City of Omaha Human Rights & Relations Board Training 2016

1. City of Omaha Human Rights & Relations Board Training2016 Presented by: Human Rights & Relations Department Staff July-August, 2016

2. Purpose of Training • Educate the new HRR Board on: • Community Status • Department Legacy • Department Responsibilities • Employment, Housing and Public Accommodation Investigations • Education and Outreach • Small Business and Small Emerging Business Program • Board Responsibilities • Board stage setting

3. “Let us begin to see the true promise of our country and community, not as a melting pot, but as a kaleidoscope.”--Robert Kennedy--

4. Who is Omaha? • Omaha is a diverse community made up of: • 13.7% Black • 13.1% Hispanic • .8% American Indian/Alaska Native • 2.4% Asian • .1% Native Hawaiian/Other pacific Islander • 68% White • 32% of Omaha’s population is minority • 9.2% Foreign Born • 13.9% Language other than English spoken at home • 25-30,000 Sudanese population, the largest in the country is established in Omaha • 100+ Different languages are spoken in the Omaha Public School System. (New York has approx. 120 different languages)

5. What does this diversity mean to Omaha? • Is there anyone in the community that should not be treated with dignity and respect? • Is there anyone in the community that should have better opportunities than others? • Is there anyone who cannot offer some type of benefit to the Omaha community through their gained experiences, cultural backgrounds, or education etc?

6. The Answer is? • A resounding NO • We are the Human Race and we all have something to offer our community and we all deserve to benefit from our community. • Keep the stats and questions in mind as we go through the protected classes on Civil Rights…..

7. Whywere Civil Rights put in place? • To “PROTECT ALL” people who are not treated equal. • In an 11 June 1963 speech broadcast live on national television and radio, President John F. Kennedy unveiled plans to pursue a comprehensive civil rights bill in Congress, stating, “this nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free”

8. Who then is protected by the Civil Rights Laws? • Who are ALL the people? • ALL of us • Regardless of RACE • Regardless of COLOR • Regardless of NATIONAL ORIGIN • Regardless of RELIGION • Regardless of CREED • Regardless of SEX • Regardless of DISABILITY • Regardless of GENDER • Regardless of AGE • Regardless of FAMILIAR STATUS • Regardless of MARITAL STATUS • Regardless of SEXUAL ORIENTATION (Omaha) • Regardless of GENDER IDENTITY (Omaha) ALL PEOPLE FALL IN ONE OR MORE OF THESE CATAGORIES

9. What does this mean to be protected by Civil Rights? • Examples: • A White, male, over 40, PTSD • May be protected under race, sex, age and/or disability, sexual orientation and/or gender identity. • A Hispanic, female, from South America, over 40, visually impaired • May be protected under race, sex, national origin, age and/or disability, sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

10. WHEREis the protection applied? • The Protection is for most everything we need and most anything we want to do; • HOUSING: Failure to rent or loan, failure to make maintenance repairs, failure to make accommodations and/or modifications, consistent policy application, failure to make policy changes. • EMPLOYMENT: Failure to hire, failure to promote, inconsistent discipline processes, inconsistent policies, salary discrepancies, accommodations/modifications. • PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS: Failure to provide service or accommodations based on a protected class. In a store, movie theater, restaurant etc.

11. WHEN does a person need to question equal treatment? • Whenthe individual believes he/she has not been treated like others as a result of the protected class whether it is where they live, work, shop, attend entertainment venues, etc.

12. HOW does a person make a complaint? • On the City of Omaha Human Rights and Relations Department website: www.cityofomaha.org\humanrights • By contacting the City of Omaha Human Rights and Relations Department by phone: (402) 444-5055 or (402) 444-5060 • Walk-in to the City of Omaha Human Rights and Relations Department office at: 1819 Farnam St., Room 502

13. AMERICAIS ALL PEOPLE • Each and everyone of us has originated from some where—whether it was generations ago or yesterday; whether it was from Europe, Russia, Africa, Asia, the middle East, or South America; we have all come from somewhere. • Each and every one of us has a familiar culture. Cultures should be shared so we learn from one another and understand one another. • Just because I do something, say something or understand something one way does not make it right or wrong. Ask me why I do what I do, you might learn something new about a culture or belief. EM

14. Department Legacy • 1956--The Omaha Human Rights & Relations Board began operating based on the Home Rule Charter. • 1966—Following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Human Rights Department was created to eliminate unlawful discrimination through investigation, education and outreach. • 1966-1982—Between 1966 and 1982 the City’s ordinance was amended to expand and cover additional protected areas including familial status, age, public accommodation and contract compliance. • 1994—American’s with Disabilities Act; Title II was established for state and local governments.

15. Legacy Continues • 2004—Proclamation on October 2, 2004 American Indian Day Celebration, Native Pride Pow Wow 2004 • 2005—Proclamation April, 2005 as Fair Housing Month • 2005—Proclamation, September 26-30 as Race Equality Week. • 2008—In a November Nebraska general election the citizens of Nebraska voted to eliminate Affirmative Action Plans in public entities. This resulted in the termination of the City of Omaha’s DBE/PBE minority small business program.

16. Legacy Continues • 2009-2010—Through Mayor Suttle’s Administration, a taskforce was established and the City of Omaha’s Small and Emerging Small Business Program, which is race and gender neutral program, was implemented. • 2012—City Council recommended and approved adding the protected classes of sexual orientation and gender identity. • Sexual Orientation Definition: Actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality. • Gender Identity Definition: The actual or perceived appearance, expression, identity or behavior of a person as being male or female, whether or not that appearance, expression, identity or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the person’s designated sex at birth. • Employment and Public Accommodation Discrimination only. Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity has not been added to the “Housing” section of the City Ordinance. • 2015—Economic Inclusion • 2016—Proclamation recognizing Disability Awareness Month

17. Department Role • The primary function and purpose of the department is to eliminate unlawful discrimination within the City limits of Omaha in the following areas of discrimination: Race, color, creed, religion, national origin, age, sex, disability, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation and gender identity and retaliation. • The department takes charges of discrimination in Housing, Employment, Public Accommodation, Contract Compliance, ADA, TITLE VI. • The department disseminates information and educational materials and reports which will assist in the elimination of prejudice, intolerance, inter-group tensions, and discrimination.

18. Contractual Agreements • OHRRD has contractual agreements with • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) • What does this mean? • That OHRRD accepts complaints on behalf of each of these agencies and “dual” files under federal and local laws • Each of these agencies then reimburse the department for work completed on each case.

19. Other Enforcement Partners • U.S. Department of Justice • State Agencies (NEOC) • The State NEOC agency covers the State not just Omaha/Lincoln • City/Municipal Agencies (Lincoln Commission on Civil Rights) • Private Housing Centers (Fair Housing of NE and IA)

20. What Is Employment Discrimination? • The City of Omaha ordinance prohibits unfair or unequal treatment in employment practices and policies such as: • Job Advertisement • Hiring practices (application forms, interviews, selections) • Referral by employment agencies • Salary, job classification, work duties, working conditions, and fringe benefits • Promotion, demotion, suspension, layoff, recall, or termination

21. Exemptions Include: • Religions or denominational organizations who may give preference to individuals of the same religion for certain types of jobs.

22. Who is regulated? • Private employers with six or more employees located in the Omaha area (city limits) • Employment agencies and placement services. • Labor organizations

23. Job Applications and Interviews • The law prohibits pre-employment practices or policies which: • Ask information from applicants (prior to employment) concerning any protected basis. • Result in the disproportionate screening out of members of such protected groups or are not relevant to successful job performance • Are not relevant to successful job performance

24. Sexual Harassment in the workplace • The law defines sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other visable, verbal, or physical conduct of sexual nature.

25. Offensive Behaviors my include: • Unwanted sexual advances • Offering jobs, promotions, or benefits in exchange for sexual favors • Threatening to demote, fire, or withhold benefits if an employee protests, refuses or ignores sexual advances • Unwanted leering, making sexual gestures, or displaying sexually suggestive objects, pictures, cartoons, or posters. • Unwanted derogatory comments, slurs, jokes, suggestive or obscene letters or notes. • Unwanted touching, assault, impeding, or blocking of movement

26. Liability • Employers are liable for acts of sexual harassment committed by themselves, their agents or supervisory employees. • They are also liable for sexual harassment committed by other employees or non-employees, if they know, or should have know, of the conduct and fail to take immediate and appropriate corrective action

27. Pregnancy • The law prohibits employers from failling to hire an applicant because she is pregnant, or discharging or penalizing an employee in the terms, conditions, and privileges of employment because she is pregnant.

28. Pregnancy • Employers must make reasonable accommodations • Employers are also required to provide leave, with or without pay for a reasonable period of time for disabilities due to and resulting from pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The Family Medical leave Act (FMLA) addresses this issue in more detail • Such employees have return rights to their original jobs or to positions of comparable status and pay (without loss of accumulated service credits and privileges)

29. Employees with Disabilities • The law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for a qualified employee with a disability. • An accommodation is reasonable if it does not impose an undue hardship on the employer’s business.

30. Reasonable Accommodations • Examples of reasonable accommodations are: • Job restructuring or job sharing • Adjustments to the work environment, such as raising desks to accommodate wheelchairs • Providing qualified readers, interpreters, or assistants

31. Religious Accommodations • The law requires employer to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious practices unless an undue business hardship would result.

32. Religious Accommodations • Two examples of accommodating religious practices are: • Allowing the employee to observe a religious holiday by trading work days with a voluntary, qualified co-employee • Granting flexible work schedules

33. Complaint process • A person does not need an attorney to file a complaint or be represented through the OHRRD investigation process. • There is no fee to file or to investigate the complaint. • If a Complainant/Charging Party has contacted an attorney, many attorney’s will advise the client to see through the investigation before hiring them.

34. The Intake of a Complaint • Charging Party or Complainant contacts the department by walk-in,phone, email or website • Charging Party provides Intake Administrator personal information, and pertinent information such as the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How of the complaint and any witnesses or documentation.

35. The Intake of a Complaint • Once all the information is gathered for the complaint the Intake Administrator compiles the information into a formal charge. • The Charging Party/Complainant then reviews the complaint for accuracy and signs the complaint.

36. Intake of a Complaint • The complaint is then administratively processed within 10-days from the date of signature • The case is then assigned to an Investigator to investigate the complaint

37. The Investigation of a complaint • After a complaint is accepted, the OHRRD conducts neutral fact finding investigations of the complaints • This process usually takes 3-4 months from the date the complaint is signed • Where possible, the OHRRD will encourage parties to resolve complaints through pre-determination settlements • If OHRRD determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that discrimination has occurred, it will attempt to correct the discrimination and obtain relief through conciliation.

38. Employment Case Review • TP

39. Housing Discrimination • Prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of: race, color, national origin, religion, familial status, disability and gender. • Additional protected basis: marital status and age.  

40. What is Housing Discrimination? • Covers sales, rentals, financing and all other housing related transactions. • Design and construction requirements cover applicable units with Certificate of Occupancy after March 1991.

41. What is the ADA in Housing? • Answer: • The Americans with disabilities act gives Federal civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, sex and other protected groups.

42. What is a disability? • A person with a disability is an individual who: • has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his/her major life activities • has a record of such an impairment; or • is regarded as having such an impairment

43. Service Animals • Service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability

44. Service Animals • The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual's disability • Some examples of work or tasks: retrieve items for an individual, alert individual when it's time to take medicine. For mental disabilities may prevent the individual from interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors

45. Premissable Inquiries • Only two inquiries may be made by covered entities: • Whether the animal is required because of a disability; and • What work or task the animal has been trained to perform

46. Can a Service Animal be excluded? • Answer:  Yes • The general rule is that covered entities must permit service animals except: • The animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it; or the animal is not housebroken. • * Note: The handler should be given the opportunity to participate without the animal

47. Investigative Process • The purpose of the complaint investigation is to obtain sufficient evidence to determine whether or not there is reasonable cause to believe that a violation of the Act has occurred, or is about to occur. • Investigators are responsible for collecting and analyzing available factual evidence that is relevant to the allegations, as well as to the Respondent’s defenses.

48. Investigative Process • Factual evidence includes interviews of parties and witnesses; documents, records and other items obtained from parties, witnesses and other sources.

49. Investigative Process • Within 30-days of complaint receipt, investigation commences. • Unless good cause is shown, investigation shall conclude within 100-days of complaint filing. • Examples of good cause to exceed 100-days • Notification of parties if 100-day timeline exceeded. • Complaint shall be resolved no later than one year after complaint filing.

50. Elements of Prima Facie Case • Complainant is a member of a group protected by the Fair Housing Act; • Complainant applied to the Respondent for a unit and met the minimum qualifications for rental; • Respondent, knowing that Complainant was a member of a protected class, rejected or passed over the Complainant; • Unit remained available thereafter to similarly situated persons who are not members of Complainants’ protected class. • Note: The Prima Facie elements identified is for refusal- to- rent case and varies depending on the harm.