Local News in Brief : Irvine : City Council to Look at Parity Ordinance

City Council members will get their first look Tuesday at a draft ordinance that would prohibit discrimination in the city and mandate nearly full pay parity between male and female city employees by 1991.

The ordinance was drafted at the council’s request by the city Human Rights Committee and is to be unveiled at Tuesday’s council meeting.

The ordinance would prohibit discrimination by race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation or physical handicap. It would target, specifically, any discriminatory practices conducted in real estate transactions, hotels and schools, said City Clerk Nancy Lacey.

People who think they have been discriminated against, Lacey said, can go to court and use the ordinance to obtain relief.

Within the city government, the ordinance would require that women achieve 90% of pay parity with male employees by Jan. 1, 1991, Lacey said. The closer parity would result from a change in city hiring policy, she said.

The council Tuesday is set only to discuss the draft ordinance, which has drawn some controversy. Action will be considered at later meetings.