Text of LA SB 155 (2017)

SLS 17RS-384 ORIGINAL 2017 Regular Session SENATE BILL NO. 155 BY SENATOR CARTER Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana. DISCRIMINATION. Enacts the Louisiana Employment Non-Discrimination Act. (See Act) 1 AN ACT 2 To amend and reenact R.S. 23:332(A), (B), (C) (1) and (2), (D), (E), (F)(1) and (2), (H) (1), 3 (3) and (4), R.S. 37:1052(B), 1107(C), 1360.23 (H), 1437(D), 2719, 3425(C), 4 3447(C), and 40:1133.1(C), and to enact R.S. 23:302 (9) and (10), 332 (I) and (J), 5 relative to employment discrimination; to provide definitions; to provide regarding 6 intentional discrimination in employment; to provide exceptions based upon the First 7 Amendment of the United States Constitution; to provide exceptions for certain 8 entities; to provide regarding applicants to certain programs; to provide regarding 9 requirements for certain programs; to provide regarding licensure for certain 10 professions; and to provide for related matters. 11 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana: 12 Section 1. R.S. 23:332(A), (B), (C) (1) and (2), (D), (E), (F)(1) and (2), (H) (1), (3) 13 and (4), are hereby amended and reenacted and R.S. 23:302(9) and (10) and R.S. 332 (I) and 14 (J) and hereby enacted to read as follows: 15 §302. Definitions 16 For purposes of this Chapter and unless the context clearly indicates 17 otherwise, the following terms shall have the following meanings ascribed to them: Page 1 of 8 Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law; words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 155 SLS 17RS-384 ORIGINAL 1 * * * 2 (9) "Sexual orientation" means an individual's actual or perceived 3 heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality. 4 (10) "Gender identity or expression" means a gender-related identity, 5 appearance, expression, or behavior of a person, regardless of the person's 6 assigned sex at birth. 7 * * * 8 §332. Intentional discrimination in employment 9 A. It shall be unlawful discrimination in employment for an employer to 10 engage in any of the following practices: 11 (1) Intentionally fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or 12 otherwise to intentionally discriminate against any individual with respect to 13 compensation, or terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of the 14 individual's race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or 15 expression, or national origin. 16 (2) Intentionally limit, segregate, or classify employees or applicants for 17 employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of 18 employment opportunities, or otherwise adversely affect the individual's status as an 19 employee, because of the individual's race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual 20 orientation, gender identity or expression, or national origin. 21 B. It shall be unlawful discrimination in employment for an employment 22 agency to intentionally fail or refuse to refer for employment, or otherwise to 23 intentionally discriminate against, any individual because of his race, color, religion, 24 sex, or national origin, or to intentionally classify or refer for employment any 25 individual on the basis of his race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, 26 gender identity or expression, or national origin. 27 C. It shall be unlawful discrimination in employment for a labor organization 28 to engage in any of the following practices: 29 (1) Intentionally exclude or intentionally expel from its membership, or Page 2 of 8 Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law; words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 155 SLS 17RS-384 ORIGINAL 1 otherwise intentionally discriminate against, any individual because of his race, 2 color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or 3 national origin. 4 (2) Intentionally limit, segregate, or classify its membership or applicants for 5 membership, or intentionally classify or fail or refuse to refer for employment any 6 individual in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of 7 employment opportunities, or would limit such employment opportunities, or 8 otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee or as an applicant for 9 employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual 10 orientation, gender identity or expression, or national origin. 11 * * * 12 D. It shall be unlawful discrimination in employment for any employer, labor 13 organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship or 14 other training or retraining, including on-the-job training programs, to discriminate 15 against any individual because of his race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual 16 orientation, gender identity or expression, or national origin in admission to, or 17 employment in, any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training. 18 E. It shall be unlawful discrimination in employment for an employer, 19 employment agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee 20 controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including on-the-job 21 training programs, to print or publish, or cause to be printed or published, any notice 22 or advertisement relating to employment by an employer or membership in or any 23 classification or referral for employment by a labor organization, or relating to any 24 classification or referral for employment by an employment agency, or relating to 25 admission to, or employment in, any program established to provide apprenticeship 26 or other training by a joint labor-management committee, indicating any preference, 27 limitation, specification, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, age, 28 sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or national origin. However, a 29 notice or advertisement may indicate a preference, limitation, specification, or Page 3 of 8 Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law; words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 155 SLS 17RS-384 ORIGINAL 1 discrimination based on religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or 2 expression, or national origin when religion, sex, or national origin is a bona fide 3 occupational qualification for employment. 4 * * * 5 H. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, it shall not be 6 unlawful discrimination in employment for: 7 (1) An employer to hire and employ employees, for an employment agency 8 to classify or refer for employment any individual, for a labor organization to 9 classify its membership or to classify or refer for employment any individual, or for 10 an employer, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling 11 apprenticeship or other training or retraining programs to admit or employ any 12 individual in any such program on the basis of his religion, sex, age, sexual 13 orientation, gender identity or expression, or national origin in those certain 14 instances where religion, sex, or national origin is a bona fide occupational 15 qualification reasonably necessary for the normal operation of that particular 16 business or enterprise. 17 * * * 18 (3) An employer to apply different standards of compensation or different 19 terms, conditions, or privileges of employment pursuant to a bona fide seniority or 20 merit system, or a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of 21 production, or any other differential based on any factor other than sex, or to 22 employees who work in different locations, provided that such differences are not 23 the result of an intention to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, age, 24 sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or national origin. 25 (4) An employer to give and to act upon the results of any professionally 26 developed ability test, provided that such test, its administration, or action upon the 27 results is not designed, intended, or used to discriminate because of race, color, 28 religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or national 29 origin. Page 4 of 8 Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law; words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 155 SLS 17RS-384 ORIGINAL 1 I. Nothing in this Section shall be interpreted to infringe upon the 2 freedom of expression, association, or the free exercise of religion protected by 3 the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 4 8 of the Constitution of Louisiana. 5 J. The provisions of this Section, relative to discrimination on the basis 6 of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression shall not apply to a 7 corporation, association, educational institution or institution of learning, or 8 society that is exempt from the religious discrimination provisions of 42 U.S.C. 9 2000(e)-1(a) or 2000(e)-2(e) (formerly Section 702(1) or 703(e)(2) of Title VII of 10 the Civil Rights Act of 1964). 11 Section 2. R.S. 37:1025(B), 1107(C), 1360.23(H), 1437(D), 2719, 3425(C), and 12 3447(C) are hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows: 13 §1025. Qualifications of applicants to the drug administration course 14 * * * 15 B. There will be no discrimination in selection of medication attendants for 16 reason of race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity 17 or expression, or disability, as defined in R.S. 51:2232(11), or national origin. 18 * * * 19 §1107. Requirements for licensed professional counselor; provisional license; 20 temporary license or temporary provisional license; renewal of 21 license or temporary provisional license 22 * * * 23 C. No license shall be denied any applicant based upon the applicant's race, 24 religion, creed, national origin, sex, or physical impairment. age, sexual orientation, 25 gender identity or expression, or disability. 26 * * * 27 §1360.23. Powers and duties of the board. 28 * * * 29 H. The board shall ensure that applicants for the program shall not be Page 5 of 8 Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law; words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 155 SLS 17RS-384 ORIGINAL 1 discriminated against due to race, color, creed, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender 2 identity or expression, disability, as defined in R.S. 51:2232(3), or national origin. 3 * * * 4 §1437. Application for license 5 * * * 6 D. Every applicant for a license shall submit a sworn statement attesting that 7 he has knowledge of and understands the provisions of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 8 and the Louisiana Equal Housing Opportunity Act, and any amendments thereto or 9 any successor legislation subsequently following, and that the applicant shall not 10 induce or attempt to induce any person to sell or rent any dwelling by representations 11 regarding the entry or prospective entry into an area, subdivision, or neighborhood 12 of a person or persons of a particular race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual 13 orientation, gender identity or expression, or national origin. 14 * * * 15 §2719. Discrimination 16 No license, certificate, or registration shall be denied any applicant based 17 upon the applicant's race, religion, creed, national origin, sex, or physical impairment 18 so long as the physical impairment does not interfere with the performance of 19 professional duties. age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or 20 disability. 21 * * * 22 §3425. Qualifications for licensure; renewal 23 * * * 24 C. No license shall be denied any applicant based upon the applicant's race, 25 religion, creed, national origin, sex, or physical impairment age, sexual orientation, 26 gender identity or expression, or disability. 27 * * * 28 §3447. Requirements for licensed professional vocational counselor; renewal of a 29 license Page 6 of 8 Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law; words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 155 SLS 17RS-384 ORIGINAL 1 * * * 2 C. No license shall be denied any applicant based upon the applicant's race, 3 religion, creed, national origin, sex, or physical impairment. age, sexual orientation, 4 gender identity or expression or disability. 5 Section 3. R.S. 40:1133.l is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows: 6 §1133.1. Emergency Medical Personnel 7 * * * 8 C. The bureau shall affirmatively provide that there is no discrimination 9 toward any individual in the licensure process on the basis of race, religion, creed, 10 national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or age. 11 Section 4. This Act shall be known as and may be cited as the "Louisiana 12 Employment Non-Discrimination Act" or "LENDA". 13 Section 5. This Act shall become effective on August 15, 2017; if vetoed by the 14 governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, the Act shall become effective on 15 June 30, 2017, or the day following such approval, whichever is later. The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Mary Dozier O'Brien. DIGEST SB 155 Original 2017 Regular Session Carter Present law contains no provisions declaring that no person should be discriminated against for reasons of their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. Present law is not consistent in its prohibition of discrimination based upon age. Proposed law has made these consistent throughout the law, adding the language prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, but not all provisions needed to have the age language added. Proposed law provides that where the prohibition of discrimination based upon age was added only where it had not previously appeared. Proposed law provides language that certain provisions shall be interpreted to infringe upon the freedom of expression, association, or the free exercise of religion. Proposed law exempts corporations, associations, educational institutions or institutions of learning or society in accordance with federal law re-enacted to authorize sections 702 and 703 of Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (current site: 41 U.S.C. 2000(e)-1(a) or 2000(e)-2(e)). Effective August 15, 2017; if vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the Page 7 of 8 Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law; words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 155 SLS 17RS-384 ORIGINAL legislature, effective on June 30, 2017, or the day the legislature approved the Act, whichever is later. (Amends R.S. 23:332(A), (B), (C) (1) and (2), (D), (E), (F)(1) and (2), (H) (1), (3) and (4), R.S. 37:1052(B), 1107(C), 1360.23(H), 1437(D), 2719, 3425(C), 3447(C), and R.S. 40:1133.1(C); adds R.S. 23:302(9) and (10) and 332 (I) and (J)) Page 8 of 8 Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law; words in boldface type and underscored are additions.