Paycheck Fairness Act This bill addresses wage discrimination on the basis of sex, which is defined to include pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. Specifically, it limits an employer's defense that a pay differential is based on a factor other than sex to only bona fide job-related factors in wage discrimination claims, enhances nonretaliation prohibitions, and makes it unlawful to require an employee to sign a contract or waiver prohibiting the employee from disclosing information about the employee's wages. The bill also increases civil penalties for violations of equal pay provisions. Additionally, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs must train EEOC employees and other affected parties on wage discrimination. The bill directs the Department of Labor to (1) establish and carry out a grant program to provide training in negotiation skills related to compensation and equitable working conditions, (2) conduct studies to eliminate pay disparities between men and women, and (3) make available information on wage discrimination to assist the public in understanding and addressing such discrimination. The bill establishes the National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace for an employer who has made a substantial effort to eliminate pay disparities between men and women. It also establishes the National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force to address compliance, public education, and enforcement of equal pay laws. Finally, the bill requires the EEOC to issue regulations for collecting from employers compensation and other employment data according to the sex, race, and national origin of employees for use in enforcing laws prohibiting pay discrimination.
This resolution offers the condolences of the Senate regarding the death of Senator John William Warner and expresses deep appreciation for his outstanding and important service to his country.
COVID-19 Origin Act of 2021 This bill requires the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to declassify all information relating to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of COVID-19. The ODNI shall submit to Congress an unclassified report containing such information, with redactions only as necessary to protect sources and methods.
This resolution elects Senate members to the Joint Committee on Printing and the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library.
This resolution offers the condolences of the Senate regarding the death of Senator David Henry Gambrell and honors his life and legacy.
This resolution condemns the acts of gun violence that led to the tragic loss of eight lives in Georgia on March 16, 2021.
Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and the 3133d Signal Service Company, known as the Ghost Army , collectively, in recognition of its service during World War II.
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States can achieve a more perfect union by condemning the violence and destruction perpetrated against the African American community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The resolution states that a more perfect union may be achieved through other means as well, including by promoting tolerance and unity, and it recognizes Congress's commitment to acknowledge and learn from the history of racism and racial violence in the United States in order to reverse the legacy of white supremacy and fight for racial justice.
This resolution expresses support for the designation of National Foster Care Month.
Comprehensive Debt Collection Improvement Act This bill generally provides additional financial protections for consumers and places restrictions on debt collection activities. Regarding additional consumer protections, the bill expands certain protections currently applicable to federally backed student loans to private student loans, including by requiring the discharge of a private student loan in the event of the borrower's death or total and permanent disability; prohibits a consumer reporting agency from adding any information related to a debt arising from a medically necessary procedure to a consumer credit report and places restrictions on the reporting of other types of medical debt; and applies certain consumer protections regarding debt collection to debt owed to a federal agency, states, debt buyers, and businesses engaged in nonjudicial foreclosures. It also prohibits certain loan conditions that limit a borrower's opportunity to be heard in court in the event of default. Additionally, the bill restricts debt collectors and debt collection practices by prohibiting a debt collector from representing to a service member that failure to cooperate with a debt collector will result in a reduction of rank or similar action, limiting a debt collector's electronic communications with a debtor without the debtor's permission, and requiring a debt collector to provide advance notice to a consumer of the intent to take legal action to collect a debt. The Government Accountability Office must report on the impact of debt collection on service members and on the use of debt collectors by federal and state agencies.
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act This bill prohibits employment practices that discriminate against making reasonable accommodations for qualified employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. A qualified employee is an employee or applicant who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the position, with specified exceptions. Specifically, the bill declares that it is an unlawful employment practice to fail to make reasonable accommodations to known limitations of such employees unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on an entity's business operation; require a qualified employee affected by such condition to accept an accommodation other than any reasonable accommodation arrived at through an interactive process; deny employment opportunities based on the need of the entity to make such reasonable accommodations to a qualified employee; require such employees to take paid or unpaid leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided; or take adverse action in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment against a qualified employee requesting or using such reasonable accommodations. The bill sets forth enforcement procedures and remedies that cover different types of employees in relation to such unlawful employment practices. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission must provide examples of reasonable accommodations that shall be provided to affected employees unless the employer can demonstrate that doing so would impose an undue hardship. The bill prohibits state immunity under the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution from an action for a violation of this bill.
This resolution expresses support for the designation of May 13, 2021, as National Senior Fraud Awareness Day and encourages the development of policies that help prevent scams targeting older adults.
