Introduced by:
ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PASADENA ADDING PASADENA
MUNICIPAL CODE TITLE 9. ARTICLE XIII, CHAPTER 100 TO ADOPT
AN ANTI-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT AND CREATE A PRIVATE
RIGHT OF ACTION FOR AGGRIEVED INDIVIDUALS
The People of the City of Pasadena ordain as follows:
SECTION 1. Pasadena Municipal Code, Title 9, Article XIII, is amended by addin,q Chapter 100 as follows:
SECTION 2. Short Title.
A^_This_chapter shall be known as the "Anti-discrimination ordinance." SECTIONS. Definitions.
A. "City" shall mean the City of Pasadena.
B, "Protected Characteristic" shall mean race; color: ethnicity; creed; age; national oriain; reliaion; citizenship or immiaration status; gender; gender identity or expression; sexual orientation; visible or non-visible disability; medical condition; genetic information; marital status; partnership status; pregnancy and/or reproductive health choice(s); employment status; housing status; source of income; military status; veteran status; primary lanciuaae; or any other characteristic protected bv law.
C. "Business establishment" includes any entity, however oraanized, which furnishes qoods or services to the general public. An otherwise qualifvinfl establishment which has membership requirements is considered to furnish services_to the general public if its membership reauirements: (a) consist only of the payment of fees; (b) consist of requirements under which a substantial portion of the residents of this city could Qualify.
D. "Educational institution" includes any institution of higher education, vocational school, high school, or elementary school.
E. "Employee" includes any person employed bv an employer as defined below.
F. "Employer" includes any person reaularlv employinci one or more persons, or any person acting directly or indirectly as an agent of an employer. 1 XRC9CKTZOD21GS
G,_L'Housinq services" shall mean services connected withjhe use or occupancy of a rental unit includina, but not limited to: utilities (includina liciht, heat, water and telephone), ordinary repairs or replacement, and maintenance of elevator sen/ice, laundry facilities and privileges, common recreational facilities, janitorial service, resident manaoer, refuse removal, furnishings, food service, parking and any other benefits, privileges or facilities.
H__ _"Person" includes one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations, labor organizations, legal representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, and receivers or other fiduciaries.
I. "Rent" shall mean the consideration, including any bonus, benefits or gratuity, demanded or received bv a landlord for or in connection with the use or occupancy of a rental unit, including, but not limited to, moneys demanded or paid for the followinci: meals where reauired bv the landlord as a condition of the tenancy; parking; furnishings; other housina sen/ices of any kind; subletting; or security deposits.
J. "Rental units" shall mean all dwelling units, efficiency dwelling units, guest rooms, suites, and dormitories in the city, rented or offered for rent for living or dwelling purposes, the land and buildings appurtenant thereto and all housing services, privileges, furnishings and facilities suDDlied in connection with the use or occupancy thereof, includinci garage and parkina facilities. This term shall also include mobile homes, whether rent is paid for the mobile homes and the land upon which the mobile ho^mejsjocated, or rent is paid for the land alone. The term shall not include hoysjrig accommodations which a government unit, aqency or authority pwns^oeerates^or manages, or which are specificallv exempted from municipal reciulation bv state or federal law or administrative reaulation.
SECTION 4. Authority.
A. This article is adopted pursuant to the powers vested in the City of Pasadena under the laws and Constitution of the State of Ca]ifornia_and^the_City Charter, including, but not limited to, the police powers vested in the Citv pursuant to Article Xl, Section 7 of the California Constitution.
SECTION 5,_ Discrimination Prohibited.
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A. No person shall discriminate against another person in private employment, housing, education or commerce, because of that person's actual or perceived: race; color: ethnicity; creed; age; national oriain; religion; citizenshjp or immigration status; gender; aender identity or expression; sexual orientation; visible or non-visible disability; medical condition: aenetic information; marital status; partnership status; preanancv and/or reproductive health choice(s); employment status; housina status; source of income: military status: veteran status; or primary language or any other characteristic protected bv law.
SECTION 6. Unlawful Employment Practices.
A. It shall be an unlawful employment practice for any employer, employment agency or labor oraanization or any agent or employee thereof to do, or attempt to do, any of the followina on the basis (in whole or in part) of a person's Protected Characteristic:
1. Fail or refuse to hire, or to discharge any person, or otherwise to discriminate aaainst anv person with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment;
2. Limit, segregate or classify employees or applicants for employment in any manner which would deprive or tend to deprive any person of employment opportunities, or adversely affect his or her employment status;
3. Fail or refuse to refer for employment any person, or otherwise to discriminate against any person;
4. Fail or refuse to include in its membership or to otherwise discriminate aqainst anv person; or to limit, segregate or classify its membership; or to classify or fail or refuse to refer for emDlovment anv person in any wav which would deprive or tend to deprive such person of employment opportunities, or otherwise adverselv_affect his/her status as an employee or as an applicant for employment;
5. _ Dlscrlm i n ate ag a i nst any person in admission to, or employment in, any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including any on-the-job training proqram.
B,____ Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to prohibit selection, rejection ordismissal_basedypon a bona fide occupational qualification. In 3 XRC9CKTZOD21GS
any action brought under this chapter, if a party asserts that an otherwise unlawful discriminatory practice is justified as a bona fide occupational qualification, that party shall have the burden of proving:
1. That the discrimination is in fact a necessary result of bona fide occupational qualification; and
2. That there exists no less discrLminatorv means of satisfyino the occupational qualification,
C. It shall not be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to observe the conditions of a bona fide employee benefit system, provided such systems or plans are not a subterfuge to evade the purposes of this chapter; provided further that no such system shall provide an excuse for failure to hire any person, SECTION 7. Unlawful Housing Practices.
A. It shall be unlawful for any person having a housing accommodation for rent or lease, or any authorized aqent or employee of such person, to do or attempt to do anv of the followina on the basis (in whole or in part) of an individual's Protected Characteristic:
1. Refuse to rent or lease a rental unit, refuse to negotiate for the rental or lease of a rental unit, evict from.a rental unit, or otherwise deny to or withhold a rental unit from any person;
2. Rent or lease a rental unit on less favorable terms, conditions or privileges, or discriminate in the provision of housinci services to any person;
3. Represent to any person that a rental unit is not available for inspection, rental or lease when such rental unit is, in fact, available.
B. Nothing in this chapter shall:
1. Be construed to apply to the rental grjeasinci of any housing unit in which the owner or lessor or any member of his or her family occupies the same livincj unit in common with the DrgspectiveAenant
2. Be deemed to permit any rental or occupancy of any
dwelling unit or commercial space otherwise prohibited bv law; 4 XRC9CKTZOD21GS
3. Be deemed to require thejenting of units and/or dormitories reserved for the housing of students to non-student persons on the basis of Protected Characteristics.
SECTION 8. Unlawful Business Practices.
A. It shall be an unlawful business practice for any person to deny any individual the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, seryices, facjiiti.es^Driyllecie.s, advantages and accommodations of anv business establishment includina, but not limited to, restaurants, motels and hotels, on the basis (in whole or in part) that such individual's Protected Characteristic.
SECTION 9. Unlawful Educational Practices.
A. It shall be an unlawful educational practice for any person to do any of the following on the basis (in whole or in part) of an individual's Protected Characteristic:
1. Deny admission, or to impose different terms or conditions on admission;
2. Deny any individual the full and equal enjovment of,_or impose different terms or conditions upon the availability of, any facility owned or operated by or any service or proaram offered by an educational institution.
B. It shall not be an unlawful discriminatorv practice for a relidious or denominational institution to limit admission, or give preference to, applicants of the same religion.
SECTION 10. Liability.
A. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter or who aids in the violation of any provisions of this chapter shall be liable for, and the court shall award to, the individual whose rights are violated, actual damages, costs, and attorney's fees, of not less than $250 but not more than $10,000 per violation, in addition thereto.
B. Any aaorieved person may enforce the provisions of this chapter by means of a civil action in a court of competent iurisdiction.
C. Any person who commits, or proposes to commit, an acUm/jolation of this chapter may be enjoined therefrom by a court of competent iurisdiction. Action for 5 XRC9CKTZOD21GS
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injunction under this subsection may be brought by any aqgrieved person, or by any person which will fairly and adeauatelv represent the interests of the protected individual or class.
D. Nothing in this section shall preclude, or otherwise limit, a separate or criminal prosecution under the Municipal Code or state law.
E. The right of an aaarieved person to brina a civil action under this section shall not be waived bv private agreement.
F. Nothinci in this chapter shall preclude anv aaarieved person from seekino any other remedy provided bv law.
G. Actions under this chapter must be filed within one year of the alleaed discriminatory acts.
SECTION 11. No Conflict With State Law.
A. This article is not intended to conflict with state law. This article shall be interpreted to be compatible_wiih^tate enactments and in furtherance of the public purposes that those enactments encompass. To the extent that the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Cal. GOV. Code § 12900, et sea., has occupied the field of enforcement of discrimination in employment and housing encompassed by theprovisions of that act, this article shall provide no separate remedy. To the extent that the Unruh Act, Cal. Civil Code § 51, et sea., has occupied the field of enforcement of discrimination in commerce encompassed bv the provisions of that act, this article shall provide no separate remedy. Notwithstandincj the foreaoing, this article is intended to remedy those discriminatory actions in housing, employment, and commerce and provide remedies to those protected classes that are not encompassed by the provisions of FEHA_or the Unruh Act.
SECTION 12. No Conflict with Federal Law.
A,, This article is not intended to conflict with federal law or stand as an_pbstacle or conflict with any efforts bv the federal government to enforce Federal laws.
SECTION 13. Severabilitv.
A. If any subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional bv a court of competent iurisdiction, 6 XRC9CKTZOD21GS
such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this section, and each and even/ subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof not declared invalid or unconstitutional, without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subseauentlv declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 14. The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this ordinance and shall cause this ordinance to be published bv title and summary. This ordinance shall take effec^0_clays from its publication.
SECTj_QN 15. This ordinance shall take effect 30 days.from its publication, Signed and approved thisday of_,2026.
Victor M. Gordo
Mayor of the City of Pasadena
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance was adopted by the City Council of the City of Pasadena at its meeting held this _day of_2026, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
Date Published:
Approved as to form:
/^-l^^
Aaron K. Ganser
Deputy City Attorney
Mark Jomsky
City Clerk
XRC9CKTZOD21GS
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