Grand Rapids — Ch. 176 Human Rights § 9.959

(1) The opportunity to obtain employment and advancement opportunities without discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived membership in a protected class as identified in Section 9.955 of this Chapter is hereby recognized and declared to be a civil right. No person shall discriminate against a current or prospective employee with respect to hire, tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, or any matter directly or indirectly related to employment, unless such act is based on a bona fide occupational qualification.
(2) The City as an employer shall also be bound by the provisions of Section 1.150 of the City Code.
(3) Bona fide occupational qualifications shall include:
(a) Safety. Any decision based upon the reasonable and well-substantiated belief that an individual's physical or mental health poses a serious threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the individual or other employees or customers.
(b) Conviction Record. History of criminal conviction may be considered in employment decisions, although arrest with no conviction may not be considered. An outright ban on prospective employees with a criminal background is prohibited. Employers must carefully consider, on a case-by-case basis, the nature and severity of the crime, the age of the individual at the time of the crime, whether there have been repeat offenses, whether the individual maintained a good employment history before or after the conviction, evidence of rehabilitation efforts, and whether the crime for which the individual was convicted may pose a demonstrable risk to the health, safety or welfare of other employees or persons or to property.
(c) Competence. Any decision which is based upon the reasonable and well-substantiated belief that an individual has not met certain educational or licensing requirements, or is otherwise incapable of satisfactorily performing necessary duties or fulfilling reasonable responsibilities associated with a particular occupation.
(d) Undue hardship. A qualification is bona fide if and only if the particular needs of the protected individual affected by it cannot be reasonably accommodated without undue hardship, or without unreasonably expanding health and safety risks. Mere inconvenience to the accommodating party is not grounds for discrimination. Whether the cost of a reasonable accommodation imposes an undue hardship depends on the employer's resources, not on the individual's salary, position, or status.
(e) The following are not bona fide occupational qualifications:
i. Mere inconvenience, less than an undue hardship, to an employment agent in procuring or providing aid to a member of a protected class to accommodate that individual's needs.
ii. The anticipated or actual objections of other employees, co-workers, customers, or other persons unrelated to an individual's competence as an employee.
iii. A qualification which has insignificant or incidental bearing on, or which is otherwise not necessary to, the efficient operations of the employer.