2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 2 - Government Administration › Chapter 14 - Human Rights › Unit A - Human Rights Law › Subchapter II - Prohibited Acts of Discrimination › Part D - Public Accommodations › § 2–1402.31. Prohibitions

§ 2–1402.31. Prohibitions.
(a) General. — It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice to do any of the following acts, wholly or partially for a discriminatory reason based on the actual or perceived: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, familial status, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, political affiliation, source of income, place of residence or business, or homeless status of any individual:
(1) To deny, directly or indirectly, any person the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodations;
(2) To print, circulate, post, or mail, or otherwise cause, directly or indirectly, to be published a statement, advertisement, or sign which indicates that the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of a place of public accommodation will be unlawfully refused, withheld from or denied an individual; or that an individual’s patronage of, or presence at, a place of public accommodation is objectional, unwelcome, unacceptable, or undesirable.
(3) A health benefit plan or health insurer shall not establish rules for the eligibility, new or continued, of any individual or adjust premium or contribution amounts for an individual on the basis of genetic information concerning the individual or family member of the individual, including information about a request for or receipt of genetic services by an individual or the individual’s family member.
(4) A health benefit plan or health insurer shall not request or require an individual or the individual’s family member to undergo a genetic test. Nothing in this paragraph shall:
(A) Limit the authority of a health care professional who is providing health care services to an individual to request that the individual or the individual’s family member undergo a genetic test;
(B) Limit the authority of a health care professional who is employed by or affiliated with a health benefit plan or a health insurer and who is providing health care services to an individual to notify such individual of the availability of a genetic test or to provide information to such individual regarding such genetic test; or
(C) Authorize or permit a health care professional to require that an individual undergo a genetic test.
(b) Subterfuge. — It is further unlawful to do any of the above said acts for any reason that would not have been asserted but for, wholly or partially, a discriminatory reason based on the actual or perceived: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, familial status, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, political affiliation, source of income, place of residence or business, or homeless status of any individual.
(c) Repealed.
(Dec. 13, 1977, D.C. Law 2-38, title II, § 231, 24 DCR 6038; June 28, 1994, D.C. Law 10-129, § 2(e), 41 DCR 2583; Apr. 20, 1999, D.C. Law 12-242,§ 2(f), 46 DCR 952; Apr. 12, 2000, D.C. Law 13-91, § 133, 47 DCR 520; Apr. 19, 2002, D.C. Law 14-114, § 292(c), 49 DRC 1468; Oct. 1, 2002, D.C. Law 14-189, § 2(d), 49 DCR 6523; Apr. 5, 2005, D.C. Law 15-263, § 2(e), 52 DCR 237; Apr. 13, 2005, D.C. Law 15-354, § 8(b), 52 DCR 2638; Mar. 8, 2006, D.C. Law 16-58, § 2(e), 53 DCR 14; Sept. 21, 2022, D.C. Law 24-172, § 2(e), 69 DCR 009218.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-2519.
1973 Ed., § 6-2241.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 13-91 validated a previously made technical correction in subsec. (a).
D.C. Law 14-114 added subsec. (c).
D.C. Law 14-189, in subsecs. (a) and (b), substituted “actual or perceived: race” for “race”.
D.C. Law 15-263, in subsecs. (a) and (b), substituted “genetic information, disability,” for “disability,”; and added pars. (3) and (4) of subsec. (a).
D.C. Law 15-354 repealed subsec. (c) which had read as follows: “(c) The monetary assistance provided to an owner of a housing accommodation under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, approved August 22, 1974 (88 Stat. 662; 42 U.S.C. § 1437f), either directly or through a tenant, shall be considered a source of income under this section.”
D.C. Law 16-58, in subsecs. (a) and (b), substituted “sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,” for “sexual orientation,”.
Cross References
Licensed places of amusement, admission to, discrimination prohibited, see § 47-2901 et seq.