This chapter shall be referred to as the Binghamton Human Rights Law.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Binghamton 12-17-2008 by L.L. No. 1-2008. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 2-2-2009 by Ord. No. 09-005; 9-6-2024 by L.L. No. 3-2024]
It is the intent of the Binghamton City Council, in enacting the Binghamton Human Rights Law, to protect and safeguard the right and opportunity of all persons to be free from discrimination based on a person's actual or perceived age, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, unhoused status, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, weight or height; and to empower the courts to provide for remedies for any such discrimination. The authority for this chapter is the exercise of the City's police power to preserve and care for the safety, health, comfort, and general welfare of its residents and visitors.
[Amended 2-2-2009 by Ord. No. 09-005; 9-6-2024 by L.L. No. 3-2024]
Shall mean any act, policy, advertisement or practice which, regardless of intent, has the effect of subjecting any person to differential treatment in and as a result of that person's actual or perceived age, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, unhoused status, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, weight or height. Discrimination also includes any differential treatment because of one' s association with a person or group of people identified herein.
Shall mean any educational institution and any business, nursing, professional, secretarial, technical, or vocational school. Such term shall not include any educational institutions under the supervision of the Regents of the State of New York.
Shall mean any individual employed or seeking employment from an employer.
Shall mean any person who, for compensation, regularly employs five or more individuals, not including the employer's parents, spouse or children. For purposes of this chapter, an employer is also any person acting on behalf of an employer, directly or indirectly, or any employment agency.
Shall mean having a gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior or expression whether or not that gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior or expression is different from that traditionally associated with the sex assigned to that person at birth.
Shall mean any natural person, firm, the City of Binghamton, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other organization, association or group of persons however arranged.
Shall include all establishments within the City of Binghamton which offer goods, services, accommodations and entertainment to the public. A place of public accommodation does not include any institution or club which by its nature is distinctly private.
Means heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality or asexuality, whether actual or perceived.
Means the status of not having a fixed or regular residence, including living on the streets or in a publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living arrangements.
Weight is a numerical measurement of total body weight, the ratio of a person’s weight in relation to height or an individual's unique physical composition of weight through body size, shape and proportions.
"Weight" encompasses, but is not limited to, an impression of a person as fat or thin regardless of the numerical measurement. An individual’s body size, shape, proportions, and composition may make them appear fat or thin regardless of numerical weight. Height is a numerical measurement of total body height, an expression of a person’s height in relation to weight, or an individual’s unique physical composition of height through body size, shape and proportions.
"Height" encompasses, but is not limited to, an impression of a person as tall or short regardless of numerical measurement. The length of a person's limbs in proportion to the person's body may create an impression that the person is short, tall, or atypically proportioned, independent of numerical measurements of height.
[Amended 9-6-2024 by L.L. No. 3-2024]
The opportunity to obtain employment without discrimination is hereby recognized as and declared to be a civil right. With regard to employment, it shall be unlawful for any employers or labor organizations to engage in any of the following acts, wholly or partially for a discriminatory reason:
A.
To discriminate against any individual, with respect to failure to hire, refusal to hire, discharge, compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, including promotion; however nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require any employer to provide benefits, such as insurance, to individuals not employed by the employer;
B.
To limit, segregate, or classify employees in any way which would deprive any employee of employment opportunities, or which would otherwise adversely affect his or her status as an employee; or
C.
To fail or refuse to refer for employment, or to give negative information to a potential employer of any individual, in such a manner that would deprive an individual's employment opportunities or that would otherwise adversely affect an individual's status as an applicant or prospective employee.
D.
To discriminate against any individual seeking or maintaining employment due to their lack of permanent mailing address, or due to their mailing address being that of an emergency shelter or other social service provider.
[Amended 9-6-2024 by L.L. No. 3-2024]
The opportunity to obtain housing and to engage in real estate transactions without discrimination is hereby recognized as and declared to be a civil right. With regard to housing and real estate transactions, it shall be unlawful to engage in any of the following acts wholly or partially for a discriminatory reason:
A.
To discriminate by impeding, delaying, discouraging, imposing different terms, or otherwise limiting or restricting any transaction in real estate;
B.
To discriminate in the terms and conditions, or in performing, or refusing to perform, any act necessary to determining an individual's financial ability to engage in a real estate transaction, or to represent falsely that an interest in real estate is not available for transaction;
C.
For a property manager to discriminate by refusing to provide equal treatment of, or services to, occupants or potential occupants of any real estate which he or she manages; or
D.
It shall not be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an owner, lessor or renter to refuse to rent, lease or sublease a portion of a single-family dwelling unit where it is anticipated that the owner, lessor or renter will be occupying any portion of the single-family dwelling.
E.
With regard to unhoused status, it shall be unlawful to engage in any of the following acts wholly or partially for a discriminatory reason:
(1)
To impede an individual from the use of and free movement in public spaces, including but not limited to public sidewalks, public parks and green spaces, public transportation, and public buildings, in the same manner as any other person;
(2)
To refuse emergency medical care or unlawfully discharge an individual from a hospital;
(3)
For healthcare or homeless services providers to disregard the protection from disclosure of an individual's records and information to City, municipal, and private entities without appropriate legal authority;
(4)
For any City or municipal entity to infringe upon an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy in their personal property under the Fourth Amendment; or
(5)
For any City or municipal entity to infringe upon an individual's protection from unreasonable search and seizure as protected by the Fourth Amendment.
The opportunity to enter business establishments or public accommodations without discrimination is hereby recognized as and declared to be a civil right. It shall be unlawful for a business establishment or place of public accommodation to deny, directly or indirectly, any person the full enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations wholly or partially for a discriminatory reason.
The opportunity to obtain an education without discrimination is hereby recognized as and declared to be a civil right. It shall be unlawful for an educational institution to engage in any of the following acts wholly or partially for a discriminatory reason: to deny, restrict, abridge or condition the use of, or access to, any educational facilities or educational services to any person otherwise qualified.
[Amended 9-6-2024 by L.L. No. 3-2024]
A.
It shall not be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to observe the conditions of a bona fide seniority system or a bona fide employee benefit system based on age such as a retirement, pension or insurance plan which is not a subterfuge or pretext to evade the purposes of this chapter.
B.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to prohibit selection or rejection based solely upon a bona fide occupational qualification, or a bona fide physical requirement.
C.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to bar any religious or denominational institution or organization, or any organization operated for charitable or educational purposes, which is operated, supervised by or controlled by or in connection with a religious organization, from limiting employment, or sales or rental of housing accommodations, or admission to or giving preference to persons of the same religion or denomination, or from taking such action as is calculated by such organization to promote the religious principles for which it is established or maintained. Provided however, that this exception shall not apply to any program operated by any religious or denominational institution or organization, or any organization operated for charitable or educational purposes, if the same receives any form of financial assistance from the City of Binghamton.
D.
Nothing contained in this chapter as it relates to unhoused status shall supersede or otherwise modify any other state, local or federal laws.
[Amended 9-6-2024 by L.L. No. 3-2024]
Any person who discriminates or commits any prohibited act against any individual or individuals based upon age, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, weight or height, shall be liable in a civil action or proceeding maintained by such individual or group of individuals for injunctive relief, damages, or any other appropriate relief in law or equity. In any such action or proceeding, the court, in its discretion, may allow the party commencing such action or proceeding, if such party prevails, a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs. As it relates to claims based upon unhoused status, a court may only award appropriate injunctive and declaratory relief, actual damages, and, in its discretion, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs to a prevailing plaintiff.
The Binghamton Human Rights Law shall take effect upon filing with the Secretary of State.
[Added 2-2-2009 by Ord. No. 09-005]
It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person, agency, institution, firm, corporation, partnership or other organization, or association or group of persons to whom this chapter applies to retaliate or discriminate against any person because he or she has opposed any practices forbidden under this chapter or because he or she has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this chapter.
[Added 2-2-2009 by Ord. No. 09-005]
If any clause, sentence, paragraph or part of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, shall for any reason be adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this chapter.