S 893 Session 111 (1995-1996)
S 0893 General Bill, By Lander, Giese and Matthews
Similar(H 4277)
A Bill to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Section
1-13-85 so as to include in unlawful employment practices the conducting of
medical examinations and inquiries and to provide conditions under which they
may be conducted; to amend Sections 1-13-20, 1-13-30, as amended, 1-13-70,
1-13-80, as amended, 1-13-90, and 1-13-100, relating to the State Human
Affairs Commission and unlawful employment practices and the prohibition
against discrimination in employment based on race, religion, color, sex,
national origin, and age, so as to also prohibit discrimination based on
disability and to define "disability" and to further provide how
discrimination based on a disability is an unlawful employment practice; to
amend Sections 43-33-520, 43-33-530, 43-33-560, and 43-33-570, relating to the
Bill of Rights for Handicapped Persons, so as to delete provisions relating to
employment; to repeal Section 43-33-550 relating to the jurisdiction of the
State Human Affairs Commission over complaints of employment discrimination;
and to repeal Section 43-33-580 relating to the exemption of contractors and
subcontractors from state discrimination laws when they are subject to such
federal laws.
05/31/95 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-66
05/31/95 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-66
A BILL
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
1976, BY ADDING SECTION 1-13-85 SO AS TO INCLUDE IN
UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES THE CONDUCTING
OF MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS AND INQUIRIES AND TO
PROVIDE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THEY MAY BE
CONDUCTED; TO AMEND SECTIONS 1-13-20, 1-13-30, AS
AMENDED, 1-13-70, 1-13-80, AS AMENDED, 1-13-90, AND
1-13-100, RELATING TO THE STATE HUMAN AFFAIRS
COMMISSION AND UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES
AND THE PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION IN
EMPLOYMENT BASED ON RACE, RELIGION, COLOR, SEX,
NATIONAL ORIGIN, AND AGE, SO AS TO ALSO PROHIBIT
DISCRIMINATION BASED ON DISABILITY AND TO DEFINE
"DISABILITY" AND TO FURTHER PROVIDE HOW
DISCRIMINATION BASED ON A DISABILITY IS AN
UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE; TO AMEND
SECTIONS 43-33-520, 43-33-530, 43-33-560, AND 43-33-570,
RELATING TO THE BILL OF RIGHTS FOR HANDICAPPED
PERSONS, SO AS TO DELETE PROVISIONS RELATING TO
EMPLOYMENT; TO REPEAL SECTION 43-33-550 RELATING
TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE STATE HUMAN AFFAIRS
COMMISSION OVER COMPLAINTS OF EMPLOYMENT
DISCRIMINATION; AND TO REPEAL SECTION 43-33-580
RELATING TO THE EXEMPTION OF CONTRACTORS AND
SUBCONTRACTORS FROM STATE DISCRIMINATION LAWS
WHEN THEY ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH FEDERAL LAWS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 1-13-85. (A) The prohibition against unlawful
employment practices set forth in Section 1-13-80 (a) through (d)
includes the prohibition against conducting medical examinations
and inquiries except as provided for in this section.
(B) Except as provided in subsection (C), a covered entity must
not conduct a medical examination or make inquiries of a job
applicant as to whether the applicant is an individual with a
disability or as to the nature or severity of the disability. A covered
entity may make preemployment inquiries into the ability of an
applicant to perform job-related functions.
(C) A covered entity may require a medical examination after an
offer of employment has been made to a job applicant and before
the commencement of the employment duties of the applicant, and
may condition an offer of employment on the results of the
examination, if:
(1) all entering employees are subjected to the examination
regardless of disability;
(2) information obtained regarding the medical condition or
history of the applicant is collected and maintained on separate
forms and in separate medical files and is treated as a confidential
medical record, except that:
(a) supervisors and managers may be informed regarding
necessary restrictions on the work or duties of the employee and
necessary accommodations;
(b) first aid and safety personnel may be informed, when
appropriate, if the disability might require emergency treatment;
(c) government officials investigating compliance with this
chapter must be provided relevant information on request; and
(3) the results of the examination are used only in accordance
with this chapter.
(D) For purposes of this chapter, drug and alcohol exams, tests,
or screens may not be considered a medical examination.
(E) (1) A covered entity may not require a medical
examination and may not make inquiries of an employee as to
whether the employee is an individual with a disability or as to the
nature or severity of the disability, unless the examination or
inquiry is shown to be job-related and consistent with business
necessity.
(2) A covered entity may conduct voluntary medical
examinations including voluntary medical histories which are part
of an employee health program available to employees at that work
site. A covered entity may make inquiries into the ability of an
employee to perform job-related functions.
(3) Information obtained under subsection (E)(2) regarding
the medical condition or history of an employee is subject to the
requirements of subsection (C)(2) and (3).
(F)(1) It may be a defense to a charge of discrimination under
this chapter that an alleged application of qualification standards,
tests, or selection criteria that screens out or tends to screen out or
otherwise denies a job or benefit to an individual with a disability
has been shown to be job related and consistent with business
necessity, and the performance cannot be accomplished by
reasonable accommodation, as required under this title.
(2) The term `qualification standards' may include a
requirement that an individual may not pose a direct threat to the
safety of that individual or of other individuals in the workplace.
(3) This chapter may not prohibit a religious corporation,
association, educational institution, or society from giving
preference in employment to individuals of a particular religion to
perform work connected with the carrying on of its activities by the
corporation, association, educational institution, or society. Under
this chapter, a religious organization may require that all applicants
and employees conform to the religious tenets of the organization.
(4) If an individual has an infectious or communicable
disease that is transmitted to others through the handling of food,
that is included on the list developed by the Secretary of Health and
Human Services pursuant to the requirements of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, Public Law 101-336, and which cannot be
eliminated by reasonable accommodation, a covered entity may
refuse to assign or continue to assign the individual to a job
involving food handling.
Nothing in this chapter may be construed to preempt,
modify, or amend a state, county, or local law, ordinance, or
regulation applicable to food handling which is designed to protect
the public health from individuals who pose a significant risk to the
health or safety of others and which cannot be eliminated by
reasonable accommodation, pursuant to the list of infectious or
communicable diseases and the modes of transmissibility published
by the Secretary of Health and Human Services."
SECTION 2. Section 1-13-20 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 1-13-20. This chapter is an expression of the
concern of the State for the promotion of harmony and the
betterment of human affairs. The General Assembly hereby
declares the practice of discrimination against any
an individual because of race, religion, color, sex,
age, or national origin, or disability as a
matter of state concern and declares that such this
discrimination is unlawful and in conflict with the ideals of South
Carolina and the nation, as such this discrimination
interferes with opportunities of the individual to receive
employment and to develop according to his the
individual's own ability and is degrading to human dignity.
The General Assembly further declares that to alleviate such
these problems a state agency is created which shall seek to
eliminate and prevent discrimination because of race, religion,
color, sex, age, or national origin, or disability
as is hereinafter provided."
SECTION 3. Section 1-13-30 of the 1976 Code, as last
amended by Act 663 of 1988, is further amended by adding at the
end:
"(M) `Covered entity' means an employer, employment
agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee.
(N) `Disability' means with respect to an individual:
(1) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits
one or more of the major life activities of the individual;
(2) a record of an impairment; or
(3) being regarded as having an impairment.
The definition of `disability' must be interpreted in a manner
consistent with federal regulations promulgated pursuant to the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, Public Law
101-336.
(O) `Auxiliary aids and services' means:
(1) qualified interpreters or other effective methods of
making aurally delivered materials available to individuals with
hearing impairments;
(2) qualified readers, taped texts, or other effective methods
of making visually delivered materials available to individuals with
visual impairments;
(3) acquisition or modification of equipment or devices; and
(4) other similar services and actions.
(P) `Direct threat' means a significant risk to the health or
safety of the employee or of others that cannot be eliminated by
reasonable accommodation.
(Q) `Illegal use of drugs' means the use of drugs, the possession
and distribution of which is unlawful under Chapter 53, Title 44.
This term does not include the use of a drug taken under
supervision by a licensed health care professional or other lawful
uses. Nothing in this chapter prohibits a covered entity from
requiring employees to conform to drug-free workplace laws and
regulations or from establishing and enforcing rules, policies, or
guidelines concerning use of alcohol or illegal drugs in the
workplace.
(R) `Drug' means a controlled substance as defined in Section
44-53-10.
(S) `Qualified individual with a disability' means an individual
with a disability who, with or without reasonable accommodation,
can perform the essential functions of the employment position that
the individual holds or desires. For the purposes of this chapter,
consideration must be given to the employer's judgment as to what
functions of a job are essential, and if an employer has prepared a
written job description before advertising or interviewing applicants
for the job, this description must be considered evidence of the
essential functions of the job. `Qualified individual with a
disability' does not include an employee or applicant who is
currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs when the covered
entity acts on the basis of the use.
(T) `Reasonable accommodation' may include:
(1) making existing facilities used by employees readily
accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; and
(2) job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules,
reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of
equipment or devices, appropriate adjustment or modifications of
examinations, training materials or policies, the provision of
qualified readers or interpreters, and other similar accommodations
for individuals with disabilities.
(U) `Undue hardship' means an action requiring significant
difficulty or expense, when considered in light of the following
factors:
(1) the nature and cost of the accommodation needed under
this chapter;
(2) the overall financial resources of the facility involved in
the provision of the reasonable accommodation, the number of
persons employed at the facility, the effect on expenses and
resources, or the impact otherwise of the accommodation upon the
operation of the facility;
(3) the overall financial resources of the covered entity, the
overall size of the business of a covered entity with respect to the
number of its employees, the number, type, and location of its faci lities; and
(4) the type of operation of the covered entity, including the
composition, structure, and functions of the workforce of the entity,
the geographic separateness and the administrative or fiscal
relationship of the facility in question to the covered entity."
SECTION 4. Section 1-13-70(f) of the 1976 Code is amended
to read:
"(f) To create or recognize such advisory
agencies and conciliation councils, local, regional, or
statewide, as will aid in effectuating the purposes of this chapter
and of Section 3 of Article I of the Constitution of this State. The
commission may empower such these agencies and
councils to study problems of discrimination in all or specific fields
of human affairs or in specific instances of discrimination because
of race, religion, color, sex, age, or national
origin, or disability and to foster through community effort,
or otherwise, goodwill, cooperation, and conciliation
among the groups and elements of the population of the State.
Such These agencies and councils also may
also make recommendations to the commission for the
development of policies and procedures in general and in specific
instances and for programs of formal or informal education which
the commission may in turn recommend to the appropriate state
agency. Such These advisory agencies and
conciliation councils shall, as far as practicable,
must be composed of representative citizens."
SECTION 5. Section 1-13-80 of the 1976 Code, as last
amended by Act 663 of 1988, is further amended to read:
"Section 1-13-80. (a)(A) It shall
be is an unlawful employment practice for any
an employer:
(1) to fail or refuse to hire, bar, discharge from employment
or otherwise discriminate against any an individual
with respect to his the individual's
compensation, or terms, conditions, or
privileges of employment because of such the
individual's race, religion, color, sex, age, or
national origin, or disability;
(2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or
applicants for employment in any a way which
would deprive or tend to deprive any an individual
of employment opportunities, or otherwise adversely affect
his the individual's status as an employee, because
of such the individual's race, color, religion, sex,
age, or national origin, or disability;
(3) to reduce the wage rate of any an
employee in order to comply with the provisions of this chapter
relating to age.
(b)(B) It shall be is an unlawful
employment practice for an employment agency to fail or refuse to
refer for employment, or otherwise to discriminate
against, any an individual because of
his the individual's race, color, religion, sex,
age, or national origin, or
disability, or to classify or refer for employment any
an individual on the basis of his the
individual's race, color, religion, sex, age, or
national origin, or disability.
(c)(C) It shall be is an unlawful
employment practice for a labor organization:
(1) to exclude or to expel from its membership, or
otherwise to discriminate against, any an
individual because of his the individual's race,
color, religion, sex, age, or national origin, or
disability;
(2) to limit, segregate, or classify its membership, or
applicants for membership, or to classify or fail or refuse to
refer for employment any an individual in
any a way which would deprive or tend to deprive
any an individual of employment opportunities or
would limit such employment opportunities or otherwise
adversely affect his the individual's status as an
employee or as an applicant for employment because of
such the individual's race, color, religion, sex,
age, or national origin, or disability;
(3) to cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate
against an individual in violation of this section.
(D) It is an unlawful employment practice for a covered
entity:
(1) to exclude or otherwise deny equal jobs or benefits to a
qualified individual because of a known disability of an individual
with whom the qualified individual is known to have a relationship
or association;
(2) to fail or make reasonable accommodations to the known
physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual
with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless the
covered entity can demonstrate that the accommodation would
impose an undue hardship on the operations of the business of the
covered entity; or to deny employment opportunities to a job
applicant or employee who is an otherwise qualified individual with
a disability, if the denial is based on the need of the covered entity
to make reasonable accommodation to the physical or mental
impairments of the employee or applicant;
(3) to use qualification standards, employment tests, or other
selection criteria that screen out or tend to screen out an individual
with a disability or a class of individuals with disabilities unless the
standard, test, or other selection criteria, as used by the covered
entity, is shown to be job related for the position in question and is
consistent with business necessity;
(4) to fail to select and administer tests concerning
employment in the most effective manner to ensure that, when the
test is administered to a job applicant or employee who has a
disability that impairs sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the test
results accurately reflect the skills, aptitude, or whatever other
factor of the applicant or employee that the test purports to
measure, rather than reflecting the impaired sensory, manual, or
speaking skills of the employee or applicant, except where the skills
are the factors that the test purports to measure.
(d)(E) It shall be is an unlawful
employment practice for any an employer, labor
organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling
apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including on-the-job
training programs, to discriminate against any an
individual because of his the individual's race,
color, religion, sex, or national origin, or
disability in admission to, or employment in,
any a program established to provide apprenticeship
or other training.
(e)(F) It shall be is an unlawful
employment practice for an employer to discriminate against any
of his employees or applicants an employee or
applicant for employment, for an employment agency, or joint
labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship or other
training or retraining, including on-the-job training programs, to
discriminate against any an individual, or for
a labor organization to discriminate against any a
member thereof or applicant for membership because
he the individual has opposed any a
practice made an unlawful employment practice by this
chapter, or because he the individual has
made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any
manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this
chapter.
(f)(G) It shall be is an unlawful
employment practice for an employer, labor organization,
employment agency, or joint labor-management committee
controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including
on-the-job training programs, to print or publish or cause to be
printed or published any a notice or advertisement
relating to employment by such an the employer or
membership in, or any a classification or
referral for employment by, such a the labor
organization, or relating to any a
classification or referral for employment by such an
the employment agency, or relating to admission
to, or employment in, any a program
established to provide apprenticeship or other training by such
a the joint labor-management committee indicating any
a preference, limitation, specification, or
discrimination, based on race, color, religion,
sex, or national origin, or disability, except
that such a the notice or advertisement may indicate
a preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination
based on religion, sex, or national origin when religion,
sex, or national origin is a bona fide occupational
qualification for employment.
(g)(H) It shall be is unlawful
for an employer, labor organization, or employment agency to print
or publish, or cause to be printed or published,
any a notice or advertisement relating to
employment by such an the employer or
membership in, or any a classification or
referral for employment by, such a the labor
organization, or relating to any a
classification or referral for employment by such an
the employment agency, indicating any
a preference, limitation, specification, or
discrimination based on age.
(h)(I) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
chapter:
(1) It is not an unlawful employment practice for an
employer to employ employees, for an employment agency to
classify or refer for employment any an individual,
for a labor organization to classify its membership or to classify or
refer for employment any an individual, or for an
employer, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee
controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining programs
to admit or employ any an individual in any
such a program on the basis of his the
individual's religion, sex, or national origin in those certain
instances where religion, sex, or national origin is a bona fide
occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal
operation of that particular business or enterprise.
(2) It is not an unlawful employment practice for any
a party subject to the provisions of this section to compile
or assemble such information as may be required pursuant to
Section 1-13-70(i) or Federal Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission or federal contract compliance requirements, or
pursuant to any other another law not inconsistent
with this chapter.
(3) It is not an unlawful employment practice for an
employer to apply different standards of compensation,
or different terms, conditions, or privileges of
employment pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system or a
system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of
production or to employees who work in different locations so
long as if such the differences are not
the result of an intention to discriminate because of race, religion,
color, sex, or national origin, or disability; nor is it
an unlawful employment practice for an employer to give and to act
upon the results of any a professionally developed
ability test if such the test, its administration, or
action upon the results is not designed, intended, or used to
discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin, or disability. It is not an unlawful employment
practice under this chapter for any an employer to
differentiate upon the basis of sex in determining the amount of
wages or compensation paid or to be paid to employees of
such the employer if the differentiation is
authorized by the provisions of Section 6(d) of the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (29 U.S.C. 206(d)).
(4) Nothing contained in this chapter applies to any
a business or enterprise on or near an Indian reservation
with respect to any a publicly announced
employment practice of such the business or
enterprise under which a preferential treatment is given to
any an individual because he the
individual is an Indian living on or near a reservation.
(5) This chapter does not apply to a religious corporation,
association, educational institution, or society with respect to the
employment of individuals of a particular religion to perform work
connected with the carrying on by such the
corporation, association, educational institution, or society of its
activities. It is not an unlawful employment practice for a school,
college, university, or other educational institution or institution of
learning to hire and employ employees of a particular religion if the
school, college, university, or other educational institution or
institution of learning is, in whole or in substantial part, owned,
supported, controlled, or managed by a particular religion or by a
particular religious corporation, association, or society, or if the
curriculum of the school, college, university, or other educational
institution or institution of learning is directed toward the
propagation of a particular religion.
(6) Nothing contained in this chapter may be interpreted to
require any an employer, employment agency, labor
organization, or joint labor-management committee subject to this
chapter to grant preferential treatment to any an
individual or to any a group because of race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin, or disability of the
individual or group on account of an imbalance which may exist
with respect to the total number or percentage of persons of
any a race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin, or disability employed by any an
employer, referred or classified for employment by any
an employment agency or labor organization,
admitted to membership or classified by any a labor
organization, or admitted to, or employed in, any an
apprenticeship or other training program, in comparison with
the total number or percentage of persons of such
the race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,
or disability in any a community, state, section,
or other area, or in the available work force in any
a community, state, section, or other area.
(7) It is not unlawful for an employer, employment agency,
or labor organization:
(i) to take any an action otherwise
prohibited under this chapter where age is a bona fide occupational
qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the
particular business, or where the differentiation is based on
reasonable factors other than age;
(ii) to observe the terms of a bona fide seniority system or
any a bona fide employee benefit plan such as
retirement, pension, or insurance plan, which is not a
subterfuge to evade the purposes of this chapter except that no
such employee benefit plan may excuse the failure to hire
any an individual.
Notwithstanding the provisions of subitem (ii), no seniority
system or employee benefit plan may require or permit the
involuntary retirement of any an individual covered
by the provisions of this chapter relating to age because of the age
of the individual; however, in the case of employees covered
by a collective bargaining agreement which was in effect on June
30, 1986, and which would otherwise be prohibited by the
provisions of this subitem, this subitem takes effect upon the
termination of such the agreement or on January 1,
1990, whichever occurs first.
(8) Nothing in this chapter may be construed to prohibit
compulsory retirement of any an employee who has
attained sixty-five years of age and who, for the two-year period
immediately before retirement, is employed in a bona fide executive
or high policymaking position, if the employee is entitled to an
immediate nonforfeitable annual retirement benefit from a pension,
profit sharing, savings, or deferred compensation plan, or
any a combination of such these
plans, of the employer of the employee, which
equals, in aggregate, at least forty-four thousand
dollars.
(9) In applying item (8) of this subsection
(h)(I)(8), the retirement benefit test, if any
such a retirement benefit is in a form other than a
straight life annuity (with no ancillary benefits), or if
employees contribute to any such a plan or make
rollover contributions, such the benefit must be
adjusted in accordance with regulations prescribed by the
commissioner so that the benefit is the equivalent of a straight life
annuity (with no ancillary benefits) under a plan to
which employees do not contribute and under which no rollover
contributions are made.
(10) Nothing in this chapter relating to age discrimination in
employment may be construed to prohibit compulsory retirement of
any an employee who has attained seventy years of
age and who is serving under a contract of unlimited tenure
(or similar arrangement providing for unlimited
tenure) at an institution of higher education. The
provisions of this This item are is
effective until December 31, 1993.
(11) It is an unlawful employment practice for any
a person to forcibly resist, prevent, impede, or interfere
with the commission or any of its members or representatives in the
lawful performance of duty under this chapter.
(12) It is not unlawful for an employer which is the State, a
political subdivision of the State, an agency or instrumentality of
the State or of a political subdivision of the State, or an interstate
agency to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any
an individual because of the individual's age if the action is
taken:
(i) with respect to the employment of an individual as a
firefighter or as a law enforcement officer and the individual has
attained the age of hiring or retirement in effect under applicable
law on March 3, 1983,;
(ii) pursuant to a bona fide hiring or retirement plan that is
not a subterfuge to evade the purposes of this chapter.
The provisions of this This item are
is effective until December 31, 1993.
(13) The term `firefighter' means an employee the duties
of whose position are primarily to perform work directly connected
with the control and extinguishment of fires or the maintenance and
use of firefighting apparatus and equipment, including an employee
engaged in this activity who is transferred to a supervisory or
administrative position.
(14) The term `Law enforcement officer' means an
employee the duties of whose position are primarily the
investigation, apprehension, or detention of individuals suspected or
convicted of offenses against the criminal laws of the State,
including an employee engaged in this activity who is transferred to
a supervisory or administrative position. For the purpose of this
item (14), `detention' includes the duties of employees
assigned to guard individuals incarcerated in any a
penal institution.
(15) Nothing contained in items (8), (10), and (12)
above may override provisions of Sections 9-1-1530
and 9-1-1537 of the 1976 Code."
SECTION 6. Section 1-13-90(e) of the 1976 Code is amended
to read:
"(e) For complaints of the existence or occurrence of
any a practice asserted to be discriminatory on the
basis of race, religion, color, age, sex or, national
origin, or disability, other than those discriminatory
practices declared unlawful by Section 1-13-80, or of any other
dispute regarding human affairs, the procedure of the commission
shall be is as follows:
The commissioner shall assign one or more of the commission's
employees or agents, who may resolve the complaint by
conference, conciliation, and persuasion with the
complainant and the respondent, such the resolution
to be embodied in a conciliation agreement, which shall
include such provisions as are agreed upon by the complainant and
the respondent. In the event If the employee or
agent so assigned is unable after reasonable efforts to
resolve the complaint, he the employee or agent
shall withdraw from the matter and not participate further
therein and the commission file of the complaint
shall must be closed. If the complainant and the
respondent thereafter resolve the complaint and submit a record of
such the resolution to the commission, such
the record shall must be entered into the
commission file of the complaint."
SECTION 7. Section 1-13-100 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 1-13-100. Nothing in this chapter shall
may be construed to create any a cause of
action other than those specifically described in Section 1-13-90 of
this chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall may be
construed to create any a cause of action against a
person not covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as
amended, 42 U. S. C. Section 2000e et seq., if the cause of action
arises from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex,
or national origin. Nothing in this chapter shall may
be construed to create any a cause of action against
a person not covered by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
of 1967, as amended, 29 U. S. C. Section 621 et seq., if the cause
of action arises from discrimination on the basis of age.
Nothing in this chapter may be construed to create a cause of
action against a person not covered by the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, Public Law
101-336."
SECTION 8. Section 43-33-520 of the 1976 Code is amended
to read:
"Section 43-33-520. The opportunity to obtain
employment, housing, full and equal use of public
accommodations, public services, and to make use of
educational facilities without discrimination because of a handicap
is guaranteed by this article and is a civil right."
SECTION 9. Section 43-33-530 of the 1976 Code is amended
to read:
"Section 43-33-530. No person may discriminate against
a handicapped person with respect to employment, public
accommodations, public services, or housing without reasonable
justification. No protection or right of access provided by law for
handicapped persons are reduced or eliminated by the provisions of
this section."
SECTION 10. Section 43-33-560 of the 1976 Code is amended
to read:
"Section 43-33-560. Notwithstanding the provisions
of Section 2-7-35 of the 1976 Code, the terms
`handicap' and `handicapped' as used in this article mean a
substantial physical or mental impairment, whether congenital or
acquired by accident, injury, or disease, where the impairment is
verified by medical findings and appears reasonably certain to
continue throughout the lifetime of the individual without
substantial improvement, but, with respect to employment,
which is unrelated to the individual's ability to engage in a
particular job or occupation. This does not include any
an individual who is an alcohol, drug, narcotic, or other
substance abuser, or who is only regarded as being
handicapped. The term `mental impairment' shall
does not include mental illness."
SECTION 11. Section 43-33-570 of the 1976 Code is amended
to read:
"Section 43-33-570. For purposes of this article,
`reasonable justification' means, in the context of employment,
that the handicapped person's mental and physical limitation
interferes with the performance of the work involved. Reasonable
justification in the context of employment,
housing, and public services shall must be
determined in light of the following factors, among others: (1)
safety; (2) efficiency; and (3) cost. An employer's determination
that reasonable justification exists will be given substantial
deference unless the determination is made to circumvent the
purpose of this article."
SECTION 12. Sections 43-33-550 and 43-33-580 of the 1976
Code are repealed.
SECTION 13. This act takes effect upon approval by the
Governor.
-----XX----- |