H.R. 15 — Equality Act

This section states 13 congressional findings on discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, and sex stereotypes—including in public accommodations (e.g., restaurants, health care facilities, shelters, transportation), employment, housing, and federally funded programs—as well as the harms of such discrimination (e.g., conversion therapy), its constitutional implications, and the relevance of Bostock v. Clayton County (2020).

This section expands Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin in public accommodations—to also prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity). It does so by (1) amending Section 201(a) to add sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity) as a protected category; (2) expanding the definition of covered public accommodations in Section 201(b) to include, in addition to previously covered facilities, (A) stadiums or other places providing exhibition, entertainment, recreation, exercise, amusement, public gathering, or public display (previously limited to stadiums or places of exhibition or entertainment); (B) any establishment providing a good, service, or program (e.g., stores, shopping centers, online retailers or service providers, salons, banks, gas stations, food banks, service or care centers, shelters, travel agencies, funeral parlors, or providers of health care, accounting, or legal services); and (C) any transportation service (e.g., train, bus, car, taxi, airline service, station, depot); and (3) amending Section 202 to extend the prohibition on discriminatory state laws to sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity). The section further adds a rule of construction clarifying that references to an "establishment" in Title II include individuals whose operations affect commerce and who provide goods, services, or programs and are not limited to physical facilities or places. (Thus, the amendments cover online providers and individual service providers affecting interstate commerce.)

This section amends Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—concerning desegregation of public education—to expand the protected category of sex to expressly include sexual orientation and gender identity (i.e., inserting “(including sexual orientation and gender identity)” before “or national origin”) in (1) the definition of desegregation (42 U.S.C. 2000c(b)); (2) conditions authorizing civil actions by the Attorney General (42 U.S.C. 2000c–6(a)(2)); and (3) prohibitions on classification and assignment of students (42 U.S.C. 2000c–9). (Thus, desegregation now requires assignment of students to public schools without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity, consistent with protections for race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.)

This section expands Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin by employers with 15 or more employees, employment agencies, and labor organizations) and related laws to expressly include sexual orientation and gender identity within the prohibition on sex discrimination, as follows: (1) inserts "(including sexual orientation and gender identity)" after "sex" in the header and text of §703 (unlawful employment practices), §704(b) (other unlawful practices), §706(g)(2)(A) (claims), and §717 (federal government employment), and clarifies the bona fide occupational qualification exception in §§703(e)(1) and 704(b) to recognize individuals as qualified in accordance with their gender identity; (2) makes parallel insertions after "sex" in the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 (§§301(b), 302(a)(1)) and Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (§201(a)(1)); (3) inserts "(including sexual orientation and gender identity)" after "sex" in specified provisions of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (5 USC §§2301(b)(2), 2302(b)(1)(A), 2302(d)(1)); and (4) adds rules of construction to Title VII (§701A), the Government Employee Rights Act (§305), the Congressional Accountability Act (§209), and the Civil Service Reform Act (§2307), applying §§1101(b), 1106, and 1107 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (with modifications referencing sexual orientation, gender identity, and other characteristics as applicable) to unlawful employment practices.

This section amends Title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000h et seq.) by (1) redesignating sections 1101 through 1104 and sections 1105 and 1106 as sections 1102 through 1105 and sections 1108 and 1109, respectively; (2) inserting new section 1101, which for Titles II, III, IV, VI, VII, and IX (referred to as "covered titles") defines or expands "race," "color," "religion," "sex" (to include sex stereotypes, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics including intersex traits), and "national origin" to cover association with others or perception thereof; defines "gender identity" as an individual's gender-related identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other gender-related characteristics regardless of designated sex at birth; defines "sexual orientation" as homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality; and establishes rules requiring equal treatment for pregnancy-related conditions and prohibiting denial of access to shared facilities (e.g., restrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms) based on gender identity; and (3) inserting new section 1106 with rules of construction preserving claims and remedies (including under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and 1985) for discrimination on specified bases under other federal laws and precluding negative inferences as to protections against sex discrimination in other statutes, and new section 1107 stating that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.) provides no claim or defense under a covered title.

This section amends the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination on the basis of sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity, as defined in section 1101(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964). It (1) adds definitions in section 802(p)-(q) for those terms and expands the listed protected characteristics (race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), handicap, familial status, or national origin) to cover discrimination based on association with such persons or any perception or belief—even if inaccurate—about an individual's protected characteristic; (2) inserts clarifying language after "sex" in sections 804, 805, 806, and 808(e)(6); (3) adds sections 821 and 822 to apply Civil Rights Act of 1964 rules of construction (section 1101(b)) and claims procedures (section 1107) to the Fair Housing Act and related intimidation provisions; and (4) amends section 901 of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to extend criminal penalties for intimidation to acts based on sexual orientation and gender identity (as defined in the new section 802). (Thus, these changes extend FHA protections—originally enacted in 1968 and expanded in 1988 to cover handicap and familial status—to LGBTQ+ individuals and address discrimination by association or perception.)

This section revises the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA, 15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.), which prohibits creditors from discriminating against applicants in any aspect of a credit transaction on specified protected bases. Specifically, it (1) expands the prohibition in ECOA Section 701(a)(1) to expressly include discrimination on the basis of sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity); (2) amends ECOA Section 702 to add definitions of gender identity, sex, and sexual orientation referencing Civil Rights Act of 1964 Section 1101(a), to extend protections to an applicant's association with persons of specified characteristics or to perceptions (even inaccurate) of the applicant's characteristics, and to apply Civil Rights Act Sections 1101(b) and 1106 (with modifications) for enforcement purposes; (3) inserts the expanded definition of sex into ECOA Section 705(a) regarding preemption of inconsistent state laws; and (4) adds new ECOA Section 706(l) to apply Civil Rights Act Section 1107 (with modification) for civil liability and remedies. (Thus, creditors are prohibited from discriminating based on an applicant's actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, or those of associates, with aligned federal remedies and state law preemption.)

This section amends the Jury Selection and Service Act (Chapter 121 of title 28, U.S. Code), which governs random selection of federal grand and petit jurors from a fair cross-section of the community while prohibiting discrimination, to (1) prohibit discrimination in jury selection plans and challenges to compliance based on sexual orientation and gender identity, in addition to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, and economic status; (2) define gender identity, sex, and sexual orientation by reference to section 1101(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and expand those protected categories to include discrimination based on association with protected individuals or perception (even if inaccurate) of an individual's protected characteristics; and (3) apply rules of construction and claims procedures from sections 1101(b), 1106, and 1107 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the act.