By Mike Sunnucks | Rose Law Group Reporter
The Scottsdale City Council will hold a work study session on March 23 on updates to the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance.
The proposed ordinance outlines protected classes of people and adds a section on harassment — including social media and text messages and email communications.
The ordinance applies to elected officials, contractors, volunteers and city staff.
The ordinance prohibits discrimination “based on actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.”
Mesa just updated its anti-discrimination ordinance to include LGBT protections.
Here is the proposed language Scottsdale is considering when it comes to harassment:
“Harassment based on any protected characteristic is strictly prohibited. Under this policy, harassment is verbal, written or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual because of actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity. Harassing conduct includes epithets, slurs or negative stereotyping; threatening, intimidating or hostile acts; denigrating jokes; and written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual or group that is placed on walls or elsewhere on the employer’s premises or circulated or posted in the workplace by e-mail, phone (including voice messages), text messages, social networking sites or other means.”
