Sec. 7. Prohibition on retaliation and unequal treatment
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/bill/116/hr/5331/ih/section-7A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ( 42 U.S.C. 2000h et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: No government shall take any adverse action because of— the existence or invocation of any exemption, defense, or remedy under this Act; or the existence or invocation of any protection from discrimination under this Act. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to invalidate or supersede a law without evidence that it was enacted, enforced, or administered for reasons prohibited by paragraph (1).
No government shall take any adverse action that, as applied, conflicts with any protection from discrimination under this Act. No government shall take any adverse action that, as applied, is inconsistent with the exemptions under section 201(b)(11). No government shall take any adverse action that, as applied, abridges the exemptions provided under section 702(a)(2)(B). Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to invalidate any other law that otherwise applies to a religious property exempt under section 201(b)(11) or a religious employer exempt under section 702(a)(2)(B).
No State shall enforce a law with respect to a particular contract, cooperative agreement, grant, guarantee, or benefit if that law, as applied, abridges any right or benefit under section 610, unless the State demonstrates that the contract, cooperative agreement, grant, guarantee, or benefit is solely funded by revenues of a State or political subdivision thereof. A State or its political subdivision may commingle its revenues with Federal financial assistance for the purpose of providing financial aid to adoption agencies; such commingled revenues shall be deemed Federal financial assistance.
No government may deny, withhold, or suspend the license or certification of a religiously affiliated adoption or foster care agency because of its religious teachings or practices, provided that the agency complies with generally applicable health and safety standards. No government shall take any adverse action against a religious educational institution, its faculty, students, or graduates because of its religious mission. No accrediting agency shall take an adverse action against a religious educational institution for noncompliance with an accreditation standard that would require the institution to act inconsistently with its religious mission as related to marriage, family, sexuality, or gender identity, except as these matters pertain to race, color, or national origin.
Nothing in this provision shall be interpreted to deny an accrediting agency the authority under section 496(a) of the Higher Education Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1099b(a) ) to take action necessary to ensure that the courses or programs of instruction, training, or study offered by an institution of higher education are of sufficient quality to achieve the stated objective for which the courses or the programs are offered. An accrediting agency does not demonstrate that its adverse action against a religious educational institution is authorized under section 1099b(a) merely by showing that the action results from a rule of general applicability.
A religious educational institution harmed by a violation of this subsection may obtain injunctive relief against the responsible accrediting agency. Upon receiving a copy of such an injunction, the Department of Education shall deem the affected religious educational institution as accredited for all purposes under Federal law. The Department shall deny recognition for any purpose to an accrediting agency that knowingly violates this subsection. An accrediting agency that loses its government recognition may apply with the Department to restore its recognition if the agency demonstrates that the violation resulted from mistake or inadvertence.
Within two years of the enactment of this Act, the Department shall issue final rules prescribing the procedures governing this section. No government shall— exclude a person from an occupation by depriving a person of professional credentials or imposing a fine or penalty, including through a private right of action, because of the person’s religious beliefs or affiliations, provided that the person otherwise complies with occupational or professional standards that, in purpose and effect, are neutral toward religion and generally applicable; or determine eligibility for public office because of religious beliefs or affiliations.
Subsections
(a)through
(d)apply in any case in which— section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States grants lawmaking power to Congress; action by a government or an accrediting agency would affect commerce with foreign nations, among the several States, or with Indian Tribes; a State or political subdivision receives Federal financial assistance, to the full extent permitted by Congress’ authority under the Spending Power in article I, section 8 of the Constitution; Congress has power under the Necessary and Proper Clause of article I, section 8 to effectuate the exercise of its enumerated powers; or the Constitution grants Congress any other lawmaking power. A person or organization may assert an actual violation of this section, or a credible threat of such a violation, as a claim or defense in a judicial, administrative, or arbitration proceeding and obtain appropriate relief against a government or accrediting agency, including attorneys’ fees. A State shall not be immune under the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution of the United States from a claim under this section. Any proceeding brought in a State court for which a claimant invokes this section as a claim, counterclaim, or defense may be removed by the claimant to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place where such action is pending. In section 1107: The term abridges means to diminish, burden, hinder, or obstruct. The term accreditation means the status of public recognition that an accrediting agency grants to an educational institution or program that meets the agency’s standards and requirements. The term accrediting agency means a legal entity, or part of a legal entity, that conducts accrediting activities through voluntary, non-Federal peer review and makes decisions concerning the accreditation or preaccreditation status of institutions, programs, or both. The term adverse action includes action that suspends, revokes, or withholds licenses, permits, certifications, professional credentials, guarantees, contracts, or cooperative agreements; denies or revokes scholarships, grants, loans, a tax exemption or tax-exempt status; denies access to government-sponsored facilities, activities, or programs; or that imposes any other penalty or denies an otherwise available benefit. Except for a violation of subsection (a)(1) of this section, adverse action does not include a State’s refusal to subsidize contracts, grants, loans, or cooperative agreements with exclusively State revenues because of noncompliance with State standards that, in purpose and effect, are neutral toward religion and generally applicable. Commingled State and Federal revenues shall be deemed Federal revenues. Adverse action does include suspending, revoking, or withholding scholarships, grants, and loans, or access to government-sponsored facilities, activities, or programs to qualified students or graduates of religious educational institutions, notwithstanding that the scholarships, grants, loans, facilities, activities, or programs are funded with State revenues. The term government means— a State, county, municipality, or other government entity created under the authority of a State; any branch, department, agency, instrumentality, or official of an entity listed in subsection (g)(5)(A); any other person acting under color of State law; and the United States, a branch, department, agency, instrumentality, or official of the United States, and any other person acting under color of Federal law. The terms religion and religious include all aspects of religious belief, observance, and practice, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religion. The term religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society include— a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or other house of worship; a nonprofit corporation, association, educational institution, society, or other nonprofit entity that is, in whole or in substantial part, owned, supported, controlled, or managed by a particular religion or by a particular church, denomination, convention, or association of churches or other houses of worship; or a nonprofit corporation, association, educational institution, society, or other nonprofit entity that holds itself out to the public as substantially religious, has as its stated purpose in its organic documents that it is religious, and is substantially religious in its current operations. The term religious educational institution means any organization covered by section 703(e)(2). The term religious mission includes religious affiliation, religious tenets, religious teachings, and religious standards, including policies or decisions related to such affiliation, tenets, teachings, or standards with respect to housing, employment, curriculum, self-governance, or student admission, continuing enrollment, or graduation. This section shall supersede State or local law as provided for expressly herein. Nothing contained in section 1107 shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of Congress to occupy the field in which this Act operates to the exclusion of State or local laws on the same subject matter. .
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