New Civil Rights Act Coming Your Way?
Senator Ted Kennedy and other Democrats (including Senators Clinton and Obama) have introduced the Civil Rights Act of 2008, a set of sweeping changes that would reverse decades of court decisions.
Among other things, the bill would:
- prohibit employers from mandating arbitration of federal statutory claims
- eliminate Title VII and ADA damage caps
- add compensatory and punitive damages to FLSA and equal pay claims
- allow prevailing plaintiffs to recover expert fees
- empower the NLRB to award backpay to undocumented workers
- align ADEA disparate impact analysis with Title VII law
- expand the rights of individuals to sue federally funded programs, for members of the military to sue under federal law and for state employees to sue for discrimination and overtime violations
Senator Kennedy contends that the Act is needed because the Supreme Court has “rolled back some of the core statutory protections for civil rights and workers’ rights.”
In reality, the bill has little chance of becoming law under the current administration. However, it does give a sneak peak of what the future could look like if Democrats win the White House.
Stay tuned.