10154-12 Amend Code Various Sections Article 9, Chapter 2 New Provisions Addressing Gender Identiy and Sexual Orientation

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Ordinance No. (1) The Commission shall state its finding of fact after a hearing, and, if the Commission finds a person has engaged in an unlawful discriminatory practice, it may cause to be served on such person an order requiring such person to cease and desist from the unlawful discriminatory practice and requiring such person to take further affirmative action as will effectuate the purposes of this article, including but not limited to the power to restore charging party's losses incurred as a result of discriminatory treatment, as the Commission may deem necessary to assure justice. The Commission may require the posting of notice setting forth the public policy of Indiana concerning civil rights and the respondent's compliance with said policy in places of public accommodations; and it may require proof of compliance to be filed by the respondent at periodic intervals. (A) Except in housing cases which are separately treated in sub -part (C) of this section, the Commission may impose a penalty upon any respondent of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) for the first and second violation of this article within a five -year period, and may further impose a penalty of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) for three (3) or more violations of this article within a five -year period. (B) When applied to discrimination in employment, the Commission shall also have power, to the extent consistent with state law , to restore charging party's losses by awarding damages including wages, salary, commissions, fringe benefits in an amount not to exceed that lost over a two -year period. For discrimination in employment and housing, the Commission shall also have the power, to the extent consistent with state law, to award damages which will compensate charging party for future pecuniary loss, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and other non - pecuniary losses, costs and attorney fees. (C) To vindicate the public interest in cases of housing discrimination, the Commission may assess a civil penalty of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) for each commission of a discriminatory housing practice. (D) The Commission may sue to recover a civil penalty due under this section. [P.L. 66- 1990, § 2.] (2) Judicial review of any decision of the Commission as referred to in this article may be obtained under IC 4- 21.5 -1 in the same manner as if the decision was that of a State agency. However, only in those cases involving discriminatory housing practices as prohibited by this Chapter, a complainant, a respondent, or an aggrieved person on whose behalf the complaint was filed may elect to have decided in a civil action those claims asserted in a finding of probable cause. Such election must be made not later than twenty (20) days after the date of receipt by the electing person of service under this chapter, and such person shall give written notice to the Commission and all other complainants and respondents to whom the fmding of probable cause relates. Such civil action shall be filed Gol