United States 114th Congress Status: Died 1 D cosponsors

HR 501 — Veterans and Servicemembers Employment Rights and Housing Act of 2015

Last action — Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. Died in session

This bill died with 114th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Veterans and Servicemembers Employment Rights and Housing Act of 2015 Prohibits employment practices that discriminate based on an individual's military service and amends the Fair Housing Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to prohibit housing discrimination against members of the uniformed services. Declares that it shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail to hire, to discharge, or to otherwise discriminate against individuals because of their military service. Prohibits employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and job training programs from engaging in specified practices that adversely affect an applicant or employee because of such service. Exempts certain hiring and employment practices from being considered unlawful if the occupancy of the position is subject to national security requirements that an individual does not fulfill. Permits an employer to apply different standards of compensation or terms of employement pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or to employees who work in different locations, or a professionally developed ability test. Declares that an unlawful employment practice based on disparate impact is established only if: (1) the complaining party demonstrates that a respondent uses a particular employment 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 and consistent with business necessity, or (2) the complaining party makes a demonstration with respect to an alternative employment practice and the respondent refuses to adopt such practice. Prohibits business necessity from being used as a defense against a claim of intentional discrimination. Declares that an unlawful employment practice is established when the complaining party demonstrates that military service was a motivating factor for any employment practice, even though other factors also motivated such practice. Grants enforcement powers, remedies, and procedures under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Attorney General, and persons alleging such discrimination. Amends the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination against a member of the uniformed services with respect to: (1) the sale or rental of housing, (2) residential real estate-related transactions, and (3) the provision of brokerage services. Prohibits religious organizations engaging in housing transactions from giving preferences to persons of the same religion in cases where membership in such religion is restricted to persons who are not members of the uniformed services. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to impose a fine, imprisonment, or both on persons who violate prohibitions on housing discrimination under such Act against members of the uniformed services.

Bill Text

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Read HR 501 on the official United States source →

Action History

  1. Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.

  2. Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

  3. Referred to House Judiciary

  4. Referred to House Education and the Workforce

  5. Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

  6. Introduced in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 546 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (546)

546 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

housing civil-rights veterans labor
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HR 501 do?
Veterans and Servicemembers Employment Rights and Housing Act of 2015 Prohibits employment practices that discriminate based on an individual's military service and amends the Fair Housing Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to prohibit housing discrimination against members of the uniformed services. Declares that it shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail to hire, to discharge, or to otherwise discriminate against individuals because of their military service. Prohibits employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and job training programs from engaging in specified practices that adversely affect an applicant or employee because of such service. Exempts certain hiring and employment practices from being considered unlawful if the occupancy of the position is subject to national security requirements that an individual does not fulfill. Permits an employer to apply different standards of compensation or terms of employement pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or to employees who work in different locations, or a professionally developed ability test. Declares that an unlawful employment practice based on disparate impact is established only if: (1) the complaining party demonstrates that a respondent uses a particular employment 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 and consistent with business necessity, or (2) the complaining party makes a demonstration with respect to an alternative employment practice and the respondent refuses to adopt such practice. Prohibits business necessity from being used as a defense against a claim of intentional discrimination. Declares that an unlawful employment practice is established when the complaining party demonstrates that military service was a motivating factor for any employment practice, even though other factors also motivated such practice. Grants enforcement powers, remedies, and procedures under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Attorney General, and persons alleging such discrimination. Amends the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination against a member of the uniformed services with respect to: (1) the sale or rental of housing, (2) residential real estate-related transactions, and (3) the provision of brokerage services. Prohibits religious organizations engaging in housing transactions from giving preferences to persons of the same religion in cases where membership in such religion is restricted to persons who are not members of the uniformed services. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to impose a fine, imprisonment, or both on persons who violate prohibitions on housing discrimination under such Act against members of the uniformed services.
Who sponsors HR 501?
HR 501 is sponsored by Derek Kilmer (D).
What is the current status of HR 501?
This bill died with 114th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HR 501?
Track HR 501 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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