S 2453S 2453
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the `Protecting English in the Workplace Act’.
Section 703 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-2) is amended by adding at the end the following: `(o)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, it shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to require an employee to speak, or an applicant for employment to agree to speak, English while engaged in work. `(2)(A) An individual shall not be considered to be engaged in work under paragraph (1) during a bona fide meal period, a rest period, or any other break, during which the individual is not required to perform any duties. `(B) In this paragraph, the term `bona fide meal period’ means such a period, and the term `rest period’ means such a period, within the meaning of section 785.19 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (or any corresponding similar regulation or ruling).’.