HOUSE BILL No. 4556
April 22, 1999, Introduced by Reps. Middaugh, Patterson, Howell, Caul, Bogardus, Woodward, Cherry, Bradstreet, Tabor, LaSata, Dennis, Jacobs, Richner, Basham, Hart, Shackleton, DeWeese, Pappageorge, Raczkowski, Bisbee, Birkholz, Jansen and Scranton and referred to the Committee on Constitutional Law and Ethics. A bill to amend 1976 PA 453, entitled "Elliott-Larsen civil rights act," by amending the title and sections 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, and 209 (MCL 37.2201, 37.2202, 37.2203, 37.2204, 37.2205, 37.2206, 37.2207, and 37.2209), the title as amended by 1992 PA 258, section 201 as amended by 1980 PA 202, and section 202 as amended by 1991 PA 11. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 TITLE 2 An act to define civil rights; to prohibit discriminatory 3 practices, policies, and customs in the exercise of those rights 4 based upon religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, 5 height, weight, familial status, or marital status; TO PROHIBIT 6 DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES, POLICIES, AND CUSTOMS IN EMPLOYMENT, 7 LABOR ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP, OR EMPLOYMENT AGENCY ACTIVITIES 02570'99 DMS 2 1 BASED ON GENETIC COMPOSITION; to preserve the confidentiality of 2 records regarding arrest, detention, or other disposition in 3 which a conviction does not result; to prescribe the powers and 4 duties of the civil rights commission and the department of civil 5 rights; to provide remedies and penalties; to provide for fees; 6 and to repeal certain acts and parts of acts. 7 Sec. 201. As used in this article: 8 (a) "Employer" means a person who has 1 or more employees, 9 and includes an agent of that person. 10 (b) "Employment agency" means a person regularly undertaking 11 with or without compensation to procure, refer, recruit, or place 12 an employee for an employer or to procure, refer, recruit, or 13 place for an employer or person the opportunity to work for an 14 employer and includes an agent of that person. 15 (C) "GENETIC COMPOSITION" MEANS THE BIOCHEMICAL ELEMENTS 16 EXISTING IN AN INDIVIDUAL THAT EVIDENCE, AND SERVE TO CONTROL THE 17 TRANSMISSION OF, A HEREDITARY CHARACTER OR TRAIT. 18 (D) "GENETIC TEST" MEANS A PROCEDURE FOR DETERMINING THE 19 PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF AN INHERITED GENETIC CHARACTERISTIC IN AN 20 INDIVIDUAL, AND INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO A TEST OF CHROMO- 21 SOMES, PROTEINS, OR NUCLEIC ACIDS SUCH AS DNA, RNA, OR MITOCHON- 22 DRIAL DNA TO IDENTIFY A PREDISPOSING GENETIC CHARACTERISTIC. 23 (E) (c) "Labor organization" includes: 24 (i) An organization of any kind, an agency or employee rep- 25 resentation committee, group, association, or plan in which 26 employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole 27 or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, 02570'99 3 1 labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours, or other terms or 2 conditions of employment. 3 (ii) A conference, general committee, joint or system board, 4 or joint council which is subordinate to a national or interna- 5 tional labor organization. 6 (iii) An agent of a labor organization. 7 (F) "RNA" MEANS NUCLEIC ACIDS THAT CONTAIN RIBOSE AND URACIL 8 AS STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS AND ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE CONTROL OF 9 CELLULAR CHEMICAL ACTIVITIES. 10 (G) (d) "Sex" includes, but is not limited to, pregnancy, 11 childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or child- 12 birth that does not include nontherapeutic abortion not intended 13 to save the life of the mother. 14 Sec. 202. (1) An employer shall not do any of the 15 following: 16 (a) Fail or refuse to hire or recruit, discharge, or other- 17 wise discriminate against an individual with respect to employ- 18 ment, compensation, or a term, condition, or privilege of employ- 19 ment, because of religion, race, color, national origin, age, 20 sex, GENETIC COMPOSITION, height, weight, or marital status. 21 (b) Limit, segregate, or classify an employee or applicant 22 for employment in a way that deprives or tends to deprive the 23 employee or applicant of an employment opportunity, or otherwise 24 adversely affects the status of an employee or applicant because 25 of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, GENETIC 26 COMPOSITION, height, weight, or marital status. 02570'99 4 1 (c) Segregate, classify, or otherwise discriminate against a 2 person on the basis of sex OR GENETIC COMPOSITION with respect to 3 a term, condition, or privilege of employment, including, but not 4 limited to, a benefit plan or system. 5 (d) Until January 1, 1994, require an employee of an insti- 6 tution of higher education who is serving under a contract of 7 unlimited tenure, or similar arrangement providing for unlimited 8 tenure, to retire from employment on the basis of the employee's 9 age. As used in this subdivision, "institution of higher 10 education" means a public or private university, college, commu- 11 nity college, or junior college located in this state. 12 (D) REQUIRE AN INDIVIDUAL TO SUBMIT TO A GENETIC TEST AS A 13 CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT OR PROMOTION. 14 (2) This section shall not be construed to prohibit the 15 establishment or implementation of a bona fide retirement policy 16 or system that is not a subterfuge to evade the purposes of this 17 section. 18 (3) This section does not apply to the employment of an 19 individual by his or her parent, spouse, or child. 20 Sec. 203. An employment agency shall not fail or refuse to 21 procure, refer, recruit, or place for employment, or otherwise 22 discriminate against, an individual because of religion, race, 23 color, national origin, age, sex, GENETIC COMPOSITION, height, 24 weight, or marital status; or classify or refer for employment an 25 individual on the basis of religion, race, color, national 26 origin, age, sex, GENETIC COMPOSITION, height, weight, or marital 27 status. 02570'99 5 1 Sec. 204. A labor organization shall not: 2 (a) Exclude or expel from membership, or otherwise discrimi- 3 nate against, a member or applicant for membership because of 4 religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, GENETIC 5 COMPOSITION, height, weight, or marital status. 6 (b) Limit, segregate, or classify membership or applicants 7 for membership, or classify or fail or refuse to refer for 8 employment an individual in a way which THAT would deprive or 9 tend to deprive that individual of an employment opportunity, or 10 which THAT would limit an employment opportunity, or which 11 THAT would adversely affect wages, hours, or employment condi- 12 tions, or otherwise adversely affect the status of an employee or 13 an applicant for employment, because of religion, race, color, 14 national origin, age, sex, GENETIC COMPOSITION, height, weight, 15 or marital status. 16 (c) Cause or attempt to cause an employer to violate this 17 article. 18 (d) Fail to fairly and adequately represent a member in a 19 grievance process because of religion, race, color, national 20 origin, age, sex, GENETIC COMPOSITION, height, weight, or marital 21 status. 22 Sec. 205. An employer, labor organization, or joint 23 labor-management committee controlling an apprenticeship, on the 24 job, or other training or retraining program, shall not discrimi- 25 nate against an individual because of religion, race, color, 26 national origin, age, sex, GENETIC COMPOSITION, height, weight, 27 or marital status, in admission to, or employment or continuation 02570'99 6 1 in, a program established to provide apprenticeship on the job, 2 or other training or retraining. 3 Sec. 206. (1) An employer, labor organization, or employ- 4 ment agency shall not print, circulate, post, mail, or otherwise 5 cause to be published a statement, advertisement, notice, or sign 6 relating to employment by the employer, or relating to membership 7 in or a classification or referral for employment by the labor 8 organization, or relating to a classification or referral for 9 employment by the employment agency, which THAT indicates a 10 preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination, based 11 on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, GENETIC 12 COMPOSITION, height, weight, or marital status. 13 (2) Except as permitted by rules promulgated by the commis- 14 sion or by applicable federal law, an employer or employment 15 agency shall not: 16 (a) Make or use a written or oral inquiry or form of appli- 17 cation that elicits or attempts to elicit information concerning 18 the religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, GENETIC 19 COMPOSITION, height, weight, or marital status of a prospective 20 employee. 21 (b) Make or keep a record of information described in subdi- 22 vision (a) or to disclose that information. 23 (c) Make or use a written or oral inquiry or form of appli- 24 cation that expresses a preference, limitation, specification, or 25 discrimination based on religion, race, color, national origin, 26 age, sex, GENETIC COMPOSITION, height, weight, or marital status 27 of a prospective employee. 02570'99 7 1 Sec. 207. An individual seeking employment shall not 2 publish or cause to be published a notice or advertisement that 3 specifies or indicates the individual's religion, race, color, 4 national origin, age, sex, GENETIC COMPOSITION, height, weight, 5 or marital status, or expresses a preference, specification, lim- 6 itation, or discrimination as to the religion, race, color, 7 national origin, age, height, weight, sex, GENETIC COMPOSITION, 8 or marital status of a prospective employer. 9 Sec. 209. A contract to which the state, a political subdi- 10 vision, or an agency thereof OF THE STATE OR A POLITICAL 11 SUBDIVISION is a party shall contain a covenant by the contractor 12 and his OR HER subcontractors not to discriminate against an 13 employee or applicant for employment with respect to hire, 14 tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, or a 15 matter directly or indirectly related to employment, because of 16 race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, GENETIC 17 COMPOSITION, height, weight, or marital status. Breach of this 18 covenant may be regarded as a material breach of the contract. 02570'99 Final page. DMS