(a) Every employer shall furnish employment which shall be reasonably safe for the employees engaged therein and shall furnish and use safety devices and safeguards and shall adopt and use methods and processes reasonably adequate to render such employment and the places where the employment is performed reasonably safe for his employees and others who are not trespassers, and he shall do everything reasonably necessary to protect the life, health and safety of his employees and others who are not trespassers.

(b) Every employer and every owner of a place of employment, place of public assembly or public building, now or hereafter constructed, shall so construct, repair and maintain the same as to render it reasonably safe; provided, however, that nothing contained in this section shall be construed or applied so as to impose upon any such owner any duties to his tenant, the members of his family, employees, guests or invitees or others entering upon the premises under the tenant's title, or the public, not now imposed upon him by law.

(c) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them by this subsection:

(1) EMPLOYER. Such term includes every person, firm, corporation, partnership, joint stock association, agent, manager, representative, foreman or other person having control or custody of any employment, place of employment or of any employee, but the terms of this section shall not be construed to cover the employment of agricultural workers or domestic servants.

(2) EMPLOYEE. Such term does not and shall not include agricultural workers or domestic servants.

(3) SAFE and SAFETY. Such terms, applied to any employment or place of employment, place of public assembly or public building, shall mean 'reasonably safe' or 'reasonable safety' consistent with the lawful purpose of the use and occupancy of the place of employment, place of public assembly or public building and the inherent danger of the employment, the process, operation or situation involved, and, shall include conditions and methods of sanitation and hygiene reasonably necessary for the protection of the life, health and safety of the employees and others who are not trespassers.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever any employer in this state sponsors or initiates a program of affirmative action designed to cure or eradicate the effects of discrimination in employment, and the intent of the program is to affect the recruitment, selection, appointment, promotion, or other personnel procedures or functions in a manner so as to insure equal employment opportunity for minorities, the term 'minority' shall include, in addition to any specifically identified ethnic group or other classification, a person who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States and who can establish by information contained on his or her birth certificate, by tribal records or by other reliable records, that he or she is an American Indian or Alaskan Native, having origins in any of the original peoples of North America.

Any person owning or controlling a store or shop in which any female is employed as a clerk or saleswoman, who fails to provide such female with proper accommodations for sitting or resting when not actively engaged in the work of her employment, or who fails to permit her to do so when not so engaged, or who shall not have in such building, or convenient thereto, separate water closets for the use of such females, shall, on conviction, be fined not less than $50.00 nor more than $500.00.

For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

(1) DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICE. Any practice made unlawful by this article.

(2) EMPLOYER. Any person employing 20 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, including any agent of that person.

(3) EMPLOYMENT AGENCY. Any person regularly undertaking, with or without compensation, to procure employees for an employer or to procure for employees opportunities to work for an employer, including any agent of that person.

(4) LABOR ORGANIZATION. Any organization which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms, or conditions of employment, or of other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment.

No employer, employment agency, or labor organization shall discriminate in employment against a worker 40 years of age and over in hiring, job retention, compensation, or other terms or conditions of employment.

It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to do any of the following:

(1) Fail or refuse to hire or discharge an individual, or otherwise discriminate against an individual with respect to compensation, terms, or privileges of employment, because of the age of the individual.

(2) Limit, segregate, or classify employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive an individual of employment opportunities or to adversely affect the status of an individual as an employee, because of the age of the individual.

It is an unlawful employment practice for an employment agency to fail or refuse to refer for employment, or otherwise to discriminate against an individual because of the age of the individual.

It is an unlawful employment practice for a labor organization to do any of the following:

(1) Exclude or expel from its membership, or otherwise discriminate against an individual because of the age of the individual.

(2) Limit, segregate, or classify its membership, or to classify or fail or refuse to refer for employment an individual in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive an individual of employment opportunities, or adversely affect the status of an individual as an employee, or as an applicant for employment, because of the age of the individual.

(3) Cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against an individual in violation of this section.

It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including on-the-job training programs, to discriminate against an individual because of age in admission to, or employment in, any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training.

It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee to discriminate against an individual seeking a license, certification, or seeking to take or pass an examination, because of the age of the individual.

It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, labor organization, employment agency, or joint labor-management committee to print, or cause to be printed or published, any notice or advertisement relating to employment, apprenticeship, or other training, indicating any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination of age.

It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, labor organization, employment agency, or joint labor-management committee to discriminate against an individual because that individual has opposed any practice which is an unlawful employment practice under this article, or because that individual has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this article.

Any person aggrieved may elect to pursue their remedies under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act 29 U.S.C. Section 621 or in the alternative bring a civil action in the circuit court of the county in which the person was or is employed for such legal or equitable relief as will effectuate the purposes of this article. However, if an action is brought in the federal court, any action pending in the state court shall be simultaneously dismissed with prejudice. Further, any party bringing action under this section shall only be entitled to one recovery of damages. Any damages assessed in one court will offset any entitlement to damages in any other state or federal court. In any action, a person shall be entitled to a trial by jury of any issue of fact in any action for recovery of amounts owed as a result of a violation of this article, regardless of whether equitable relief is sought by any party in the action. Any employment practice authorized by the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act shall also be authorized by this article and the remedies, defenses, and statutes of limitations, under this article shall be the same as those authorized by the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act except that a plaintiff shall not be required to pursue any administrative action or remedy prior to filing suit under this article.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY. Any person, entity, or agency which, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties, and which uses any means or facility of interstate commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing consumer reports.

(2) DEPARTMENT. The Department of Industrial Relations.

(3) USER. The same meaning as set forth in the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §1681 et seq.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the department may contract with one or more consumer reporting agencies to provide secure electronic access to employer-provided information relating to the quarterly wages report submitted in accordance with the state's unemployment compensation law. Such access is limited to the wage reports for the preceding 16 calendar quarters.

(c) A user shall receive written consent from the consumer prior to receiving the information pursuant to subsection (b). The written consent from the consumer shall be signed and shall contain all of the following:

(1) Specific notice that the individual's wage and employment history information will be released to a consumer reporting agency.

(2) Notice that any release is made for the sole purpose of reviewing a specific application made by the individual.

(3) Notice that the files of the department containing wage and employment history information submitted by the individual or his or her employers may be accessed.

(4) A listing of the parties authorized to receive the released information.

(d) Consumer reporting agencies and users accessing information under this section shall safeguard the confidentiality of such information and shall use the information only to support a single transaction for the user to satisfy standard financial underwriting requirements or other requirements imposed upon the user, and to satisfy the obligations of the user under applicable state or federal fair credit reporting laws and rules governing this section.

(e) If any consumer reporting agency or creditor violates any provision of this section, the department shall, upon 30 days written notice to the consumer reporting agency, terminate the contract established between the department and the consumer reporting agency pursuant to this section. In no event shall the department be liable for any violation by the consumer reporting agency or creditor of any provision of this section.

(f) The department shall establish minimum audit, security, net worth, and liability insurance standards, technical requirements, and any other terms and conditions considered necessary in the discretion of the department to safeguard the confidentiality of the information released under this section and to otherwise serve the public interest. The department shall also include, in coordination with any necessary audit procedures to ensure that the safeguards are followed.

(g) In contracting with one or more consumer reporting agencies pursuant to this section, any revenues generated by any contract shall be used to pay the entire cost of providing access to the information. In accordance with federal regulations, any additional revenue generated by the department or the state under this section shall be paid into the Employment Security Administration Fund with continuous appropriation for the administration of the unemployment compensation system or as otherwise provided by law.

(h) The department may not provide wage and employment history information to any consumer reporting agency before the consumer reporting agency under contract with the department pays all development and start-up costs incurred by the state in connection with the design, installation, and administration of technological systems and procedures for the electronic access program.

(i) The release of any information under this section shall be for a purpose authorized by and in the manner permitted by the United States Department of Labor and any subsequent rules or regulations adopted by that department.