Yesterday the Salt Lake City Council unanimously passed ordinances prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Click here to download a copy of the City Council’s Staff Report on the ordinances, along with full text of the new laws. Highlights of the employment discrimination ordinance include:
- Forbids employment discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity in Salt Lake City.
- “Sexual orientation” is defined as “a person’s actual or perceived
orientation as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual.” - “Gender identity” is defined as “a person’s actual or perceived gender identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other characteristics of an individual with or without regard to the person’s sex at birth.”
- “Sexual orientation” is defined as “a person’s actual or perceived
- Creates a complaint and investigation process. The complaint could be resolved through mediation or a fine of up to $1,000.
- Does not create a “private right of action” to sue over alleged discrimination.
- Exempts religious organizations, the State of Utah, and businesses with fewer than 15 employees.
- “Does not create any special rights or privileges,” because “every person has a sexual orientation and a gender identity.”
- Requires annual reports by the city’s Human Rights Commission on the effectiveness of the ordinances.
- Takes effect on April 2, 2010.
In case you were wondering, the ordinances passed with the full support of the LDS Church. “The church supports these ordinances,” LDS spokesman Michael Otterson told the City Council, “because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage.” For more coverage of the SLC ordinances, read this article from the Salt Lake Tribune, or this article from the Deseret News.
SLC employers should review the new laws and review existing policies and procedures to ensure compliance. Many states, counties and cities across the country have adopted similar ordinances. To check the state of the law in your location, check out this handy list of state and local sexual orientation and gender identity laws from the Human Rights Campaign.