Senators Irving M. Ives and Hubert H. Humphrey joined today in re-introducing a bill “to prohibit discrimination in employment because of race, religion, color, national origin, or ancestry. ” This bill was first introduced during the 82nd Congress. If enacted it will be known as the “Federal Equality of Opportunity in Employment Act.”
The bill has bi-partisan sponsorship consisting of nine Republicans, nine Democrats, and one Independent. Lengthy hearings doubtless will have to be held on the measure and other fair employment practices legislation which other Senators have introduced or are expected to Introduce. A similar bill by the two Senators failed to reach the Senate floor in the Eighty second Congress.
The Ives-Humphrey bill provides for the “maximum use of educational programs” with emphasis on voluntary processes. It contains a minimum of enforcement provisions but provides penalties when there “may be open and deliberate defiance on the part of a violator,” the two Senators said. As far as possible, they said, it provides for the maximum actual participation by state and local authorities in its administration and enforcement.
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