As used in this Chapter, the following terms shall have these meanings:
(a) "Administrative Hearing" means a hearing conducted by the Board as set forth in Section 749.19. (Ord. 123-2014. Passed 11-3-14.)
(a1) "Age" means 40 years of age and older, as recognized by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. (Ord. 4-2019. Passed 2-4-19.)
(b) "Aggrieved Person" includes any individual who claims to have been injured by an Unlawful Discriminatory Practice or who believes that he/she will be injured by an Unlawful Discriminatory Practice that is about to occur or a non-profit organization whose purpose is to prevent or eliminate Unlawful Discriminatory Practices and has reason to believe, because of testing conducted by said organization or otherwise, that an Unlawful Discriminatory Practice has occurred.
(c) "Board" means the Fair Practices Board as set forth in Section 749.04.
(d) "Business Days" means days that City Hall is open for normal operations.
(e) "Complainant" means an individual who files a Complaint and may be:
(1) An Aggrieved Person;
(2) An individual acting on behalf of an Aggrieved Person with his/her authority to do so, such as an attorney or other representative; or
(3) A legal guardian or legal custodian of an Aggrieved Person.
(g) "Complaint Officer" means the individual designated by the Mayor as set forth in Section 749.05.
(h) "Conciliation" means the attempted resolution of issues raised by a Complainant or by the investigation of a Complaint, through informal negotiations involving the Aggrieved Person, the Respondent, and the Complaint Officer.
(i) "Conciliation Agreement" means a written agreement setting forth the resolution of the issues in Conciliation. A Conciliation Agreement shall be subject to final approval of the Board as set forth in Section 749.18(g).
(j) "Covered Multi-Family Dwellings" means all dwelling units in buildings containing four (4) or more units with one (1) or more elevators, and all ground floor units in buildings containing four (4) or more units, without an elevator, as defined by 24 CFR 100.201.
(k) "Determination" means a determination made by the Board following the Complaint Officer's Recommendation as set forth in Section 749.18.
(l) "Disability" is defined by the Americans with Disability Act and means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a history or record of such an impairment, or perception by others as having such impairment.
(m) "Disabled" means an individual with a Disability, including for illustrative purposes only, such contagious and non-contagious diseases and conditions as orthopedic, visual, speech and hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, being HIV-positive (whether symptomatic or asymptomatic), mental retardation, emotional illness, specific learning disabilities, tuberculosis, drug addiction, and alcoholism or being regarded or perceived as having any of these diseases or conditions. (Ord. 123-2014. Passed 11-3-14; Ord. 153-2021. Passed 12-6-21.)
(n) The terms 'Discriminate,' 'Discriminating,' or 'Discrimination,' mean any act, policy, or practice that, regardless of intent, has or had the effect of subjecting any individual to different treatment as a result of that individual's Age, race, color, religion, Sex, Familial Status, national origin, Disability, Sexual Orientation, or Gender Identity or Expression, Source of Income, or the nonconsensual dissemination of that individual's private sexual images, except as otherwise set forth in this Chapter, and except that Age may be the basis of different treatment concerning Housing Practices (see Section 749.07) and/or Education Practices (see Section 749.14). (Ord. 25-2021. Passed 4-19-21.)
(o) "Dwelling" means any building, structure, or part of a building or structure that is occupied as, or designed for or intended for occupancy as a residence or any vacant land that is offered for sale or lease for the construction or location of a building, structure, or part of a dwelling.
(p) "Educational Institution" means any public educational institution, including an academy, college, elementary or secondary school, extension course, kindergarten, pre-school, nursery school, university, and any business, nursing, professional, secretarial, technical, or vocational school. Educational Institution does not mean any private educational institution or any educational institution operated by a religious or denominational institution.
(q) "Employee" means an individual employed by an Employer, except those engaged in domestic service.
(r) "Employer" means any Person that employs four (4) or more individuals within the City of Cleveland Heights, except for an organized religious congregation, or an organization or institution limited to members of a single religious faith.
(s) "Familial Status" means either of the following:
(1) One (1) or more individuals who are under eighteen (18) years of age and who are domiciled with a parent or guardian having legal custody of the individual;
(2) One (1) or more individuals who are under eighteen (18) years of age and who or domiciled with a designee of the parent or guardian under written permission of the parent or guardian; or
(3) Any individual who is pregnant or in the process of securing legal custody of any individual who is under eighteen (18) years of age.
"Family" includes a single individual.
(t) "Gender Identity or Expression" means having or being perceived as having gender-related identity, appearance, expression, or behavior, whether or not that identity, appearance, expression, or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the individual's actual or perceived sex.
(u) "Housing" means any building, structure, or part of a building or structure that is occupied as, or designed for or intended for occupancy as a residence or any vacant land that is offered for sale or lease for the construction or location of a building, structure, or part of a dwelling.
(v) "Housing for Older Persons" means Housing of one (1) of the following:
(1) That the Board determines is specifically designed and operated to assist elderly individuals under a state program or HUD determines is specifically designed and operated to assist elderly individuals under a federal program;
(2) Intended for and solely occupied by individuals sixty-two (62) years of age or older; or
(3) Intended and operated for occupancy by at least one (1) individual fifty-five (55) years of age or older per unit.
(w) "Lending Institution" means any bank, insurance company, savings and loan association, or any other Person regularly engaged in the business of lending money or guaranteeing loans.
(x) "Order" shall mean an order issued by the Board at the conclusion of an Administrative Hearing, as set forth in Section 749.19.
(y) "Party" means Complainant(s), Aggrieved Person(s), and/or Respondent(s).
(z) "Person" means one (1) or more individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations, labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, nonprofit or not-for-profit organizations, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers, and fiduciaries.
(aa) "Place of Public Accommodation" means any lodging house, restaurant, eating house, barbershop, public conveyance by air, land or water, theater, store, or other place for the sale of merchandise, or any other place of public accommodation or amusement where the accommodation, advantages, facilities, or privileges thereof are available to the public, or a private club which has more than two hundred (200) members, provides regular meal service, and regularly receives payments for dues, fees, use of space, facilities, services, meals or beverages, directly or indirectly from or on behalf of nonmembers for the furtherance of trade or business. "Place of Public Accommodation" does not mean a religious or benevolent corporation incorporated as such under the laws of Ohio.
(bb) "Preliminary Investigation" means the investigation conducted by the Complaint Officer as set forth in Section 749.18.
(cc) "Recommendation" means the written recommendation of the Complaint Officer after completing the Preliminary Investigation as set forth in Section 749.18.
(dd) "Real Estate Agent" includes any real estate broker, real estate salesperson or an agent thereof, or any other Person who for consideration sells, purchases, exchanges, Rents, negotiates, offers, or attempts to negotiate the sale, purchase, exchange, or rental of real property or holds himself/herself out as engaged in the business of selling, purchasing, exchanging, Renting, or otherwise transferring any interest in real property.
(ee) "Rent" means to lease, sublease, let, or otherwise grant for a consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by the occupant.
(ff) "Respondent" means a Person accused of violating this Chapter by engaging in an Unlawful Discriminatory Practice in a Complaint or amended Complaint.
(gg) "Sex" means male or female. The terms "because of Sex" and "on the basis of Sex" includes all forms "sex" recognized under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 including, for illustrative purposes only, pregnancy, any illness arising out of and occurring during the course of a pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, and gender non-conforming appearance or behavior.
(hh) "Sexual Orientation" means an individual's actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality. (Ord. 123-2014. Passed 11-3-14.)
(ii) “Source of Income” means income derived from wages, social security, supplemental security income, all forms of federal, state or local assistance payments or subsidies, child support, spousal support, and publicly or privately provided assistance which can be verified and substantiated, including but not limited to housing vouchers, emergency rental assistance, disability benefits, and military or veterans benefits.
(jj) "Unlawful Discriminatory Practice" means an act prohibited by this Chapter, and includes "Unlawful Discriminatory Housing Practices," "Unlawful Discriminatory Employment Practices," "Unlawful Discriminatory Education Practices," and "Unlawful Discriminatory Public Accommodation Practices," as set forth in this Chapter. (Ord. 25-2021. Passed 4-19-21.)
(kk) "Conversion therapy" means any practices or treatments that seek to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender. Conversion therapy shall not include counseling that provides assistance to a person undergoing gender transition, or counseling that provides acceptance, support and understanding of a person or facilitates a person's coping, social support, and identity exploration and development, including sexual-orientation-neutral intervention to prevent or address conduct or unsafe practices, as long as such counseling does not seek to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity.
(ll) "Mental health professional" means an individual who is licensed, certified or registered under the laws of the State of Ohio to provide, to an individual or group, mental health services, including but not limited to, the assessment or improvement of mental, emotional, psychiatric, psychological, or psychosocial adjustment or functioning, regardless of whether there is a diagnosable, pre-existing disorder or disease. Mental health professions include but are not limited to physicians specializing in the practice of psychiatry, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, licensed clinical social workers, professions clinical counselors, behavioral clinicians or therapists, nurses or any other persons offering such mental health services. (Ord. 75-2022. Passed 6-21-22.)