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A BILL to amend and reenact §
2.2-3905
of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 17 of Title 58.1 an article numbered 13, consisting of a section numbered
58.1-1749
, relating to corporate welfare tax.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §
2.2-3905
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Chapter 17 of Title 58.1 an article numbered 13, consisting of a section numbered
58.1-1749
, as follows:
§
2.2-3905
. Nondiscrimination in employment; definitions; exceptions.
A. As used in this section:
"Age" means being an individual who is at least 40 years of age.
"Domestic worker" means an individual who is compensated directly or indirectly for the performance of services of a household nature performed in or about a private home, including services performed by individuals such as companions, babysitters, cooks, waiters, butlers, valets, maids, housekeepers, nannies, nurses, janitors, laundresses, caretakers, handymen, gardeners, home health aides, personal care aides, and chauffeurs of automobiles for family use. "Domestic worker" does not include (i) a family member, friend, or neighbor of a child, or a parent of a child, who provides child care in the child's home; (ii) any child day program as defined in §
22.1-289.02
or an individual who is an employee of a child day program; or (iii) any employee employed on a casual basis in domestic service employment to provide companionship services for individuals who, because of age or infirmity, are unable to care for themselves.
"Employee" means an individual employed by an employer.
"Employer" means a person employing (i) 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, and any agent of such a person or (ii) one or more domestic workers. However, (a) for purposes of unlawful discharge under subdivision B 1 on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, military status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, pregnancy, or childbirth or related medical conditions including lactation, "employer" means any person employing more than five persons or one or more domestic workers and (b) for purposes of unlawful discharge under subdivision B 1 on the basis of age, "employer" means any employer employing more than five but fewer than 20 persons.
"Employment agency" means any person, or an agent of such person, regularly undertaking with or without compensation to procure employees for an employer or to procure for employees opportunities to work for an employer.
"Joint apprenticeship committee" means the same as that term is defined in §
2.2-2043
.
"Labor organization" means an organization engaged in an industry, or an agent of such organization, that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers on behalf of employees concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours, or other terms or conditions of employment. "Labor organization" includes employee representation committees, groups, or associations in which employees participate.
"Lactation" means a condition that may result in the feeding of a child directly from the breast or the expressing of milk from the breast.
"Qualified federal benefits" means the same as that term is defined in §
58.1-1749
.
B. It is an unlawful discriminatory practice for:
1. An employer to:
a. Fail or refuse to hire, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to such individual's compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions including lactation, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin; or
b. Limit, segregate, or classify employees or applicants for employment in any way that would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect an individual's status as an employee, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions including lactation, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin.
2. An employment agency to:
a. Fail or refuse to refer for employment, or otherwise discriminate against, any individual because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin; or
b. Classify or refer for employment any individual on the basis of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin.
3. A labor organization to:
a. Exclude or expel from its membership, or otherwise discriminate against, any individual because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin;
b. Limit, segregate, or classify its membership or applicants for membership, or classify or fail to or refuse to refer for employment any individual, in any way that would deprive or tend to deprive such individual of employment opportunities, or would limit such employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect an individual's status as an employee or as an applicant for employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin; or
c. Cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against an individual in violation of subdivisions a or b.
4. An employer, labor organization, or joint apprenticeship committee to discriminate against any individual in any program to provide apprenticeship or other training program on the basis of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin.
5. An employer, in connection with the selection or referral of applicants or candidates for employment or promotion, to adjust the scores of, use different cutoff scores for, or otherwise alter the results of employment-related tests on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin.
6. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, an employer to use race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin as a motivating factor for any employment practice, even though other factors also motivate the practice.
7. (i) An employer to discriminate against any employees or applicants for employment, (ii) an employment agency or a joint apprenticeship committee controlling an apprenticeship or other training program to discriminate against any individual, or (iii) a labor organization to discriminate against any member thereof or applicant for membership because such individual has opposed any practice made an unlawful discriminatory practice by this chapter or because such individual has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this chapter.
8. An employer, labor organization, employment agency, or joint apprenticeship committee controlling an apprenticeship or other training program to print or publish, or cause to be printed or published, any notice or advertisement relating to (i) employment by such an employer, (ii) membership in or any classification or referral for employment by such a labor organization, (iii) any classification or referral for employment by such an employment agency, or (iv) admission to, or employment in, any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training by such a joint apprenticeship committee that indicates any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin, except that such a notice or advertisement may indicate a preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination based on religion, sex, age, or ethnic or national origin when religion, sex, age, or ethnic or national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification for employment.
9. An employer, in connection with the selection or referral of applicants or candidates for employment, to make inquiries or otherwise seek information about such an applicant
,
including through the use of any form or application, relating to whether such applicant receives
qualified f
ederal benefits.
C. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it is not an unlawful discriminatory practice:
1. For (i) an employer to hire and employ employees; (ii) an employment agency to classify, or refer for employment, any individual; (iii) a labor organization to classify its membership or to classify or refer for employment any individual; or (iv) an employer, labor organization, or joint apprenticeship committee to admit or employ any individual in any apprenticeship or other training program on the basis of such individual's religion, sex, or age in those certain instances where religion, sex, or age is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint apprenticeship committee;
2. For an elementary or secondary school or institution of higher education to hire and employ employees of a particular religion if such elementary or secondary school or institution of higher education is, in whole or in substantial part, owned, supported, controlled, or managed by a particular religion or by a particular religious corporation, association, or society or if the curriculum of such elementary or secondary school or institution of higher education is directed toward the propagation of a particular religion;
3. For an employer to apply different standards of compensation, or different terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system, or a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or to employees who work in different locations, provided that such differences are not the result of an intention to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin;
4. For an employer to give and to act upon the results of any professionally developed ability test, provided that such test, its administration, or an action upon the results is not designed, intended, or used to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin;
5. For an employer to provide reasonable accommodations related to disability, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, and lactation, when such accommodations are requested by the employee; or
6. For an employer to condition employment or premises access based upon citizenship where the employer is subject to any requirement imposed in the interest of the national security of the United States under any security program in effect pursuant to or administered under any statute or regulation of the federal government or any executive order of the President of the United States.
D. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint apprenticeship committee to grant preferential treatment to any individual or to any group because of such individual's or group's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin on account of an imbalance that may exist with respect to the total number or percentage of persons of any race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin employed by any employer, referred or classified for employment by any employment agency or labor organization, admitted to membership or classified by any labor organization, or admitted to or employed in any apprenticeship or other training program, in comparison with the total number or percentage of persons of such race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin in any community.
E. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the employment of individuals of a particular religion by a religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society to perform work associated with its activities.
Article
13
.
Corporate Welfare Tax
.
§
58.1-1749
. Corporate welfare tax.
A. For purposes of this section:
"Employee" means any (i) full-time or part-time employee
and
(ii) individual who is a full-time or part-time independent contractor
,
including any employee of such independent contractor
.
"Large employer" means an employer
that
employ
ed
on average at least
500 employees on business days during the preceding calendar year.
"Qualified employee benefits" means the sum of the qualified
f
ederal benefits received by individuals who are employees of such person for such taxable year.
"Qualified federal benefits" means
any
means-tested benefit program administered by the federal government, including
(i) the dollar value of supplemental nutrition assistance for which the household that includes such
an employee
is eligible
;
(ii) the dollar value of meals that such
employee
or dependents of such
employee
are eligible for under the school lunch program under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act
, P.L.
79-396
,
and the school breakfast program under the Child Nutrition Act
, P.L.
89-642
;
(iii) the aggregate amount of the monthly assistance payments for rental of a dwelling unit that
such
individual's household
is a member of is eligible to have made on its behalf pursuant to the United States Housing Act,
P.L.
75-412
;
and
(iv) t
he amount of payments made under the Social Security Act
, P.L.
74-271
,
with respect to expenditures made
under the
Commonwealth's
Medicaid plan for medical assistance for such
employee
or for dependents of such
employee
.
B.
In addition to any other tax or fee imposed under the provisions of this
t
itle, t
here is hereby imposed on each large employer a tax equal to 100 percent of the qualified employee benefits
received by employees
of such large employer
residing in the Commonwealth
for the taxable year.
C.
Large employer
s shall submit to the Department quarterly employment rosters
for use in determining the
amount
of qualified employee benefits received by such
large employer
's
employees.
The Department shall execute an interagency agreement with the Department
of Social Services to
obtain
identifying data for individuals receiving qualified federal benefits
and shall compare
such data with employment rosters received from large employers to identify those employees
of such large employer
receiving qualified federal benefits
.