Section 4-599. DEFINITIONS

 

599.1When used in this chapter, the following terms and phrases shall have the meaning ascribed:

 

Act - the Human Rights Act of 1977, effective December 13, 1977 (D.C. Law 2-38; D.C. Official Code § 2-1401.01 et seq.).

 

Age - between the ages of eighteen (18) and sixty-five (65), unless otherwise prohibited by law.

 

Breastfeed - to provide breast milk from a mother’s breast or to express breast milk into a container or bottle.

 

Child care facility - any establishment or business providing supervision and care of minors during the day or evening, with the exception of public or privately regulated schools.  The term child care facility also includes child develop centers as defined in D.C. Official Code § 4-401(2).

 

Color - skin pigmentation, including variations in skin pigmentation.

 

Disability - as defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, approved July 26, 1990 (104 Stat. 329; 42 U.S.C. § 12102).

 

Discrimination - the act of distinguishing, or setting apart, or showing a difference in treatment which operates to the disadvantage of a protected group without a valid business necessity.

 

Discriminatory practice - any direct or indirect exclusion, segregation, limitation, refusal, denial, or any other distinction or preference in the treatment of a person or persons because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, disability , matriculation, or political affiliation.

 

Employee - any individual employed by, in the past or present, or seeking employment from, an employer, including, but not limited to, an individual seeking membership in any professional association and a person seeking employment through an employment agency or labor organization.

 

Employer - any person who, for compensation, employs an individual, except for the employer’s parents, spouse, children or domestic servants engaged in work in and about the employer’s household; any person acting in the interest of such employer, directly or indirectly; and any professional association. The term employer also includes the District of Columbia government and its boards, commissions, departments, agencies, including the public school system.

 

Employment agency - any person regularly undertaking or attempting, with or without compensation, to procure employees for an employer or to procure for employees, opportunities to work for an employer, and includes an agent of such a person.

 

Family responsibilities - the state of being, or the potential to become, a contributor to the support of a person or persons in a dependent relationship, irrespective of their number or age.

 

Gender identity or expression - a gender-related identity, appearance, expression, or behavior of an individual, regardless of the individual’s assigned sex at birth.

 

Genetic information- information about the presence of any gene, chromosome, protein, or certain metabolites that indicate or confirm that an individual or an individual’s family member has a mutation or other genotype that is scientifically or medically believed to cause a disease, disorder, or syndrome, if the information is obtained from a genetic test.

 

Genetic test - an analysis of human chromosomes, genes, gene products, or genetic information that is used to identify the presence or absence of inherited or congenital alterations in genetic material that are associated with disease or illness. A genetic test shall not include a test for the presence of illegal drugs, routine physical measurements, or chemical, blood or urine analysis, unless conducted purposefully to obtain genetic information. A genetic test also does not include an analysis of proteins or metabolites that does not detect genotypes, mutations, or chromosomal changes, or an analysis of proteins or metabolites that is directly related to a manifested disease, disorder, or pathological condition that could be reasonably detected by a heath care professional with appropriate training and expertise in the field of medicine involved.

 

Health benefit plan - any accident and health insurance policy or certificate, hospital and medical services corporation contract, health maintenance organization subscriber contract, plan provided by a multiple employer welfare arrangement, or plan provided by another benefit arrangement. The term health care benefit plan does not mean accident only, credit, or disability insurance; coverage of Medicare services or federal employee benefit plans, pursuant to contracts with the United States government; Medicare supplemental or long-term care insurance; dental only or vision only insurance; specified disease insurance; hospital confinement indemnity coverage; limited benefit health coverage; coverage issued as supplemental to liability insurance; insurance arising out of workers compensation or similar law; automobile medical payment insurance; medical expense and loss of income benefits; insurance under which benefits are payable with or without regard to fault and that is statutorily required to be contained in any liability insurance policy or equivalent self-insurance; or life insurance.

 

Health insurer - any person that provides one or more health benefit plans or insurance in the District of Columbia, including an insurer, a hospital, a medical services corporation, a fraternal benefits society, a health maintenance organization, a multiple employer welfare arrangement, or any other person providing a plan of health insurance subject to the authority of the Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking.

 

Labor organization - any organization, agency, employee representation committee, group, association, or plan in which employees participate directly or indirectly; and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers or any agent thereof, concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours, or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment; any conference, general committee, joint or system board, or joint council that is subordinate to a national or international organization.

 

Marital status - the state of being married, in a domestic partnership, single, divorced, separated or widowed, and the usual conditions associated therewith, including pregnancy or parenthood.

 

Matriculation - the condition of being in a college or university; in a business, nursing, professional, secretarial, technical or vocational school; or in an adult educational program on a full- or part-time basis.

 

National origin - the state, country, or nation in which a person or his or her ancestors were born.

 

Person - any individual, firm, partnership, mutual company, joint stock company, corporation, association, organization, unincorporated organization, labor union, government agency, incorporated society, statutory or common law trust, estate, executor, administrator, receiver, trustee, conservator, liquidator, trustee in bankruptcy, committee, assignee, officer, employee, principal or agent, legal or personal representative, real estate broker or salesman, or any agent or representative of any of the foregoing.

 

Personal appearance - the outward appearance of any person, irrespective of sex, with regard to bodily condition or characteristics, manner or style of dress, and manner or style of personal grooming, including, but not limited to, hair style and beards. Personal appearance shall not relate, however, to the requirement of cleanliness, uniforms, or prescribed standards, when uniformly applied to a class of employees for a reasonable business purpose; or when such bodily conditions or characteristics, or style or manner of dress or personal grooming presents a danger to the health, welfare, or safety of any individual.

 

Political affiliation - the state of belonging to, or endorsing, any political party.

 

Protected classes - bases of unlawful discrimination prohibited by Title I of the Act.

 

Race - for the purpose of Title I of the Act, race is not limited to the state of being a member of a particular race, but also includes relationships with members of a different race, such as the race of a spouse or associate, where such relationship is the basis for discrimination.

 

Religion - a personal set or institutionalized system of attitudes, beliefs, and practices relating to a supernatural force or being, or its equivalent in secular faiths, including the presence or absence of commitment or devotion to any faith.  Religion includes moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong, which beliefs are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views.

 

Sex - the state of being male or female and conditions associated therewith. Sex includes the state of being a member of a sub-group of one sex, such as a pregnant female.

 

Sexual orientation - male or female homosexuality, heterosexuality, and bisexuality, by preference or practice.

 

Underwriting - with respect to a group health plan or health insurance coverage offered in connection with a group health plan, rules for, or determination of, eligibility (including enrollment and continued eligibility) for the benefits under the plan or coverage; the computation of premium or contribution amounts under the plan or coverage; the application of any pre-existing condition exclusion under the plan or coverage; and other activities related to the creation, renewal, or replacement of a contract of health insurance or health benefits.

 

source

Final Rulemaking published at 56 DCR 006029 (July 31, 2009).