Item O3
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
APPROVAL TO BE TIME CERTAIN
Meeting Date: October 17 - 18, 2001
Division:
District 1
Bulk Item: Yes
No
Department: Commissioner Dixie M. Spehar
AGENDA ITEM WORDING:
Approval of an ordinance defIning human rights, prohibiting violations of such rights, providing
remedies, amending classifIcations in the Fair Housing Article of the Monroe County Code and
providing for the repeal of all ordinances inconsistent with this Human Rights Ordinance.
ITEM BACKGROUND:
This ordinance reflects that of the City of Key West, which prohibits discrimination based on race,
color, sex, religion, disability, national origin, ancestry, and sexual orientation and adds the
classifIcations of familial status and age to it.
PREVIOUS REVELANT BOCC ACTION:
This ordinance is the extension of Article VI - Discrimination of the Monroe County Code, which
covers Fair Housing into the areas of employment, credit transactions, use of public accommodations
and accommodating religious beliefs, practices and observances.
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES:
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
TOTAL COST:
BUDGETED: Yes
No
COST TO COUNTY:
REVENUE PRODUCING: Yes
No
AMOUNT PER MONTH
Year
APPROVED BY: County Atty -L.. OMB/Purchasing _ Risk Management_
DIVISION DIRECTOR APPROVAL:
1-)"f'~' )h ~ tauJ
, e ommissioner Dixi M. Spehar)
DOCUMENTATION:
Included 1<
To Follow
Not Required
DISPOSITION:
AGENDA ITEM # /-~
Revised 2/27/01
Commissioner Dixie Spehar
ORDINANCE NO
- 2001
AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE
COUNTY, FLORIDA, DEFINING HUMAN RIGHTS, PROHIBITING
VIOLATIONS OF SUCH RIGHTS, PROVIDING REMEDIES, AMENDING
CLASSIFICATIONS IN FAIR HOUSING ARnCLE; PROVIDING FOR
SEVERABIUTY; PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF ALL ORDINANCES
INCONSISTENT HEREWITH; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION INTO THE
MONROE COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES; AND PROVIDING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY,
FLORIDA:
Chapter 13, Article VI, Monroe County Code shall be amended as follows:
ARTICLE VI. DISCRIMINATION
DIVISION 1.
Section 1. Sections 13-101 through 13-106 shall be created to read as follows:
Sec. 13-101. Title.
Sections 13-101 through 13-106 inclusive may be cited as the "Monroe County Human
Rights Ordinance."
Sec. 13-102. Definitions.
For purposes of sections 13-101 through 13-106 inclusive, the following words and terms
shall have the meaning ascribed thereto:
Bona fide occupational qualification means that an employer can demonstrate that a
particular characteristic or the absence thereof is reasonably necessary to the essence of the
employer's business and that all or substantially all persons with or without the characteristic (as
the case may be) are unable to perform the duties of the position in question.
Credit transaction means the grant, denial, extension or termination of credit to an
individual.
Disability means:
(1) A physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one (1) or more of a
person's major life activities;
(2) A record of such impairment; or
(3) The perception of having such an impairment.
The term does not include persons who have current, illegal use of or addiction to a controlled
substance as defined by Section 893.02, Aorida Statutes, as now enacted or hereinafter
amended. A disabled individual is "qualified" with respect to employment if such individual can
perform the essential functions of the job in question with reasonable accommodations. "Major
life activities" means functions such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking,
seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working. "Substantially limited" means likely to
experience difficulty in securing, retaining or advancing in employment because of a disability.
Employee means an individual who is engaged to work for or under the direction and
control of another for monetary or other valuable consideration.
Employer means any person employing fifteen (15) or more employees for each working
day in each of twenty (20) or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, and
any agent of such person, but such term does not include the United States or a corporation
wholly owned by the government of the United States.
Employment agency means a person that undertakes to procure employees or
opportunities to work for potential employees, either through interviews, referrals, advertising or
any combination thereof.
Familial status means the status of living alone or in any familial relationship
whatsoever, including, but not limited to, living _ with a partner, whether maintaining the legal
status of being single, married, divorced, separated or widowed, and whether the partner is same
sex or opposite sex, and of living with one (1) or more dependents, whether minor or disabled
children or parents.
Labor organization means any person which exists and is constituted for the purpose, in
whole or in part, of collective bargaining or of representing employees in dealing with employers
concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of-pay, hours or other terms or conditions of
employment.
Public accommodation means a place, business establishment or agency that sells,
leases, provides or offers any product, facility or service to the general public, regardless of
ownership or operation:
(1) Bya public body or agency;
(2) For or without regard to profit; or
(3) For a fee or not for a fee. An institution, club, association or other place of
accommodation which has more than one hundred (100) members, and provides regular meal
service and regularly receives payment for dues, fees, accommodations, facilities or services from
or on behalf of nonmembers for the furtherance of trade or business shall be considered a place
of public accommodation for purposes of this ordinance.
Person means any natural person, firm, corporation, labor organization, partnership or
other organization, association or group however organized.
Religion means all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief.
Sexual orientation means the actual or perceived state of heterosexuality,
homosexuality or bisexuality.
Sexual harassment means any unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors
or conduct of a sexual nature when:
(1) Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implidtly a term or
condition of an indiVidual's employment; or
(2) Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the
basis for any employment decision affecting the individual; or
(3) Such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's
work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.
Sec. 13-103. Prohibited conduct.
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(a) No person shall directly or indirectly discriminate against any individual in hiring,
classification, grading, discharge, discipline, compensation or other term or condition of
employment because of the individual's race, color, sex, religion, disability, national origin,
ancestry, sexual orientation, familial status or age. No employment agency shall directly or
indirectly discriminate against any individual in classification, processing, referral or
recommendation for employment because of the individual's race, color, sex, religion, disability,
national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, familial status, or age. The prohibitions contained in
this paragraph shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) Use of an individual's unfavorable discharge from military service as a valid
employment criterion where the affected position of employment involves the exercise of
fidudary responsibilities and the reasons for the unfavorable discharge relate to his or her
fidudary capacity.
(2) Hiring or selecting between individuals for bona fide occupational qualifications.
(3) Giving preferential treatment to veterans and their relatives as required by federal
or state law or regulation. .
(b) No employer, employee, agent of an employer, employment agency, or labor
organization shall engage in sexual harassment. An employer shall be liable for sexual
harassment by nonemployees or nonmanagerial and nonsupervisory employees only if the
employer becomes aware of the conduct and fails to take reasonable corrective measures.
(c) No employer shall refuse to make all reasonable efforts to accommodate the religious
beliefs, observances and practices of an employee unless the employer demonstrates that the
employer is unable to reasonably accommodate the employee's religious observance or practice
without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business. Reasonable efforts to
accommodate include, but are not limited to, allowing an employee:
(1) To take a day of paid leave or vacation, where applicable under the employee's
employment agreement; or
(2) To be excused from work without pay and without discipline or other penalty; or
(3) To elect to take the day off with pay in order to practice the employee's religious
beliefs, and to make up the lost work time within the same pay period of the employer at a
time and date consistent with the operational need of the employer's business.
Any employee who elects such deferred work shall be compensated at his or her regular rate of
pay, regardless of the time and date at which the work is made up. The employer may require
that any employee who plans to exercise option (3) of this subsection provide the employer with
notice of the employee's intention to do so, no less than ten (10) days prior to the date of
absence.
(d) No person shall discriminate against any individual in any aspect of any credit
transaction, or in any terms and conditions of bonding because of the individual's race, color, sex,
religion, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, familial status or age.
(e) No person who owns, leases, rents, operates, manages or In any manner controls a
public accommodation shall withhold, deny, curtail, limit or discriminate concerning the full use of
such public accommodation by any individual because of the individual's race, color, sex, religion,
disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, familial status or age. The prohibition
contained in this section, shall not apply to any facility, as to discrimination based on sex, which
is distinctly private in nature, such as restrooms, shower rooms, and dressing rooms.
(f) No person shall retaliate against any individual because that individual in good faith
has made a charge, testified, assisted or participated In an investigation, proceeding or hearing
under this ordinance.
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Sec. 13-104. Penalties; enforcement by civil action.
(a) Any person violating the provisions of the Monroe County Human Rights Ordinance
shall upon written citation be subject to the penalties provided in section 6.3-34 of the Monroe
County Code.
(b) The Monroe County Human Rights Ordinance may additionally be enforced by civil
action, including action for equitable relief, by any aggrieved person in a court of competent
jurisdiction.
Sec. 13-105. Nonwaivability.
Any written or oral agreement which purports to waive any proviSion of section 13-103 is
against public policy and void.
Sec. 13-106. Liberal construction; alternative remedies.
The provisions of this ordinance shall be liberally construed for the accomplishment of the
purpose hereof. Nothing in this ordinance shall be construed to limit rights granted under the laws
of the State of Florida or the United States. Nothing in this ordinance shall be construed to waive
the right of any person to file a charge with any agency with the authority to investigate or act
upon the complaint.
Section 2. Sec. 13-111 shall be amended to read as follows:
DIVISION 2. FAIR HOUSING
Sec. 13-111. Declaration of policy.
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the county in the exercise of its police power for
the public safety, public health and general welfare, to assure equal opportunity to obtain
adequate housing by all persons regardless of race, color, sex, religion, disability, national origin,
ancestry, placc af both physical haRdicap, sexual orientation. familial status. or aae, and to that
end, to eliminate discrimination in housing.
Section 3. Sec. 13-112(e) shall be amended to read:
(e) Discrimination means any difference in treatment based on race, color, sex,
religion, disabilitv, national origin, ancestry, haRdicap, placc af birth, sexual prdcrcRcc
orientation, familial status or aae.
Section 4. Sec. 13-115. Unlawful practices shall be amended to read as follows:
In connection with any of the transactions set forth in this section which affect any housing
operation on the open market, or in connection with any public sale, purchase, rental, or lease of
any housing accommodation, it shall be unlawful within the unincorporated areas of the county
for a person, owner, financial institution, real estate broker or real estate salesman, or any
representative of the above:
(1) To refuse to sell, purchase, rent or lease, or otherwise deny to or withhold any
housing accommodation from a person, or to evict a person because of his race, color, sex,
religion, disabilitv, a Rccstry, 5e*; placc of birth, haRdicap national origin, ancestry, sexual
pfCfcfCRCC orientation, familial status or age.
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(2) To discriminate against a person in the terms, conditions or privileges of the sale,
purchase, rental or lease of any housing accommodation, or in the furnishing of facilities or
services in connection therewith.
(3) To refuse to receive or transmit a bona fide offer to sell, purchase, rent or lease
any housing accommodation from or to a person because of race, color, sex, religion, disability,
ancestry, sa, plac€ af birth, hanEJicap national origin, ancestry, sexual preference orientation,
familial status or aae.
(4) To evict or to refuse to negotiate for the sale, purchase, rental or lease of any
housing accommodation to a person because of race, color, sex, religion, disability, aneestry, set,
place ef birth, handicap national origin, ancestry, sexual pFefefCnCe orientation, familial status or
age.
(5) To represent to a person that any housing accommodation is not available for
inspection, sale, purchase, rental or lease when in fact it is so available, or to refuse to permit a
person to inspect any housing accommodation because of his race, color, ~ religion, disability,
ancestry, sa, plae'E: af birth, handicap national origin, ancestrY, sexual preferenoc orientation,
familial status or age. when such dwelling is in fact available to persons who are financially
qualified.
(6) To make, publish, print, circulate, post or mail, or cause to be made, published,
printed, circulated, posted or mailed, any notice, statement or advertisement, or to announce a
policy, or to sign or to use a form of application for a sale, purchase, rental, lease or financing of
any housing accommodation, which indicates any discrimination or any intent to discriminate.
(7) To offer, solicit, accept or use a listing of any housing accommodation for sale,
purchase, rental or lease knowing that a person may be subjected to discrimination in connection
with such sale, purchase, rental or lease, or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection
therewith.
(8) To induce or discourage, or to attempt to induce or discourage:
a. The sale;
b. The purchase;
c. The rental;
d. The lease;
e. The listing for a, b, or d, above of any housing accommodations in an area by means of:
1. Causing panic;
2. Inciting unrest; or
3. Creating or playing upon fear, by representing that the presence or anticipated
presence in that area of persons of any particular race, color, ~, religion, disabilitv, ane'E:stry,
sa, place af birth, handicap national origin, ancestry, sexual flfCfefCAce orientation, familial
status or a<,;le. will or may result in:
(i) The lowering of property values in the area;
(ii) The increase in criminal or antisocial behavior in the area; or
(ili) A decline in the quality of the schools serving the area.
(9) For any bank, building and loan association, insurance company or other
corporation, association, firm or enterprise whose business consists in whole or in part in the
making of commercial real estate loans, to deny a loan or other financial assistance to a person
applying there for the purpose of purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing or maintaining a
dwelling, or to discriminate against him in the fixing of the amount, interest rate, duration, or
other terms or conditions of such loans or other financial assistance because of the race, color,
sex, religion, disabilitv, ancestry, 5e*; placc of birth, handicap national origin, ancestry, sexual
5
prefCFeflCC orientation, familial status or aae. of such person or of any person associated with him
in connection with such loan or other financial assistance or the purposes of such loan or other
financial assistance, or of the present or prospective owners, lessees, tenants, or occupants of the
dwelling or dwellings in relation to which such loan or other financial assistance is to be made or
given.
(10) To deny any person who is otherwise professionally qualified by state law access to,
or membership or participation in, any multiple listing service, real estate broker's organization,
or other service, organization or facility relating to the business of selling or renting dwellings, or
to discriminate against him in the terms or conditions of such access, membership, or
participation, on account of race, color, sex, religion, disability, a Acestry, 5e*;' place of birth,
haAdicap national origin, ancestry, sexual pfefcfeACe orientation, familial status or age.
Section 5. Sec. 13-115A shall be created to read as follows:
.
Sec. 13-115A
Exemption.
Nothing in Sec. 13-115 prohibits a religious organization, association, or society, or any nonprofit
institution or organization operated, supervised, or controlled by or in conjunction with a religious
organization, association, or society, from limiting the sale, rental, or occupancy of any dwelling
which it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose to persons of the same religion or
from giving preference to such person, unless membership in such religion is restricted on
account of race, color, or national origin.
Section 6. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or provision of this ordinance is
held invalid, the remainder of this ordinance shall not be affected by such invalidity.
Section 7. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with this ordinance are
hereby repealed to the extent of said conflict.
Section 8. The provisions of this ordinance shall be included and incorporated in the
Code of Ordinances of the County of Monroe, Florida, as an addition or amendment thereto, and
shall be appropriately renumbered to conform to the uniform numbering system of the Code.
Section 9. This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon receipt of official notice
from the Office of the Secretary of State of the State of Florida that this ordinance has been filed
with said Office.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County, Florida,
at a regular meeting of said Board held on the day of , 2001.
Mayor George Neugent
Commissioner Charles McCoy
Commissioner Murray Nelson
Commissioner Dixie Spehar
Commissioner Nora Williams
(SEAL)
Attest: DANNY L.KOLHAGE, Clerk
BOARD OF COUNlY COMMISSIONERS
OF MONROE COUNlY, FLORIDA
By
Deputy Clerk
By
Mayor/Chairperson
jdordhuman
6
I"'\^TI'
STONES & CARDENAS
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
221 SIMONTON STREET, KEY WEST, FL 33040
TELEPHONE (305) 294-0252 FAX (305) 292-5442
ADELE VIRGINIA STONES, P.A.
SUSAN M. CARDENAS, P.A.
October 3, 2001
Ms. Marlene Conaway, Planning Director
County of Monroe Growth Management
2798 Overseas Highway, Suite 400
Marathon, FL 33050
Re: Toppinos. Inc. / FLUM Amendment
Dear Ms. Conaway:
It is requested that the second public hearing on the Toppino's Map Amendment be tabled at the
October 17, 2001 meeting of the Board of County Commissioners.
Mr. Toppino has only recently been able to meet with the Commander of the Naval Air Station
to discuss the conflict between County Zoning and the United States Navy's AICUZ. It does not
appear that all questions and issues can be resolved prior to the meeting scheduled for the 17th.
By copy of this letter to Mr. Kolhage's Office, I will request that the request for tabling ofthis
item be presented to the Board of County Commissioners.
Sincerely,
#LL~
Adele V. Stones
A VS/cms
c: Danny Kolhage, Clerk of Court
client
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