BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to expanding the state law against discrimination; amending RCW 49.60.010 and 49.60.040; adding a new section to chapter 49.60 RCW; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 49.60.010 and 1997 c 271 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

This chapter shall be known as the "law against discrimination". It is an exercise of the police power of the state for the protection of the public welfare, health, and peace of the people of this state, and in fulfillment of the provisions of the Constitution of this state concerning civil rights. The legislature hereby finds and declares that practices of discrimination against any of its inhabitants because of race, creed, color, national origin, families with children, sex, marital status, age, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a disabled person are a matter of state concern, that such discrimination threatens not only the rights and proper privileges of its inhabitants but menaces the institutions and foundation of a free democratic state. A state agency is herein created with powers with respect to elimination and prevention of discrimination in employment, in credit and insurance transactions, in places of public resort, accommodation, or amusement, and in real property transactions because of race, creed, color, national origin, families with children, sex, marital status, age, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a disabled person; and the commission established hereunder is hereby given general jurisdiction and power for such purposes.

Creating and maintaining employment environments that are free of discrimination is of vital concern to the people of this state. The legislature finds and declares that all employees are entitled to a workplace that is free from discrimination. The legislature finds there are significant economic and social costs resulting from employment discrimination. The legislature finds that a workplace free from discrimination is of significant benefit to employers and that educating and training employers and employees about the types of actions that constitute discrimination continues to be important.

Sec. 2. RCW 49.60.040 and 1997 c 271 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

As used in this chapter:

(1) "Person" includes one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, organizations, corporations, cooperatives, legal representatives, trustees and receivers, or any group of persons; it includes any owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, agent, or employee, whether one or more natural persons; and further includes any political or civil subdivisions of the state and any agency or instrumentality of the state or of any political or civil subdivision thereof;

(2) "Commission" means the Washington state human rights commission;

(3) "Employer" includes any person acting in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, who employs ((~~eight~~)) one or more persons, and does not include any religious ((~~or sectarian organization not organized for private profit~~)) corporation, association, educational institution, or society only with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion to perform work connected with the carrying on by such corporation, association, educational institution, or society of its activities;

(4) "Employee" does not include any individual employed by his or her parents, spouse, or child, or in the domestic service of any person;

(5) "Labor organization" includes any organization which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances or terms or conditions of employment, or for other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment;

(6) "Employment agency" includes any person undertaking with or without compensation to recruit, procure, refer, or place employees for an employer;

(7) "Marital status" means the legal status of being married, single, separated, divorced, or widowed;

(8) "National origin" includes "ancestry";

(9) "Full enjoyment of" includes the right to purchase any service, commodity, or article of personal property offered or sold on, or by, any establishment to the public, and the admission of any person to accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement, without acts directly or indirectly causing persons of any particular race, creed, color, sex, national origin, or with any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a disabled person, to be treated as not welcome, accepted, desired, or solicited;

(10) "Any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement" includes, but is not limited to, any place, licensed or unlicensed, kept for gain, hire, or reward, or where charges are made for admission, service, occupancy, or use of any property or facilities, whether conducted for the entertainment, housing, or lodging of transient guests, or for the benefit, use, or accommodation of those seeking health, recreation, or rest, or for the burial or other disposition of human remains, or for the sale of goods, merchandise, services, or personal property, or for the rendering of personal services, or for public conveyance or transportation on land, water, or in the air, including the stations and terminals thereof and the garaging of vehicles, or where food or beverages of any kind are sold for consumption on the premises, or where public amusement, entertainment, sports, or recreation of any kind is offered with or without charge, or where medical service or care is made available, or where the public gathers, congregates, or assembles for amusement, recreation, or public purposes, or public halls, public elevators, and public washrooms of buildings and structures occupied by two or more tenants, or by the owner and one or more tenants, or any public library or educational institution, or schools of special instruction, or nursery schools, or day care centers or children's camps: PROVIDED, That nothing contained in this definition shall be construed to include or apply to any institute, bona fide club, or place of accommodation, which is by its nature distinctly private, including fraternal organizations, though where public use is permitted that use shall be covered by this chapter; nor shall anything contained in this definition apply to any educational facility, columbarium, crematory, mausoleum, or cemetery operated or maintained by a bona fide religious or sectarian institution;

(11) "Real property" includes buildings, structures, dwellings, real estate, lands, tenements, leaseholds, interests in real estate cooperatives, condominiums, and hereditaments, corporeal and incorporeal, or any interest therein;

(12) "Real estate transaction" includes the sale, appraisal, brokering, exchange, purchase, rental, or lease of real property, transacting or applying for a real estate loan, or the provision of brokerage services;

(13) "Dwelling" means any building, structure, or portion thereof that is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one or more families, and any vacant land that is offered for sale or lease for the construction or location thereon of any such building, structure, or portion thereof;

(14) "Sex" means gender;

(15) "Aggrieved person" means any person who: (a) Claims to have been injured by an unfair practice in a real estate transaction; or (b) believes that he or she will be injured by an unfair practice in a real estate transaction that is about to occur;

(16) "Complainant" means the person who files a complaint in a real estate transaction;

(17) "Respondent" means any person accused in a complaint or amended complaint of an unfair practice in a real estate transaction;

(18) "Credit transaction" includes any open or closed end credit transaction, whether in the nature of a loan, retail installment transaction, credit card issue or charge, or otherwise, and whether for personal or for business purposes, in which a service, finance, or interest charge is imposed, or which provides for repayment in scheduled payments, when such credit is extended in the regular course of any trade or commerce, including but not limited to transactions by banks, savings and loan associations or other financial lending institutions of whatever nature, stock brokers, or by a merchant or mercantile establishment which as part of its ordinary business permits or provides that payment for purchases of property or service therefrom may be deferred;

(19) "Families with children status" means one or more individuals who have not attained the age of eighteen years being domiciled with a parent or another person having legal custody of such individual or individuals, or with the designee of such parent or other person having such legal custody, with the written permission of such parent or other person. Families with children status also applies to any person who is pregnant or is in the process of securing legal custody of any individual who has not attained the age of eighteen years;

(20) "Covered multifamily dwelling" means: (a) Buildings consisting of four or more dwelling units if such buildings have one or more elevators; and (b) ground floor dwelling units in other buildings consisting of four or more dwelling units;

(21) "Premises" means the interior or exterior spaces, parts, components, or elements of a building, including individual dwelling units and the public and common use areas of a building;

(22) "Dog guide" means a dog that is trained for the purpose of guiding blind persons or a dog that is trained for the purpose of assisting hearing impaired persons;

(23) "Service animal" means an animal that is trained for the purpose of assisting or accommodating a disabled person's sensory, mental, or physical disability.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 49.60 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The commission shall make available an informational brochure designed to help employers engage in employment without discrimination. The commission may utilize existing informational materials with any changes necessary to reflect the policies embodied in chapter . . ., Laws of 1999 (this act). The commission is encouraged to consult with representatives of small business to ensure that the brochure is useful and practical to employers of seven or fewer employees.

(2) The commission shall hold educational seminars throughout the state to explain to interested employers how to engage in employment without discrimination.

(3) The commission may charge fees to participants for the services required to be provided under this section. The fees shall be sufficient to cover the costs of the programs and materials offered.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 1999.