Congressional Research Service Reports - 176 Matching Results
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- Affirmative Action Revisited: A Legal History and Prospectus
- Affirmative action remains a focal point of public debate as the result of legal and political developments at the federal, state, and local levels. This report discusses legislation related to affirmative action, as well as legal rulings on the topic and the federal government's role in first establishing and, later, attempting to curb affirmative action policies.
- Affirmative Action Revisited: A Legal History and Prospectus
- Affirmative action remains a focal point of public debate as the result of legal and political developments at the federal, state, and local levels. This report discusses legislation related to affirmative action, as well as legal rulings on the topic and the federal government's role in first establishing and, later, attempting to curb affirmative action policies.
- Federal Affirmative Action Law: A Brief History
- This report provides a brief history about the Federal Affirmative Action Law which remains a focal point of public debate as a result of legal and political developments at the federal,state and local levels.
- Minority Contracting and Affirmative Action for Disadvantaged Small Businesses: Legal Issues
- This report discusses the minority participation “goals” that have been an integral part of federal policies to promote racial and gender equality in contracting on federally financed construction projects and in connection with other large federal contracts.
- Sexual Harassment and Violence Against Women: Developments in Federal Law
- Gender-based discrimination, harassment, and violence against women in the home, workplace, and society at large are continuing topics of legislative and judicial concern. Legal doctrines condemning the extortion of sexual favors as a condition of employment or job advancement, and other sexually offensive workplace behaviors resulting in a "hostile environment," have evolved from judicial decisions under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and related federal laws.
- Survey of Federal Laws and Regulations Mandating Affirmative Action Goals, Set-asides, or Other Preference Based on Race, Gender, or Ethnicity
- This report provides a broad but by no means an exhaustive, survey of federal statutes and regulations that specifically refer to race, gender, or ethnicity as factors to be considered in the administration of any federal program. Such measures may include, but are not limited to, goals, timetables, set-asides, and quotas, as those terms are generally (however imperfectly) understood. Based on several searches of LEXIS/NEXIS and WESTLAW legal databases, and a variety of search strategies, the compilation seeks to be as comprehensive as possible. With certain noted exceptions, the report collectively describes those statutes, regulations, or executive orders uncovered by our research which appear, in any manner, to prefer or consider race, gender, or ethnicity as affirmative factors in federal employment, in the allocation of federal contracts, or in granting any federal benefit to individuals or institutions. Several laws and regulations directed to “socially and economically disadvantaged” individuals and institutions are included because, as more fully explained by the report, that term has been defined administratively and by statute to presumptively apply to specific racial and ethnic minorities.
- Pay Equity Legislation in the 107th Congress
- The term "pay equity" originates from the fact that women as a group are paid less than men. In 2000, for example, women with a strong commitment to the work force earned 76 cents for every dollar earned by men. As women's earnings as a percentage of men's earnings have narrowed by just 12 percentage points over the past four decades (from about 60% in the 1960s and 1970s to more than 70% in the 1990s), some members of the public policy community have argued that current anti-discrimination laws should be strengthened and that additional measures should be enacted. Others, in contrast, believe that further government intervention is unnecessary because the gender wage gap will narrow on its own as women's labor market qualifications continue to more closely resemble those of men.
- Pay Equity Legislation in the 107th Congress
- This report discusses the gender wage gap and the historical presence of a gendered wage gap up until the time of the report's creation. It reports how the Federal government has fought the wage gap through acts like Equal Pay Act (EPA) and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the current idea on how to correct and assist gender-based discrimination in the work force.
- Pay Equity Legislation in the 108th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Pay Equity Legislation in the 108th Congress
- This report discusses the historical presence of a gendered wage gap and the acts, such as the Equal Pay Act (EPA), and compensation for workers to shrink the gap. The report discusses the opposition who believe the gender wage gap will naturally reduce when women continue working and working themselves up the corporate ladder.
- Pay Equity Legislation in the 109th Congress
- This report discusses the gender wage gap and the efforts to close the gap through acts, such as Equal Pay Act (EPA), and the work to strengthen anti-discrimination laws and add additional measures to ensure gender equality in the work force. The report discusses the opposition who believes the gap will close on its own as women continue to work their way up in the workforce.
- Legislation Affecting the Status of Women Considered By or Pending in the 93rd Congress
- This report summarizes the major legislation focusing on the problems and status of women that were considered by the 93rd Congress.
- Major Legislation Enacted by the 92nd Congress Affecting the Status of Women
- This report was created to summarize the major legislation enacted by the 92nd Congress that affected the status of women, including the Equal Rights Amendment.
- Katrina Relief: U.S. Labor Department Exemption of Contractors from Written Affirmative Action Requirements
- This report discusses the Employment Standards Administration (ESA) attempt to assist Hurricane Katrina relief efforts by having federal contract agencies use an affirmative action program that is imposed on companies by E.O. 11246. This would require contractors to "refrain from discrimination and to take affirmative action with respect to the employment of racial and ethnic minorities, women, and religious adherents (Summary)."
- Welfare Reform: TANF Activities to Reduce Nonmarital Pregnancy
- No Description Available.
- The New Feminism: An Annotated Reading List
- This report is a bibliography of books and articles that are about the women's movement, the current status of American women, and such particular concerns of the new feminism as economic discrimination.
- Agency Enforcement of the Prohibition Against Sex Discrimination Mandated by Title IX and EO 13160
- This report provides a summary of the federal agencies’ enforcement of and compliance with the prohibition against sex discrimination mandated by Title IX and Executive Order 13160. Specifically, this report discusses the implementation of regulations and procedures for enforcing the Title IX compliance of grant recipients and for enforcing the compliance of the federal agencies themselves with President Clinton’s Executive Order.
- Federal Affirmative Action Law: A Brief History
- This report provides a brief history about the Federal Affirmative Action Law which remains a focal point of public debate as a result of legal and political developments at the federal,state and local levels.
- Federal Affirmative Action Law: A Brief History
- This report provides a brief history about the Federal Affirmative Action Law which remains a focal point of public debate as a result of legal and political developments at the federal,state and local levels.
- Sex Discrimination and the United States Supreme Court: Developments in the Law
- This report focuses on sex discrimination challenges based on: the equal protection guarantees of the Fourteenth and Fifth Amendments; the prohibition against employment discrimination contained in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and the prohibition against sex discrimination in education contained in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Although this report focuses on recent legal developments in each of these areas, it also provides historical context by discussing selected landmark sex discrimination cases.
- Title IX, Sex Discrimination, and Intercollegiate Athletics: A Legal Overview
- This report provides an overview of Title IX in general and the intercollegiate athletics regulations in particular, as well as a summary of the commission’s report and ED’s response and a discussion of legal challenges to the regulations and to the three-part test.
- Pay Equity: Legislative and Legal Developments
- This report begins by presenting data on earnings for male and female workers and by discussing explanations that have been offered for the differences in earnings. It next discusses the major laws directed at eliminating sex-based wage discrimination as well as relevant federal court cases. The report closes with a description of pay equity legislation that has been considered or enacted by Congress in recent years.
- Pay Equity Legislation
- This report begins by showing the trend in the male-female wage gap and by examining the explanations that have been offered for its enduring presence. It next discusses the major laws directed at eliminating sex-based wage discrimination as well as relevant federal court cases. The report closes with a description of pay equity legislation that has been considered by Congress in recent years, including bills introduced in the 111th Congress.
- Rothe Development Corporation v. Department of Defense: The Constitutionality of Federal Contracting Programs for Minority-Owned and Other Small Businesses
- This report discusses Rothe Development Corporation v. Department of Defense, a case involving a constitutional challenge to a minority contracting program authorized under Section 1207 of the Department of Defense (DOD) Authorization Act of 1987. This program allowed DOD to take 10% off the price of bids or offers submitted by "small disadvantaged businesses" in determining which bid or offer had the lowest price or represented the best value for the government.
- Survey of Federal Laws Containing Goals, Set-Asides, Priorities, or Other Preferences Based on Race, Gender, or Ethnicity
- This report provides a broad, but by no means exhaustive, survey of federal statutes that specifically refer to race, gender, or ethnicity as factors to be considered in the administration of any federal program.
- Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA): Background and Funding
- This report provides an overview of the federal response to domestic violence--defined broadly to include acts of physical and nonphysical violence against spouses and other intimate partners--through the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA). The report begins with background on the definitions of domestic violence, family violence, and related terms. This background section also describes the risk factors for domestic violence and estimates of the number of victims. The next section of the report addresses the history leading up to the enactment of FVPSA, and the major components of the act: a national domestic violence hotline, support for domestic violence shelters and non-residential services, and coordination efforts to prevent domestic violence. The report then discusses recent efforts under FVPSA to assist children and youth exposed to domestic violence, including teen dating violence. Finally, the report provides an overview of FVPSA's interaction with other federal laws, including the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
- Liberalization of Abortion Laws: Pro and Con Arguments
- This report provides some of the arguments related to Liberalization of Abortion Laws
- Trends in Welfare, Work and the Economic Well-Being of Female-Headed Families with Children: 1987-2000
- "This report examines trends in welfare, work and economic well-being of female headed families with children, the principal group affected by the replacement of AFDC with TANF. The report presents analysis of 14 years of U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey (CPS) data, the principal source of information for U.S. family income and poverty statistics (Summary)."
- Welfare, Work, and Poverty Status of Female- Headed Families with Children: 1987-2013
- The report focuses on welfare dependency and work engagement among single mothers, a major dynamic that welfare reform and accompanying policy changes have attempted to affect. It also examines the role of programs other than Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in providing support to single female-headed families with children.
- Equal Rights Amendment (Proposed)
- The proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was first introduced in 1923, and was passed by the Congress in 1972. In 1978, Congress extended the original deadline for ratification of the ERA. Thus, if it receives approval in the form of ratification by 38 States before June 30, 1982, the measure will become the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, and will require equal treatment under Federal and State laws and practices for all persons, regardless of sex.
- Equal Rights Amendments: State Provisions
- Twenty states adopted state equal rights amendments between 1879 and 1998. The texts of most of these amendments either are similar to the proposed federal amendment or restate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The timing of the enactment of these state amendments and the choice of wording reflect both the ebb and flow of the women's movement in the United States and the political culture of the particular states at the time of passage. A brief history of the women's rights movement as it relates to the passage of state equal rights amendments is included. The report ends with the text and the date of enactment of each amendment.
- Equal Rights for Women
- Amendments to the Constitution to provide equality of rights for women have been reintroduced in every Congress from the 67th i n 1923 to the 100th in 1987. Also proposed in recent years, although not to date in the 100th Congress, has been legislation to improve women's rights without amending the Constitution: a statue to forbid enforcement of a classification based on sex -- except where necessary to achieve a “compelling state interest, " and a measure providing for selective revision of existing Federal laws that discriminate on the basis of sex.
- Parental Leave: Legislation in the 100th Congress
- The report discusses the argument for why America should set a standard long-term maternity leave and temporary medical disability leave. Then the opposition to this position discusses why maternity leave and medical disability leave should be decided by the employer, not the Federal government.
- The Proposed Equal Rights Amendment
- This CRS Report provides a brief legislative history of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment and a description of its current status. The report also contains pro and con analyses of the possible effects of ERA, were it to be ratified, and a discussion of questions raised by the action of Congress in extending the deadline for ratification and by the action of States that have voted to rescind their approval of the measure. This report is based in part on an earlier CRS report by Morrigene Holcomb and Karen Keesling.
- Sex Discrimination in Education: Overview of Title IX
- Congressional Research Service (CRS) report entailing an overview of title IX in regards to sex discrimination in education. Topics include, a history of IX, changes attributed to title IX, continuing controversies, etc..
- Teenage Sexual Activity and Childbearing: An Analysis of the Relationships of Behavior to Family and Personal Background
- "This report uses the National Survey of Family Growth to examine the effects of a variety of social and economic factors on the likelihood that a teenage girl will be sexually active, will use contraceptives, and will bear a child...The report examines the differences in factors associated with these different behaviors for white and black as well as younger and older teens." (from Abstract)
- Judge Sonia Sotomayor: Analysis of Selected Opinions
- This report provides an analysis of selected opinions authored by Judge Sotomayor during her tenure as a judge on the Second Circuit. Discussions of the selected opinions are grouped according to various topics of legal significance.
- Adjournment Addendum to: Legislation Affecting the Rights of Women Enacted By, or Pending, in the 93rd Congress
- This report lists legislation concerning the rights of women that were enacted by the 93rd Congress. The report also lists major women rights issues and the legislation that effects those specifically.
- Equal Rights Amendment (Proposed)
- The proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was first introduced in 1923, and was passed by the Congress in 1972. In 1978, Congress extended the original deadline for ratification of the ERA. Thus, if it receives approval in the form of ratification by 38 States before June 30, 1982, the measure will become the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, and will require equal treatment under Federal and State laws and practices for all persons, regardless of sex.
- Equal Rights Amendment: Selected Floor Debate and Votes
- This report provides a summary of the final floor debate on the Equal Rights Amendment and on suggested amendments to the ERA. The proposed amendments outline some of the objections to the ERA, and the summary of the debate can provide some information on legislative intent.
- Legislation Affecting the Rights of Women Enacted by, or Pending in, the 93rd Congress
- This report outlines eight bills affecting women's rights that were enacted in the 93rd Congress.
- Major Federal Legislation Affecting Women's Rights Enacted Between 1963-1972
- This report describes major laws and executive orders from 1963 to 1972 that affected women's rights.
- Women in the United States Congress
- Report
- Women in the United States Congress
- This reportis about the women in the United States Congress.
- Women's Rights Legislation in the 94th Congress
- This report attempts in detailing the enacted legislation acts of 94th Congress which affects the women's rights and responsibilities in this Nation, or are of particular interest to women and discusses the legislative history.
- Diversity, Inclusion, and Equal Opportunity in the Armed Services: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report starts by giving an overview of recent research on diversity and organizational management. The next sections outline DOD's military personnel policies, processes and organizational structure for managing diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity. Finally, the report examines how the concept of diversity and inclusion has evolved over the history of the Armed Forces and addresses some of the current legislative and policy issues related to diversity in the Armed Forces.
- Women in Combat: Issues for Congress
- This report looks at the history of women in US military roles and combat since the 1990s. It also discusses critic's views of exclusionary policy as a civil rights issue. Over the past two decades of conflict, women have served with valor and continue to serve on combat aircraft, naval vessels, and in support of ground combat operations. The expansion of roles for women in the armed forces has evolved since the early days of the military when women were restricted by law and policy from serving in certain occupations and units.
- Women in Combat: Issues for Congress
- This report looks at the history of women in U.S. military roles and combat, and discusses key policy issues for Congress to consider including "gender-neutral" standards and selective service.
- Women in Combat: Issues for Congress
- This report looks at the history of women in US military roles and combat since the 1990's. It also discusses critic's views of exclusionary policy as a civil rights issue.
- Immigration Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
- This report discusses the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA, P.L. 103-322) that congress passed in 1994. This legislation created new programs within the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services that aimed to both reduce domestic violence and improve response to and recovery from domestic violence incidents.