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Volume 4 Number 4 STATUS OF CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION BEFORE CONGRESS
As reported in the February 1989 CIVIL RIGHTS MONITOR, bills dealing with an array of civil rights and human needs were introduced in the 101st Congress. While none of the major bills was enacted during the first session, several bills are proceeding through the legislative process and are expected to be enacted during the second session that began in January 1990. During 1989 the Congress did increase the minimum wage for the first time in almost a decade, and reauthorize the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for 22 months. Brief summaries of these congressional actions follow.
Americans with Disabilities Act
After months of negotiations, the Senate on September 7 passed a bipartisan compromise by a 76-8 vote (S. 933). The House Education and Labor Committee on November 14 reported out a bill by a 35-0 vote (H.R. 2273). The House Committees on the Judiciary, Energy and Commerce, and Public Works and Transporta tion are expected to mark up the bill soon, with full House consideration expected in the Spring
The ADA legislation has been characterized by its proponents as the most comprehensive civil rights measure since the 1964 Civil. Rights Act and will provide to Americans with disabilities protection similar to that provided racial, ethnic and religious minorities through the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The ADA prohibits dis crimination against individuals with disabilities in employment, programs or activities of a State or a local government, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications. (For further discussion, see the Fall. 1989 CIVIL RIGHTS MONITOR.)
Family and Medical Leave Act
The House leadership has committed itself to schedule a floor vote on the Family and Medical Leave Act early in the year. During the first session, the House Education and Labor (March 8), Post Office and Civil Service (April 12), and House Administration (April 18) Committees approved the measure (H.R. 770). A similar measure (S. 345) was approved by the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee on April 19, 1989.
The Family and Medical Leave Act addresses the conflict many workers experience between work and family demands. Both House and Senate bills require employers to allow their employees to take up to ten weeks of unpaid leave over a two year period to care for a newborn child or a seriously ill child or parent. The Senate bill provides for 13 weeks of leave per year for an employee recovering from a serious illness. The House bill provides 15 weeks of such leave.
The Senate bill would apply to companies or worksites with 20 or more employees. The House bill covers companies with 50 or more employees, and after three years companies with 35 or more employees. The Senate bill would provide the same leave for federal workers. The House bill would provide federal workers with 18 weeks of parental leave and 26 weeks of medical leave.
Secretary of Labor Elizabeth H. Dole has said she will recommend that the President veto legislation that mandates such leave. In an April 17, 1989 letter to Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the Secretary wrote that "the administration supports and encourages medical-leave policies designed to meet the specific needs of in dividual companies and their employees, and believes that "this can be best achieved voluntarily..."
  
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