Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act of 2019

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2574 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, and Labor, and Pensions AN ACT To amend title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to restore the right to individual civil actions in cases involving disparate impact, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2574.RFS H2574 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 HR 2574 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Equity and Inclusion 2 Enforcement Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. RESTORATION OF RIGHT TO CIVIL ACTION IN DIS- 4 PARATE IMPACT CASES UNDER TITLE VI OF 5 THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. 6 Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 7 2000d et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 8 lowing: 9 ‘‘SEC. 607. The violation of any regulation relating 10 to disparate impact issued under section 602 shall give 11 rise to a private civil cause of action for its enforcement 12 to the same extent as does an intentional violation of the 13 prohibition of section 601.’’. 14 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF MONITORS UNDER TITLE VI OF 15 THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. 16 Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 17 2000d et seq.) is further amended by adding at the end 18 the following: 19 ‘‘SEC. 608. (a) Each recipient shall— 20 ‘‘(1) designate at least one employee to coordi- 21 nate its efforts to comply with requirements adopted 22 pursuant to section 602 and carry out the respon- 23 sibilities of the recipient under this title, including 24 any investigation of any complaint alleging the non- 25 compliance of the recipient with such requirements 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2574.RFS H2574 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 HR 2574 RFS or alleging any actions prohibited under this title; 1 and 2 ‘‘(2) notify its students and employees of the 3 name, office address, and telephone number of each 4 employee designated under paragraph (1). 5 ‘‘(b) In this section, the term ‘recipient’ means a re- 6 cipient referred to in section 602 that operates an edu- 7 cation program or activity receiving Federal financial as- 8 sistance authorized or extended by the Secretary of Edu- 9 cation. 10 ‘‘(c) ANTISEMITISM CONSIDERED DISCRIMINA- 11 TION.—In carrying out the responsibilities of the recipient 12 under this title, the employee or employees designated 13 under this section shall consider antisemitism to be dis- 14 crimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin 15 as prohibited by this title.’’. 16 SEC. 4. SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR EQUITY AND INCLUSION. 17 Section 202(b) of the Department of Education Or- 18 ganization Act (20 U.S.C. 3412(b)) is amended— 19 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para- 20 graph (5); and 21 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3), the fol- 22 lowing: 23 ‘‘(4) There shall be in the Department, a Special As- 24 sistant for Equity and Inclusion who shall be appointed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2574.RFS H2574 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 HR 2574 RFS by the Secretary. The Special Assistant shall promote, co- 1 ordinate, and evaluate efforts to engender program com- 2 pliance with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 3 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) and inform individuals of their 4 rights under such Act, including the dissemination of in- 5 formation, technical assistance, and coordination of re- 6 search activities, in a manner consistent with such Act. 7 The Special Assistant shall advise both the Secretary and 8 Deputy Secretary on matters relating to compliance with 9 title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d 10 et seq.).’’. 11 Passed the House of Representatives September 16, 2020. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2574.RFS H2574 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS