Text of CT SB 189 (2022)

LCO No. 1661 1 of 7 General Assembly Raised Bill No. 189 February Session, 2022 LCO No. 1661 *01661_______GL_* Referred to Committee on GENERAL LAW Introduced by: (GL) AN ACT PROHIBITING SEX OR GENDER-BASED DIFFERENTIAL PRICING FOR SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR GOODS OR SERVICES. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: Section 1. Section 46a-51 of the 2022 supplement to the general 1 statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 2 (Effective October 1, 2022): 3 As used in this chapter, section 4a-60a and [this chapter] section 3 of 4 this act: 5 (1) "Blind" refers to an individual whose central visual acuity does 6 not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with correcting lenses, or whose 7 visual acuity is greater than 20/200 but is accompanied by a limitation 8 in the fields of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field 9 subtends an angle no greater than twenty degrees; 10 (2) "Commission" means the Commission on Human Rights and 11 Opportunities created by section 46a-52; 12 (3) "Commission legal counsel" means a member of the legal staff 13 Raised Bill No. 189 LCO No. 1661 2 of 7 employed by the commission pursuant to section 46a-54; 14 (4) "Commissioner" means a member of the commission; 15 (5) "Court" means the Superior Court or any judge of said court; 16 (6) "Discrimination" includes segregation and separation; 17 (7) "Discriminatory employment practice" means any discriminatory 18 practice specified in section 46a-60 or 46a-81c; 19 (8) "Discriminatory practice" means a violation of section 4a-60, 4a- 20 60a, 4a-60g [,] or 31-40y, subparagraph (C) of subdivision (15) of section 21 46a-54, [subdivisions] subdivision (16) [and] or (17) of section 46a-54, 22 section 46a-58, 46a-59, 46a-60, 46a-64, 46a-64c, 46a-66 [,] or 46a-68, 23 sections 46a-68c to 46a-68f, inclusive, or 46a-70 to 46a-78, inclusive, 24 subsection (a) of section 46a-80, [or] sections 46a-81b to 46a-81o, 25 inclusive, or section 3 of this act; 26 (9) "Employee" means any person employed by an employer but shall 27 not include any individual employed by such individual's parents, 28 spouse or child; 29 (10) "Employer" includes the state and all political subdivisions 30 thereof and means any person or employer with three or more persons 31 in such person's or employer's employ; 32 (11) "Employment agency" means any person undertaking with or 33 without compensation to procure employees or opportunities to work; 34 (12) "Labor organization" means any organization which exists for the 35 purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining or of dealing with 36 employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment, 37 or of other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment; 38 (13) "Intellectual disability" [means intellectual disability as defined] 39 has the same meaning as provided in section 1-1g; 40 (14) "Person" means one or more individuals, partnerships, 41 Raised Bill No. 189 LCO No. 1661 3 of 7 associations, corporations, limited liability companies, legal 42 representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers and the state 43 and all political subdivisions and agencies thereof; 44 (15) "Physically disabled" refers to any individual who has any 45 chronic physical handicap, infirmity or impairment, whether congenital 46 or resulting from bodily injury, organic processes or changes or from 47 illness, including, but not limited to, epilepsy, deafness or being hard of 48 hearing or reliance on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or 49 device; 50 (16) "Respondent" means any person alleged in a complaint filed 51 pursuant to section 46a-82 to have committed a discriminatory practice; 52 (17) "Discrimination on the basis of sex" includes but is not limited to 53 discrimination related to pregnancy, child-bearing capacity, 54 sterilization, fertility or related medical conditions; 55 (18) "Discrimination on the basis of religious creed" includes but is 56 not limited to discrimination related to all aspects of religious 57 observances and practice as well as belief, unless an employer 58 demonstrates that the employer is unable to reasonably accommodate 59 to an employee's or prospective employee's religious observance or 60 practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's 61 business; 62 (19) "Learning disability" refers to an individual who exhibits a severe 63 discrepancy between educational performance and measured 64 intellectual ability and who exhibits a disorder in one or more of the 65 basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using 66 language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in a diminished 67 ability to listen, speak, read, write, spell or to do mathematical 68 calculations; 69 (20) "Mental disability" refers to an individual who has a record of, or 70 is regarded as having one or more mental disorders, as defined in the 71 most recent edition of the American Psychiatric Association's 72 Raised Bill No. 189 LCO No. 1661 4 of 7 "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders"; [and] 73 (21) "Gender identity or expression" means a person's gender-related 74 identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that gender-related 75 identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally 76 associated with the person's physiology or assigned sex at birth, which 77 gender-related identity can be shown by providing evidence including, 78 but not limited to, medical history, care or treatment of the gender- 79 related identity, consistent and uniform assertion of the gender-related 80 identity or any other evidence that the gender-related identity is 81 sincerely held, part of a person's core identity or not being asserted for 82 an improper purpose; [.] 83 (22) "Veteran" [means veteran as defined] has the same meaning as 84 provided in subsection (a) of section 27-103; 85 (23) "Race" is inclusive of ethnic traits historically associated with 86 race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles; 87 and 88 (24) "Protective hairstyles" includes, but is not limited to, wigs, 89 headwraps and hairstyles such as individual braids, cornrows, locs, 90 twists, Bantu knots, afros and afro puffs. 91 Sec. 2. Subdivision (8) of section 46a-51 of the 2022 supplement to the 92 general statutes, as amended by section 10 of public act 21-32, is 93 repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 94 1, 2023): 95 (8) "Discriminatory practice" means a violation of section 4a-60, 4a- 96 60a, 4a-60g [,] or 31-40y, subsection (b), (d), (e) or (f) of section 31-51i, 97 subparagraph (C) of subdivision (15) of section 46a-54, [subdivisions] 98 subdivision (16) [and] or (17) of section 46a-54, section 46a-58, 46a-59, 99 46a-60, 46a-64, 46a-64c, 46a-66 [,] or 46a-68, 46a-68c to 46a-68f, inclusive, 100 or 46a-70 to 46a-78, inclusive, subsection (a) of section 46a-80, [or] 101 sections 46a-81b to 46a-81o, inclusive, [and sections] 46a-80b to 46a-80e, 102 inclusive, [and sections] or 46a-80k to 46a-80m, inclusive, or section 3 of 103 Raised Bill No. 189 LCO No. 1661 5 of 7 this act; 104 Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2022) (a) As used in this section: 105 (1) "Business" means any individual or association, corporation, firm, 106 joint stock company, joint venture, limited liability company, 107 partnership, sole proprietorship, trust or other legal entity through 108 which commerce is conducted; 109 (2) "Qualified goods" means consumer products that are bought, 110 rendered or used primarily for family, household or personal purposes; 111 (3) "Qualified services" means consumer services that are bought, 112 rendered or used primarily for family, household or personal purposes; 113 (4) "Substantially similar qualified goods" means qualified goods that 114 exhibit no substantial difference in (A) the materials used in their 115 production, (B) their intended use, (C) their features and functional 116 design, and (D) brand; and 117 (5) "Substantially similar qualified services" means qualified services 118 that exhibit no substantial difference in (A) the amount of time necessary 119 to provide such qualified services, (B) the difficulty inherent in 120 providing such qualified services, and (C) the cost of providing such 121 qualified services. 122 (b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, it shall be a 123 discriminatory practice in violation of this section for a business to 124 charge different prices for: 125 (1) Substantially similar qualified goods in this state if the price 126 differential is due to the sex or gender identity or expression of the 127 individuals to whom such substantially similar qualified goods are 128 directed or marketed; or 129 (2) Substantially similar qualified services in this state if the price 130 differential is due to the sex or gender identity or expression of the 131 individuals to whom such substantially similar qualified services are 132 Raised Bill No. 189 LCO No. 1661 6 of 7 marketed, offered or provided. 133 (c) It shall not be a discriminatory practice in violation of this section 134 for a business to charge different prices in this state for qualified goods 135 or qualified services if the price differential is due to: 136 (1) A difference in: 137 (A) The amount of time required to manufacture the qualified goods 138 or provide the qualified services; 139 (B) The difficulty inherent in manufacturing the qualified goods or 140 offering the qualified services; 141 (C) The cost incurred in manufacturing the qualified goods or 142 offering the qualified services; 143 (D) The labor used in manufacturing the qualified goods or providing 144 the qualified services; or 145 (E) The materials used in manufacturing the qualified goods or 146 providing the qualified services; or 147 (2) Any matter that is unrelated to sex or gender identity or 148 expression. 149 (d) Any business that provides qualified services shall, upon request, 150 provide a consumer with a written price list for such business's qualified 151 services. 152 (e) The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities shall, 153 within available appropriations, develop courses of instruction and 154 conduct ongoing public education efforts as necessary to inform 155 businesses and consumers in this state regarding their rights and 156 responsibilities under this section. 157 Sec. 4. Subsection (d) of section 46a-86 of the general statutes is 158 repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 159 1, 2022): 160 Raised Bill No. 189 LCO No. 1661 7 of 7 (d) In addition to any other action taken under this section, upon a 161 finding of a discriminatory practice prohibited by section 46a-66, [or] 162 46a-81f or section 3 of this act, the presiding officer shall file with the 163 commission and serve on the respondent an order requiring the 164 respondent to pay the complainant the damages resulting from the 165 discriminatory practice. 166 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: Section 1 October 1, 2022 46a-51 Sec. 2 January 1, 2023 46a-51(8) Sec. 3 October 1, 2022 New section Sec. 4 October 1, 2022 46a-86(d) Statement of Purpose: To provide that it shall be a discriminatory practice for a business to charge different prices for substantially similar goods or services if the difference is due to sex or gender identity or expression. [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.]