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S1362......................................................by STATE AFFAIRS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - Amends existing law to provide for punitive damages for willful violations of the Human Rights Commission Act based upon the number of employees an employer has and to provide a method for determining the number of employees. 01/29 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing 01/30 Rpt prt - to St Aff
S1362|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session - 1998IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1362 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION; AMENDING SECTION 67-5908, IDAHO CODE, 3 TO PROVIDE FOR PUNITIVE DAMAGES FOR WILLFUL VIOLATIONS BASED ON THE NUMBER 4 OF EMPLOYEES AN EMPLOYER HAS AND TO PROVIDE A METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE 5 NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES. 6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 7 SECTION 1. That Section 67-5908, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 8 amended to read as follows: 9 67-5908. PROCEDURE IN DISTRICT COURT. (1) Any action filed by the commis- 10 sion shall be heard by the district court unless either party shall move for a 11 jury trial. Except as otherwise provided herein, the court shall hear the case 12 and grant relief as in other civil actions. Any such action shall be brought 13 in the name of the commission for the use of the person alleging discrimina- 14 tion or a described class, and the commission shall furnish counsel for the 15 prosecution thereof. Any person aggrieved by the alleged discrimination may 16 intervene in such an action. 17 (2) Nothing contained in this chapter shall prohibit a person who has 18 been subject to alleged unlawful discrimination from filing an action in the 19 district court on his or her own behalf, but such action shall be commenced 20 not more than two (2) years after the act of alleged unlawful discrimination 21 complained of. 22 (3) In a civil action filed by the commission or filed directly by the 23 person alleging unlawful discrimination, if the court finds that unlawful dis- 24 crimination has occurred, its judgment shall specify an appropriate remedy or 25 remedies therefor. Such remedies may include, but are not limited to: 26 (a) An order to cease and desist from the unlawful practice specified in 27 the order; 28 (b) An order to employ, reinstate, promote or grant other employment ben- 29 efits to a victim of unlawful employment discrimination; 30 (c) An order for actual damages including lost wages and benefits, pro- 31 vided that such back pay liability shall not accrue from a date more than 32 two (2) years prior to the filing of the complaint with the commission or 33 the district court, whichever occurs first; 34 (d) An order to accept or reinstate such a person in a union; 35 (e) An order for punitive damages, not to exceed one thousand dol-36lars ($1,000) for each willful violation of this chapterfor 37 each willful violation of this chapter, not to exceed five thousand dol- 38 lars ($5,000) for respondents who have fewer than fifteen (15) employees, 39 ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for respondents who have more than fourteen 40 (14) employees and fewer than one hundred one (101), fifteen thousand dol- 41 lars ($15,000) for respondents who have more than one hundred (100) 42 employees and fewer than two hundred one (201), twenty thousand dollars 43 ($20,000) for respondents who have more than two hundred (200) employees 2 1 and fewer than five hundred one (501), twenty-five thousand dollars 2 ($25,000) for respondents who have more than five hundred (500) employees. 3 The number of employees shall be determined in accordance with the method 4 set forth in section 67-5902(6), Idaho Code . 5 (4) Any civil action filed by the commission under this section shall 6 commence not more than one (1) year after a complaint of discrimination under 7 oath is filed with the commission; provided, however, that the commission 8 shall commence its actions not more than one (1) year after the effective date 9 of this act for sworn complaints already pending before the commission upon 10 passage and approval of this act. 11 (5) In any civil action under this chapter, the burden of proof shall be 12 on the person seeking relief.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS07411
To raise the amount of punitive damages that may be awarded in court for violations of the
Idaho Human Rights Act from the current amount of $1,000.00 per violation to a sliding
scale of $5,000.00 to $25,000.00, depending on the size of the respondent.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
CONTACT
Name: Daniel L. Steckel
Agency: Idaho Human Rights Commission
Phone: 334-2873
Statement of Purpose/Fiscal Impact
S 1362