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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 14832 •s .f ORDINANCE NO ~ ~~ AN ORDINANCE REVISING AND AMENDING CHAPTER 17 "HUMAN RELATIONS" OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS (1986), AS AMENDED, ADDING THE CATEGORIES OF "DISABILITY' AND "AGE" TO THOSE ALREADY IN DIVISION 2 "PLACES OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION" OF ARTICLE III "DISCRIMINATION" AND PROVIDING DEFINITIONS, PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE CUMULATIVE, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE, AND PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Fort Worth, Texas that: SECTION 1 Sec. 17-1 "Public policy declared" of Article I. "In General" of Chapter 17 "Human Relations" of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1986) as amended is hereby further amended to read as follows It is hereby declared to be public policy of the city that all of its residents and persons subject to its ~unsdiction should enjoy equal freedom to pursue their aspirations and that discrimination against any individual or group because of race, creed, color, sex, religion, disability, age, national origin, familial status, or sexual orientation is detrimental to the peace, progress and welfare of the city SECTION 2. Division 2 "Places of Public Accommodation" of Article III "Discrimination" of Chapter 17 "Human Relations" of the Code of the Crty of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as amended, is hereby revised and amended, and after said revision and amendment shall read as follows. DIVISION 2 PLACES OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION S ,~ .:~ Sec. 17-46 Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used m this division, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: Age, in the context of unlawful discrimination on the basis of age, shall mean over the age of sixty-two years. Bar and lounge shall mean every bar, lounge or tavern licensed by the state to serve alcoholic beverages of any content, including wines and beer, for consumption on the premises, other than restaurants and mghtclubs as defined m this section. Disability has the same definition as it has m section 17-66 of this chapter Discrimination shall mean disparate treatment or treatment resulting in disparate effect, which shall include but not be limited to withholding or denying of entry, services or facilities, or any other advantage offered to the general public by a place of public accommodation. Hotel and motel shall mean every establishment offering lodging to transient guests for compensation, but such terms shall not apply to any such establishment if the majority of occupants are permanent residents and have their fixed place of domicile therein. Nightclub shall mean nightclubs, cabarets or coffeehouses offering facilities for public entertainment, social recreation or group amusement or relaxation, and also offering for sale any beverage, whether alcoholic or nonalcoholic Place of public accommodation shall mean every business within the city, whether wholesale or retail, which is open to the general public and offers for compensation any product, service or facility The term "place of public accommodation" shall include all hotels, motels, restaurants, bars, lounges, mghtclubs or cabarets where food or beverages are sold or offered for sale, theaters, retail houses, washaterias, bowling alleys, skating rinks, golf courses, all public conveyances, as well as the stations or terminals thereof, kindergartens, day care centers and nursery schools. Restaurant shall mean every cafe, cafeteria, coffeeshop, sandwich shop, parlor or luncheonette which offers food or beverages for purchase and consumption on the premises, but shall not include places at which alcoholic beverages are sold other than as an accompaniment to meals Theater shall mean every place, whether indoors or out-of-doors, at which any theatrical performance, moving picture show, musical concert, circus or carnival is offered for consumption. Sexual orientation shall mean heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality or being identified with such orientation. Sec 17-47 Exemptions. This division shall not apply to any hotel, motel, restaurant, bar, lounge, nightclub, cabaret or theater operated by a bona fide private club when the accommodations, advantages, facilities and services are restricted to the members of such club and their guests, nor to any bona fide social, fraternal, educational, civic, political or religious organization, or to any private kindergarten, day care center or nursery school, when the profits of such accommodations, advantages, facilities and services, above reasonable and necessary expenses, are solely for the benefit of such organization. a ~~,, ~~ Sec 17-48 Unlawful acts. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person or any employee or agent thereof: (1) To discriminate against, withhold from or deny any person, because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age or sexual orientation any of the advantages, facilities or services offered to the general public by a place of public accommodation, (2) To refuse admission to or to expel from any place of public accommodation any person for alleged noncompliance with a dress code, personal conduct restriction, or identification requirement unless such place of public accommodation has previously posted a notice specif}nng the details of such code, restriction or requirement in a conspicuous, clearly visible location at each public entrance to the place of public accommodation, provided, however, it shall be an exception to this requirement that such refusal or expulsion was required by law (b) It shall not be unlawful for any person or any employee or agent thereof to deny any person entry to any restroom, shower room, bathhouse or similar facility which has been designated for use by persons of the opposite sex (c) It shall be a defense to prosecution for discrimination on the basis of disability under this division that the alleged discrimination resulted from a condition or structural feature for which a variance had been received from the Crty of Fort Worth. Sec 17-49 Investigation of alleged violations, filing complaint. (a) It is the intention of the city council that the human relations commission shall be the agency to receive and investigate all complaints of alleged violations of this division, and that such commission shall attempt to resolve such complaints by informal methods of conference, conciliation and persuasion. If the commission cannot resolve an alleged violation of this division, the director of the commission shall be authorized to request that a complaint be filed in municipal court. (b) If, following the execution of a written conciliation agreement between the commission and a party charged with a violation under this division, the director of the commission receives creditable evidence that gives him probable cause to believe that the party who has executed a conciliation agreement has violated the terms of this division after the conciliation agreement had been executed, the director of the commission shall be authorized to request that a complaint be filed thereon m municipal court. Sec 17-50 Effect of provisions on civil remedies. This division shall neither add to nor detract from any civil remedies now available to persons complaining of discrimination under this division. Sec 17-51 Penalty ,~ r yo .• d 7Y~i Any person violating any provision of this division shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished as provided m section 1-6 of this Code. SECTION 3 This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as amended, except where the provisions of this ordinance are m direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such Code, m which event conflicting provisions of such ordinances and such Code are hereby repealed. SECTION 4 It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared void, ineffective or unconstitutional by the vahd~udgment or decree of any court of competent~unsdiction, such voidness, ineffectiveness or unconstitutionality shall not effect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation m this ordinance of any such void, ineffective or unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. SECTION 5 All nghts and remedies of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, are expressly saved as to any and all violations of the provisions of the ordinances amended m Section 1 hereof, which have accrued at the time of the effective date of this ordinance and, as to such accrued violations and all pending litigation, both civil and cnmmal, whether pending in L ~ ~ I •. i ~ N ~ , ~7 court or not, under such ordinances, same shall not be affected by this ordinance but may be prosecuted until final disposition by the courts. SECTION 6 The City Secretary is hereby directed to publish the caption of this ordinance for two (2) days m the official newspaper of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, as authorized by Section 2, Chapter XXV of the Charter of the City of Fort Worth, Texas and by Section 52 013, Texas Local Government Code. SECTION 7 This ordinance shall be m effect the day after the last date of its publication. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY City orney Date i~.a'/o ~ /I__ ADOPTED ~''d a~ G~ ~ EFFECTIVE ~ QI ~~a City of Fort Worth, Texas A ar And Caunc~l C,a~»mun~cAt~an ~~ ~ DATE REFERENCE NUMBER LOG NAME PAGE 10/23/01 G-13415 07AGE 1 of 1 SUBJECT AMENDMENT OF THE PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS ORDINANCE TO INCLUDE AGE AND DISABILITY AS PROTECTED CLASSES RECOMMENDATION t It is recommended that the City Council accept the Human Relations Commission's recommendation to amend the Public Accommodations Ordinance to include age and disability as protected classes It is also requested that the City Council amend the public policy statement of the ordinance to include age DISCUSSION On April 24, 2001, the Human Relations Commission voted to recommend to the City Council an amendment of the Public Accommodations Ordinance to include age and disability as protected classes On August 28, 2001, the Human Relations Commission voted to recommend that age, in the context of age discrimination in places of public accommodation, shall mean age sixty-two Disabled citizens have appeared before the Human Relations Commission to describe incidents of discrimination in places of public accommodation Under the current ordinance, departmental staff cannot investigate or mediate these complaints Citizens are currently referred to the U S Department of Justice in Dallas for these services Older citizens and community groups representing older citizens have also expressed concerns relating to discriminatory treatment of aging citizens and the inappropriate targeting of senior citizens by some business owners There are currently no laws that protect older citizens against discrimination in places of public accommodation The public policy declaration of the ordinance describes the types of discrimination that are deemed detrimental to the peace, progress and welfare of the City With the adoption of this ordinance, age is now included in the declaration of policy FISCAL INFORMATION/CERTIFICATION The Finance Director certifies that this action will have no material effect on City funds JP k Submitted for City Manager's FUND ACCOUNT CENTER AMOUNT CITY SECRETARY Office by: (to) ~FPROVED Joe Paniagua 6140 ~'° { ~~~~ ®~~ " ~l~ Originating Department Head: ~ C T Vanessa Ruiz Boling 7534 (from) 23 2~~~ ~ ~"` ` Q"'"~J Additional Information Contact: Clty ~@CY@taxy Of tIl® Ci Vanessa Ruiz Boling 7534 ty of Fort Woxlh, T@xas„ Adopted Ord~rnan~ nlds`,-.~~~Z