Del. Josh Cole

Economic education and financial literacy requiredin middle and high school grades; employment arrangements. Addsto objectives developed and approved by the Board of Education foreconomics education and financial literacy at the middle and highschool levels the implications of various employment arrangementswith regard to benefits, protections, and long-term financial sustainability. Employment arrangements is defined in the bill as full-time employment, part-time employment, independent contract work, gig work, piecework, contingent work, day labor work, freelance work, and 1099work.

Virginia Human Rights Acts; discrimination onthe basis of disability. Adds discrimination on the basis ofdisability as an unlawful employment practice under the VirginiaHuman Rights Act. The bill also requires employers, defined in thebill, to make reasonable accommodation to the known physical and mentalimpairments of an otherwise qualified person with a disability, ifnecessary to assist such person in performing a particular job, unlessthe employer can demonstrate that the accommodation would imposean undue hardship on the employer. The bill also prohibits employersfrom taking any adverse action against an employee who requests oruses a reasonable accommodation, from denying employment or promotionopportunities to an otherwise qualified applicant or employee because such employer will be required to make reasonable accommodation tothe applicant or employee, or from requiring an employee to takeleave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided to the known limitations related to the disability. The bill creates a cause of action against any employer who denies any of the rights to reasonable accommodation afforded by the bill and permits the court or juryto award compensatory damages, back pay, and other equitable relief.

Access to water; human right. Recognizing that access to clean, potable, and affordable water is a necessary human right.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; noncompliance with rental agreement; prohibition on using negative credit information that arose during a closure of the United States Government against certain applicants for tenancy; penalty. Prohibits a landlord who owns more than four rental dwelling units or more than a 10 percent interest in more than four rental dwelling units in the Commonwealth from taking any adverse action against an applicant for tenancy based solely on payment history or an eviction for nonpayment of rent that occurred during a closure of the United States government when such applicant was a directly affected individual, defined as an individual who was furloughed or otherwise did not receive payments as a result of a closure of the United States government and was (i) an employee of the United States government, (ii) an independent contractor of the United States government, or (iii) an employee of a company under contract with the United States government. If such a landlord denies an applicant for tenancy, the bill requires the landlord to provide the applicant written notice of the denial and of the applicant's right to assert that his failure to qualify was based solely on payment history or an eviction based on nonpayment of rent that occurred during the proscribed period when such applicant was a directly affected individual. If a landlord does receive a response from the applicant asserting such a right, and the landlord relied upon a consumer or tenant screening report, the landlord must make a good faith effort to contact the generator of the report to ascertain whether such determination was due solely to the applicant for tenancy's payment history or an eviction for nonpayment that occurred during the proscribed period and that such applicant was a directly affected individual. The bill permits an applicant for tenancy to recover damages of up to $1,000, along with attorney fees, from landlords who do not comply with these requirements.