Legislative Updates
The Prince George’s County Office of Human Rights is bound by county, state, and federal legislation.
Division 12 of the Prince George’s County Code
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1981
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
Age Discrimination and Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
Genetic Information Discrimination in Employment (GINA)
In 2020, Prince George’s County Council passed the following legislation:
CB-38-2019 (Fair Housing) amends the County’s existing Human Relations Commission law (Subtitle 2, Division 12 of the County Code) to prohibit discrimination in housing based on immigration status, citizenship status, and source of income.
This bill makes the following housing and residential real estate practices unlawful:
- Discriminate by inquiring about immigration status or citizenship status in connection with the sale, lease, sublease, assignment, or other transfer of a housing unit;
- Discriminate by requiring documentation, information or other proof of immigration status or citizenship status;
- Discriminate in the sale, lease, sublease, assignment, or other transfer of a housing unit by requiring proof of immigration status or citizenship status, such as a social security number, without providing an alternative that does not reveal immigration status or citizenship status, such as individual taxpayer identification number;
- Discriminate by disclosing, reporting, or threatening to disclose or report immigration status or citizenship status to anyone including an immigration authority, law enforcement agency, or local, state, or federal agency, for the purpose of inducing a person to vacate the housing unit or for the purpose of retaliating against a person for the filing of a claim or complaint; and
- Discriminate by evicting a person from a housing unit by otherwise attempting to obtain possession of a housing unit because of the person’s immigration status or citizenship status unless the remedy is sought to comply with a federal or state law or a court order.
The bill defines source of income as any lawful, verifiable source of money paid directly or indirectly to a renter or buyer of a housing unit, including:
- Income received through any lawful profession or occupation;
- Federal, state, or local government assistance including housing choice vouchers, medical assistance subsidies, rental assistance, and rent supplements;
- Any inheritance, pension, annuity, alimony, child support, trust, or investment accounts;
- Any gift verified by a letter or other means but, unless it is recurring throughout a tenancy, the gift may support one-time expenses only, such as a security deposit or pet fee; and
- Any sale or pledge of property if the sale or pledge will result in proceeds inuring to the recipient’s benefit within sixty days of the application to rent a housing unit, purchase a housing unit, or purchase an interest in a housing unit.
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