AB 31

Under the current fair employment law, if the Department of Workforce

Development (DWD) finds that a person has refused to hire an individual,

terminated an individual's employment, or discriminated against an individual in

promotion, in compensation, or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment on

the basis of the individual's age, race, creed, color, disability, marital status, sex,

national origin, ancestry, arrest or conviction record, membership in the national

guard or military reserves, or use or nonuse of a lawful product during nonwork

hours, DWD may order the person to take such action as will effectuate the purpose

of the fair employment law. That action may include reinstating the employee,

providing back pay for not more than two years before the filing of the complaint, and

paying costs and attorney fees. Current law, however, does not authorize DWD to

order the payment of compensatory or punitive damages or any other surcharges or

penalties in a case of employment discrimination.

This bill permits a person who has been discriminated against or DWD to bring

an action in circuit court to recover damages caused by the act of discrimination.

Under the bill, if the circuit court finds that a defendant has committed an act of

discrimination, the circuit court must order the defendant to pay to the person

discriminated against compensatory and punitive damages in an amount that the

circuit court finds appropriate and to pay to the circuit court a surcharge equal to 10

percent of the amount of compensatory and punitive damages ordered. Surcharges

collected under the bill must be transmitted to the secretary of administration,

deposited into the general fund, and credited to an appropriation account of DWD,

which must use those surcharges for the administration of the fair employment law.