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Bill Summary · SB 115

Overview

SB 115 (2026 Regular Session, Kentucky) amends the Kentucky Civil Rights Act (KRS Chapter 344) to expand protections against discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also broadens the powers and duties of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights (KCHR) and local human rights commissions to enforce these additional protected characteristics across employment, housing, public accommodations, financial transactions, and related activities. It aligns Kentucky law with federal interpretations recognizing sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under sex discrimination, consistent with EEOC and HUD determinations.

Purpose and intent

  • Add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected characteristics in KRS Chapter 344.
  • Strengthen and clarify the authority of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights and local commissions to investigate, adjudicate, and remedy discrimination based on these new protected classes.
  • Improve consistency with federal civil rights protections and ensure state-law enforcement mirrors the scope of federal anti-discrimination protections in employment, housing, and related areas.

Key provisions and changes

  • Definitions and scope (Section 1):

    • Adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the enumerated protected characteristics for purposes of discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, financial transactions, and related areas.
    • Updates related definitions (e.g., housing accommodations, real estate, discriminatory housing practices) to reference protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
    • Maintains existing protections for disability, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, and age 40 and over.

  • Purposes and jurisdiction (Section 2):

    • Reiterates broad state objectives to prevent discrimination and safeguard rights, including interest in protecting private sale of primary residences without broker involvement, where applicable.
    • Clarifies that nothing in the chapter repeals other state discrimination laws.

  • Employment and related processes (Sections 3–10, 12–15, 18–22):

    • Unlawful employment practices now explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (in addition to existing protected categories).
    • Requires reasonable accommodations in pregnancy-related work situations, with interactive process guidelines and a rebuttable presumption related to accommodations if similar accommodations exist for other classes of employees.
    • Prohibits discrimination in referral, licensing, and posting of notices advertising employment on the basis of newly protected characteristics.
    • Maintains allowances for bona fide seniority/merit systems, professional testing, and location-based differences that are not used to discriminate.

  • Public accommodations, housing, and related transactions (Sections 11–23, 24):

    • Prohibits denial of goods, services, facilities, or accommodations based on sexual orientation or gender identity in places of public accommodation.
    • Expands protections in housing and real estate transactions against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, including fair housing practices by operators, brokers, salespersons, and lenders.
    • Addresses discriminatory practices in real estate advertising, financing, and related transactions; prohibits misrepresentation or inducement based on protected characteristics.
    • Includes explicit anti-discrimination language in insurance practices related to housing and in real estate-related financing transactions.

  • Local government authority (Sections 16, 17, 18):

    • Cities and counties may adopt or amend ordinances to prohibit discrimination on the expanded set of protected characteristics, create or support local human rights commissions, and align local laws with the state act.

  • Commission powers and administration (Sections 13–15, 19–21, 25–27):

    • Consolidates and clarifies the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights’s authority to investigate, conciliate, hold hearings, cooperate with federal and local agencies, publish annual reports, and promulgate regulations.
    • Local commissions receive authority to implement state policies locally and cooperate with state and federal agencies.
    • Provides for administrative processes, hearings, decisions, and remedies consistent with civil rights enforcement, including potential attorney-fee provisions for successful appellants and public disclosure of final decisions.

Who is affected

  • Individuals protected under Kentucky civil rights law:

    • People in employment, housing, public accommodations, and financial transactions.
    • Specifically protected classes now include sexual orientation and gender identity, alongside existing categories like race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age 40+, and disability.

  • Employers, labor organizations, licensing and employment agencies, and real estate professionals:

    • Prohibited from discriminatory practices against the newly protected classes.
    • Required to provide reasonable accommodations (e.g., pregnancy-related accommodations) and follow interactive processes.

  • Local governments and local commissions:

    • May adopt or amend ordinances to reflect expanded protections.
    • Responsible for enforcing local civil rights protections consistent with state statute.

  • Kentucky Commission on Human Rights and local commissions:

    • empowered to receive, investigate, conciliate, and adjudicate complaints involving discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Enforcement and remedies:

    • Complaints may be filed with the state or local commissions; hearings are governed under existing administrative procedures (KRS Chapter 13B for hearings; 18A-style processes for personnel actions in state employment).
    • Final board decisions become public on the commission’s website, organized by basis of appeal.

  • Appeals:

    • Appellate pathways exist for classified and unclassified state employees and for discrimination complaints, with defined timeframes (typically 30–60 days for filings and hearings, with specifics in the bill’s procedures).

  • Local adoption:

    • Local governments can create or modify local commissions; ordinances must align with KRS 344.362 and 344.365 exemptions as appropriate.

Estimated fiscal and administrative impact

  • Local government costs:

    • Local ordinances must be drafted, published, indexed, and recorded; potential costs for legal notices and attorney services.
    • Overall fiscal impact on local governments is described as indeterminable but not expected to be significant; increased caseload for KCHR and local commissions due to expanded protections is possible but not quantified.

  • State agency impact:

    • KCHR and local commissions may experience higher complaint volumes, requiring adequate staffing and resources to process and adjudicate cases.

This summary captures SB 115’s core purpose, substantive changes, affected entities, and notable procedural elements. If you’d like, I can provide a section-by-section mapping of each amendment to a specific KRS provision.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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