15.2-1604 - Appointment of deputies and employment of employees; discriminatory practices by certain officers; civil penalty.
§ 15.2-1604. Appointment of deputies and employment of employees;discriminatory practices by certain officers; civil penalty.
A. It shall be an unlawful employment practice for a constitutional officer:
1. To fail or refuse to appoint or hire or to discharge any individual, orotherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to hiscompensation, terms, conditions or privileges of appointment or employment,because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex or national origin; or
2. To limit, segregate, or classify his appointees, employees or applicantsfor appointment or employment in any way which would deprive or tend todeprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adverselyaffect his status as an employee, because of the individual's race, color,religion, sex or national origin.
B. Nothing in this section shall be construed to make it an unlawfulemployment practice for a constitutional officer to hire or appoint anindividual on the basis of his sex or national origin in those instanceswhere sex or national origin is a bona fide occupational qualificationreasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular office. Theprovisions of this section shall not apply to policy-making positions,confidential or personal staff positions, or undercover positions.
C. With regard to notices and advertisements:
1. Every constitutional officer shall, prior to hiring any employee,advertise such employment position in a newspaper having general circulationor a state or local government job placement service in such constitutionalofficer's locality except where the vacancy is to be used (i) as a placementopportunity for appointees or employees affected by layoff, (ii) as atransfer opportunity or demotion for an incumbent, (iii) to fill positionsthat have been advertised within the past 120 days, (iv) to fill positions tobe filled by appointees or employees returning from leave with or withoutpay, (v) to fill temporary positions, temporary employees being thoseemployees hired to work on special projects that have durations of threemonths or less, or (vi) to fill policy-making positions, confidential orpersonal staff positions, or special, sensitive law-enforcement positionsnormally regarded as undercover work.
2. No constitutional officer shall print or publish or cause to be printed orpublished any notice or advertisement relating to employment by suchconstitutional officer indicating any preference, limitation, specification,or discrimination, based on sex or national origin, except that such noticeor advertisement may indicate a preference, limitation, specification, ordiscrimination based on sex or national origin when sex or national origin isa bona fide occupational qualification for employment.
D. Complaints regarding violations of subsection A of this section may bemade to the Virginia Council on Human Rights. The Council shall have theauthority to exercise its powers as outlined in § 2.2-2634.
E. Any constitutional officer who willfully violates the provisions ofsubsection C shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $2,000.
(1989, c. 718, § 15.1-48.1; 1997, c. 587; 2004, c. 453.)