Idaho Human Rights Act — employer coverage threshold
The Idaho Human Rights Act (IHRA) prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and disability. An "employer" under the Act means a person who hires five or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, whose services are to be partially or wholly performed in Idaho. The definition excludes domestic servants hired to work in and about a person's household. Any agency of or governmental entity within Idaho is covered regardless of employee count, as is any contractor or subcontractor furnishing material or performing work for the state.
Source: Idaho Code § 67-5902(6) & § 67-5909
Administrative exhaustion requirement — filing with IHRC before court action
Idaho requires administrative exhaustion before a discrimination lawsuit may be filed in court. A complaint must be filed with the Idaho Human Rights Commission as a condition precedent to litigation. Once the Commission issues a notice of administrative dismissal, the complainant may file a civil action in district court, but must do so within ninety (90) days of issuance of that dismissal notice. No court action is permitted until the administrative process with the Commission concludes with a dismissal.
Source: Idaho Code § 67-5908(2)
Protected classes under the Idaho Human Rights Act
The Idaho Human Rights Act (IHRA) prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and disability. The scope of protection varies by characteristic.
Race, color, religion, sex, and national origin receive the broadest protection under Idaho Code § 67-5909. Discrimination on these bases is prohibited across all contexts covered by the Act, including employment practices (hiring, discharge, compensation, terms and conditions), employment agency referrals, labor organization membership, discriminatory job advertisements, public accommodations, housing, education, and real property transactions.
Age discrimination is prohibited in a narrower set of contexts. Idaho Code § 67-5909 limits age protection to subsections (1) through (4), which cover employer hiring and employment practices, employment agency referrals, labor organization actions, and discriminatory advertisements relating to employment. The prohibition does not extend to public accommodations, housing, or real property transactions. Age protection applies only to individuals who are at least forty (40) years of age, per Idaho Code § 67-5910(9).
Disability discrimination is prohibited in employment contexts (subsections (1) through (4)), public accommodations (subsection (6)), education (subsection (8)), housing (subsection (8)), and real property transactions (subsections (9), (10), and (11)). The statute defines "disability" in Idaho Code § 67-5902(5) as "a physical or mental condition of a person, whether congenital or acquired, which constitutes a substantial limitation to that person and is demonstrable by medically accepted clinical or laboratory diagnostic techniques."
The disability prohibition contains an employment-specific exception: the prohibition does not apply if "the particular disability, even with a reasonable accommodation, prevents the performance of the work required in that job." Idaho Code § 67-5909. The protection also extends to individuals without disabilities who are associated with a person with a disability, such as an applicant whose spouse or child has a disability.
Idaho does not prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity at the state level. Some local jurisdictions, including the City of Boise, have enacted ordinances that add these as protected classes within their geographic boundaries.
Source: Idaho Code § 67-5909, Idaho Code § 67-5910, Idaho Code § 67-5902