Human Rights Commission Annual Report FY 2009-2010Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Fiscal Year 2009/2010 Human Rights Commission Annual Report
DATE: November 30, 2010
MCVM:jh
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
KeIIy Larson, Human Rights Director
Dubuque
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All-America City
1
2007
Human Rights Director KeIIy Larson is transmitting the Fiscal Year 2009/2010 Human
Rights Commission Annual Report.
ichael C. Van Milligen
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: Mike Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Kelly Larson, Human Rights Director
SUBJECT: 2009 Annual Report
DATE: November 29, 2010
Dubuque
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11111
2007
Attached please find the Human Rights Commission's Annual Report for fiscal year
2009/2010.
The Commission is very proud of its accomplishments over the past year, and looks
ahead with excitement as work towards the goals for this year is progressing. The
Commission appreciates and thanks you for past and continued support of its
endeavors.
One of our partner
organizations, the
Multicultural Family
Resource Center,
celebrated its grand
opening and expansion
in September 2009.
Visit them at
www. mfcdbq.org.
City of Dubuque
Human Rights Department
Annual Performance Report
July 1, 2009 —June 30, 2010
Mission Statement
The Human Rights Commission shall work to eliminate discrimination and
promote the quality of life for every resident in the city of Dubuque.
Human Rights Department
City Hall Annex
1300 Main Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001 -4732
563 - 589 -4190 office
563 - 690 -6691 fax
563 - 589 -4193 TTY
humanrgt@cityofdubuque.org
Dubuque
' �'l � ,
2007
Honorable Mayor and City Council:
November 8, 2010
THE CITY OF
DUB
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
It's my pleasure to provide you with this year's Human Rights Commission Annual Report.
In the work that we do, it is easy to lose hope and feel that progress has stagnated. Yet, each
year as I put together this report, I am energized and often surprised by the things that we have
been able to accomplish here in our community.
In order to move towards our ideal of living together peacefully in a diverse community, we
know that we must work on several areas at once. First and foremost, we must accept the
reality of conflict and be willing to engage that conflict in effective ways. Borrowing from
William Ury's book "Getting to Peace ", we need to: 1) have prevention efforts in place so that
we are building bridges, teaching skills, and meeting unmet needs; 2) have a variety of options
for resolving conflict that take into account conflicting interests, disputed rights, unequal
power, and injured relationships; and 3) contain conflict by paying attention to injustices,
setting limits, and offering protection. Obviously, the handful of staff people in a human rights
office will never be able to accomplish these tasks — this must be a community -wide effort. Our
role is to provide some degree of leadership and expertise, while keeping sight of the fact that
in a democracy we must have the assistance, support, and diverse insights of the public.
Everything we do succeeds or fails on this basis, and you will find in these pages a significant
amount of work by tireless volunteers and supporters.
On the prevention side of things, part of our role is to help people work more effectively across
cultural differences so that situations do not escalate to the point of illegal discrimination. We
reached over 3,000 people this year with our educational efforts, slowly building understanding
and skills. Our intercultural competence training team also trained over 600 City staff members
on intercultural conflict styles, so they can begin to recognize and more effectively respond to
cultural differences in handling conflict. The Human Rights Commissioners reached out to the
public by conducting a fair housing forum in April and a roundtable discussion in recognition of
the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in July. Our intercultural team
also added signage in Spanish in City Hall and provided resources to staff to help them better
communicate with those whose English proficiency is limited.
We also want to celebrate our partners who work to educate and meet needs. The
Multicultural Family Center celebrated its grand opening this year, expanding its work to
empower children and families. The International Speakers Bureau, an independent group of
community volunteers associated with the Presentation Lantern Center, worked with 16
2
immigrant speakers and conducted thirteen outreach sessions to build understanding of the
immigrant experience in Dubuque. Faces & voices, working through the Community
Foundation of Greater Dubuque, sponsored a series of book discussions on racial reconciliation,
bringing together black and white residents to discuss the challenges — and necessity — of truly
understanding one another.
While education and understanding are important, it is equally critical that we create
environments within our organizations and community that allow people to reach their
potential. This means that we need to recognize how issues of power and interests and
damaged relationships can cause conflict to escalate if we fail to develop ways for people of
very different backgrounds to communicate effectively during conflict. In the coming year, we
will be increasing our efforts in this regard, partly in response to the recommendations of a
diverse group of residents involved in the Safe Community Task Force. The Task Force
recognized the need for more prevention efforts around these issues, so that we might
intervene effectively before things reach the point of needing legal enforcement.
On the enforcement side, we obtained our first settlement in a gender identity case following a
finding of probable cause. We also had a sexual harassment case that resulted in a settlement
of $150,000 and, at the time of this writing, we are finalizing a significant settlement in a
housing case. While we recognize that those who were found to have violated the law disagree
with our conclusions, we stand firm in our conviction that until people choose to resolve
intercultural conflict effectively and create more inclusive institutions and systems, the legal
limits need to exist and be enforced. At the same time, we know that our staff's efforts at
prevention and resolution will be more successful if we do not have the same staff members
who are teaching and mediating also involved in making the enforcement decisions.
Consequently, in the coming year we will begin allowing the Legal Department to make the
enforcement decisions on cases so that our staff can expand our work on education, conflict
engagement, and institutional change. We will remain, however, the first point of contact for
human rights and equal opportunity issues, and we will stay engaged in mediation and
conciliation efforts, as well as public hearings for those circumstances where there is probable
cause to believe discrimination has occurred.
As always, thank you for your ongoing support.
Respectfully submitted
Kelly Larson
Human Rights Director
3
Carol Spinoso
Intake Specialist
DUBUQUE HUMAN RIGHTS DEPARTMENT
FY09 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT
Dubuque City Council
Roy Buol, Mayor
David Resnick
Kevin Lynch
Joyce Connors
Ric Jones
Karla Braig
Dirk Voetberg
Human Rights Commissioners
Anthony Allen, Chairperson
Lori Apel Colin Scott
Frederick Davis R.R.S. Stewart
Pam Sharrad Lynn Sutton
Marcos Rubinstein Katrina Wilberding
Administrative Staff
Kelly Larson
Director
Agency Overview
Molly Menster
Human Relations Specialist
The Dubuque Human Rights Department is located on the second floor of the City Hall Annex at
1300 Main, and is staffed by a Human Rights Director, Human Relations Specialist, and Intake
Specialist. Staff members work in conjunction with the Dubuque Human Rights Commission,
which consists of nine volunteer members serving 3 -year terms at City Council appointment. In
addition to making policy recommendations to the City Council, the Commission evaluates
community needs and takes appropriate action to satisfy those needs. In addition to the
Dubuque Human Rights Commission, our major partners include faces & voices, the League of
Iowa Human Rights Agencies, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, the Regional Executive
Council on Civil Rights, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
4
Mission: Why does the Human Rights Department exist?
The Human Rights Department exists to enforce the local human rights law and to foster a safe,
just, and inclusive community in which differences are recognized as valuable resources, the
economic benefits of a diverse workforce are realized, and people are able to reach their full
potential as contributing members of the community. The Department also assists in carrying
out this mission with employees in the City organization itself.
Guiding Principles: What values influence our operation?
In deciding how best to fulfill our mission and statutory mandate, we are guided by our
commitment to gathering input, creating partnerships, solving problems, and exercising
compassion as we carry out our work.
• We believe that the best decisions are made by engaging and soliciting input from
residents and employees representing a broad range of backgrounds, including groups
whose needs are often overlooked and groups who are often in a position of power.
• We believe in empowering others, removing barriers to participation, and communicating
in a way that fosters understanding across differences.
• We believe that flexibility, risk - taking, and the willingness to view problems and
differences of opinion as an opportunity for improvement can lead to creative problem
solving.
• We know the value of understanding various cultural approaches to communication and
conflict, and strive to learn the skills necessary to adapt our approach so that we can
more effectively solve problems.
• We recognize that good governance requires community effort, and we are committed to
developing partnerships that reflect the variety of backgrounds and interests in the
community that we serve.
• We understand that while the people we serve often have competing interests, they also
have some common expectations of our Department: due process, fairness and equity,
accurate information, timeliness, courtesy and accessibility of staff, effective
communication, and thorough knowledge and performance of our duties.
• We strive to carry out our work with compassion and respect for the basic human dignity
of all with whom we interact.
Service and Performance Measures: What products and services do we deliver, and how
can we measure their success?
We exist to serve all residents of the City of Dubuque, including parties to complaints and
stakeholder groups. The services that we provide fall within these four categories, as defined
by City ordinance:
1. We mediate and determine the legal merits of discrimination complaints received by our
office.
2. We engage in education and conflict management to promote civil and respectful
behavior that will tend to prevent discrimination and reduce tensions between groups.
3. We cooperate with other groups in the community in programs and activities designed to
prevent tensions between groups.
4. We study the existence and causes of conflict and inequality of opportunity and attempt
to find resolutions.
5
These services are necessary to the City Council's vision of an inclusive community with global
connections, engaged residents, and livable neighborhoods.
The measures of our success in the following pages include a combination of output measures
(case statistics, numbers of people trained, reports issued, numbers of meetings or educational
sessions held), outcome measures (customer satisfaction surveys, training evaluations, case
outcomes, increased equality of opportunity and cooperative work across groups) and progress
reports on current department initiatives. These measures revolve around the goals and
objectives discussed below, which are designed to meet our core service requirements.
Goals and Objectives: Where is the Human Rights Department going and what must we
do to get there?
The Human Rights Department is working toward prevention of discrimination and conflict that
arises between groups, while at the same time addressing discrimination and conflict that
currently exists. The Department's efforts include a combination of work within the community
and work internally with the City organization.
In general, we work to prevent conflict by:
• Providing training on legal rights and responsibilities
• Building bridges through effective communication across cultures
• Building intercultural competence within the City organization as a way to lead by
example
• Effectively using technology and the media to educate the public and raise awareness
• Developing partnerships in the community to identify and respond to unmet needs of
traditionally marginalized groups
In general, we work to resolve and contain conflict by:
• Providing parties the choice to mediate and encouraging that option
• Equalizing power imbalances and healing injured relationships
• Maintaining a timely and effective enforcement process
• Maintaining an up -to -date understanding of the changing state of the law
• Identifying areas where additional efforts to further equality through enforcement are
necessary
The following pages provide the details of our action plan and our performance during FY10.
6
FY10 Performance Results
Service Objective #1: Mediate and determine the legal merits of discrimination
complaints received.
Goal: The Human Rights Department will have a timely and effective enforcement
process.
Performance Measures /Results
CASELOAD REPORT
During fiscal year 2010, 509 individuals contacted the office requesting assistance or
information. Forty of those inquiries resulted in a formal case filing. Forty -one cases were
processed and closed.
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
0
2010 Intake Summary
100 200 300 400 500 600
`;
o � c
2010 Cases Filed & Cases Closed
Cases Filed • Cases Closed
700
te Resolved /Referred
• Formal Complaints
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� \ � a J N c)
O
7
The majority of the cases filed were in the area of employment. In fact, 77% of the 40
cases filed in FY10 were in the area of employment. The area of housing accounted for
10% of the total cases filed, and public accommodation 13 %. This breakdown reveals
that employment continues to comprise the largest share of the breakdown, though we
have seen some increase in public accommodation cases.
FY10 Performance Results
CASELOAD SUMMARY
2010 Case Breakdown by Area
If Employment • Housing Public Accommodation
Sex and disability claims encompassed the greatest shares of the 40 cases filed in
fiscal year 2010, followed by age, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, national
origin, retaliation and familial status.
Breakdown by Bases
• Disability
• Age
Sex
• Race
Retaliation
National Origin
Gender Identity
Familial Status
Sexual Orientation
Cases filed in one area (i.e. employment) may have alleged discrimination on one or more bases (i.e. disability and
age); therefore the total by bases may be greater than the number of cases by area.
8
FY10 Performance Results
CASELOAD STATISTICAL DATA
Breakdown of Cases into Area and Basis of Discrimination
Area FY2008 FY2009 FY2010
Employment 21 22 31
Disability 5 6 7
Sex 4 6 9
Race 8 6 4
Age 4 3 5
National Origin 3 I 3
Retaliation 2 4 I
Gender Identity 0 I I
Sexual Orientation 0 0 3
Public Accommodation 10 5 5
Disability 8
Sex 0 I 0
Race I I 0
Religion I 0 0
National Origin 0 0 0
Gender Identity 0 3 3
Sexual Orientation 0 0 I
Housing 7 8 4
Disability I 3 0
Sex 0 I 2
Race 4 5 0
Age 0 I 0
National Origin I 0 0
Familial Status 2 I I
Retaliation 0 0 I
TOTAL CASES FILED 38 35 40
Cases filed in one area (i.e. employment) may have alleged discrimination on one or more bases (i.e. disability and
age); therefore the total by bases may be greater than the number of cases by area.
9
CASES CLOSED /RESOLVED
July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010
Employment 27
Disability 5
Sex 7
Race 4
Age 3
Retaliation 0
National Origin 4
Gender Identity 2
Sexual Orientation 2
Housing 8
Disability 2
Race 2
Age 2
Retaliation
Familial Status I
Public Accommodation 6
Sex I
Gender Identity 5
Total Cases Closed 4I
Disposition of Closed Complaints in 2010
Total monetary settlement awards: $183,166.00.
II Administrative Closure
ii Probable Cause with
Settlement
LJ No Probable Cause
11 Right -to -sue
u Settlement /Mediation
10
SAMPLE CASE DISPOSITIONS
➢ An administrative law judge issued a probable cause finding in an employment
claim involving sex (pregnancy) discrimination. The Complainant worked as a
bartender at Respondent's place of business. After she informed her employer
that she was pregnant, she was not retained as a bartender despite her
experience and exceptional performance reviews. The evidence gathered as a
whole suggested that Complainant was held to a significantly different standard
than male employees regarding workplace behavior, suggesting that the
Respondent's alleged reasons for firing her were a pretext for discrimination. The
parties conciliated the claim for $5,791 after a finding of probable cause.
➢ The Complainant, alleged that she had been subjected to sexual harassment by
her supervisor, and then retaliated against after following Respondent's formal
complaint process and reporting the behavior to management. An investigation
revealed that Complainant's male supervisor made regular requests that she
date him, made inappropriate sexual comments to her, and when she refused his
advances he retaliated. The administrative law judge concluded probable cause
as witness testimony and the evidence gathered showed that the supervisor
used his position of authority over the Complainant in a way that affected the
terms and conditions of her employment, and that the Respondent did not take
Complainant's concerns about sexual harassment seriously. This claim was
conciliated for $150,000.00 prior to a public hearing.
➢ A transgendered male to female charged the Respondent with discrimination in
the area of public accommodation based on gender identity when she was
harassed and ordered to leave Respondent's place of business upon exiting the
women's restroom. The administrative law judge rendered a finding of probable
cause for discrimination. Parties agreed to settle for $3,750.00
11
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
% cases AC
within 150
days
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
FY10 Case Performance Results
100%
7 °
investigations
completed
within 300
days
Housing Employment
3.5 hrs 10 hrs
20 % - -20%
% successful
mediations
% cases
accepted by
state /fed
partners
Service Objective #2: Engage in education and conflict management to promote
civil and respectful behavior that will tend to prevent discrimination and reduce
tension between groups.
Goal: The Human Rights Department will have a comprehensive outreach and
education plan to be used as a model.
Performance Measures /Results
This year, the Human Rights Department, with the help of dedicated Commissioners and
volunteers, exceeded our goals for outreach and education. Our major accomplishments this
year include:
• reaching 3,046 individuals through over 92 training and outreach sessions totaling 160 hours,
with a specific emphasis on prevention;
Type of Training
40-
Community
Outreach
51 hrs
-80%
# of hrs legal
training for
staff
43
Intercultrual
Competence
96 hrs
-80 -_ .80
• Goal
• Actual
• Goal
• Actual
12
• demonstrating high levels of customer satisfaction, on a scale of one to seven;
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
14
12
10
8
6
5.8 5.9
Media
coverage /PR /ads
Provide a better
understanding
Customer Evaluations
Will use information
received
6.6
Trainer effective in
making info
understandable
• reaching 70,459 people with pieces of advertising and media coverage;
Public events attended Programs created for
Channel 8
6.4
Satisfied with overall
quality of training
E Goal
• Actual
• maintaining excellent front -line customer service, and quality record - keeping and logistical
arrangements to keep the office running smoothly;
• educating all Section 8 rental assistance recipients on fair housing rights;
• creating a detailed annual report to keep the department accountable to the public and to
raise awareness of the role and work of the department;
13
• opening the doors for dialogue through 40 Speakers' Bureau presentations highlighting
individual experiences of race, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin in our
community. These engagements were made possible through the work of Commissioners
and additional community volunteers, including an independent partner group called The
International Speakers Bureau (ISB). The ISB draws from a panel of 16 immigrant speakers,
and has reached over 230 residents with group presentations and an educational video called
Diverse Dubuque: A Focus on National Origin;
• creating the video Dubuque Dispute Resolution Center: A Sample Mediation to raise
awareness of the benefits of mediation. The video runs regularly on CityChannel 8;
• making conscious efforts to personally discuss the value of mediation with complainants and
respondents, as often as feasible;
• working towards prevention through "leading by example," with the city's inter - cultural
competence initiative;
• making conscious efforts to devote time to strengthening one -on -one relationships with
neighborhood and stakeholder leadership;
• conducting a commissioner -led ADA Roundtable, issuing a written report, and creating a
video in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act;
• conducting a commissioner -led Fair Housing Forum for Fair Housing month;
• presenting at the National ADA Symposium in recognition of the 20 Anniversary of the ADA;
• facilitating a series of book discussions around the book "Letters Across the Divide" by David
Anderson, as part of our Dr. King Tribute Days.
Service Objective #3: Cooperate with other groups in programs and activities
designed to prevent tensions between groups.
Goal #1: The Human Rights Department will partner with other community
groups concerned with equality of opportunity and managing conflict across
differences.
Performance Measures /Results
Our goal was to partner on at least one major program /activity this year. We in fact partnered
on three programs /activities: faces & voices, the Dubuque Dispute Resolution Center, and the
Safe Community Task Force. Below is a summary of project accomplishments.
Initiative: faces & voices
Brief description of partnership: faces & voices is a community group that plans the annual
Dr. King Tribute Days and also sponsors other diversity events in the community. The Human
Rights Director is a member of the group.
Update on current status: The Dr. King Tribute Days this year featured David Anderson, co-
author of Letters Across the Divide which explores black and white perspectives on race in
America. In addition to hosting Dr. Anderson as a speaker at the annual breakfast, the group
14
also: 1) hosted a luncheon with Dr. Anderson and community leaders, 2) hosted an evening
educational session with Dr. Anderson speaking on diversity initiatives; and 3) hosted a series
of book discussions across the community on the book Letters Across the Divide: Two Friends
Explore Racism, Friendship and Faith, written by David Anderson and his friend Brent Zuercher.
The local NAACP event included a march, speaker, and awards ceremony for student winners
of the Dr. King Multi -Media Tribute Contest.
Initiative: Dubuque Dispute Resolution Center
Brief description of partnership: The Dubuque Dispute Resolution Center consists of trained
community volunteer mediators, whose work to resolve neighborhood related disputes is
coordinated through the Human Rights Department.
Update on current status: This year, the DDRC handled 36 intakes and conducted four
neighborhood related mediations. Mediators also filmed a sample mediation that is being aired
as an educational video on the value of mediation on CityChannel 8.
Initiative: Safe Community Task Force
Brief description of partnership: The Human Rights Director served as the initial facilitator of
the Safe Community Task force, a diverse group of residents who came together to discuss
community safety concerns.
Update on current status: The Task Force interviewed and recommended the selection of two
consultants to assist with Task Force priorities: 1) Urban Strategies, who was hired to take over
facilitation of the group during the second half of the year; and 2) Northern Illinois University,
who was hired upon recommendation from the task force to conduct a study on crime and
poverty in Dubuque. After several months of meetings, deliberation and consensus building, the
task force sent a series of recommendations to the City Council. Currently, staff across
departments are working to implement those recommendations. The Human Rights
Department is specifically charged with implementing two recommendations: 1) helping to
coordinate the NIU study; and 2) reorganizing the Human Rights Department in order to
increase human relations and prevention efforts in the community.
Goal #2: The Human Rights Department will partner with other City Departments to
foster commitment to creating inclusive city services and an inclusive work environment
within City government.
Performance Measures /Results
Our goal was to partner on at least one major project this year. Below is a summary of the
project accomplishments.
Initiative: Intercultural Competence Initiative
Brief description of partnership: This project is coordinated by the City of Dubuque's Steering
and Training teams. The Director and the Human Relations Specialist occupy leadership roles
on both teams.
Update on current status: The training team offered seven hours of Foundations of
Intercultural Competence Training to City staff hired in the past year, and met monthly to further
develop training skills and future sessions. This year, the training team conducted 18, 3.5 -hour
training sessions for all City staff on Intercultural Conflict Styles. The Steering team and
subcommittees completed and distributed its second Annual Report, instituted an Intercultural
Competence Administrative Policy, offered four mini - trainings for City staff, implemented an on-
line application system called NEOGOV, assisted with the addition of signage in Spanish in City
15
Hall, raised awareness of the availability of the Language Line Services for staff members, and
continued to provide regular intercultural tips at management team and in the employee
newsletter.
Service Objective #4: Study the existence and causes of conflict and inequality of
opportunity and attempt to find resolutions.
Goal: The Human Rights Department will work to identify unmet needs and partner with
other groups to develop solutions to inequality of opportunity.
Performance Measures /Results
Our goal was to partner on at least one major project this year. This year, we have participated
in the Multicultural Family Center expansion and the Housing and Community Development
Departments update to the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing. Below is a summary of
project accomplishments.
Initiative: Multicultural Family Center
Brief description of partnership: The City recognizes the Multicultural Family Center,
previously operating under the Iowa State University Extension office, as critical to empowering
neighborhood residents and building unity through diversity, and various City departments have
partnered to increase the capacity of the Center.
Update on current status: The AmeriCorps VISTA member and Director worked with the
other partners to assist the new Director with the Grand Opening of the expanded 6,000 square
foot facility, which occurred in September 2009. The Director joined the Board of Directors for
the Center, and the group worked on obtaining independent 501(c)(3) status, developing
operating policies, supporting the expanded programming, and supporting the first annual Taste
of the World Fundraiser.
Initiative: Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing
Brief description of partnership: As part of the receipt of federal community development
block grant funding, the City of Dubuque is required to regularly perform an Analysis of
Impediments to Fair Housing, and take action toward eliminating those impediments. The
Human Rights Department assists the Housing and Community Development Department in
taking these steps.
Update on current status: The two departments entered into a contract with Alta Vista
Research to perform the Analysis of Impediments. Upon receipt of the completed analysis, the
Director drafted an action plan for the Housing and Community Development Department and
the Community Development Commission.
Staff Development
• Staff met our goal of 80 hours of legal update training this year, with the Director and the
Human Relations Specialist attending Week V of the National Fair Housing Training
Academy, and graduating from that Academy.
• Staff remained abreast of case law developments by reviewing the BNA Fair Employment
Reports, the Iowa Employment Law Letter, the ADA Compliance Guide, Fair Housing Coach
Newsletters, and the Fair Housing /Fair Lending Reporter.
16
• The Director and Human Relations Specialist attended the Summer Institute on Intercultural
Communication.
• The Director attended mandatory VISTA supervisor training.
• The Director attended legal ethics training.
• The Director and Human Relations Specialist attended a Consensus Building Workshop.
• The Intake Specialist assisted with the Family Self- Sufficiency Program's Road to Success.
Community Activities
• The Director serves on the Multicultural Family Center Board of Directors.
• The Director serves as the Secretary for the League of Iowa Human Rights Agencies and
also for the Regional Executive Council on Civil Rights.
• Staff assisted with Community Days of Caring.
17
THE COMPLAINT PROCESS
A complaint is filed when a person feels that he /she is the victim of unlawful discrimination. A
complainant may file a complaint with the Human Rights Department within 300 days of the
alleged discriminatory act. Any of the Department's staff can perform the intake interview
establishing that the Department has authority in the matter (jurisdiction and gathering the
necessary information about the alleged act, such as time, place, the person involved, and the
details of the act.) Note that the complainant has the right to withdraw the complaint at any
time.
A respondent is notified once jurisdiction is established and intake is complete.
A mediation conference is encouraged at this time because it offers all parties the possibility of
a speedy and satisfactory resolution. If mediation fails, the Director or Human Relations
Specialist begins an investigation.
An investigation can include field investigations, site visits, interviews with witnesses,
documentation examination, and face -to -face meetings with both the complainant and the
respondent to discuss the complaint and gather facts.
Probable cause is determined at the end of the investigation by an administrative law judge
(ALJ). If the facts /evidence support the charge, a determination of probable cause is issued. If
the evidence does not support the charge, a determination of no probable cause (NPC) is
issued and the case is then dismissed. The complainant can request to reopen the case if
he /she feels the NPC is in error.
A post - probable cause conciliation is undertaken to try and bring the complainant and the
respondent to a mutually agreeable arrangement saving all the parties time, and possibly, legal
fees.
When conciliation is unsuccessful the complaint proceeds to a pre- hearing review.
When a case goes to public hearing, it is presided over by an administrative law judge. At the
hearing, the complainant is often represented by private counsel. The respondent is often
represented by private counsel. The attorneys present the facts of the case to the
administrative law judge. The City Solicitor represents the public interest.
The full Commission reviews the recommended order and the record of the hearing. If the
Commission finds that discrimination has not occurred, the case is dismissed, but if the finding
is that discrimination has occurred, the respondent is ordered to take appropriate action to
redress the effects of the discrimination. The Commission may order employment, promotion,
raise, back pay, letter of reference, housing, credit, formal apology, a change in the
respondent's policies, and cash awards in compensation for humiliation, suffering, and mental
anguish. Both the complainant and the respondent can appeal the Commission's order within
30 days to district court.
18
Intake Interview
A Complaint is Filed
(Must be within 300 days of the alleged unlawful act)
Respondent is Notified (The person or entity
whose action is the subject of the complaint)
Mediation Conference
(If agreed to by both parties)
•
If Unsuccessful
•
Investigation
Determination
•
Post Probable Cause Conciliation Effort
(Conducted by the Department)
•
If Unsuccessful
V
Pre - Hearing Review
•
Public Hearing
•
Recommended Order
1 Complainant has 30 days to request judicial review
2 In a fair housing case the Complainant may elect to
commence a civil action in court.
3 Complainant or Respondent can appeal the decision
to the District Court within 30 days.
COMPLAINT PROCESS AT A GLANCE
■ If Successful ■
► No Probable Cause ►
(Case dismissed)
►
•
■ If Successful ► Conciliation Aereement
Commission's Order After Hearing
(No discrimination found —case dismissed
OR
Discrimination found — corrective action ordered)
Court Appeal 3
19
NOTES
D•U•B•U•Q•U•E
gi.r Fri ri
HUMAN RIGHTS
COMMISSION
CITY OF DUBUQUE
HUMAN RIGHTS DEPARTMENT
1300 MAIN STREET
DUBUQUE, IA 52001
Visit us on the web
www.cityofdubuque.org