Federal & State Regulations | Discrimination - Other - District of Columbia

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

The federally protected classes in employment discrimination include race, color, religion, national origin, age (40 and over), sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), disability, and genetic information.

The District of Columbia lists the following protected classes for purposes of employment discrimination:

Race,
Color,
Religion,
National origin,
Sex,
Age (18 and older),
Marital status (married, in a domestic partnership, single, divorced, separated, or widowed and the usual conditions associated with the state, including pregnancy or parenthood),
Personal appearance,
Sexual orientation (male or female homosexuality, heterosexuality and bisexuality, by preference or practice),
Gender identity or expression (gender-related identity, appearance, expression, or behavior of an individual, regardless of the individual’s assigned sex at birth),
Family responsibilities (being, or the potential to become, a contributor to the support of a person or persons in a dependent relationship),
Genetic information,
Disability,
Matriculation,
Political affiliation (belong to or endorsing any political party),
Status as a victim or family member of a victim (of domestic violence, a sexual offense, or stalking),
Credit information, and
Homeless status

Employer defined

“Employer” means any person who, for compensation, employs an individual, except for:

the employer’s parent, spouse, children or domestic servants, engaged in work in and about the employer’s household;
any person acting in the interest of such employer, directly or indirectly; and
any professional association.

Marital status discrimination

Recruiting methods must not include a preference for a specific marital status. For example, an employer must not advertise, “Excellent opportunity for a single person who enjoys travel” or “Stable, married person preferred.”

Questions pertaining solely to marital status must be eliminated from applications for employment, unless the employer can show a business necessity for the inquiry. Decisions on hiring, promotion, compensation, lay-off, and other terms and conditions of employment must not be related to marital status.

Personal appearance discrimination

“Personal appearance” means outward appearance, irrespective of sex, with regard to bodily condition or characteristics, manner or style of dress, and manner or style of personal grooming, including, but not limited to, hair style and beards. It does not relate to the requirement of cleanliness, uniforms, or prescribed standards, when uniformly applied for admittance to a public accommodation, or when uniformly applied to a class of employees for a reasonable business purpose; or when presenting a danger to the health, welfare or safety of any individual.

It is a violation to discriminate against any individual on the basis of outward appearance for purposes of recruitment, hiring, or promotion. However, an employer may prescribe standards of appearance or dress which serve a reasonable business purpose; for example, to identify its employees to the public by means of a uniform or to maintain a neat and clean appearance.

An employer may also prescribe standards of appearance or dress to prevent a danger to the health, welfare, or safety of employees or customers; for example, requiring head or hand coverings in food service jobs or prohibiting loose items of clothing in jobs where the items become caught in machinery.

Characteristics such as hair or dress style may be symbolic of race, national origin or religion; limiting or preventing their use is a form of discrimination unless the employer can show a reasonable business purpose.

Sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination

Employers must not discharge, suspend, refuse to hire or promote an individual, or subject an individual to different terms, conditions, and privileges of employment or discharge an individual because of his or her open or suspected sexual orientation and nonconformity to the stereotyped characterization of masculine or feminine behavior. This includes gender identity or expression.

Employers must apply the same standards of acceptable on-the-job conduct to all employees regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The same procedures and standards for discipline and dismissal must be applied equally to all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Questions which compel answers concerning the sexual orientation of an employee will be considered prima facie evidence of discrimination. Employers or employment agencies must not collect or disseminate information about the sexual orientation or practices of employees.

The use of derogatory or insulting language about or directed at an employee on the premises by the employer and other employees because of an employee’s open or suspected sexual orientation or gender identity will be considered prima facie evidence of discrimination.

Family responsibilities discrimination

“Family responsibilities” means the state of being, or the potential to become, a contributor to the support of a person or persons in a dependent relationship, irrespective of their number, including the state of being the subject of an order of withholding or similar proceedings for the purpose of paying child support or a debt related to child support.

The fact that an employee or applicant has to support a person or persons in a dependent relationship, irrespective of the age of the individual in the dependent relationship or the reasons for the dependency, must not be used as a reason to fail to hire, retain, promote, or otherwise discriminate against that person with respect to the terms and conditions of employment.

A dependent relationship includes the relationship of a caregiver who:

Contributes to the ongoing support and care of a child for whom the employee or applicant assumes parental responsibility;
Contributes to the ongoing support and care of an individual who is related by blood, legal custody, or marriage; or
Contributes to the ongoing support and care of a person with whom the employee or applicant shares a residence and maintains a committed relationship.

An employee or applicant who is a caregiver for a person in a dependent relationship is entitled to equal treatment in the terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.

Tobacco use

Discrimination on the basis of tobacco use is prohibited except where prohibiting tobacco use is a bona fide occupational qualification.

Matriculation discrimination

“Matriculation” means the condition of being enrolled in a college or university; or in a business, nursing, professional, secretarial, technical or vocational school; or in an adult education program.

An employer must not use different pay scales for students performing the same work duties as other employees with the same experience, skills, work schedule, hours, and the like, unless those differences are made pursuant to either of the following:

A federal government or District government approved summer job program; or
“Student certificate” programs issued by the U.S. Department of Labor under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

An employer must not set aside specific job classifications for those students in order to give low compensation to all persons in such job classification. This does not prohibit an employer from creating jobs for the purpose of providing financial assistance to students. For example, a school may provide research or teaching assistantships to students while compensating researchers or instructors, hired solely for the purpose of their contribution to the school, at a higher scale.

An employer must not refuse to hire, or discharge, a person because he or she is a part-time student if the matriculation status does not interfere with that person’s ability to efficiently and effectively perform the duties of the job. An employer must not assume that an applicant will be unable to work full-time and be a matriculant in a school or college.

An employer must grant reasonable periods of leave to an employee for the purpose of registration in a school or college when reasonable accommodation can be made.

Political affiliation discrimination

“Political affiliation” means the state of belonging to or endorsing any political party.

An employer, other than a political organization, must not refuse to hire or discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee with respect to employment because of the employee’s present or past political affiliation or lack of political affiliation.

Mere membership in a political party having unlawful goals does not suffice to justify discrimination in employment unless that prohibition is required by federal or state law.

An employer must not retaliate against an employee for failure to vote for a designated candidate. This does not prevent an employer or employee from expressing support for any candidate unless prohibited under federal or District civil service laws.

An employer must not require employees to contribute to fundraising campaigns of any political party or candidate or to provide any type of support for any political party or candidate.

Source of income discrimination

“Source of income” means the point, the cause, or the origin or transmittal of gains of property accruing to a person in a stated period of time. This includes, but is not limited to, money and property secured from any occupation, profession or activity, from any contract, agreement or settlement, from federal payments, court-ordered payments, from payments received as gifts, bequests, annuities, life insurance policies and compensation for illness or injury, except in a case where conflict of interest may exist.

Discrimination on the basis of source of income is mentioned only once in the Human Rights Act. Specifically, it appears under the intent of the Council of the District of Columbia:

“...to secure an end to discrimination for any reason other than that of individual merit, including, but not limited to, discrimination by reason of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, familial status, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, disability, source of income, and place of residence or business.”

Genetic information discrimination

Although the Human Rights Act specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of genetic information, the Act does not prohibit an employer from seeking, obtaining, or using genetic information to determine the existence of a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary for the normal operation of an employer’s business or enterprise. In such cases, the employee or applicant must provide, in writing, his or her informed consent, the genetic information must be provided to the employee or applicant in writing as soon as it is available, and the genetic information may not be disclosed to any other person.

An employer may seek, obtain, or use genetic information about an employee to:

Investigate a workers’ compensation or disability compensation claim; or
Determine an employee’s susceptibility or level of exposure to potentially toxic substances in the workplace; provided, that the employee provides, in writing, his or her informed consent, and the genetic information is provided to the employee in writing as soon as it is available, and the genetic information is not disclosed to any other person.

“Genetic information” means information about the presence of any gene, chromosome, protein, or certain metabolites that indicate or confirm that an individual or an individual’s family member has a mutation or other genotype that is scientifically or medically believed to cause a disease, disorder, or syndrome, if the information is obtained from a genetic test.

Pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions

Under DC law, discrimination on the basis of sex includes, but is not limited to, discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, breastfeeding, or reproductive health decisions.

Women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, or breastfeeding must be treated the same for all employment-related purposes, including receipt of benefits under fringe benefit programs, as other persons not so affected but similar in their ability or inability to work. An employer must treat an employee temporarily unable to perform the functions of her job because of her pregnancy-related condition in the same manner as it treats other temporarily disabled employees.

Discrimination based on reproductive health decisions

Employers in DC may not discriminate based on the reproductive health decisions of an employee or a dependent. “Reproductive health decision” includes a decision by an employee, an employee's dependent, or an employee's spouse related to the use or intended use of a particular drug, device, or medical service, including the use or intended use of contraception or fertility control or the planned or intended initiation or termination of a pregnancy.

Exceptions

The exceptions to the above forms on discrimination are the same as for other forms, such as bona fide seniority systems and business necessity.

Posting

Every person subject to the Human Rights Act must post and keep posted in a conspicuous location where business or activity is customarily conducted a notice whose language and form has been prepared by the Office of Human Rights, setting forth summaries of the pertinent provisions and information on filing a complaint.

Recordkeeping

Employers, employment agencies, and labor organizations, subject to the Human Rights Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act must to furnish to the Office of Human Rights all reports that may be required by the EEOC.

Every person subject to the Human Rights Act must preserve any regularly kept business records for six months from the date of the making of the record, or from the date of the action which is the subject of the record, whichever is longer. The records must include, but are not limited to:

application forms submitted by applicants,
sales and rental records,
credit and reference reports,
personnel records, and
any other record pertaining to the status of an individual’s enjoyment of the rights and privileges protected or granted under the Human Rights Act.

Where a charge of discrimination has been filed, the respondent must preserve all records which may be relevant to the charge or action until a final disposition of the charge.

Unemployment discrimination

The Unemployed Anti-Discrimination Act of 2012 prohibits employers in Washington, D.C., from refusing to hire or refusing to consider applicants because of their status as unemployed. It also prohibits employers from publishing job advertisements or announcements that state or indicate that unemployed individuals will not be considered. Employers may not retaliate against individuals for opposing discrimination against the unemployed.

Employers may examine the reasons underlying an individual’s status as unemployed, in assessing an individual’s ability to perform a job or in otherwise making employment decisions about that individual. Additionally, employers are allowed to post job advertisements stating that only applicants currently employed by that employer will be considered.