2032                                          LAWS OF MARYLAND                      [Ch. 601

enterprise; (2) it [shall] IS not [be] an unlawful
employment practice for an employer to establish
standards concerning an employee's dress and grooming on
the basis of the employee's sex provided that the
standards are directly related to the nature of the
employment of the employee; (3) it [shall] IS not [be] an
unlawful employment practice for a school, college,
university, or other educational institution or
institution of learning to hire and employ employees of a
particular religion if [such] THE school, college,
university, or other educational institution or
institution of learning is, in whole or in substantial
part, owned, supported, controlled, or managed by a
particular religion or by a particular religious
corporation, association, or society or if the curriculum
of [such] THE school, college, university, or other
educational institution or institution of learning is
directed toward the propagation of a particular religion;
and (4) it [shall] IS not [be] unlawful for an employer,
employment agency or labor organization to observe the
terms of a bona fide seniority system or any bona fide
employee benefit plan such as a retirement, pension or
insurance plan, which is not a subterfuge to evade the
purposes of this subtitle [, except that no such];
HOWEVER, NO employee benefit. plan shall excuse the
failure to hire any individual.

(h) Nothing contained in this subtitle shall be
interpreted to require any employer, employment agency,
labor organization, or joint labor—management committee
subject to this subtitle to grant preferential treatment
to any individual or to any group because of the race,
color, religion, sex, age [or], national origin OR
PHYSICAL OR MENTAL HANDICAP of [such] THE individual or
group on account of an imbalance which may exist with
respect to the total number or percentage of persons of
any race, color, religion, sex, age [or], national origin
OR PHYSICALLY OR MENTALLY HANDICAPPED PERSONS employed by
any employer, referred or classified for employment by
any employment agency or labor organization, admitted to
membership or classified by any labor agency or labor
organization, admitted to membership or classified by any
labor organization, or admitted to, or employed in, any
apprenticeship or other training program, in comparison
with the total number or percentage of persons of such
race, color, religion, sex, age [or], national origin OR
PHYSICALLY OR MENTALLY HANDICAPPED PERSONS in any
community. State, section, or other area, or in the
available work force in any community. State, section, or
other area.

21.

(a) It is the policy of the State of Maryland to