Page 166 - An Indispensible Resource for Being a Credible Activist

DELAWARE

Prevailing wage. The Division of Industrial Affairs of the State Department of Labor shall
establish the prevailing wage for each craft or class of laborers and mechanics at the same
rates established in collective-bargaining agreements between labor companies and their
employers that govern work for those classes of laborers and mechanics for the county
where the public-works contract will be performed if that particular labor company’s collec-
tive-bargaining rate prevailed and the said labor company participated in the prevailing-
wage survey for that particular trade or craft in that particular county for two consecutive
years. The agreed-upon rate of pay will become the prevailing wage for a period of five
years, and the raise will be determined on the basis of the collective-bargaining agreement
rate at the time the survey is conducted for that craft, county, and year. If the prevailing
wage cannot be reasonably and fairly determined in any locality because no agreements
exist or the rate has not prevailed for two consecutive years, the Department shall use the
rate established by the annual prevailing-wage survey. There will be a one-time challenge of
the prevailing-wage rate per cycle as stated in departmental regulations.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Equal employment opportunity. The District’s Human Rights Act of 1977 was amended (1)
to prohibit discrimination against breast-feeding women, (2) to ensure a woman’s right to
breast-feed in any location, public or private, where she has the right to be with her child,
(3) to require employers to provide reasonable daily unpaid break periods and a sanitary
location so that breast-feeding mothers are able to express breast milk for their children, and
(4) to require the District Department of Health to monitor both breast-feeding rates in the
District and the number and nature of complaints received by the District Office of Human
Rights regarding violations of the Act. The Prohibition of Discrimination on the Basis of
Gender Identity and Expression Amendment Act of 2008 is an attempt by the District gov-
ernment to broaden the definitions by which discrimination is practiced. The District Office
of Human Rights Establishment Act of 1999 was amended by striking the phrase “sexual ori-
entation” and substituting the phrase “sexual orientation, gender identity or expression” in
its place, thereby bringing into the arena the concept of “a gender-related identity, appear-
ance, expression, or behavior of an individual, regardless of the individual’s assigned sex at
birth.” As part of this broader definition as well, the Office of Human Rights uses the term
“transgender” to refer to any individual whose identity or behavior differs from stereotypi-
cal or traditional gender expectations. The term now refers to transsexual individuals, cross-
dressers, androgynous individuals, and others whose appearance or characteristics are
perceived to be gender atypical. These newly expanded definitions shall be applicable in
such areas as employment, renting or leasing of housing and commercial space, public
accommodations, educational institutions, and agencies of the District government and its
contractors.
Minimum wage. As a result of requirements that were included in previously enacted
legislation, the minimum wage in the District was increased to $7.55 per hour on July 24, 2008.

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