Irvine Municipal Code Ch. 1 General Provisions

It is the intent of the City Council, in enacting this division, to secure an end in the City of Irvine to discrimination for any reason other than that of individual merit, including, but not limited to, discrimination by reason of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status and physical handicap. It is also the intent of the City Council to establish certain affirmative policies for the conduct of the City's affairs insofar as human rights are concerned.

(Code 1976, § III.I-101; Ord. No. 88-18, § 1, 7-12-88; Initiative Ord. No. 89-1, § 4.a, 11-7-89)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 89-1 was adopted by the voters as an initiative measure at an election held Nov. 7, 1989, effective Nov. 24, 1989.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this division, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Age means 18 years of age or older, except as otherwise provided by law.

Educational institution means any private institution including an academy, college, elementary or secondary school, extension course, kindergarten, nursery, school system or university; and a business, nursing, professional, secretarial, technical, or vocational school; and includes an agent of an educational institution.

Employee means any individual employed by or seeking employment from an employer.

Employer means any person who, for compensation, employs five or more individuals, not including the employer's parent, spouse or children; any person acting on behalf of an employer, directly or indirectly.

Employment agency means 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.

Labor organization means 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; and any conference, general committee, joint or system board, or joint council, which is subordinate to a national or international organization.

Owner means one of the following:

A. Any person, or any one of a number of persons in whom is vested all or any part of the legal or equitable ownership, dominion, or title to any real property;

B. The committee, conservator, or any other legal guardian of a person who for any reason is non sui juris, in whom is vested the legal or equitable ownership, dominion or title to any real property; or

C. A trustee, elected or appointed or required by law to execute a trust, other than a trustee under a deed of trust to secure the payment of money; or one who, as agent of, or fiduciary, or officer appointed by the court for the estate of the person defined in Subparagraph A of this paragraph shall have charge, care or control of any real property.

The term "owner" shall also include the lessee, the sublessee, assignee, managing agent, or other person having the right of ownership or possession of, or the right to sell, rent or lease, any real property.

Person means any individual, firm, partnership, mutual company, joint stock company, corporation, association, organization, unincorporated organization, labor union, government agency, incorporated society, statutory organization, 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 salesperson or any agent or representative of any of the foregoing.

Physical handicap means a bodily or mental disablement which may be the result of injury, illness or congenital condition for which reasonable accommodation can be made; but not including bodily or mental disablement due to drug abuse or alcoholism, or temporary disabilities due to physical injury or illness.

Place of public accommodation includes inns, taverns, hotels, motels, restaurants, wholesale and retail stores and establishments dealing with goods or services of any kind, banks, savings and loan associations, and other financial institutions; credit information bureaus; insurance companies; dispensaries, clinics and hospitals; swimming pools; laundries and cleaning establishments; barbershops and beauty parlors; theaters, amusement and recreation parks and facilities; trailer camps; garages; all public conveyances; public halls and public elevators. Such term shall not include any institution, club, or place of accommodation which is in its nature distinctly private.

Sexual orientation means heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality.

Transaction in real property means the exhibiting, listing, advertising, negotiating, agreeing to transfer or transferring, whether by sale, lease, sublease, rent, assignment or other agreement, any interest in real property or improvements thereon, including, but not limited to, leaseholds and other real chattels.

Unlawful discriminatory practice means those discriminatory practices which are so specified in Chapter 2 of this division.

(Code 1976, § III.I-102; Ord. No. 88-18, § 1, 7-12-88)

A. Any practice which has a discriminatory effect and which would otherwise be prohibited by this division shall not be deemed unlawful if it can be established that such practice is not intentionally devised or operated to contravene the prohibitions of this division and can be justified by a valid business purpose. A valid business purpose shall not be based upon the comparative characteristics of one group as opposed to another, the stereotyped characterization of one group as opposed to another, and the preferences of coworkers, employers, customers or any other person.

B. Religious organizations shall be exempt from the provisions of this division to the extent permitted by law.

C. Nothing contained in this division shall be construed to prohibit promotional activities designed primarily to encourage participation by protected groups such as senior citizens discounts, ladies' nights and other similar practices unless otherwise prohibited by law.

D. It shall not be deemed to be an unlawful discriminatory practice to refuse to rent or lease a portion of an owner-occupied dwelling unit to a person as a roomer or boarder.

E. It shall not be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to observe the conditions of a bona fide seniority system or a bona fide employee benefit system such as a retirement, pension or insurance plan which is not a subterfuge to evade the purposes of this division; except that no such employee seniority system or benefit plan shall excuse the failure to hire any individual.

F. It shall not be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an owner to limit occupancy of a building or mobile home park to tenants on the basis of age in accordance with the laws of the State of California.

G. Prohibited discriminatory practice does not include acts based on a person's marital status which are reasonably taken in recognition of the community property laws of this State as to the acquiring, financing, holding or transferring of real property.

H. It shall not be an unlawful discriminatory practice to limit attendance to classes or programs conducted by an educational institution based upon a valid educational objective or purpose.

I. It shall not be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person to carry out an affirmative action plan. An affirmative action plan is any plan devised to effectuate remedial or corrective action in response to past discriminatory practices prohibited under this division and may also include those plans devised to provide preferential treatment for a class or classes of persons, which preferential treatment by class would otherwise be prohibited by this division and which plan is not devised to contravene the intent of this division.

(Code 1976, § III.I-103; Ord. No. 88-18, § 1, 7-12-88)