Protections Under the D.C. Human Rights Law

Humans rights laws affect every person that lives on the planet when the country, state or location provides such rights to the citizens of the area, and these protect the individual from simple and complex discrimination. For the D.C. area, the law helps with housing, employment in various companies, public accommodations found in the location and even education.

Within the location of Washington D.C., a person has up to twenty different protected traits either in living, working or even visiting the areas of the District of Columbia. This Law provides safeties in housing discrimination so that the person may ensure he or she has a place to live or stay temporarily. Employment discrimination may decline with the legal changes ensuring fewer problems for each person seeking work. Other public accommodations and schooling may see a significant decline in discriminatory practices when the person has more protection in this area than in many states within the country.

The Protected Traits

Many of the traits a person has protection in are similar to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Civil Rights Act. However, these safeties in the D.C. area encompass a larger scope to ensure a better quality of life. The similar traits include race, color, religious affiliation, national origin, the gender of a person and age. Others that the EEOC encompass also protect those of various ages rather than only youth employment and family circumstances. Within D.C. the personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status and political affiliation all receive coverage through the legal protections.

The Traditional Traits Defined

Race and national origin are generally connected in some way. However, race is the ancestry or ethnicity of the person while national origin is where the person or his or her ancestors come from within the world. Color is the complexion or skin pigmentation of the individual. Religion and spiritual belief may associate the person with a faith or non-Christian creed. Both the original gender and gender association receive protection in this location along with any change in the initial gender to another at any point in the person’s life. Disability and age are not traditional in the past, but they are traditional with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the EEOC requirements.

The Newer Traits Defined

Marital status may encompass any type of status to include a domestic partnership and single for the employee. Personal appearance is both the outward appearance and how the individual looks while at work. However, the employer may place certain rules based on business attire. Sexual orientation is a newer standard trait to encompass anything under the rainbow and heterosexuality. Gender expression and identity are how the person behaves, views his or her gender and how he or she may change it at some point. Family responsibilities encompass children, parents, siblings and extended members of the family.

Political affiliation covers the support and belonging of the employee to a political party during his or her employment. Other aspects of disability include limitations to life activities, those infected with certain diseases and even employees living with HIV or AIDS.

Traits Protected in Certain Areas

While the standard and extended traits are part of the usual protections with both Title VII and the EEOC, there are other traits that only receive safety in certain areas. Some of these are in the D.C. location. Matriculation is for those in or enrolled in college, university or a secondary school of some sort. This is for housing, employment and even public accommodations. Familial status extends from the basic mother or father to a guardian and others that oversee someone under eighteen years of age. Genetic information is the protection against issues of DNA, family history and if the person will suffer from a certain disease or condition later. This also extends to other predispositions in genetics.