The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Administrator.
The administrator of the Commission on Human Needs, or authorized assistant.
Commission.
The city Commission on Human Needs.
Employee.
An individual employed by an employer, except that the term “employee” does not include any person elected to public office in this state or political subdivision of this state by the qualified voters thereof.
Employer and general contractor.
A person who has 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, and any agent of such a person.
Employment agency.
Any person regularly undertaking, with or without compensation, to procure employees for an employer or to procure for employees opportunities to work for an employer and includes an agent of such a person.
Handicapped person.
A person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person’s major life activities, has a record of such an impairment or is regarded as having such an impairment.
Labor organization.
An organization, agency, or employee representation committee, group or association in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rate of pay, hours or other terms or conditions of employment.
Person.
Includes one or more individuals, labor unions, partnerships, joint ventures, associations, corporations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy or receivers, or any other legal or commercial entity.
Religion.
Includes all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to reasonably accommodate an employee’s or prospective employee’s religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.
(1966 Code, sec. 13-52; 2001 Code, sec. 66-161)
(a) 
It is declared to be the policy of the city to bring about, through fair, orderly, and lawful procedure, the opportunity for each person to obtain employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or physical or mental handicap.
(b) 
It is further declared that this policy is established under the recognition of the inalienable rights of each individual to work to earn wages and obtain a share of the wealth of this city through gainful employment and; further, that the denial of such rights through considerations based upon race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or physical or mental handicap is detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of the inhabitants of the city and constitutes an unjust denial or deprivation of such inalienable rights which is within the power and the proper responsibility of government to prevent.
(1966 Code, sec. 13-51; 2001 Code, sec. 66-162)
(a) 
It shall be unlawful for employers to:
(1) 
Fail or refuse to hire, discharge an individual, or otherwise discriminate against an individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, privileges or responsibilities of employment, because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or physical or mental handicap.
(2) 
Limit, segregate or classify an employee or applicant for employment which would deprive or tend to deprive an individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect the status of an employee, because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or physical or mental handicap.
(3) 
Cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against an individual in violation of this section.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for an employment agency to fail or refuse to refer for employment or otherwise to discriminate against any individual because of his age, race, color, religion, sex or national origin or to classify or refer for employment any individual on the basis of his age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or physical or mental handicap.
(c) 
It shall be unlawful for any employer, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including on-the-job training programs, to discriminate against any individual because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability in admission to, or employment in, any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training.
(d) 
It shall be unlawful for an employer to discriminate against any of his employees or applicants for employment, for an employment agency, or joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including on-the-job training programs, to discriminate against any individual or for a labor organization to discriminate against any member thereof or applicant for membership, because he has opposed any practice made unlawful by this article or because he has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this article.
(e) 
It shall be unlawful for an employer, labor organization, employment agency, or joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including on-the-job training programs, to print or publish or cause to be printed or published any notice or advertisement relating to employment by such an employer or membership in or any classification or referral for employment by such labor organization or relating to any classification or referral for employment by such an employment agency indicating any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination, based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability; but a notice or advertisement may indicate a preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination based on religion, sex, national origin, age or disability when religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability is a bona fide occupational qualification for employment.
(f) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to aid, incite, compel, coerce, intimidate or participate in the doing of any act declared to be unlawful by this article or to obstruct or prevent any person from enforcing or complying with this article.
(1966 Code, sec. 13-53; 2001 Code, sec. 66-163)
(a) 
It shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to hire and employ employees; for an employment agency to classify or refer to employment any individual; for a labor organization to classify its membership or to classify or refer for employment any individual; or for an employer, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining programs to admit or employ any individual in any such program, on the basis of religion, sex, national origin, age or disability in those certain instances where religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business or enterprise.
(b) 
It shall not be an unlawful employment practice for a school, college, university, or other educational institution or institution of learning to hire and employ employees of a particular religion, if such school, college or university or other educational institution or institution of learning is directed toward the propagation of a particular religion, if such school, college, university, or other educational institution or institution of learning is, in whole or in part, owned, supported, controlled, or managed by a particular religion or by a particular religious corporation, association, or society, or if the curriculum of such school, college, university, or other educational institution or institution of learning is directed toward the propagation of a particular religion.
(c) 
This article shall not apply to a religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion, to perform work connected with the carrying on by such corporation, association, educational institution or society of its activities.
(d) 
Notwithstanding any other section of this article, it shall not be unlawful for an employer to apply different standards of compensation or different terms, conditions or privilege of employment pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system or a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or to employees who work in different locations, provided that such differences are not the result of an intention to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or physical or mental handicap, nor shall it be unlawful for an employer to give and to act upon the results of any professionally developed ability test, provided that such test, its administration or action upon the results is not designed, intended or used to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or physical or mental handicap. It shall not be unlawful under this article for any employer to differentiate upon the basis of sex in determining the amount of the wages or compensation paid or to be paid to employees of such employer if such differentiation is authorized by the provisions of section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (29 USC 206(d)).
(e) 
Nothing contained in this article shall be interpreted to require any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee subject to this article to grant preferential treatment to any individual or to any group because of the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or physical or mental handicap of such individual or group on account of an imbalance which may exist with respect to the total number or percentage of persons of any race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or physical or mental handicap employed by an employer, referred or classified for employment by an employment agency or labor organization, admitted to membership or classified by a labor organization, or admitted to, or employed in, any apprenticeship or other training program, in comparison with the total number or percentage of persons of such race, color, religion, sex or national origin in any community, state, section, or other area, or in the available work force in any community, state, section or other area.
(f) 
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to repeal or modify any federal, state, territorial, or local law creating special rights or preferences for veterans or Indians.
(g) 
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to make unlawful discrimination based upon the ages of persons who are less than 40 years of age or more than 65 years of age.
(h) 
Nothing in this article shall be interpreted to make unlawful discrimination with respect to aliens who entered and reside in the United States illegally.
(1966 Code, sec. 13-54; 2001 Code, sec. 66-164)
(a) 
The Commission on Human Needs is provided as an administrative vehicle for the procedural handling of complaints concerning any person engaging in an unlawful employment practice.
(b) 
Whenever a charge is filed with the commission by a person claiming to be aggrieved, alleging that an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including on-the-job training programs, has engaged in an unlawful employment practice, the administrator shall serve a notice of the charge, including the date, place, and circumstances with as much specificity as possible of the alleged unlawful employment practice, to such employer, employment agency, labor organization or joint labor-management committee (referred to as the “respondent”) within ten days. However, before any charge becomes accepted for investigative purposes, the administrator shall have personally reviewed with the charging party the allegations contained therein and shall determine if such charge comes within this article. If such review results in the determination that a particular charge does not come within this article, the charging party shall be given a clear and concise explanation of the reasons why it does not. Records shall be maintained indicating the reason for which a charge was not accepted for investigation. An investigation of charges accepted shall be made by the administrator. The report of investigation results and recommendations shall be filed with the administrator of the Commission on Human Needs. A charge under this section must be filed within not more than 180 days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred.
(c) 
Charges shall be in writing under oath or affirmation and shall contain such information and shall be in such form as the commission requires. Such charges shall not be made public.
(d) 
If the administrator determines after investigation that there is not reasonable cause to believe that the charge is true, the commission shall dismiss the charge and promptly notify the person claiming to be aggrieved and the respondent of such action.
(e) 
If, after investigation, it is determined that there is reasonable cause to believe that a charge is true, the administrator shall endeavor to eliminate any such alleged unlawful employment practice by informal methods of conference, conciliation and persuasion. Nothing said or done during and as a part of such informal endeavors may be made public by the commission, the administrator, or his representative or be used as evidence in a subsequent proceeding without the written consent of the person concerned. All determinations shall be reasonable and made as promptly as possible. At any time if a respondent desires to enter into a predetermination settlement, the settlement shall be allowed, provided the aggrieved party and the administrator agree such is acceptable and promotable of the objectives of this article.
(f) 
If the administrator is unable to secure from the respondent an acceptable conciliation agreement after investigation, the administrator shall cause the case to be prosecuted in municipal court or shall refer the case to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
(1966 Code, sec. 13-55; 2001 Code, sec. 66-165)
(a) 
In connection with any investigation of a charge filed under this article, the administrator shall, at all reasonable times, have access to, for the purpose of examination and the right to copy, any evidence of any person being investigated or proceeded against that relates to unlawful employment practices and that is relevant to the charge under investigation and that is not confidential as provided by law.
(b) 
No person shall willfully obstruct or prevent compliance with this article or hinder or interfere with the performance of the proper exercise of a duty, obligation, right or power of the Commission on Human Needs or its representatives or other officials with duties, obligations, rights and powers established by ordinance.
(c) 
The commission shall have authority from time to time to issue, demand, or rescind suitable procedural regulations to carry out this article. Such rules and regulations shall be in conformity with procedural due process and shall be subject to review and approval by the city council.
(1966 Code, sec. 13-56; 2001 Code, sec. 66-166)