(a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice:
(1) For any employer, because of the race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, or military status to refuse to hire that person or otherwise to discriminate against that person with respect to hire, tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, or any matter directly or indirectly related to employment;
(2) For any employer, employment agency, or labor organization to establish, announce or follow a policy of denying or limiting, the employment or membership opportunities of any person or group of persons because of race, sex, sexua! orientation, gender identity or expression, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, or military status.
(3) For any employer, labor organization, or joint labor—management committee controlling apprentice training programs to discriminate against any person because of that person's race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, or military status in admission to employment in any program established to provide apprentice training;
(4) For any employer, employment agency, or labor organization to publish or circulate, or to cause to be published or circulated, any notice or advertisement relating to employment or membership which indicates any preference, limitation, speci cations or discrimination based upon race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, or military status;
(5) For any person providing employment to publish or to cause to be published any advertisement which specifies or in any manner indicates or expresses a limitation or preference as to race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, color, religion, ancestry, nationai origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, or military status of any prospective employee;
(6) For any employment agency to refuse or fail to accept, register, classify properly, or refer for employment or otherwise to discriminate against any person because of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, or military status;
(7) For any employer, employment agency, or labor organization to utilize in the recruitment or hiring of persons, any employment agency, placement service, labor organization, training school or center, or any other employee-referring source, known to discriminate against persons because of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, or military status;
(8) For any labor organization to discriminate against any person or limit that person's employment opportunities, or otherwise adversely affect that person‘s status as an employee, or that person's wages, hours, or employment conditions, because of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, or military status;
(9) For an employment agency, to comply with, accommodate, or otherwise assist with locating or placing an employee related to, a request from an employer for referral of applicants for employment if the request indicates, directly or indirectly, that the employer fails, or may fail, to comply with this chapter, of the Village of AshviHe Village Code;
(10) For any labor organization to limit or classify its membership on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, or military status;
(11) For any employer, employment agency or labor organization to:
A. Elicit or attempt to elicit any information concerning the race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity orexpression, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, or military status of an applicant for employment or membership;
B. Use any form of application for employment or personnel or membership blank seeking to elicit information regarding race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, or military status but an employer holding a contract containing a nondiscrimination clause with the government of the United States or any department or agency thereof, may require an employee or applicant for employment to furnish documentary proof of United States citizenship and may retain such proof in the employer's personnel records and may use photographic or fingerprint identification for security purposes.
(12) For any employer, employment agency or labor organization to discriminate against any person because that person has opposed any practice forbidden by this chapter, of the Village of Ashville Village Code, or because that person has made a complaint or assisted in any manner in any investigation or proceeding under this chapter, of the Village of Ashville Village Code.
(13) For any person, whether or not an employer, employment agency or labor organization, to aid, incite, compel, coerce, or participate in the doing of any act declared to be unlawful discriminatory practice by this chapter, of the Village of Ashville Village Code, or to obstruct or prevent any person from enforcing or complying with the provisions of this chapter, or to attempt directly or indirectiy to commit any act declared by this chapter, to be an unlawful discriminatory practice, or to obstruct or prevent any person from enforcing or complying with the provisions of this chapter, or to attempt directly or indirectly to commit any act declared by this chapter, to be an unlawful discriminatory practice.
(b) General Exceptions. In addition to the general Exceptions outlined in Section 559.09, this section does not apply to:
(1) A religious or denominational corporation, institution, association, organization, educational institution, or society with respect to the empioyment of an individual of a particular religion to perform work connected with the carrying on of that religious or denominational corporation, institution, association, organization, educationa! institution, or society of its activities. (This exception recognizes the ministerial exception as reaf rmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Our Lady of Guadalpue School v. Morrissey-Berru to protect religious institutions’ First Amendment rights).
(2) Any practice which has a discriminatory effect, and which would otherwise be prohibited by this Chapter shall not be deemed unlawful if it can be established that the practice is not intentionally devised to contravene the prohibitions of this chapter and there exists no less discriminatory means of satisfying a business purpose.
(3) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit promotional activities such as senior citizen discounts and other similar practices designed primarily to encourage participation by protected group.
(4) 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 such as a retirement, pension or insurance plan which is not a subterfuge or pretext to evade the purposes of this chapter.
(5) It shall not be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person to carry out an affirmative action plan. An affirmative action plan is any plan devised to effectuate remedial or corrective action taken in response to past discriminatory practices, or as otherwise required by state or federal law.
(6) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to prohibit selection or rejection based solely upon a bona de occupational qualification or a bona de physical requirement. If a party asserts that an otherwise unlawful practice isjustified as a permissible bona fide occupational qualification, or a permissible bona de physical requirement, that party shall have the burden of proving:
A. That the discrimination is in fact a necessary result of such-a bona fide condition; and
B. That there exists no less discriminatory means of satisfying the bona fide requirement.
(Ord. 2022-13. Passed 8-1-22.)