of violations of the rights granted under the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

Requires the design of the national education and outreach program to provide for the development and dissemination of websites and other media outlets among its fair housing media products.

Requires private entities that formulate or carry out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices to be nonprofit in order to be eligible for contracts to establish or support education and outreach programs and to support community-based education and outreach activities.

Requires the Secretary to establish minimum standards for the training of testers of organizations funded with any amounts made available under this Act.

Directs the Secretary to implement a competitive matching grant program to assist public and private nonprofit organizations in: (1) conducting comprehensive studies of the causes and effects of housing discrimination and segregation on education, poverty, and economic development or on veterans and military personnel; and (2) implementing pilot projects that test solutions to help prevent or alleviate housing discrimination and segregation.

Date: 2013-01-15
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Housing and community development
Fair Pay Act of 2013 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex, race, or national origin. (Allows payment of different wages under seniority systems, merit systems, systems that measure earnings by quantity or quality of production, or differentials based on bona fide factors that the employer demonstrates are job-related or further legitimate business interests.)

Prohibits the discharge of, or any other discrimination against, an individual for opposing any act or practice made unlawful by this Act, or for assisting in an investigation or proceeding under it. Directs courts, in any action brought under this Act for violation of such prohibition, to allow expert fees as part of the costs awarded to prevailing plaintiffs. Allows any such action to be maintained as a class action. Directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to: (1) undertake studies and provide information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning effective means available to implement this Act; and (2) carry on a continuing program of research, education, and technical assistance with specified components related to the purposes of this Act. Makes conforming amendments relating to congressional and executive branch employees to the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 and the Presidential and Executive Office Accountability Act.

Date: 2013-01-29
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Bankruptcy Nondiscrimination Enhancement Act of 2013 - Amends the federal bankruptcy code to prohibit private employers from denying employment to: (1) an individual who is or has been a debtor under either the bankruptcy code or the Bankruptcy Act, or (2) an individual associated with such debtor or bankrupt.

Eliminates from such prohibition the limitation applying it to a denial or termination of employment solely on the basis of debtor status (thus applying the prohibition to any case in which debtor status is not the sole basis for discrimination).

Date: 2013-02-13
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
English Language Unity Act of 2013 - Makes English the official language of the United States.

Requires, subject to exceptions and rules of construction, that: (1) official functions of the U.S. government be conducted in English, and (2) all naturalization ceremonies be conducted in English.

Establishes a uniform English language rule for naturalization.

Makes English language requirements and workplace policies, whether in the public or private sector, presumptively consistent with the laws of the United States. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue for public notice and comment a proposed rule for uniform testing of English language ability of candidates for naturalization based upon the principles that: (1) all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States; and (2) any exceptions to this standard should be limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asylum.

Date: 2013-03-06
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Military Judicial Reform Act of 2013 - Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to require a convening authority (the person taking action on the findings of a court-martial), as soon as practicable after receipt of the findings and sentence of a court-martial, to approve the sentence in whole. Prohibits such authority from modifying such findings or sentence. (Under current law, modifying findings or a sentence is a command prerogative involving the sole discretion of such authority.) Allows certain other officials to act in place of the convening authority.

Allows the accused in a court-martial to submit to the convening authority matters for inclusion in the final record of trial. (Under current law, such accused may submit matters for consideration with respect to the findings and sentence.) Removes the requirement that a convening authority obtain and consider the recommendation of his/her staff judge advocate or legal officer.

Repeals the authority of a convening authority to suspend the execution of any sentence or part thereof other than a death sentence.

Date: 2013-03-12
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Repeal Existing Policies that Encourage and Allow Legal HIV Discrimination Act of 2013 or the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that federal and state laws, policies, and regulations regarding people living with HIV/AIDS should: (1) not place unique or additional burdens on such individuals solely as a result of their HIV status; and (2) demonstrate a public health-oriented, evidence-based, medically accurate, and contemporary understanding of HIV transmission, health implications, treatment, and the impact of punitive HIV-specific laws, policies, regulations, and judicial precedents and decisions on public health and on affected people, families, and communities.

Directs: (1) the Attorney General (AG), Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Secretary of Defense (DOD) to initiate a national review of federal (including military) and state laws, policies, regulations, and judicial precedents and decisions regarding criminal and related civil commitment cases involving people living with HIV/AIDS; and (2) the AG to transmit to Congress and make publicly available the results of such review with related recommendations.

Requires the AG and HHS Secretary to: (1) develop and publicly release guidance and best practice recommendations for states, and (2) establish an integrated monitoring and evaluation system to measure state progress.

Directs the AG and HHS and DOD Secretaries to transmit to the President and Congress any proposals necessary to implement adjustments to federal laws, policies, or regulations.

Prohibits this Act from being construed to discourage the prosecution of individuals who intentionally transmit or attempt to transmit HIV to another individual.

Date: 2013-05-07
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Right to Counsel and Taxpayer Protection Act - Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to apply provisions that prohibit any governmental authority from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers or by officials or employees of a governmental agency with responsibility for the administration of juvenile justice or the incarceration of juveniles that deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States to such conduct relating to adults as well as juveniles.

Date: 2013-05-14
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) require the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to terminate the employment of any IRS employee for discrimination against any taxpayer on the basis of political affiliation or for threatening to audit a taxpayer for arbitrary or capricious politically-motivated reasons, and (2) award administrative and litigation costs to taxpayers who prevail against the IRS in any legal or administrative proceeding for wrongful discrimination.

Date: 2013-05-16
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Taxation
Justice for Wards Cove Workers Act - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to remove a provision excluding from application of the Act any disparate impact case filed before March 1, 1975, and decided after October 30, 1983. (Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio, 1989, held that, in cases brought under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the burden is on the plaintiff to prove an employer had no business necessity for a practice with discriminatory effects.) Applies the amendments made by the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to a case that is subject to the removed provision in the same way such amendments apply to any other case brought under the employment discrimination provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Date: 2013-05-24
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Freedom from Discrimination in Credit Act of 2013 - Amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit discrimination on account of sexual orientation or gender identity when extending credit.

Defines: (1) "gender identity" as the gender-related identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics of an individual with or without regard to the individual's designated sex at birth; (2) "person" as a natural person, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, trust, estate, partnership, cooperative, or association; and (3) "sexual orientation" as homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality.

Date: 2013-06-13
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Civil Justice Tax Fairness Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) an exclusion from gross income for amounts received on account of a judgment or settlement resulting from a claim of unlawful discrimination, (2) income averaging for backpay and frontpay amounts received from such claims, and (3) an exemption from the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for any tax benefit resulting from the income averaging of amounts received from an unlawful discrimination claim.

Date: 2013-06-26
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Taxation