Version: Committee+Bill
Author: Labor and Public Employees Committee
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Introduced by: (LAB)
AN ACT PROHIBITING EMPLOYERS FROM INQUIRING ABOUT DATE OF BIRTH OR DATE OF GRADUATION ON EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
1Section 1. Section
2following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019):
3(a) As used in this section:
4(1) "Pregnancy" means pregnancy, childbirth or a related condition,
5including, but not limited to, lactation;
6(2) "Reasonable accommodation" means, but [shall not be] is limited
7to, being permitted to sit while working, more frequent or longer
8breaks, periodic rest, assistance with manual labor, job restructuring,
9light duty assignments, modified work schedules, temporary transfers
10 to less strenuous or hazardous work, time off to recover from
11childbirth or break time and appropriate facilities for expressing breast
12milk; and
13(3) "Undue hardship" means an action requiring significant
Committee Bill No. 6113
14difficulty or expense when considered in light of factors such as (A) the
15nature and cost of the accommodation; (B) the overall financial
16resources of the employer; (C) the overall size of the business of the
17employer with respect to the number of employees, and the number,
18type and location of its facilities; and (D) the effect on expenses and
19resources or the impact otherwise of such accommodation upon the
20operation of the employer.
21(b) It shall be a discriminatory practice in violation of this section:
22(1) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent,
23except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification or need, to
24refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment
25any individual or to discriminate against [such] any individual in
26compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment
27because of the individual's race, color, religious creed, age, sex, gender
28identity or expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, present
29or past history of mental disability, intellectual disability, learning
30disability, physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness
31or status as a veteran;
32(2) For any employment agency, except in the case of a bona fide
33occupational qualification or need, to fail or refuse to classify properly
34or refer for employment or otherwise to discriminate against any
35individual because of such individual's race, color, religious creed, age,
36sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin,
37ancestry, present or past history of mental disability, intellectual
38disability, learning disability, physical disability, including, but not
39limited to, blindness or status as a veteran;
40(3) For a labor organization, because of the race, color, religious
41creed, age, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, national
42 origin, ancestry, present or past history of mental disability,
43intellectual disability, learning disability, physical disability, including,
44but not limited to, blindness or status as a veteran of any individual to
45exclude from full membership rights or to expel from its membership
Committee Bill No. 6113
46such individual or to discriminate in any way against any of its
47members or against any employer or any individual employed by an
48employer, unless such action is based on a bona fide occupational
49qualification;
50(4) For any person, employer, labor organization or employment
51agency to discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate against any
52 person because such person has opposed any discriminatory
53employment practice or because such person has filed a complaint or
54testified or assisted in any proceeding under section
55
56(5) For any person, whether an employer or an employee or not, to
57aid, abet, incite, compel or coerce the doing of any act declared to be a
58discriminatory employment practice or to attempt to do so;
61qualification or need, to advertise employment opportunities in such a
62manner as to restrict such employment so as to discriminate against
63individuals because of their race, color, religious creed, age, sex,
64gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry,
65present or past history of mental disability, intellectual disability,
66learning disability, physical disability, including, but not limited to,
67blindness or status as a veteran;
68(7) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent: (A)
69To terminate a woman's employment because of her pregnancy; (B) to
70refuse to grant to that employee a reasonable leave of absence for
71disability resulting from her pregnancy; (C) to deny to that employee,
72who is disabled as a result of pregnancy, any compensation to which
73she is entitled as a result of the accumulation of disability or leave
74benefits accrued pursuant to plans maintained by the employer; (D) to
75fail or refuse to reinstate the employee to her original job or to an
76equivalent position with equivalent pay and accumulated seniority,
77retirement, fringe benefits and other service credits upon her
Committee Bill No. 6113
78signifying her intent to return unless, in the case of a private employer,
79the employer's circumstances have so changed as to make it impossible
84pregnancy in the terms or conditions of her employment; (G) to fail or
85refuse to make a reasonable accommodation for an employee or person
86seeking employment due to her pregnancy, unless the employer can
87demonstrate that such accommodation would impose an undue
88hardship on such employer; (H) to deny employment opportunities to
89an employee or person seeking employment if such denial is due to the
90employee's request for a reasonable accommodation due to her
91pregnancy; (I) to force an employee or person seeking employment
92affected by pregnancy to accept a reasonable accommodation if such
93employee or person seeking employment (i) does not have a known
94 limitation related to her pregnancy, or (ii) does not require a
95reasonable accommodation to perform the essential duties related to
96her employment; (J) to require an employee to take a leave of absence
97if a reasonable accommodation can be provided in lieu of such leave;
98and (K) to retaliate against an employee in the terms, conditions or
99privileges of her employment based upon such employee's request for
100a reasonable accommodation;
101(8) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, for an
102 employment agency, by itself or its agent, or for any labor
103organization, by itself or its agent, to harass any employee, person
104seeking employment or member on the basis of sex or gender identity
105or expression. "Sexual harassment" shall, for the purposes of this
106subdivision, be defined as any unwelcome sexual advances or requests
107for sexual favors or any conduct of a sexual nature when (A)
108submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a
109term or condition of an individual's employment, (B) submission to or
110rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for
111employment decisions affecting such individual, or (C) such conduct
Committee Bill No. 6113
112 has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an
113individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or
114offensive working environment;
115(9) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, for an
116 employment agency, by itself or its agent, or for any labor
117organization, by itself or its agent, to request or require information
118from an employee, person seeking employment or member relating to
119the individual's
120individual's reproductive system, use of birth control methods, or the
121individual's familial responsibilities, unless such information is
122directly related to a bona fide occupational qualification or need,
123provided an employer, through a physician may request from an
124employee any such information which is directly related to workplace
125exposure to substances which may cause birth defects or constitute a
126hazard to an individual's reproductive system or to a fetus if the
127employer first informs the employee of the hazards involved in
128exposure to such substances;
129(10) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, after
130informing an employee, pursuant to subdivision (9) of this subsection,
131of a workplace exposure to substances which may cause birth defects
132or constitute a hazard to an employee's reproductive system or to a
133fetus, to fail or refuse, upon the employee's request, to take reasonable
134measures to protect the employee from the exposure or hazard
135identified, or to fail or refuse to inform the employee that the measures
136taken may be the subject of a complaint filed under the provisions of
137this chapter. Nothing in this subdivision is intended to prohibit an
138employer from taking reasonable measures to protect an employee
139from exposure to such substances. For the purpose of this subdivision,
140"reasonable measures" shall be those measures which are consistent
141with business necessity and are least disruptive of the terms and
142conditions of the employee's employment;
143(11) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, for
Committee Bill No. 6113
144an employment agency, by itself or its agent, or for any labor
145organization, by itself or its agent: (A) To request or require genetic
146information from an employee, person seeking employment or
147member, or (B) to discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate against
148any person on the basis of genetic information. For the purpose of this
149subdivision, "genetic information" means the information about genes,
150gene products or inherited characteristics that may derive from an
151individual or a family member;
152(12) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent,
153except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification or need, to
154request or require a prospective employee's age, date of birth or date of
155graduation from an educational institution on an initial employment
156application.
157(c) (1) The provisions of this section concerning age shall not apply
158to: (A) The termination of employment of any person with a contract of
159unlimited tenure at an independent institution of higher education
160who is mandatorily retired, on or before July 1, 1993, after having
161attained the age of seventy; (B) the termination of employment of any
162person who has attained the age of
163years immediately preceding such termination, is employed in a bona
164fide executive or a high
165entitled to an immediate nonforfeitable annual retirement benefit
166under a pension,
167plan, or any combination of such plans, from such person's employer,
168which equals, in aggregate, at least
169termination of employment of persons in occupations, including police
170work and
171qualification; (D) the operation of any bona fide apprenticeship system
172or plan; or (E) the observance of the terms of a bona fide seniority
173system or any bona fide employee benefit plan for retirement, pensions
174or insurance which is not adopted for the purpose of evading said
175provisions, except that no such plan may excuse the failure to hire any
176individual and no such system or plan may require or permit the
Committee Bill No. 6113
177termination of employment on the basis of age. No such plan which
178covers less than twenty employees may reduce the group hospital,
179surgical or medical insurance coverage provided under the plan to any
180employee who has reached the age of
181Medicare benefits or any employee's spouse who has reached age
182
183coverage is provided by Medicare. The terms of any such plan which
184covers twenty or more employees shall entitle any employee who has
185attained the age of
186attained the age of
187insurance coverage under the same conditions as any covered
188employee or spouse who is under the age of
189(2) No employee retirement or pension plan may exclude any
190employee from membership in such plan or cease or reduce the
191employee's benefit accruals or allocations under such plan on the basis
192of age. The provisions of this subdivision shall be applicable to plan
193years beginning on or after January 1, 1988, except that for any
194collectively bargained plan this subdivision shall be applicable on the
195earlier of (A) January 1, 1990, or (B) the later of (i) the expiration date
196of the collective bargaining agreement, or (ii) January 1, 1988.
197(3) The provisions of this section concerning age shall not prohibit
198an employer from requiring medical examinations for employees for
199the purpose of determining such employees' physical qualification for
200continued employment.
201(4) Any employee who continues employment beyond the normal
202retirement age in the applicable retirement or pension plan shall give
203notice of intent to retire, in writing, to such employee's employer not
204less than thirty days prior to the date of such retirement.
205(d) (1) An employer shall provide written notice of the right to be
206free from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth and
207related conditions, including the right to a reasonable accommodation
208to the known limitations related to pregnancy pursuant to subdivision
Committee Bill No. 6113
209(7) of subsection (b) of this section to: (A) New employees at the
210commencement of employment; (B) existing employees within one
211hundred twenty days after the effective date of this section; and (C)
212any employee who notifies the employer of her pregnancy within ten
213days of such notification. An employer may comply with the
214provisions of this section by displaying a poster in a conspicuous
215place, accessible to employees, at the employer's place of business that
216contains the information required by this section in both English and
217Spanish. The Labor Commissioner may adopt regulations, in
218accordance with chapter 54, to establish additional requirements
219concerning the means by which employers shall provide such notice.
220(2) The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities shall
221develop courses of instruction and conduct ongoing public education
222efforts as necessary to inform employers, employees, employment
223agencies and persons seeking employment about their rights and
224responsibilities under this section.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Statement of Purpose:
To restrict employers from requiring an applicant's date of birth or date of graduation on an initial employment application.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]
Committee Bill No. 6113
REP. BORER, 115th Dist.; REP. LINEHAN, 103rd Dist. REP. ORANGE, 48th Dist.; REP. SERRA, 33rd Dist.
REP. DILLON, 92nd Dist.; REP.
REP. MICHEL, 146th Dist.
H.B. 6113
Version: Committee+Bill
Author: Labor and Public Employees Committee
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Introduced by: (LAB)
AN ACT PROHIBITING EMPLOYERS FROM INQUIRING ABOUT DATE OF BIRTH OR DATE OF GRADUATION ON EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
1Section 1. Section
2following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019):
3(a) As used in this section:
4(1) "Pregnancy" means pregnancy, childbirth or a related condition,
5including, but not limited to, lactation;
6(2) "Reasonable accommodation" means, but [shall not be] is limited
7to, being permitted to sit while working, more frequent or longer
8breaks, periodic rest, assistance with manual labor, job restructuring,
9light duty assignments, modified work schedules, temporary transfers
10 to less strenuous or hazardous work, time off to recover from
11childbirth or break time and appropriate facilities for expressing breast
12milk; and
13(3) "Undue hardship" means an action requiring significant
Committee Bill No. 6113
14difficulty or expense when considered in light of factors such as (A) the
15nature and cost of the accommodation; (B) the overall financial
16resources of the employer; (C) the overall size of the business of the
17employer with respect to the number of employees, and the number,
18type and location of its facilities; and (D) the effect on expenses and
19resources or the impact otherwise of such accommodation upon the
20operation of the employer.
21(b) It shall be a discriminatory practice in violation of this section:
22(1) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent,
23except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification or need, to
24refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment
25any individual or to discriminate against [such] any individual in
26compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment
27because of the individual's race, color, religious creed, age, sex, gender
28identity or expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, present
29or past history of mental disability, intellectual disability, learning
30disability, physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness
31or status as a veteran;
32(2) For any employment agency, except in the case of a bona fide
33occupational qualification or need, to fail or refuse to classify properly
34or refer for employment or otherwise to discriminate against any
35individual because of such individual's race, color, religious creed, age,
36sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin,
37ancestry, present or past history of mental disability, intellectual
38disability, learning disability, physical disability, including, but not
39limited to, blindness or status as a veteran;
40(3) For a labor organization, because of the race, color, religious
41creed, age, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, national
42 origin, ancestry, present or past history of mental disability,
43intellectual disability, learning disability, physical disability, including,
44but not limited to, blindness or status as a veteran of any individual to
45exclude from full membership rights or to expel from its membership
Committee Bill No. 6113
46such individual or to discriminate in any way against any of its
47members or against any employer or any individual employed by an
48employer, unless such action is based on a bona fide occupational
49qualification;
50(4) For any person, employer, labor organization or employment
51agency to discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate against any
52 person because such person has opposed any discriminatory
53employment practice or because such person has filed a complaint or
54testified or assisted in any proceeding under section
55
56(5) For any person, whether an employer or an employee or not, to
57aid, abet, incite, compel or coerce the doing of any act declared to be a
58discriminatory employment practice or to attempt to do so;
61qualification or need, to advertise employment opportunities in such a
62manner as to restrict such employment so as to discriminate against
63individuals because of their race, color, religious creed, age, sex,
64gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry,
65present or past history of mental disability, intellectual disability,
66learning disability, physical disability, including, but not limited to,
67blindness or status as a veteran;
68(7) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent: (A)
69To terminate a woman's employment because of her pregnancy; (B) to
70refuse to grant to that employee a reasonable leave of absence for
71disability resulting from her pregnancy; (C) to deny to that employee,
72who is disabled as a result of pregnancy, any compensation to which
73she is entitled as a result of the accumulation of disability or leave
74benefits accrued pursuant to plans maintained by the employer; (D) to
75fail or refuse to reinstate the employee to her original job or to an
76equivalent position with equivalent pay and accumulated seniority,
77retirement, fringe benefits and other service credits upon her
Committee Bill No. 6113
78signifying her intent to return unless, in the case of a private employer,
79the employer's circumstances have so changed as to make it impossible
84pregnancy in the terms or conditions of her employment; (G) to fail or
85refuse to make a reasonable accommodation for an employee or person
86seeking employment due to her pregnancy, unless the employer can
87demonstrate that such accommodation would impose an undue
88hardship on such employer; (H) to deny employment opportunities to
89an employee or person seeking employment if such denial is due to the
90employee's request for a reasonable accommodation due to her
91pregnancy; (I) to force an employee or person seeking employment
92affected by pregnancy to accept a reasonable accommodation if such
93employee or person seeking employment (i) does not have a known
94 limitation related to her pregnancy, or (ii) does not require a
95reasonable accommodation to perform the essential duties related to
96her employment; (J) to require an employee to take a leave of absence
97if a reasonable accommodation can be provided in lieu of such leave;
98and (K) to retaliate against an employee in the terms, conditions or
99privileges of her employment based upon such employee's request for
100a reasonable accommodation;
101(8) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, for an
102 employment agency, by itself or its agent, or for any labor
103organization, by itself or its agent, to harass any employee, person
104seeking employment or member on the basis of sex or gender identity
105or expression. "Sexual harassment" shall, for the purposes of this
106subdivision, be defined as any unwelcome sexual advances or requests
107for sexual favors or any conduct of a sexual nature when (A)
108submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a
109term or condition of an individual's employment, (B) submission to or
110rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for
111employment decisions affecting such individual, or (C) such conduct
Committee Bill No. 6113
112 has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an
113individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or
114offensive working environment;
115(9) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, for an
116 employment agency, by itself or its agent, or for any labor
117organization, by itself or its agent, to request or require information
118from an employee, person seeking employment or member relating to
119the individual's
120individual's reproductive system, use of birth control methods, or the
121individual's familial responsibilities, unless such information is
122directly related to a bona fide occupational qualification or need,
123provided an employer, through a physician may request from an
124employee any such information which is directly related to workplace
125exposure to substances which may cause birth defects or constitute a
126hazard to an individual's reproductive system or to a fetus if the
127employer first informs the employee of the hazards involved in
128exposure to such substances;
129(10) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, after
130informing an employee, pursuant to subdivision (9) of this subsection,
131of a workplace exposure to substances which may cause birth defects
132or constitute a hazard to an employee's reproductive system or to a
133fetus, to fail or refuse, upon the employee's request, to take reasonable
134measures to protect the employee from the exposure or hazard
135identified, or to fail or refuse to inform the employee that the measures
136taken may be the subject of a complaint filed under the provisions of
137this chapter. Nothing in this subdivision is intended to prohibit an
138employer from taking reasonable measures to protect an employee
139from exposure to such substances. For the purpose of this subdivision,
140"reasonable measures" shall be those measures which are consistent
141with business necessity and are least disruptive of the terms and
142conditions of the employee's employment;
143(11) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, for
Committee Bill No. 6113
144an employment agency, by itself or its agent, or for any labor
145organization, by itself or its agent: (A) To request or require genetic
146information from an employee, person seeking employment or
147member, or (B) to discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate against
148any person on the basis of genetic information. For the purpose of this
149subdivision, "genetic information" means the information about genes,
150gene products or inherited characteristics that may derive from an
151individual or a family member;
152(12) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent,
153except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification or need, to
154request or require a prospective employee's age, date of birth or date of
155graduation from an educational institution on an initial employment
156application.
157(c) (1) The provisions of this section concerning age shall not apply
158to: (A) The termination of employment of any person with a contract of
159unlimited tenure at an independent institution of higher education
160who is mandatorily retired, on or before July 1, 1993, after having
161attained the age of seventy; (B) the termination of employment of any
162person who has attained the age of
163years immediately preceding such termination, is employed in a bona
164fide executive or a high
165entitled to an immediate nonforfeitable annual retirement benefit
166under a pension,
167plan, or any combination of such plans, from such person's employer,
168which equals, in aggregate, at least
169termination of employment of persons in occupations, including police
170work and
171qualification; (D) the operation of any bona fide apprenticeship system
172or plan; or (E) the observance of the terms of a bona fide seniority
173system or any bona fide employee benefit plan for retirement, pensions
174or insurance which is not adopted for the purpose of evading said
175provisions, except that no such plan may excuse the failure to hire any
176individual and no such system or plan may require or permit the
Committee Bill No. 6113
177termination of employment on the basis of age. No such plan which
178covers less than twenty employees may reduce the group hospital,
179surgical or medical insurance coverage provided under the plan to any
180employee who has reached the age of
181Medicare benefits or any employee's spouse who has reached age
182
183coverage is provided by Medicare. The terms of any such plan which
184covers twenty or more employees shall entitle any employee who has
185attained the age of
186attained the age of
187insurance coverage under the same conditions as any covered
188employee or spouse who is under the age of
189(2) No employee retirement or pension plan may exclude any
190employee from membership in such plan or cease or reduce the
191employee's benefit accruals or allocations under such plan on the basis
192of age. The provisions of this subdivision shall be applicable to plan
193years beginning on or after January 1, 1988, except that for any
194collectively bargained plan this subdivision shall be applicable on the
195earlier of (A) January 1, 1990, or (B) the later of (i) the expiration date
196of the collective bargaining agreement, or (ii) January 1, 1988.
197(3) The provisions of this section concerning age shall not prohibit
198an employer from requiring medical examinations for employees for
199the purpose of determining such employees' physical qualification for
200continued employment.
201(4) Any employee who continues employment beyond the normal
202retirement age in the applicable retirement or pension plan shall give
203notice of intent to retire, in writing, to such employee's employer not
204less than thirty days prior to the date of such retirement.
205(d) (1) An employer shall provide written notice of the right to be
206free from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth and
207related conditions, including the right to a reasonable accommodation
208to the known limitations related to pregnancy pursuant to subdivision
Committee Bill No. 6113
209(7) of subsection (b) of this section to: (A) New employees at the
210commencement of employment; (B) existing employees within one
211hundred twenty days after the effective date of this section; and (C)
212any employee who notifies the employer of her pregnancy within ten
213days of such notification. An employer may comply with the
214provisions of this section by displaying a poster in a conspicuous
215place, accessible to employees, at the employer's place of business that
216contains the information required by this section in both English and
217Spanish. The Labor Commissioner may adopt regulations, in
218accordance with chapter 54, to establish additional requirements
219concerning the means by which employers shall provide such notice.
220(2) The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities shall
221develop courses of instruction and conduct ongoing public education
222efforts as necessary to inform employers, employees, employment
223agencies and persons seeking employment about their rights and
224responsibilities under this section.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Statement of Purpose:
To restrict employers from requiring an applicant's date of birth or date of graduation on an initial employment application.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]
Committee Bill No. 6113
REP. BORER, 115th Dist.; REP. LINEHAN, 103rd Dist. REP. ORANGE, 48th Dist.; REP. SERRA, 33rd Dist.
REP. DILLON, 92nd Dist.; REP.
REP. MICHEL, 146th Dist.
H.B. 6113