Employers in the county will be prohibited from asking job applicants about sexual and reproductive health information.
County councilmembers passed a bill Tuesday to, according to council documents, “flatly prohibit” employers from asking about sexual or reproductive health information like information related to abortion care, miscarriage, contraception, sterilization, pregnancy, or family planning.
Lead sponsors are Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz and Dawn Luedtke. Per a release from their offices, the issue “has taken on new importance in light of the recent Supreme Court decision restricting health care rights, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2002).”
Acknowledging it is Women’s History Month, Albornoz said Tuesday, “It is more than appropriate that we are passing this bill today on this month in recognition of the unprecedented challenges in my lifetime that women across this country are facing today.”
“These are unsettling times for many, many, many different reasons. And it is critically important that we provide protections to all of our residents of Montgomery County, but particularly those that are under attack based on federal policies” over the last several years, Albornoz said during Tuesday’s meeting.
According to council documents, under state law employers cannot require prospective employees to provide certain healthcare information when it is unrelated to the job. The council bill builds on this by restricting employers from even asking for healthcare information that is not necessary to determine qualifications, while explicitly forbidding asking about sexual or reproductive health information. Employers are still allowed to ask about other healthcare information if it is necessary to determine if the applicant meets published minimum job qualifications.
The county’s Office of Human Rights will enforce the law and can give civil penalties. The bill applies to all employers in the county. Last year a similar bill was passed for the county as an employer.
