A City Council committee last week unanimously approved a measure that would strengthen the city’s LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination law.
The Law and Government Committee voted Feb. 24 to approve Councilman Bill Greenlee’s bill that would create uniform definitions throughout the Fair Practices Ordinance and heighten the penalties associated with violations.
The bill was scheduled to come up for its first reading before the full City Council on March 3, and Greenlee said he expects it to receive final approval at the March 10 meeting.
Greenlee said that while he expected full support for the bill in committee, it was “still nice to see it happen like it did.”
“There was no opposition, and I don’t see why there should be,” he said. “Bigots would be the only people against this. This is just basic antidiscrimination and fair practices — that speaks for itself.”
If adopted, the measure would raise the fines for discriminatory practices from $300 to a maximum of $2,000, and would also facilitate the process for same-sex couples to register as domestic partners, lessening the time they need to be in an interdependent relationship and the number of documents needed to verify that relationship.
Prior to the vote last week, the committee heard testimony from the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, which enforces the Fair Practices Ordinance, as well as Equality Pennsylvania, the Women’s Law Project, Women Against Abuse and Community Legal Services.
Rue Landau, executive director of the PCHR, testified that Greenlee’s bill is the “result of an extensive review” of the law, originally adopted in 1951. While the measure has undergone significant changes since its implementation — such as the incorporation of sexual orientation and gender identity as classes protected from discrimination — such changes were at times piecemeal, necessitating a complete overhaul of the law to ensure the language is internally consistent and also uniform with state and federal laws.
In addition to heightening the fines, the new bill would also enable the PCHR to order the granting of punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and hearing costs, which the state and federal nondiscrimination laws currently allow.
The bolstering of the commission’s ability to enforce the law is especially significant for LGBTs, Landau said.
“Having a civil-rights agency with more limited administrative remedies than its state and federal counterparts hurts all Philadelphians. But it particularly harms the LGBT community because state and federal law do not recognize sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories from discrimination,” she testified. “As a result, members of the LGBT community have no other place to turn if they experience discrimination based upon their sexual orientation or gender identity. While other Philadelphians can go to the state or federal government for relief, members of the LGBT community must either accept the limited remedies in the current ordinance or receive nothing at all.”
Landau told the councilmembers that the changes proposed to the law can have far-reaching results.
“They will make Philadelphia a better place to live, work and visit, while also bringing additional revenue to the city,” she said. “The entire commission looks forward to enforcing the new Fair Practices Ordinance when it becomes law.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].