LOVE Act of 2019

Lavender Offense Victim Exoneration Act of 2019 or the LOVE Act of 2019

This bill offers a formal apology from Congress for encouraging policies at the Department of State such as the Lavender Scare, which resulted in the wrongful termination of at least 1,000 people for alleged homosexuality.

The State Department and Foreign Service shall (1) review all employee terminations since January 1, 1950, to determine who was wrongfully terminated for their real or perceived sexual orientation; and (2) issue a public report on the findings. The State Department shall periodically report to Congress on recommendations for continued actions.

The State Department shall establish an independent Reconciliation Board to contact any employee (or a family member of a deceased employee) improperly terminated during the Lavender Scare and offer to change the employee's record to reflect such a finding. The board shall accept and review grievances from former employees who believe they were terminated due to sexual orientation.

The State Department shall establish a board of senior-level officials to address issues that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) Foreign Service employees and their families face. The board shall report to Congress comments on or recommendations for improving State Department policies to prevent sexual orientation discrimination.

The State Department shall report to Congress on (1) countries that do not issue spousal visas for Foreign Service employee spouses due to sexual orientation, and (2) recommendations on how to address the issue.