The Senate Finance Committee heard testimony Monday on legislation that would extend workplace discrimination protections to roughly 44,000 Alaskans employed by nonprofit organizations.

House Bill 23 would close what sponsors call a significant gap in state civil rights law. Currently, employees of nonprofit organizations outside Anchorage and Juneau have no state recourse if they face workplace discrimination at small nonprofits with fewer than 15 employees. The bill would bring those workers under the jurisdiction of the Alaska State Commission on Human Rights, which already covers for-profit employers.

Representative Andy Josephson, an Anchorage Democrat who sponsored the measure, told the committee the bill passed the House 39-0 and has met with broad support. He said the change would ensure fairness across all Alaska workplaces.

"If you do not live within the Municipality of Anchorage where we do have a formal Anchorage Equal Rights Commission, so you live in say Palmer and you have a complaint based on civil rights category, you would only be able to contact the HRC if your complaint relates to a for-profit business," Josephson said. "But if your complaint relates to a nonprofit business, you would be relegated to contacting the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is very busy in Seattle."

Municipal human rights commissions in Anchorage and Juneau already cover nonprofit employees in their respective communities, but the state commission has no jurisdiction over nonprofits elsewhere in Alaska.

Rob Corbisier, executive director of the commission, said employees at small nonprofits currently have limited options when facing discrimination. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission only handles cases involving employers with 15 or more workers, leaving employees at smaller organizations with no recourse except filing their own lawsuits.

"If you are working for a small nonprofit outside of Anchorage, and you are being sexually harassed, small nonprofit, less than 15 employees, you have no recourse other than to file your own private lawsuit," Corbisier said. "And how much is it going to cost for a retainer for private counsel. You are going to be looking at $3,000 to $5,000 just to walk in the door."

Corbisier said the commission routinely handles cases with damages under $10,000 to $15,000 that private attorneys would not take because the potential recovery does not justify the cost.

The bill would retain exceptions for religious organizations on ecclesiastical matters and for fraternal organizations. Ken Alper, staff to Representative Josephson, said the change applies narrowly to discrimination law and does not alter the definition of employer elsewhere in state labor statutes.