Follow us on LinkedIn to see future News.
May 29, 2024
Effective July 1, 2024, Virginia has amended its Human Rights Act to make it unlawful for an employer to fail or refuse to hire, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to such individual’s compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of such individual’s race; color; religion; sex; sexual orientation; gender identity; marital status; pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, including lactation; age; military status; disability; or ethnic or national origin.
In addition, it will be unlawful for an employer to limit, segregate, or classify employees or applicants for employment in any way that would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect an individual’s status as an employee, because of such individual’s race; color; religion; sex; sexual orientation; gender identity; marital status; pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, including lactation; age; military status; disability; or ethnic or national origin.
Neither “ethnic origin” nor “ethnicity” is defined in the bill. The term “national origin,” also not defined in the new law, refers to the country where a person was born, or, more broadly, the country from which their ancestors came. See Espinoza v. Farah Mfg. Co., 414 U.S. 86, 88 (1973). No single accepted definition of ethnicity exists, but “under a broad definition, ethnicity refers to physical and cultural characteristics that make a social group distinctive.” Juan F. Perea, Ethnicity and the Constitution: Beyond the Black and White Binary Constitution, 36 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 571, 5757 (1995).
Employers: If you have not already done so, update your employment policies and practices to account for the addition of ethnic origin to the Virginia Human Rights Act.
The author of this article, Benjamin S. Levine, is a member of the Bars of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.
