City and council members of Akron and Summit county will discuss the possibility of outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity today. Members will discuss the legislation tonight about adding the two classifications to the protected classes. It is then expected to be voted on Nov. 30.
The ordinance includes prohibiting contractors within Akron from discrimination, protecting people from housing discrimination and making it a crime to intimidate someone based on sexual orientation or gender identity, Akron’s law director Cheri Cunningham told the Akron Beacon Journal.
The Summit county ordinance would ban discrimination in hiring and the harassment of employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It would also require all county-hired companies to prohibit this discrimination, chief-of-staff for county executive for Russ Pry, Jason Dodson, told the Akron Beacon Journal.
The city and county ordinances would not be identical because the existing charters are not.
Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic issued an executive order in July adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the city’s protected classifications under equal employment and anti-harassment policies.
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-Kim Brown
