[HISTORY: Adopted by the Harford County Council
by Bill No. 76-81.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This legislation was included
as Ch. 14, Art. VI, of the 1978 Code.
[Amended by Bill No. 11-22]
The population of the County consists of persons
of all age groups, both sexes and many races, colors, religions, ancestries,
national origins, varied appearances and varied disabilities, all
of whom should be free to exercise and enjoy all civil and constitutional
rights, be assured equal protection of the law, equal treatment and
fair treatment of the law and due process of the law with respect
to education, housing, administration of justice, employment, public
accommodations, government services and other related fields as situations
may require, without interference and without discrimination because
of race, creed, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, occupation,
marital status, political opinion, personal appearance, mental or
physical disability or familial status. The denial of these rights,
privileges or freedoms endangers the rights of all citizens, intensifies
group conflict, undermines the basic premises of a free society under
democracy, adversely affects the general welfare of the entire community
and reduces its productive capacity.
A.
It shall be the function of the County government
to foster and encourage the growth and development of the County in
a manner that will ensure that all persons shall have an equal opportunity
to pursue their lives free of discrimination imposed because of race,
creed, color, sex, national origin, age, occupation, marital status,
political opinion, personal appearance, mental or physical disability
or familial status. Discriminatory practices based upon the foregoing
criteria are hereby declared contrary to the public policy of the
county.
[Amended by Bill No. 11-22]
B.
The County government shall direct its efforts and
resources toward eliminating discriminatory practices within the County
in the areas of housing, employment, administration of justice, education,
public accommodations and any other facets of the lives of its citizens
where such practices may be found to exist.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to
them by this section:
The Human Relations Commission as established by the Charter.
Acting or failing to act or unduly delaying any action regarding
any person because of race, creed, color, sex, national origin, age
(except as required by state or federal law), occupation, marital
status, political opinion, personal appearance, physical or mental
handicap or familial status in a way that adversely affects or interferes
with such person's civil and constitutional rights, equal and fair
treatment, due process in the areas of housing, employment, administration
of justice, county services, education, public accommodations or other
such related areas.
[Amended by Bill No. 11-22]
Any building or structure, or portion thereof, which is designed,
intended or arranged for use or occupancy as a home, residence or
sleeping place for one (1) or more individuals,
Any person engaged in commerce, industry, agriculture or
a lawful profession who for compensation has hired or contracted for
the services of five (5) or more employees for a total of twenty (20)
or more hours in the current or preceding calendar year, or any agent
of such person. "Employer" includes the county, a body corporate and
politic of the state, to the extent provided in this chapter, and
other governmental agencies.
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, including an agent of such a person, but
not including any agency of the federal or state governments.
Includes, but is not limited to, equal protection of the
laws or a requirement of applying the same set of standards in a like
manner in like instances, situations, occurrences or happenings with
respect to the effort on a person's quality of life, liberty or the
pursuit of happiness.
One or more individuals, who have not attained the age of
18 years, being domiciled with:
[Added by Bill No. 11-22]
A parent or another person having legal custody of such individual
or individuals; or
The designee of such parent or other person having such custody,
with the written permission of such parent or other person.
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The protections afforded against discrimination on the basis
of familial status shall apply to any person who is pregnant or is
in the process of securing legal custody of any individual who has
not attained the age of 18 years.
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Any dwelling for the use of one (1) or more individuals,
groups or families, any mobile home site and any land offered for
sale or lease for the construction of such dwelling, building, structure
or mobile home site.
That person assigned by the County under the guidance of
the Human Relations Commission to investigate complaints arising out
of a violation of this chapter. The term shall include the word "investigator"
and supportive staff of the Coordinator.
A person or organization which exists for the purpose, in
whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances,
labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours or other terms or conditions
of employment and any conference, general committee, joint or system
board or joint council so engaged which is subordinate to a national
or international labor organization.
Any bank, insurance company, savings and loan association
or any other person or organization regularly engaged in the business
of lending money or guaranteeing loans within the County.
The principal lawful activity of one's life. Persons included
in this definition are students, welfare recipients, retired persons
and all other persons, irrespective of income, who are denied the
equal protection of the laws.
The outward appearance of any person, irrespective of sex,
with regard to hairstyle, beards or manner of dress. Such term shall
not relate to the requirement of cleanliness, uniforms or prescribed
attire when uniformly applied for admittance to a public accommodation
or a class of employees for a customary or reasonable business.
Any retail store, inn, hotel, motel or other establishment
which provides lodging to transient persons or any restaurant, cafeteria,
lunchroom, lunch counter, soda fountain or other facility at which
food or alcoholic beverages are sold for consumption on the premises
or any gasoline station, motion-picture house, theater, concert hall,
sports arena, stadium or place of exhibition or entertainment. Such
term shall also include any athletic or recreation facility or any
barbershop, beauty salon, health spa or other facility or any medical
and health service individual, business or facility which maintains
a building or office for providing related services or health care
to the public or any educational or training facility and program
which provides related services.
The opinion of persons relating to government or the conduct
of government or related to political parties authorized to participate
in primary elections in the state.
Any specification limiting the transfer, rental or lease
of any dwelling because of race, color, religion or national origin.
An act of commission or omission which a legislative act
has declared unlawful and which the County shall have the power to
order to discontinue.
A.
Unlawful practices generally. It shall be an unlawful
practice, because of discrimination, for any person having the right
to sell, rent, lease, control, construct or manage any dwelling or
for any agent or employee of such person:
(1)
To refuse to sell or rent after the making of a bona
fide offer, or to refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of or
otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling.
(2)
To discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions
or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling or in the provision
of services or facilities in connection therewith.
(3)
To make, print or publish, or cause to be made, printed
or published, any notice, statement or advertisement with respect
to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference,
limitation or discrimination or an intention to make any such preference,
limitation or discrimination.
(4)
To represent to any person, for reasons of discrimination,
that any dwelling is not available for inspection, sale or rental
when such dwelling is in fact so available.
(5)
To deny any person access or membership or participation
in any multiple listing service, real estate broker's organization
or other service, organization or facility relating to the business
of selling or renting dwellings, or to discriminate against him in
the terms or conditions of such access, membership or participation.
(6)
To include in any transfer, sale, rental or lease
of housing any restrictive covenants that discriminate, or to honor
or exercise, or attempt to honor or exercise, any discriminatory covenant
pertaining to housing.
B.
Discriminatory practices involving sale or advertising
of property, inducements to purchase, etc. It shall further be an
unlawful discriminatory housing practice:
(1)
For any person, whether or not acting for monetary
gain, knowingly to induce or attempt to induce another person to transfer
an interest in real property or to discourage another person from
purchasing real property by representations regarding the existing
or potential proximity of real property owned, used or occupied by
persons of any particular race, color, religion, national origin,
sex, age, personal appearance, political opinion, physical or mental
handicap, marital status or familial status or to represent that such
existing or potential proximity will or may result in:
[Amended by Bill No. 11-22]
(2)
For any person to solicit or attempt to solicit the
listing of dwellings for sale or lease by door-to-door solicitation,
in person, by telephone or by mass distribution of circulars, for
the purpose of changing the racial composition of the neighborhood.
(3)
For any person to place a sign or display any other
device which offers for sale, lease, assignment, transfer or other
disposition any real property used for the purpose of housing, which
sign, display or device is designed to stimulate the belief that a
bona fide offer is being made to sell, lease, assign, transfer or
otherwise dispose of such property when in fact such property is not
being offered for the advertised sale, lease, assignment or transfer.
C.
Restrictive covenants declared void: refusal to accept
documents containing covenants. Further:
(1)
Any restrictive covenant, whether heretofore or hereafter
included in an instrument affecting the title to real or leasehold
property, is declared to be null, void and of no effect and contrary
to the public policy of the county as well as contrary to the Constitution
and the laws of the United States.
(2)
Any person who is asked to accept a document affecting
title to real or leasehold property may decline to accept the same,
if it includes such a covenant, until the covenant has been removed
from the document. Refusal to accept delivery of an instrument for
the reason shall not be deemed a breach of a contract to purchase,
lease, mortgage or otherwise deal with such property.
D.
Exemptions. Nothing in this section shall prohibit
a religious organization, association or society, or any nonprofit
institution or organization operated, supervised or controlled by
or in conjunction with a religious organization, association or society,
from limiting the sale, rental or occupancy of dwellings which it
owns or operates, for other than commercial purposes, to persons of
the same religion or from giving preferences to such persons. Neither
shall anything in this section apply to a private membership club
which is a bona fide club and which is exempt from taxation under
Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954; nor shall discrimination
based on age be unlawful with regard to housing operated in connection
with any medical, health or educational institution or with regard
to any domiciliary, retirement or senior citizens' home or housing
or with regard to any preschool children's home or facility; nor shall
discrimination be unlawful with regard to the leasing of a room or
apartment in an owner-occupied dwelling consisting of not more than
two (2) rental units.
E.
Unlawful financing practices.
(1)
It shall be an unlawful practice for any lending institution
to deny a loan to a person applying therefor, for purposes including
but not limited to the purchase, construction, improvement, repair
or maintenance of a dwelling, the establishment or continuance of
a business establishment or personal purposes, because of discrimination.
(2)
It shall also be an unlawful act to discriminate against
any person in the fixing of the down payment, interest rate, duration
or other terms or conditions of such a loan.
(3)
It shall be unlawful for the County Treasurer or governmental
official whose responsibility it is to account for, invest or manage
public funds to deposit or cause to be deposited any public funds
in any lending institution defined herein which is found by the county
to be unlawfully discriminating provided that such findings are upheld
by a court of law. Upon the court's judicial enforcement of any order
to restrain a practice of such lending institution or any order for
such institution to cease or desist in a discriminatory practice,
the county shall notify all persons in charge of public funds in the
name of any such lending institution found to be practicing discrimination
in the course of providing its customary commercial services. Upon
receiving such notification, the appropriate fiscal officer or Treasurer
of the county which has funds deposited in any lending institution
which is practicing discrimination, as set forth herein, shall take
immediate steps to have the funds withdrawn and redeposited in another
lending institution. If for reasons of sound economic management this
action will result in a financial loss to the county, the action may
be deferred for a period not longer than one (1) year. If the lending
institution in question corrects its discriminatory practices, any
prohibition set forth in this section shall not be applicable.
A.
It shall be an unlawful employment practice:
(1)
For any employer in the county to discharge or to
refuse to hire any person or act against any person with respect to
compensation or other terms and conditions of employment or to limit,
segregate, classify or assign employees because of discrimination.
(2)
For any employment agency in the county to fail or
refuse to refer a person for employment or act against any person
respecting the kind of employment for which a referral could have
been made, or to classify a person for employment because of discrimination.
(3)
For any labor organization located in the county with
respect to the exercise of its functions and activities within the
county:
(a)
To exclude or to expel any person from its membership
or otherwise act against any person because of discrimination.
(b)
To limit, segregate or classify its membership or
to fail or refuse to refer for employment any person, in any way which
would deprive any person of employment opportunities or would limit
such employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status
as an employee or as an applicant for employment, because of discrimination.
(c)
To cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate
against an individual in violation of this section.
B.
It shall be an unlawful employment practice for any
employer or any labor organization located or domiciled in the county
or any labor organization or joint labor management committee controlling
apprenticeships or other training or retraining, including on-the-job
training programs, to refuse any person for admission to or employment
in any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training,
because of discrimination.
C.
It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an
employer, labor organization or employment agency to print or cause
to be printed any notice or advertisement relating to employment by
such an employer or membership in or any classification or referral
for employment by such a labor organization or relating to any classification
or referral for employment by such an agency indicating any preference,
limitation or specification based upon discrimination, except where
such a limitation or specification is a bona fide occupational qualification
for employment.
D.
It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an
employer to discriminate against any of his employees or applicants
for employment, for an employment agency to discriminate against any
person or for a labor organization to discriminate against any member
thereof or applicant for membership because he has opposed any practice
made an unlawful employment practice by this section or because he
has made a charge or testified, assisted or participated in any manner
in an investigation, proceeding or hearing under this section.
(1)
Nothing in this section shall prohibit the hiring,
assignment, compensation or discharge of persons by an employer, the
classification or referral of persons for employment by an employment
agency, the classification of members of a labor organization or the
admission to any program of apprenticeship, training or retraining
based on discrimination, where it can be demonstrated that it is a
bona fide occupational qualification which is reasonable, necessary
and relevant to the normal operation of a particular business or enterprise.
It shall not be unlawful for a school, college, university or other
educational institution to hire and employ persons of a particular
religion if such school, college, university or other educational
institution is, in whole or in substantial part, owned, supported,
controlled or managed by a particular church, synagogue or other religious
organization or corporation or if the curriculum of such school, college,
university or other educational institution is designed to comply,
in whole or in part, with the doctrines or tenets of a particular
religion, and it shall not be unlawful for an employer, employment
agency or labor organization to observe the terms of a bona fide seniority
system or any bona fide employee benefit plan such as a retirement,
pension or insurance plan, which is not a subterfuge to evade the
purposes of this section, except that no such employee benefit plan
shall excuse the failure to hire any person.
(2)
Nothing contained in this section shall be interpreted
to require any employer, employment agency, labor organization or
joint labor-management committee subject to this section to grant
preferential treatment to any individual or to any group because of
the race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, occupation,
personal appearance, political opinion, marital status, physical or
mental handicap or familial status of such person 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, age, national
origin, occupation, personal appearance, political opinion, marital
status or physical or mental handicap or familial status 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, age, national origin,
occupation, personal appearance, political opinion, marital status,
physical or mental handicap or familal status.
[Amended by Bill No. 11-22]
A.
It shall be unlawful for any owner or operator of
a place of public accommodation located in the county or the agent
of any owner or operator of such place of public accommodation to
deny to any person any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities
or privileges of such a place of public accommodation because of discrimination.
B.
This section shall not apply to a private club or
similar establishment which is not in fact open to the general public,
except with respect to those facilities of such club or related establishment
which are made available to customers or patrons of an establishment
which is subject to the provisions of this section.
[Amended by Bill No. 76-95]
Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an alleged
violation of this chapter may proceed directly with civil or criminal
enforcement as provided for by this chapter, or the aggrieved person
may file a complaint with the Human Relations Commission Coordinator
of the county. If a complaint is so filed, the following procedures
shall be utilized:
A.
Form, contents, etc. Complaints shall be filed on
a written complaint form provided by the Coordinator. The complaint
shall state the name and address of the complainant and the respondent
and such other information as may be required from time to time by
the Coordinator. The complaint must be filed within six (6) months
after the alleged violation has occurred or was discovered by the
complainant. Complaints may be reasonably amended at any time after
being filed.
B.
Investigation, determination and conciliation.
(1)
After the filing of any complaint, the Coordinator
shall consider the complaint and cause it to be promptly investigated,
and a copy of the complaint and any amendments thereto shall be served
upon the respondent by certified mail within sixty (60) days after
it is filed or amended.
(2)
The results of the investigation shall be made as
written findings, and copies of the findings shall be furnished to
the parties.
(3)
If the findings are that there is reasonable cause
to believe that a violation of this chapter has occurred, the Coordinator
shall immediately, but not later than thirty (30) days after the date
of such findings, attempt to eliminate the violation by conference,
conciliation and persuasion. If an agreement is reached for the elimination
of the violation, it shall be reduced to a legally enforceable written
instrument. If the Coordinator is unable to reach an agreement, the
Coordinator shall so certify in writing that conciliation has failed
and provide notice of such certification to all parties.
(4)
If the findings are that there is no reasonable cause
to believe that a violation of this chapter has occurred, the Coordinator
shall transmit the findings to the parties no later than ten (10)
days after the date of such findings.
(5)
If there is a finding that there is a possible violation
of this chapter and conciliation has failed, the Coordinator shall
transmit the case to the proper criminal enforcement authority for
further action.
If, at any time after a complaint has been filed,
the Coordinator reasonably believes that appropriate civil action
to preserve the status quo or to prevent irreparable harm is advisable,
the Coordinator, represented by the County Attorney, may bring any
action necessary to preserve such status quo or to prevent such irreparable
harm, including but not limited to an action to obtain a temporary
restraining order and for a preliminary injunction.
Any person who willfully falsifies any documents,
records or reports that have been subpoenaed pursuant to this chapter
or who willfully gives false testimony before any investigator or
any court of law or who intimidates any witness, complainant or respondent
in any proceeding before any investigator or court of law, upon conviction
thereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to
a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.) or to imprisonment
for a period not to exceed six (6) months, or both.
Any person who shall be found to have committed
a violation of the provisions of this chapter relating to discriminatory
or wrongful practices resulting in damage to the person aggrieved
by such discriminatory or wrongful practices shall be liable for the
payment to such person aggrieved of a civil penalty recoverable in
a civil action.
It shall be unlawful for any person to retaliate
or to cause or coerce or attempt to cause or coerce any other person
to retaliate against any person because such person has lawfully opposed
any act or failure to act that is a violation of this chapter or has,
in good faith, filed a complaint, testified, participated or assisted
in any way in any proceeding under this chapter. Any person violating
this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000.) or a sentence of not more than six (6) months in
jail, or both.
During the investigation of any complaint alleging
a violation of this chapter and until such matters reach the stage
of court hearings, the activities of all persons involved in connection
with an investigation shall be conducted without publicity, and the
investigators and other government employees shall hold confidential
any information in relation thereto, including the identity of the
complainant and the respondent, except that:
A.
Any information may be released at any time if the
release has been agreed to in writing by both complainant and respondent.
B.
The identity of the complainant shall be disclosed
to the respondent upon request.
C.
The persons investigating complaints shall cooperate
with federal and state agencies.
D.
Any investigator or other government employee who
violates the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of
a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more
that one thousand dollars ($1,000.) or imprisoned for not more than
six (6) months, or both.
The provisions of this chapter shall be construed
as vesting in all persons the right to be free of any practices within
the county which are prohibited herein. Any person who is aggrieved
by an act prohibited herein may bring an appropriate action in law
or in equity in the Circuit Court for the county to seek damages,
including counsel fees, redress of injury or injunctive relief arising
out of any act prohibited herein, in addition to pursuing the procedures
and seeking the remedies established herein.
It shall be a misdemeanor for any person to
violate any unlawful practice prohibitions of this chapter, and, upon
conviction of such violation, such person shall be punished by a fine
of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.) or imprisoned for
not more than six (6) months, or both.
