Northampton County Human Relations Ordinance: Veteran Status Protected

What it does. The ordinance, introduced as Bill 900-2026 and adopted 9-0 by County Council on March 19, 2026 under section 12.1 of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, creates a county Human Relations Commission and forbids discrimination in employment, housing, education, health care and public accommodations because of a long list of characteristics that includes veteran status. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act itself does not protect veteran status, so in Northampton County this is a new local right; speakers at the hearing named veterans among those the State law leaves out. When. It takes effect on June 1, 2026 everywhere in the county except the City of Bethlehem, which has its own commission; there it takes effect fifteen months after enactment unless the City opts out, under 53 Pa.C.S. 2963(2). How to use it. A complaint goes to the county Human Relations Commission, whose members, agendas and minutes are on the county site. Federal law (USERRA) separately protects service members and veterans in employment; this ordinance reaches further, to housing, education, health care and public accommodations.