Birmingham human rights ordinance

The Birmingham human rights ordinance is a city ordinance which was passed by the Birmingham City Council in September 2017. Its purpose is to prohibit any party under contract to the city from engaging in discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on, "race, color, religion, natural origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or familial status."

Because Alabama municipalities are not empowered to create civil liabilities, the ordinance is structured as a criminal law. For enforcement, the city's authority rests on the power of the Birmingham Municipal Court to levy fines. The ordinance calls for the creation of a Birmingham Human Rights Commission to hear and investigate complaints brought before a magistrate, and to negotiate with parties to resolve cases before they are referred to the court. If a complaint is brought to trial, a guilty verdict would result in fines ranging from $100 for a first offense to as much as $500 for repeat offenders.

2013 proposal

A proposed ordinance was submitted to the Council's Public Safety Committee by District 5 representative Johnathan Austin on March 6, 2013. His proposed ordinance echoed the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights", which was adopted in 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

The proposal sought to address all discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation for any reason other than individual merit. Specifically it targeted discrimination on grounds of "race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, disability, source of income, and place of residence or business".

Under the terms of the proposal, the Commission would be empowered by the Council to investigate claims of discrimination, and could subpoena records from individuals and businesses. If those requests were not answered, the commission could levy fines of up to $500, and if they were met with interference or falsification, jail sentences could be imposed. The results of the Commission's investigations would be reported to the City Council for possible action.

2017 ordinance

Austin re-introduced a non-discrimination ordinance in 2017. The new proposal differed from the earlier one in removing references to age, marital status, personal appearance, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, source of income, and place of residence or business from, and adding "familial status" to the stated types of discrimination it would prevent.

As it was proposed, the Commission would have referred cases to the City Council itself to make final determinations and levy fines. City attorney Julie Barnard and Municipal court judge Andra Sparks helped modify the ordinance to ensure that it "had teeth," while also adopting the standard of proof from criminal proceedings. The Council's Committee of the Whole also expanded the membership of the proposed Commission from 9 to 11, with all members appointed by the Council.

During debate it was acknowledged that the Alabama State Legislature would be likely to attempt to undermine the ordinance with new legislation, but that it was still important for the city to take action on behalf of vulnerable people.

The City Council voted unanimously (with Parker and Rafferty absent) to pass the ordinance. By February 2018, however, no Commission had been appointed.

2018 revision

Shortly after taking office, Mayor Randall Woodfin negotiated with Council President Valerie Abbott to expand the commission to 15 members; nine appointed by the Council (one from each District) and six appointed by the Mayor (three from non-profits and three from the business community). The adjustments, which included staggered terms of service, were not ratified by the Council until December 4, 2018.

References

• Gray, Jeremy (March 5, 2016) "Birmingham ordinance would create Human Rights Commission." The Birmingham News
• Owens, Cody (September 7, 2017) "Birmingham City Council set to debate Human Rights Commission on Tuesday." Birmingham City Council press release
• Edgemon, Erin (September 26, 2017) "Birmingham makes discrimination a criminal offense." The Birmingham News
• Dunigan, Jonece Starr (February 14, 2018) "Birmingham passed law to protect LGBTQ residents, but it's not being enforced." The Birmingham News
• Smith, Alex (September 26, 2018) "Birmingham needs to follow through on nondiscrimination ordinance." The Birmingham News
• Dunigan, Jonece Starr (December 5, 2018) "A year later, discrimination protections for Birmingham’s LGBTQ citizens moves forward." The Birmingham News

External links

• 2013 anti-discrimination ordinance as submitted by Austin to the Birmingham City Council Public Safety Committee