Buncombe County Non-Discrimination Ordinance: Veteran Status

Buncombe County Code chapter 42, article I, the county's non-discrimination ordinance adopted April 20, 2021 (Ordinance 21-04-18), lists "veteran status" among its protected characteristics. The ordinance does not define the term. What it covers. An employer, meaning anyone employing one or more people in the county and including the county itself and every county contractor, may not refuse to hire or otherwise discriminate in any matter of employment because of veteran status, unless it is a bona fide occupational qualification. No proprietor or manager of a place of public accommodation may deny anyone its full enjoyment for that reason; private clubs not open to the public are exempt. Where it applies. Under G.S. 153A-122 a county ordinance does not reach inside a city or town that has not agreed to it, so check whether the employer or business is in Asheville or another town. How to complain. File a written, signed and verified complaint with the county's equity officer or other person the county manager designates: within 180 days for employment, or within one year for public accommodation. The officer serves it on both sides within 10 days, starts investigating within 30, and aims to decide within 100 days whether there is reasonable cause. If there is, the officer tries conciliation; a signed conciliation agreement is an enforceable contract. If conciliation fails, the county manager may issue a civil citation of $100, each day of a continuing violation counting separately, or seek an injunction. A finding of reasonable cause can be appealed within 10 days to a panel of county staff.