PRINTER'S NO. 3742
No. 2690 Session of 1990
INTRODUCED BY F. TAYLOR, BURD, OLASZ, PETRONE, JAROLIN,
GIGLIOTTI, PISTELLA, SALOOM, BILLOW, MIHALICH AND COY,
JUNE 18, 1990
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, JUNE 18, 1990
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of October 27, 1955 (P.L.744, No.222),
2 entitled, as amended, "An act prohibiting certain practices
3 of discrimination because of race, color, religious creed,
4 ancestry, age or national origin by employers, employment
5 agencies, labor organizations and others as herein defined;
6 creating the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in the
7 Department of Labor and Industry; defining its functions,
8 powers and duties; providing for procedure and enforcement;
9 providing for formulation of an educational program to
10 prevent prejudice; providing for judicial review and
11 enforcement and imposing penalties," further providing for
12 unlawful discriminatory practices relating to employment of
13 smokers and nonsmokers.
14 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
15 hereby enacts as follows:
16 Section 1. Sections 2 and 3 of the act of October 27, 1955
17 (P.L.744, No.222), known as the Pennsylvania Human Relations
18 Act, amended December 16, 1986 (P.L.1626, No.186), are amended
19 to read:
20 Section 2. Findings and Declaration of Policy.--
21 (a) The practice or policy of discrimination against
22 individuals or groups by reason of their status as a smoker or
23 nonsmoker, race, color, religious creed, ancestry, handicap or
1 disability, use of guide animals because of blindness or
2 deafness of the user, use of support animals because of a
3 physical handicap of the user or because the user is a handler
4 or trainer of support or guide animals, age, sex, or national
5 origin is a matter of concern of the Commonwealth. Such
6 discrimination foments domestic strife and unrest, threatens the
7 rights and privileges of the inhabitants of the Commonwealth,
8 and undermines the foundations of a free democratic state. The
9 denial of equal employment, housing and public accommodation
10 opportunities because of such discrimination, and the consequent
11 failure to utilize the productive capacities of individuals to
12 their fullest extent, deprives large segments of the population
13 of the Commonwealth of earnings necessary to maintain decent
14 standards of living, necessitates their resort to public relief
15 and intensifies group conflicts, thereby resulting in grave
16 injury to the public health and welfare, compels many
17 individuals to live in dwellings which are substandard,
18 unhealthful and overcrowded, resulting in racial segregation in
19 public schools and other community facilities, juvenile
20 delinquency and other evils, thereby threatening the peace,
21 health, safety and general welfare of the Commonwealth and its
22 inhabitants.
23 (b) It is hereby declared to be the public policy of this
24 Commonwealth to foster the employment of all individuals in
25 accordance with their fullest capacities regardless of their
26 status as a smoker or nonsmoker, race, color, religious creed,
27 ancestry, handicap or disability, use of guide dogs because of
28 blindness or deafness of the user, use of support animals
29 because of a physical handicap of the user or because the user
30 is a handler or trainer of support or guide animals, age, sex,
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1 or national origin, and to safeguard their right to obtain and
2 hold employment without such discrimination, to assure equal
3 opportunities to all individuals and to safeguard their rights
4 to public accommodation and to secure housing accommodation and
5 commercial property regardless of race, color, religious creed,
6 ancestry, sex, handicap or disability, use of guide animals
7 because of blindness or deafness of the user or national origin.
8 (c) This act shall be deemed an exercise of the police power
9 of the Commonwealth for the protection of the public welfare,
10 prosperity, health and peace of the people of the Commonwealth
11 of Pennsylvania.
12 Section 3. Right to Freedom from Discrimination in
13 Employment, Housing and Public Accommodation.--The opportunity
14 for an individual to obtain employment for which he is
15 qualified, and to obtain all the accommodations, advantages,
16 facilities and privileges of any public accommodation and of
17 housing accommodation and commercial property without
18 discrimination because of race, color, religious creed,
19 ancestry, handicap or disability, age, sex, national origin, the
20 use of a guide or support animal because of blindness, deafness
21 or physical handicap of the user or because the user is a
22 handler or trainer of support or guide animals or because the
23 individual is a smoker or nonsmoker, is hereby recognized as and
24 declared to be a civil right which shall be enforceable as set
25 forth in this act.
26 Section 2. Section 5 of the act is amended by adding a
27 clause to read:
28 Section 5. Unlawful Discriminatory Practices.--It shall be
29 an unlawful discriminatory practice, unless based upon a bona
30 fide occupational qualification, or in the case of a fraternal
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1 corporation or association, unless based upon membership in such
2 association or corporation, or except where based upon
3 applicable security regulations established by the United States
4 or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:
5 * * *
6 (l) For an employer to fail or refuse to hire or to
7 discharge any individual or otherwise discriminate against any
8 individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions or
9 privileges of employment because the individual is a nonsmoker
10 or smoker or does or does not use other tobacco products, or to
11 require as a condition of employment any employe or applicant
12 for employment to abstain from smoking or to smoke or to use or
13 not use any tobacco products outside the course of employment,
14 as long as the person complies with any applicable laws or
15 workplace policy concerning smoking or the use of other tobacco
16 products during the course of employment.
17 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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