Alabama 2024 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB242 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	HB242INTRODUCED
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3	3	HB242
4	4	LRL2WWA-1
5	5	By Representatives Harrison, Paschal
6	6	RFD: Judiciary
7	7	First Read: 27-Feb-24
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12	12	5 LRL2WWA-1 02/27/2024 MAP (L)MAP 2023-3800
13	13	Page 1
14	14	First Read: 27-Feb-24
15	15	SYNOPSIS:
16	16	This bill would make it unlawful to discriminate
17	17	against members of the active duty military and their
18	18	immediate families in matters of education, employment,
19	19	health insurance, retirement benefits, residential and
20	20	auto leases, financial protection, public utilities,
21	21	and public accommodations.
22	22	This bill would prohibit persons providing
23	23	educational services from requiring increased
24	24	application fees or tuition for service members and
25	25	their immediate family members.
26	26	This bill would prohibit employers from taking
27	27	adverse employment action based solely on military
28	28	status against a servicemember or members of his or her
29	29	immediate family.
30	30	This bill would require employers providing
31	31	retirement benefits to treat employees, who are
32	32	servicemembers returning from a period of active duty
33	33	deployment, as though there was no break in employment.
34	34	This bill would prohibit a person from
35	35	terminating a residential or auto lease while the
36	36	lessee who is a servicemember is actively deployed.
37	37	This bill would require creditors to defer
38	38	seeking default judgments and other collection activity
39	39	against deployed servicemembers or their immediate
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69	69	against deployed servicemembers or their immediate
70	70	families during periods of active duty employment.
71	71	This bill would also create a private cause of
72	72	action for discrimination under state law.
73	73	A BILL
74	74	TO BE ENTITLED
75	75	AN ACT
76	76	Relating to Military Affairs; to make it unlawful to
77	77	discriminate against members of the active duty military and
78	78	their immediate families in matters of education, employment,
79	79	health insurance and pension benefits, financial protection,
80	80	housing, residential and auto leases, public utilities, and
81	81	public accommodations and to provide protection in those areas
82	82	during times of active duty deployment.
83	83	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
84	84	Section 1. This article shall be known and may be cited
85	85	as the Military Family Support and Anti-Discrimination Act.
86	86	Section 2. The purpose of this act is to make it
87	87	unlawful to discriminate against members of the active duty
88	88	military and their immediate families in matters of education,
89	89	health insurance and retirement benefits, financial
90	90	protection, housing, residential and auto leases, public
91	91	utilities, and public accommodations.
92	92	Section 3. For purposes of this article, the following
93	93	terms have the following meanings:
94	94	(1) ACTIVE DUTY DEPLOYMENT. Any movement under military
95	95	orders of a servicemember from his or her home station to a
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125	125	orders of a servicemember from his or her home station to a
126	126	station outside the home station, either within or outside the
127	127	United States, for a period in excess of three months.
128	128	(2) ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY. An active duty or reserve
129	129	member of the United State Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air
130	130	Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine, Space Force, or state or
131	131	national Guard.
132	132	(3) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER. The spouse or child of a
133	133	servicemember.
134	134	(4) SERVICEMEMBER. A member of the active duty
135	135	military.
136	136	Section 4. It shall be unlawful to do any of the
137	137	following:
138	138	(1) Education.
139	139	To require payment of increased application fees or
140	140	tuition for educational services to servicemembers or members
141	141	of their immediate families.
142	142	(2) Employment.
143	143	a. To terminate, to deny initial employment, to fail to
144	144	retain, or to fail to promote a servicemember or his or her
145	145	immediate family member due to his or her status as a
146	146	servicemember or his or her relationship to a servicemember.
147	147	b. To retaliate in any manner for asserting rights
148	148	available to the servicemember or his or her immediate family
149	149	member under the Uniformed Services Employment and
150	150	Reemployment Rights Act.
151	151	(3) Housing.
152	152	a. To refuse to sell or rent, or to refuse to negotiate
153	153	the sale or rental of, or to otherwise deny or make
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183	183	the sale or rental of, or to otherwise deny or make
184	184	unavailable, any dwelling to a servicemember or his or her
185	185	immediate family member.
186	186	b. To require an increased security deposit when a
187	187	potential lessee is a servicemember or his or her immediate
188	188	family member.
189	189	(4) Public Utilities.
190	190	To require an increased security deposit when a
191	191	potential consumer is a servicemember or his or her immediate
192	192	family member.
193	193	(5) Public Accommodation.
194	194	To refuse to provide public accommodation for a
195	195	servicemember or his or her immediate family member who can
196	196	present evidence of having received a medical diagnosis of
197	197	post-traumatic stress disorder or who has sought or is seeking
198	198	mental health services.
199	199	Section 5. (a) The following affirmative duties shall
200	200	be required in any interaction with a servicemember or his or
201	201	her immediate family member:
202	202	(1) Health Insurance and Employment Benefits.
203	203	Upon reemployment after a period of active duty
204	204	deployment, the reemployed servicemember shall be treated as
205	205	though there has been no break in service for purposes of
206	206	participating in, or vesting and accruing benefits in, an
207	207	employer-sponsored pension plan or health insurance plan.
208	208	(2) Financial Protection.
209	209	a. A servicemember or his or her immediate family
210	210	member shall be provided the opportunity to terminate
211	211	residential and automobile leases without penalty upon active
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241	241	residential and automobile leases without penalty upon active
242	242	duty deployment.
243	243	b. Creditors shall defer seeking default judgments and
244	244	pursuing evictions, mortgage foreclosures, and the
245	245	repossession of property against a servicemember or his or her
246	246	immediate family member during periods of active duty
247	247	deployment. Servicemembers shall advise creditors of any
248	248	change in deployment status within 30 days.
249	249	Section 6. Engaging in any of the prohibited acts set
250	250	forth in Section 4 and failing to comply with any of the
251	251	affirmative duties set forth in Section 5 shall create a
252	252	private cause of action for discrimination under state law.
253	253	Section 7. This act shall become effective on October
254	254	1, 2024.
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