[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4050 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4050
To establish a voluntary compliance assistance initiative at the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission regarding the usage of employment
tests and selection procedures by employers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 17, 2025
Ms. Stefanik introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a voluntary compliance assistance initiative at the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission regarding the usage of employment
tests and selection procedures by employers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Advancing Skills-Based Hiring Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
It is the purpose of this Act--
(1) to empower employers to adopt a skills-based approach
to hiring through a voluntary compliance assistance program
regarding the appropriate use of employment tests and selection
procedures, and
(2) to enable employers to proactively submit validation
information to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for
review to ensure use of such tests and procedures is job-
related for the position in question and consistent with
business necessity within the meaning of section
703(k)(1)(A)(i) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.
2000e-2(k)(1)(A)(i)).
SEC. 3. REVIEW BY EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION OF
INFORMATION VOLUNTARILY SUBMITTED BY EMPLOYERS.
(a) Voluntary Submission and Review of Employer Information.--The
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (in this Act referred to as the
``Commission'') shall--
(1) establish a process for employers--
(A) to voluntarily submit validity evidence to the
Commission on the use, or prospective use, of
competency-based assessments or other professionally
developed selection procedures that are used to make
employment decisions, and
(B) to obtain a determination by the Commission as
to whether such use is job-related for the position in
question and consistent with business necessity within
the meaning of section 703(k)(1)(A)(i) of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(k)(1)(A)(i)),
(2) as part of such process, set forth the validity
evidence that participating employers should submit, which may
include--
(A) a criterion-related validity study,
(B) a content validity study,
(C) a construct validity study, or
(D) a transportability study that includes the
validity evidence from a study,
conducted by another entity, along with evidence from the
employer that shows job similarity, and
(3) allow employers to submit validity evidence for review
regardless of the existence of an adverse impact from the use
of the assessment or selection procedure on protected groups,
but require such submitted evidence to include any information
available on whether the use has resulted in adverse impact.
(b) Review of Submitted Employer Information.--Subject to the
payment required by subsection (d), the Commission shall review the
information submitted under subsection (a) and--
(1) determine that the use of the assessment or selection
procedure identified by the employer is job-related and
consistent with business necessity, or
(2) provide technical assistance to such employer that
includes, at a minimum--
(A) an explanation of why the Commission cannot
make such a determination, and
(B) steps the employer could take, or changes the
employer could implement, that will enable the
Commission to make the determination in subsection
(b)(1).
(c) Safe Harbor.--The determination from the Commission under
subsection (b)(1) that the employer's use of an assessment is job-
related and consistent with business may be used by the employer to
satisfy its burden of proof under section 703(k)(1)(A)(i) of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(k)(1)(A)(i)).
(d) Fee Payable for Review.--To obtain review under subsection (b),
an employer with more than 100 employees shall pay to the Commission a
reasonable fee determined by the Commission to offset the cost incurred
by the Commission to provide such review.
(e) Limitation.--Any information submitted by the employer under
subsection (a) and any technical assistance provided by the Commission
under subsection (b)(2) regarding the information submitted by the
employer related thereto shall--
(1) not be used against such employer as a basis for a
future enforcement action, and
(2) shall be inadmissible in a Federal or State court
proceeding without the consent of such employer.
SEC. 4. EDUCATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
The Commission shall provide education and technical assistance on
the use of employment tests or other selection procedures, including
education and technical assistance on the methods of validation of an
employment test or selection procedure and on the opportunity to
voluntarily submit validity evidence to the Commission to seek a
determination that use of an employment test or selection procedure is
job-related and consistent with business necessity.
SEC. 5. DEFINITION.
For purposes of this Act, the term ``competency-based assessment''
means an assessment or selection procedure that purports to measure the
knowledge, skills, abilities, or personal or behavior characteristics
that are necessary for, or shown to predict, successful job
performance.
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect 90 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
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