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Current through October 23, 2012
(a) General. -- It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice to do any of the following acts, wholly or partially for a discriminatory reason based upon the actual or perceived: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, or political affiliation of any individual:
(1) By an employer. -- To fail or refuse to hire, or to discharge, any individual; or otherwise to discriminate against any individual, with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, including promotion; or to limit, segregate, or classify his employees in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities, or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee;
(2) By an employment agency. -- To fail or refuse to refer for employment, or to classify or refer for employment, any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against, any individual; or
(3) By a labor organization. -- To exclude or to expel from its membership, or otherwise to discriminate against, any individual; or to limit, segregate, or classify its membership; or to classify, or fail, or refuse to refer for employment any individual in any way, which would deprive such individual of employment opportunities, or would limit such employment opportunities, or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee or as an applicant for employment; or
(4) By an employer, employment agency or labor organization. -- (A) To discriminate against any individual in admission to or the employment in, any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including an on-the-job training program;
(B) To print or publish, or cause to be printed or published, any notice or advertisement, or use any publication form, relating to employment by such an employer, or to membership in, or any classification or referral for employment by such a labor organization, or to any classification or referral for employment by such an employment agency, unlawfully indicating any preference, limitation, specification, or distinction, based on the race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, matriculation, genetic information, disability, or political affiliation of any individual.
(C) To request or require a genetic test of, or administer a genetic test to, any individual as a condition of employment, application for employment, or membership, or to seek to obtain, obtain, or use genetic information of an employee or applicant for employment or membership.
(b) Subterfuge. -- It shall further be an unlawful discriminatory practice to do any of the above said acts for any reason that would not have been asserted but for, wholly or partially, a discriminatory reason based on the actual or perceived: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, matriculation, genetic information, disability, or political affiliation of any individual.
(c) Accommodation for religious observance. -- (1) It shall further be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to refuse to make a reasonable accommodation for an employee's religious observance by permitting the employee to make up work time lost due to such observance, unless such an accommodation would cause the employer undue hardship. An accommodation would cause an employer undue hardship when it would cause the employer to incur more than de minimis costs.
(2) Such an accommodation may be made by permitting the employee to work:
(A) During the employee's scheduled lunch time or other work breaks;
(B) Before or after the employee's usual working hours;
(C) Outside of the employer's normal business hours;
(D) During the employee's paid vacation days;
(E) During another employee's working hours as part of a voluntary swap with such other employee; or
(F) In any other manner that is mutually agreeable to the employer and employee.
(3) When an employee's request for a particular form of accommodation would cause undue hardship to the employer, the employer shall reasonably accommodate the employee in a manner that does not cause undue hardship to the employer. Where other means of accommodation would cause undue hardship to the employer, an employee shall have the option of taking leave without pay if granting leave without pay would not cause undue hardship to the employer.
(4) An employee shall notify the employer of the need for an accommodation at least 10 working days prior to the day or days for which the accommodation is needed, unless the need for the accommodation cannot reasonably be foreseen.
(5) In any proceeding brought under this section, the employer shall have the burden of establishing that it would be unable reasonably to accommodate an employee's religious observance without incurring an undue hardship, provided, however, that in the case of an employer that employs more than 5 but fewer than 15 full-time employees, or where accommodation of an employee's observance of a religious practice would require the employee to take more than 3 consecutive days off from work, the employee shall have the burden of establishing that the employer could reasonably accommodate the employee's religious observance without incurring an undue hardship; and provided further, that it shall be considered an undue hardship if an employer would be required to pay any additional compensation to an employee by reason of an accommodation for an employee's religious observance. The mere assumption that other employees with the same religious beliefs might also request accommodation shall not be considered evidence of undue hardship. An employer that employs 5 or fewer full-time employees shall be exempt from the provisions of this subsection.
(Dec. 13, 1977, D.C. Law 2-38, title II, § 211, 24 DCR 6038; Mar. 17, 1993, D.C. Law 9-211, § 2, 40 DCR 21; June 28, 1994, D.C. Law 10-129, § 2(c), 41 DCR 2583; Oct. 1, 2002, D.C. Law 14-189, § 2(b), 49 DCR 6523; Apr. 5, 2005, D.C. Law 15-263, § 2(d), 52 DCR 237; Mar. 8, 2006, D.C. Law 16-58, § 2(c), 53 DCR 14.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-2512.
1973 Ed., § 6-2221.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 14-189, in subsecs. (a) and (b), substituted "actual or perceived: race" for "race".
D.C. Law 15-263, in subsecs. (a) and (b), substituted "genetic information, disability," for "disability,"; and added subpar. (C) of par. (4) of subsec. (a).
D.C. Law 16-58, in the lead-in language of subsec. (a), subsec. (a)(4)(B), and subsec. (b), substituted "sexual orientation, gender identity or expression," for "sexual orientation,".
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 2-38, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 2-1401.01.
Law 9-211, the "Human Rights Act of 1977 Religious Observance Accommodation Amendment Act of 1992," was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 9-276, which was referred to the Committee on Public Services. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on November 4, 1992, and December 1, 1992, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on December 21, 1992, it was assigned Act No. 9-340 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 9-211 became effective on March 17, 1993.
For legislative history of D.C. Law 10-129, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 1-2501.
For Law 14-189, see notes following § 2-1401.02.
For Law 15-263, see notes following § 2-1401.01.
For Law 16-58, see notes following § 2-1401.01.
