Title 2, Government Administration.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it shall not be an unlawful practice for a motor vehicle rental company to fail or refuse to rent a motor vehicle, or to impose differential terms and conditions upon the rental of a motor vehicle, based on the age of any perso…

Except as otherwise provided for by District law or when otherwise lawfully and reasonably permitted, it shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for a District government agency or office to limit or refuse to provide any facility, service, program, or benefit to any individ…

(a) The Council finds that: (1) The encouragement of a public acceptance of breastfeeding is consistent with the promotion of family values between a mother and her child and no mother should be made to feel incriminated or socially ostracized for breastfeeding her child. (2) Bre…

(a) For the purposes of this section, the term: (1) “Reasonable efforts” means any effort that would not impose an undue hardship on the operation of an employer’s business. (2) “Undue hardship” means any action that requires significant difficulty or expense when considered in r…

The Department of Health shall monitor breastfeeding rates in the District of Columbia, the number and nature of complaints regarding violations of this part received by the Office of Human Rights, and any benefits reported by working breastfeeding mothers and employers to the De…

(a) The activities of the Office and the Commission, under the provisions of this chapter, shall be considered investigations or examinations of municipal matters, within the meaning of § 5-1021; and the Commission, the individual members thereof, and the Director, shall possess …

Nothing in the provisions of this chapter is deemed to relieve any agency or authority of the government of the District of its obligation to take immediate and independent action regarding a matter filed with it, in accord with its jurisdiction, that also may be the subject of a…

(a) The Mayor shall establish rules of procedure for the investigation, conciliation, and hearing of administrative complaints filed against District government agencies, officials and employees alleging violations of this chapter. The final administrative determination in such m…

(a) Any person or organization, whether or not an aggrieved party, may file with the Office a complaint of a violation of the provisions of this chapter, including a complaint of general discrimination, unrelated to a specific person or instance. The complaint shall state the nam…

(a) With the exception of complaints alleging unlawful discrimination in residential real estate transactions brought pursuant to this chapter or the FHA, the Office shall serve, within 15 days of said filing, a copy thereof upon the respondent, and upon all persons it deems to b…

(a) If, in the judgment of the Office, the circumstances so warrant, it may, at any time after the filing of the complaint, endeavor to eliminate such unlawful discriminatory practice by conference, conciliation, or persuasion. (b) If the Office determines that there exists proba…

If, at any time after a complaint has been filed, the Office believes that appropriate civil action to preserve the status quo or to prevent irreparable harm appears advisable, the Office shall certify the matter to the Corporation Counsel, who shall bring, in the name of the Dis…

If a finding of probable cause has been made, as to a complaint of discrimination in housing, and the property owner, or his duly authorized agent, will not agree voluntarily to withhold from the market the subject housing accommodations for a period of 10 days from the date of s…

In all cases where the Office is required to effect service, it shall be accomplished by regular, registered, or certified mail, return receipt requested, by electronic mail, or by personal service and shall otherwise be in accordance with rules of the Office regarding service an…

In case of failure of conciliation efforts, or in advance of conciliation efforts, as determined by the Office, and after a finding of probable cause, the Office shall cause to be issued and served in the name of the Commission, a written notice, together with a copy of the compl…

(a) After a complaint has been noticed for hearing, a hearing tribunal consisting of 3 members of the Commission, sitting as the Commission, shall be appointed to make a determination upon such complaint. At the discretion of the Commission, 1 or more hearing examiners may be del…

(a) The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with procedures promulgated pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (§ 2-501 et seq.). (b) The case in support of the complaint shall be presented by an agent or attorney of the Office. (c) Any Commissioner or hearing examiner…

(a)(1) If, at the conclusion of the hearing, the Commission determines that a respondent has engaged in an unlawful discriminatory practice or has otherwise violated the provisions of this chapter, the Commission shall issue, and cause to be served upon such respondent, a decisio…

Any person suffering a legal wrong, or adversely affected or aggrieved by an order or decision of the Commission in a matter pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, is entitled to a judicial review thereof, in accordance with § 2-510, upon filing, in the District of Columbia …

(a) The decision and order of the Commission shall be served on the respondent, with notice that, if the Commission determines that the respondent has not, after 30 calendar days following service of its order, corrected the unlawful discriminatory practice and complied with the …

(a) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory practice shall have a cause of action in any court of competent jurisdiction for damages and such other remedies as may be appropriate, unless such person has filed a complaint hereunder; provided, that where t…

(a) Whenever it appears that the holder of a permit, license, franchise, benefit, or advantage issued by any agency or authority of the government of the District is a person against whom the Office has made a finding of probable cause pursuant to § 2-1403.05, the Office, notwith…

There is hereby established, in the Executive Branch of the District government, a Commission on Human Rights.

The Commission shall serve as an impartial forum for the hearing and deciding of cases of unlawful discrimination in employment, real estate transactions, public accommodations, or educational institutions. The Commission shall hear such cases following a determination by the Off…

(a) The Commission shall consist of 15 members, appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council, in accordance with § 1-523.01. (b) The Commission members shall be residents of the District of Columbia who have a demonstrated background or interest in human rights. (c) The Co…

(a) At the initial meeting of each year, the Commission shall determine its organization and name its officers, other than the Chairperson. The officers serving on December 7, 2004, shall serve until the initial meeting of the following year. (b) The Commission shall meet at the …

(a) Pursuant to § 1-204.04(b), there is hereby established, in the Executive Branch of the government of the District of Columbia, an Office of Human Rights under the supervision of a Director, who shall carry out the functions and authorities assigned to the Office. The Office o…

The purpose of the Office is to secure an end to unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and educational institutions for any reason other than that of individual merit. The Office shall seek to eradicate discrimination on the basis of race, color, …

The functions of the Office shall be to: (1) Educate the public, including District residents and employers, about Unit A of this chapter (“Human Rights Act”); (2) Undertake investigations and public hearings on racial, religious, or ethnic group tensions, prejudice, intolerance,…

All positions, personnel, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds available or to be made available to the Department of Human Rights and Local Business Development for the human rights functions set out in Reorganization Plan No…

(a) There are hereby established the following 5 primary organizational functions in the Office: (1) The Office of the Director, which sets overall policy and performance targets for the Office, supervises and evaluates staff, administers the budget, and promotes conciliation aft…

Pursuant to § 1-204.04(b), the Council hereby abolishes the Department of Human Rights and Local Business Development, established under Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1989, effective November 1, 1989. The Department of Human Rights and Local Business Development is abolished as of…

For the purposes of this unit, the term: (1) “ADA” means the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, approved July 26, 1990 (104 Stat. 327; 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.). (2) “ADA Compliance Program” means the program established by § 2-1431.02. (3) “Agency” means all agencies and …

(a) All agencies shall: (1) Appoint an agency ADA Coordinator in accordance with 28 C.F.R. Part 35; (2) Complete an annual ADA self-evaluation to determine the status of ADA compliance; (3) Prepare an annual ADA implementation plan stating action to be taken to provide qualified …

(a) There is established an Office of Disability Rights. (b) The purpose of the Office is to advance the civil rights of people with disabilities by coordinating the District’s ADA Compliance Program and by ensuring and overseeing District-wide compliance with the ADA and related…

The Office shall: (1) Coordinate and oversee the District’s ADA Compliance Program; (2) Provide ongoing training and technical assistance to agency ADA coordinators; (3) Provide ongoing training, technical assistance and community resource referrals to agencies to ensure that age…

(a) Agencies shall make all ADA plans and reports required under this unit available on their websites and shall provide copies to the public upon request. (b) The Office shall make all plans and reports required under this unit available on its website and shall provide copies t…

(a) As of October 1, 2008, the Mayor shall transfer to the Office all functions and records of the Mayor’s Committee on Persons with Disabilities. (b) The Mayor’s Committee on Persons with Disabilities shall serve in an advisory capacity to the Office and shall be actively involv…

All functions, personnel, records, and property assigned to the Office of Risk Management under section IV(B)(1) of Mayor’s Order 2006-58, issued May 23, 2006 (53 DCR 5314 ), shall be transferred to the Office of Disability Rights. This section shall apply 30 days after the date …

(a) The Mayor shall promulgate rules as necessary to implement the provisions of this unit. The proposed rules shall be submitted to the Council for a 30-day period of review, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and days of Council recess. If the Council does not approve or disapprove …

As used in this subchapter, the term: (1) “Youth” means those residents of the District of Columbia between the ages of 13 and 17, inclusive. (2) “Children” means those residents of the District of Columbia ages 12 and under. (3) “Neighborhood planning council” means the structur…

It is the purpose of this subchapter to: (1) Promote and support programs for children and youth in existing agencies of the District of Columbia government; (2) Reorganize the current pattern of programs and services for children and youth offered through the Office of Youth Adv…

(a) The Commissioner’s Order No. 70-93 (approved March 17, 1970) establishing the Office of Youth Opportunity Services, is hereby repealed and that Office is hereby abolished. All of the powers, duties, and functions assigned to that Office under any provision of law are hereby t…

(a) There shall be 2 neighborhood planning councils in each election ward established pursuant to § 1-1011.01. The Mayor, by rulemaking, shall draw boundaries for neighborhood planning councils, after each decennial census, so that they are approximately equal in population. (b)(…

(a) There is hereby established in the executive branch an Office of Youth Advocacy which shall perform a planning, review and evaluation function for all programs operated by the District of Columbia government impacting on children and youth, including employment, health, couns…

The Director of the Office shall: (1) Systematically review and evaluate the full array of programs operated by the District of Columbia impacting on children and youth, as specified in § 2-1504(a); (2) Plan and develop demonstration youth programs for transfer to other operating…