Title
An Ordinance amending and supplementing the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, Division 2, entitled "County Government Operations," Chapter 215, entitled "Boards, Commissions and Committees," through the creation of a new Article V, entitled "Human Relations Commission," in order to establish a Countywide nondiscrimination requirement in housing, employment, and other contexts, as well as to establish a formalized means of resolving disputes based on allegations of such discrimination.
Body
WHEREAS, Allegheny County has had a longstanding policy against discrimination, and this policy is incorporated into the Administrative Code of Allegheny County insofar as it relates to County employment, contract, and other activities;
WHEREAS, Allegheny County does not, however, currently have a human rights ordinance in effect to govern discriminatory practices outside the structure of the County government; and
WHEREAS, according to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, human relations commissions or their equivalents have already been established by the City of Allentown, the City of Harrisburg, the City and County of Lancaster, the City of Philadelphia, the City of Pittsburgh, the City of Reading and Berks County, and the City of York, in order to provide local administration of local antidiscrimination laws and dispute mediation in cases of alleged discrimination; and
WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court and Supreme Court have both explicitly found that local antidiscrimination ordinances are not preempted by the terms of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, 43 P.S. §§951-953; and
WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has explicitly found that local antidiscrimination ordinances are permissible exercises of local authority, and are not prohibited under the terms of the Home Rule Charter and Optional Plans Law, 53 P.S. §§2901-3171; and
WHEREAS, it is the judgment of Council that a locally administered mechanism fo...
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