Small Kentucky village bars job bias

Vicco, Ky. (Image by Seth Ilys via Wikimedia Commons)

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A tiny Appalachian village near Kentucky’s border with Virginia is the first municipality in a decade, and the fourth in state history to pass an ordinance barring discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

According to the ACLU, tiny Vicco with only 334 residents as of the 2010 Census, was originally named for the Virginia Iron Coal and Coke Company, which still dominates employment in the area.

“Vicco is a community that believes all folks should be treated fairly,” Vicco City Attorney Eric Ashley told the ACLU. “We believe everyone deserves the opportunity for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Fairness is a Kentucky value, a Vicco value, and one of our most American values.”