H.R.136: Federal Intern Protection Act of 2019
Overview
H.R. 136 would change existing law to protect unpaid interns from sexual harassment or discrimination.
1. Formally defining the term intern as “someone who performs uncompensated voluntary service in an agency to earn credit awarded by an educational institution or to learn a trade or occupation’’
2. Extending workplace protections against discrimination and harassment to unpaid interns
3. Closing loopholes that currently allow discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin as prohibited by section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; age as prohibited by Sections 12 and 15 of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; and handicapping condition as prohibited in section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.