On December 17, 2024, the D.C. City Council passed B25-3019, the Fairness in Human Rights Administration Amendment Act. If the Bill passes review by the Mayor and Congress, it will implement crucial reforms to the D.C. Human Rights Act that will better protect employees from discrimination and retaliation and help keep the DCHRA one of the strongest anti-discrimination measures in the nation. The Bill includes the following reforms to the DCHRA:
- Fix the election of remedies: B25-3019 will fix the current “election of remedies” feature of the DCHRA, by which complainants’ rights to bring DCHRA claims in court are extinguished after OHR makes a preliminary finding of cause or no cause. Complainants with a cause finding are stuck before the Commission on Human Rights, while Complainants with a no-cause finding have their rights under the DCHRA extinguished forever (unless the finding is reversed on appeal, in which case they can have their claims heard at the Commission). If passed, the Amendment Act will allow complainants to go to court after a no cause finding, OHR will be responsible for notifying Complainants of their right to go to court, and complainants with a cause finding can withdraw their complaint to go to court at any time up until 30 days after the close of discovery before the Commission on Human Rights.
- Increase the statute of limitations: B25-3019 will increase the statute of limitations for filing claims in court from one year to two years (note that the time for filing an administrative complaint will remain at one year). The limitations period will continue to be tolled while an administrative complaint is pending.
- Expand the definition of sexual harassment: The current definition of “sexual harassment” (as a subset of hostile work environment claims) in the DCHRA is narrow, covering quid quo pro harassment and “conduct of a sexual nature.” The Amendment Act will expand the definition of sexual harassment by replacing “conduct of a sexual nature” with harassing conduct “that is based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.” Passage of this definition will expand the class of DCHRA cases exempt from forced arbitration under the federal Ending Forced Arbitration in Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021.
- Authorize awards of compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees for D.C. government employees: Currently, DC government employees may not receive awards for emotional distress or attorneys’ fees before the Commission on Human Rights. B25-3019 will fix this flaw by expressly providing for such awards.
B25-3019 was co-sponsored by Councilmembers Nadeau, White, George, and Parker.