ORDINANCE
NO. 200837
Amending Chapter 38, Code of Ordinances, by repealing
Section 38-1, and enacting a new section of like number and subject matter, for
the purpose of prohibiting bans or restrictions on natural hair or hairstyles;
and establishing an effective date.
WHEREAS, the United States continues to struggle with
systematic and persistent forms of discrimination; and
WHEREAS, dating from the days of slavery and the
institutional oppression of Black people and their communities in the United
States, the natural hair types and natural hair styles commonly associated with
Black People have frequently been the focus of intentional as well as
unintended discrimination against those individuals, although natural hair
types and natural hairstyles commonly associated with Black people are an
extension of, and an intrinsic part of, their cultural identity; and
WHEREAS, discrimination can be explicit and implicit,
individual and structural, and can manifest through entrenched stereotypes and
biases, conscious and unconscious; and
WHEREAS, hair remains a rampant source of racial
discrimination with serious economic and health consequences, especially for
Black individuals; and
WHEREAS, grooming policies that prohibit natural hair,
including afros, braids, twists, and locs, have a disparate impact on Black
individuals as these policies are more likely to burden or punish Black
individuals than any other group; and
WHEREAS, bans or restrictions on natural hair or hairstyles
are often rooted in negative, lingering, cultural biases that frequently favor
hairstyles and hair types that more closely resemble Ethnocentric hair types
and hair styles and are based on white standards of appearance and perpetuate
racist stereotypes that Black hairstyles are unprofessional; and
WHEREAS, grooming or appearance policies that ban, limit,
or otherwise restrict natural hair types or natural hairstyles commonly
associated with Black people and their racial, ethnic, and cultural identities
violate the intent and spirit of Kansas City’s anti-discrimination regulations;
and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council have resolved through
Resolution No. 190679 that racism is a public health crises affecting our
entire society and has made a commitment to support the City of Kansas City’s
efforts to address racial inequities throughout the region and the City of
Kansas City, to advocate for relevant policies that improve health in
communities of color, and to support local, state and federal initiatives that
advance social justice; and
WHEREAS, the City of Kansas City aims to contribute to an
equitable city and region, where all residents – regardless of race, ethnicity,
and nativity – are treated equally, and it is the City of Kansas City’s
responsibility to address racism, including seeking solutions to reshape the
discourse and actively engage all citizens in racial justice work; and
WHEREAS, hair discrimination targeting hairstyles
associated with race is racial discrimination; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
Section 1. Chapter 38 is hereby amended by repealing
Section 38-1, Definitions, and enacting in their place new sections of like
numbers and subject matter, to read as follows:
Sec.
38-1. Definitions.
(a) The
following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the
meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly
indicates a different meaning or an alternative definition has been provided:
(1)
Age means an age of
40 or more years, except that it shall not be an unlawful employment practice
for an employer to require the compulsory retirement of any person who has
attained the age of 85 and who, for the two-year period immediately before
retirement, is employed in a bona fide executive or high policymaking position,
if such person is entitled to an immediate nonforfeitable annual retirement
benefit from a pension, profit sharing, savings or deferred compensation plan,
or any combination of such plans, of the employer, which equals, in the aggregate,
at least $344,000.00.
(2)
Applicant means any
person applying for employment with an employer located in Kansas City,
Missouri.
(3)
City means the City
of Kansas City, Missouri.
(4)
Commission means the city
human rights commission.
(5)
Complainant means any
person claiming injury by the alleged violation of RSMo ch. 213, or of this
chapter, including persons who believe they will be injured by an unlawful
discriminatory practice that is about to occur.
(6) Complaint
means a verified written statement of facts and circumstances, including dates,
times, places and names of persons involved in any alleged violation of any
provision of RSMo ch. 213, or of this chapter.
(7) Contract
means any contract to which the city shall be a contracting party, except the
following:
a. Personal
services contracts.
b. Emergency
requisitions for goods, supplies or services.
c. Impressed
accounts in the nature of petty cash funds.
d. Contract
or lease, the cost of which will not exceed $300,000.00.
(8) Covered
multifamily dwelling means a building consisting of four or more units if
the building has one or more elevators or a ground floor unit in a building
consisting of four or more units.
(9) Criminal
history means a record of a conviction, or a plea of guilty or no contest,
to a violation of a federal or state criminal statute or municipal ordinance;
records of arrests not followed by a valid conviction; convictions which have
been, pursuant to law, annulled or expunged; pleas of guilty without
conviction; convictions for which a person received a suspended impositions of
sentence; and misdemeanor convictions where no jail sentence can be imposed.
(10) Department
means the department of human relations.
(11) Director
means the director of the human relations department or their delegate.
(12) Disability
means with respect to employment, a person who is otherwise qualified and who,
with reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job
in question. Generally, a person with a disability is any person who:
a. Has
a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major
life activities;
b. Has
a record of having such impairment; or
c. Is
regarded as having such an impairment.
(13) Dwelling
means any building, structure or portion thereof which is occupied as, or
designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one or more families, and
any vacant land which is offered for sale or lease for the construction or
location thereon of any such building, structure or portion thereof.
(14) Employee
means any individual employed by an employer, but does not include an
individual employed by his parents, spouse or child or any individual employed
to render services as a domestic in the home of the employer.
(15) Employer
includes any person employing six or more employees.
(16) Employment
means any occupation, vocation, job, or work, including but not limited to
temporary and seasonal work, part-time work, contracted work, contingent work,
work on commission, and work through the services of a temporary or other
employment agency for which the applicant is to receive wages or a salary.
Employment does not include work as an independent contractor.
(17) Employment
agency means any person, agency or organization, regularly undertaking,
with or without compensation, to procure opportunities for employment or to
procure, recruit, refer or place employees.
(18) Familial
status means one or more individuals, who have not attained the age of 18
years, being domiciled with:
a. A
parent or another person having legal custody of such individual or
individuals; or
b. The
designee of such parent or other person having such custody, with the written
permission of such parent or other person. The protection afforded against
discrimination on the basis of familial status shall apply to any person who is
pregnant or is in the process of securing legal custody of any individual who
has not attained the age of 18 years. No provision in this chapter regarding
familial status shall apply to housing for older persons, as defined in section
3607 of title 42 of the United States Code Annotated.
(19) Family
includes a single individual.
(20) Franchise
holder means any individual, partnership, corporation, association or other
entity, or any combination of such entities, holding a franchise hereafter
granted or renewed by the city.
(21) Gender
identity means the actual or perceived appearance, expression, identity or
behavior of a person as being male or female, whether or not that appearance,
expression, identity or behavior is different from that traditionally
associated with the person's designated sex at birth.
(22) Inquire
means to communicate any question or statement to an applicant, an applicant's
current or prior employers, or a current or former employee or agent of the
applicant's current or prior employer, in writing or otherwise, for the purpose
of obtaining an applicant's salary history, or to conduct a search of publicly
available records or reports for the purpose of obtaining an applicant's salary
history, but does not include informing the applicant in writing or otherwise
about the position's proposed or anticipated salary or salary range.
(23) Labor
organization means any organization which exists for the purpose in whole
or in part of collective bargaining or for dealing with employers concerning
grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or for other mutual aid or
protection in relation to employment.
(24) Performance
of work means the furnishing of any personal service, labor, materials or
equipment used in the fulfillment of a contractor's obligation under a city
contract.
(25) Person
includes one or more individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations,
labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint stock
companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees in
bankruptcy, receivers, fiduciaries and other organizations; except the term
"person" does not include any local, state or federal governmental
entity.
(26) Prohibited
dress code means a set of rules governing, prohibiting or limiting access
to a place or business, or portion thereof, defined herein as a "public
accommodation" because of any of the following:
a. The
wearing of jewelry, the manner in which jewelry is worn or the combination of
items of jewelry worn,
b. The
wearing of a garment or headdress which is generally associated with specific
religions, national origins or ancestry,
c. The
length of the sleeve of a shirt or the leg of a pair of pants or shorts is too
long, except that nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit a dress code
that requires the wearing of a shirt,
d. The
style, cut or length of a hair style,
e. The
colors of the garments,
f. In
conjunction with a major Kansas City sporting event, the wearing of athletic
apparel which displays either a number, a professional or college team name or
the name of a player;
g. The
wearing of tee-shirts, except that nothing herein shall be construed to
prohibit a dress code that requires such tee-shirts to have sleeves, or to
prohibit a dress code that does not allow undershirts, undergarments, or
tee-shirts of an inappropriate length. Designer tee-shirts, which are fitted
and neat, cannot be banned.
(27) Protective
hairstyles shall include, but not be limited to, such hairstyles as braids,
locks, and twists.
(28) Public
accommodation means any place or business offering or holding out to the
general public goods, services, privileges, facilities, advantages or
accommodations for the peace, comfort, health, welfare and safety of the
general public, or providing food, drink, shelter, recreation or amusement,
including but not limited to:
a. Any
inn, hotel, motel or other establishment which provides lodging to transient
guests, other than an establishment located within a building which contains
not more than five rooms for rent or hire and which is actually occupied by the
proprietor of such establishment as his residence.
b. Any
restaurant, tavern, cafeteria, lunchroom, lunch counter, soda fountain or other
facility principally engaged in selling food for consumption on the premises,
including but not limited to any such facility located on the premises of any
retail establishment.
c. Any
gasoline station, including all facilities located on the premises of such
gasoline station and made available to the patrons thereof.
d. Any
motion picture house, theater, concert hall, sports arena, stadium or other
place of exhibition or entertainment.
e. Any
public facility owned, operated or managed by or on behalf of this city or any
agency or subdivision thereof, or any public corporation; and any such facility
supported in whole or in part by public funds.
f. Any
establishment which is physically located within the premises of any
establishment otherwise covered by this definition or within the premises in
which is physically located any such covered establishment, and which holds
itself out as serving patrons of such covered establishment.
g. Any
institution, association, club or other entity that has over 250 members,
provides regular meal service, and regularly receives payment for meals,
beverages, dues, fees, the use of its facilities or services directly or
indirectly from or on behalf of nonmembers in furtherance of trade or business.
(29) Race
is inclusive of traits historically associated with race including, but not
limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles.
(30) Redevelopment
area means a tax increment redevelopment area as defined in RSMo §
99.805(11); a planned industrial expansion project area as defined in RSMo §
100.300 et seq.; an urban renewal project area or land clearance project area
as defined in RSMo § 99.300 et seq.; any area under the control of the port
authority of the city, or subject to a contract, lease or other instrument to
which the port authority is a party; or an area determined by the city to be
blighted pursuant to RSMo ch. 353.
(31) Rent
means to lease, sublease, let or otherwise grant for a consideration the right
to occupy premises not owned by the occupant.
(32) Respondent
means any person against whom it shall be alleged by complaint or identified
during the course of an investigation that such person has violated, is
violating or is about to violate any provision of RSMo ch. 213, or this
chapter.
(33) Salary
history means the applicant's current or prior wages, benefits, or other
compensation. "Salary history" does not include any objective measure
of the applicant's productivity, such as revenue, sales, or other production
reports.
(34) Sex
shall include sexual harassment.
(35) Sexual
orientation means actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality or
bisexuality.
(36) Subcontractor
means any individual, partnership, corporation, association or other entity, or
other combination of such entities, which shall undertake, by virtue of a
separate contract with a contractor, to fulfill all or any part of any
contractor's obligation under a contract with the city, or who shall exercise
any right granted to a franchise holder, and who has 50 or more employees
exclusive of the parents, spouse or children or such subcontractor.
(37) Unlawful
discriminatory practice means any discriminatory practice as defined and
prohibited by sections 38-103, 38-105, 38-107, 38-109, 38-111 and 38-113.
Section 2.
This ordinance shall be effective November 1, 2020.
_________________________________________
Approved
as to form and legality:
________________________
________________________________
Dustin
E. Johnson
Assistant
City Attorney