ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
civil rights; mental health;
employment
Modifies the definition of
“disability” as used in employment discrimination statutes to include persons with
mental impairments.
Background
The Arizona Civil Rights Act was enacted in 1965. In its current form, it offers protections to persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability and national origin with regard to voting rights, public accommodations, employment and housing. Some of these same protections exist under federal law in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Congress enacted the ADA in 1990. At the time of its enactment, most states, including Arizona, already had state law protections for persons with disabilities. Today, the majority of states in the U.S. and the District of Columbia afford employment protections to persons based both on mental and physical disabilities. Currently, Arizona is one of only a few states that have no employment protections under state law for persons with mental disabilities.
S.B. 1277 includes mental impairments in the definition of disabilities as used in employment discrimination statutes.
The fiscal impact of this legislation is undetermined at this time.
1. Adds people with mental impairments as a protected class for purposes of employment discrimination.
2. Makes technical and conforming changes.
3. Provides for a general effective date.