§ 18-139. Unlawful employment practices based on age.

(a)

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this subsection, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Age means an age of 18 or more years.

Employee does not include any individual employed by the individual's parents, spouse or child.

Employer means any person in this state who employs four or more persons and any person acting directly or indirectly for such a person, and includes the state and all political subdivisions of the state.

Employment agency includes any person or governmental agency undertaking, with or without compensation, to procure opportunities to work or to procure, recruit, refer or place employees.

Firefighter means an employee, the duties of whose position are primarily to perform work directly connected with the control and extinguishment of fires or the maintenance and use of firefighting apparatuses and equipment, including an employee engaged in this activity who is transferred to a supervisory or administrative position.

Labor organization includes any organization which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or other mutual aid or protection in relation to employment.

Law enforcement officer means an employee, the duties of whose position are primarily the investigation, apprehension or detention of individuals suspected or convicted of offenses against the criminal laws of the state or of offenses against any ordinance or resolution which imposes criminal sanctions and is adopted by a city, county or other political subdivision of the state, including an employee engaged in this activity who is transferred to a supervisory or administrative position. For the purposes of this definition, "detention" includes the duties of employees assigned to guard individuals.

(b)

It is an unlawful employment practice to engage, based on age, in any of the following acts in any manner that would limit, deprive or tend to deprive any person of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect the person's status as an employee or applicant for employment:

(1)

For an employer, because of the age of a person, to refuse to hire or employ the person, to bar or discharge the person from employment, to otherwise discriminate against the person in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment, or to limit, segregate, separate, classify or make any distinction in regard to employees because of age without a valid business motive.

(2)

For an employer to reduce the wage rate of any employee in order to comply with the Kansas Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

(3)

For a labor organization, because of the age of a person, to exclude or expel the person from its membership or to discriminate in any way against any of its members or against any employer or any person employed by an employer because of age.

(4)

For any employer, employment agency or labor organization to print, circulate, or cause to be printed or circulated any statement, advertisement or publication, to use any form of application for employment or membership or make any inquiry in connection with prospective employment or membership which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to age, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination.

(5)

For any employer, employment agency or labor organization to discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has opposed any practices or acts forbidden under this section or has filed a complaint, testified or assisted in any proceeding under this section.

(6)

For an employment agency to refuse to list and properly classify for employment, refuse to refer any person for employment, or otherwise discriminate against any person because of age to comply with a request from an employer for a referral of applicants for employment if the request expresses, either directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to age.

(7)

For an employer, labor organization, employment agency or school which provides, coordinates or controls apprenticeship, on-the-job or other training, or retraining program to maintain a practice of discrimination, segregation or separation because of age in admission, hiring, assignments, upgrading, transfers, promotion, layoff, dismissal, apprenticeship or other training, or retraining program, or in any other terms, conditions or privileges of employment, membership, apprenticeship or training, or to follow any policy or procedure which, in fact, results in such practices without a valid business motive.

(8)

For any person, whether an employer, an employee, or neither, to aid, abet, incite, compel or coerce the doing of any of the actions forbidden under this section, or attempt to do so.

(9)

For an employer, employment agency, labor organization or any combination thereof to establish or maintain an employee pension benefit plan which requires or permits:

a.

In the case of a benefit plan, the cessation of an employee's benefit accrual or the reduction of the rate of an employee's benefit accrual because of age; or

b.

In the case of a contribution plan, the cessation of allocations to an employee's account or the reduction of the rate at which amounts are allocated to an employee's account because of age.

Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit an employer, employment agency or labor organization or any combination thereof from observing any provision of an employee pension benefit plan to the extent that such provision imposes, without regard to age, a limitation on the amount of benefits that the plan provides or a limitation on the number of years of service or years of participation which are taken into account for purposes of determining benefit accrual under the plan.

(c)

It shall not be an unlawful employment practice to:

(1)

Take any action on the basis of age, which is otherwise prohibited under subsection (a) of this section, if age is a bona fide occupational qualification necessary to the normal operation of the particular business or if the differentiation is based on necessary factors other than age;

(2)

Observe the terms of a bona fide seniority system or any bona fide employee benefit plan, such as a retirement, pension or insurance plan, which is not a subterfuge to evade the purposes of this section, except that no such employee benefit plan shall excuse the failure to hire any individual, and no such seniority system or employee benefit plan shall require or permit the involuntary retirement of any individual;

(3)

Observe the provisions of a retirement, pension or other benefit plan permitted by state or federal law or by ordinance or resolution.

State law reference

Similar provisions, K.S.A. 44-1112, 44-1113.

Cross reference

Definitions generally, § 1-2.