March 2003 Newsletter
The month of April is Fair Housing Month. Fair housing is a right protected by the federal
and state fair housing laws.
April 2003 is the 35th anniversary of
the U.S. Fair Housing Act and the 15th anniversary of the Fair Housing
Amendments. The Fair Housing
Act, established by Congress in 1968, prohibits discrimination in the
financing, rent, or sale of any dwelling based on race, color, religion,
sex, or national origin. Amendments
to the Act in 1988 prohibited housing discrimination based on disability
or familial status (presence of children).
North Dakota’s Human Rights Act, passed in 1983, provided
additional protection from discrimination at a state level due to age, and
status with respect to marriage and public assistance.
The Public Perception Study of Discrimination in North Dakota has
been released by the Human Rights Division.
The Human Rights Division of the North Dakota Department of Labor
is responsible for enforcing the North Dakota Human Rights Act and the
North Dakota Housing Discrimination Act.
This responsibility includes investigating complaints alleging
discriminatory practices and educating the public about rights and
responsibilities under North Dakota anti-discrimination laws.
In late 2001, the department contracted with DH Research to conduct
a study of North Dakotans' awareness of human rights protections and
perceptions of discrimination in the state.
The department is pleased to present the results of that study.
The department believes the data collected during the project will
be invaluable to its continuing efforts to provide effective enforcement
of human rights laws and targeted, effective education and awareness
activities for North Dakota citizens.
The study may be purchased by
contacting the department at: 701-328-2660 or toll-free 1-800-582-8032.
It may also be accessed free-of-charge on the department’s web
site at: http://www.state.nd.us/labor/publications/discrimination.html
The North Dakota Fair Housing Council (NDFHC) was incorporated in
1995 and has been actively working to eliminate housing discrimination in
North Dakota.
In 2002, the NDFHC completed 1,131 intakes versus 764 in 2001. From these intakes, the NDFHC distributed 14,868 publications
versus 11,660 in 2001.
In addition, 305 allegations of housing discrimination were
received from the intakes versus 189 in 2001.
(Please note that one intake may allege more than one type of
discrimination.)
The NDFHC assisted in filing 16 complaints with the Human Rights
Division at the North Dakota Department of Labor and also mediated 13
complaints in lieu of complaint filing.
The NDFHC hosted 6 open-to-the-public workshops training 391
individuals in 2002. In 2001,
the NDFHC hosted 7 workshops training 196 individuals on fair housing
laws. We thank all of you for
your support of fair housing.
Because of funding delays, the NDFHC will be hosting its annual
workshop series in June and July instead of during Fair Housing Month.
At this time, workshops are scheduled
to be conducted in the cities of: Grand
Forks, Devils Lake, Minot, Bismarck and two workshops (day and evening
session) in Fargo. South
Dakota workshops will be held in Pierre, Aberdeen and Sioux Falls.
If you receive this newsletter, you
will be notified of confirmed dates, locations and registration
information. If you do not
receive this newsletter and want to be informed of upcoming workshops,
please contact the NDFHC at 701-221-2530 or toll-free 1-888-265-0907.
CITY
HUMAN
RELATIONS
COMMISSIONS
Both the Bismarck City Committee on
Human Relations and the Dickinson Human Relations Commission have
organized and begun meeting and working on human relations issues in their
communities. These are groups
set up at the city government level.
In Bismarck, Rose Stoller was nominated
Chairperson of the Bismarck Human Relations Committee with Bob Gomez as
Vice Chairperson and Amy Schauer Nelson as Secretary.
Other Committee Members include:
Kameran Ali, Dina Butcher, Valerie Fischer, David Gipp,
Lola Huwe and Aruna Seth. The
Committee’s mission is to protect and promote the personal dignity of all Bismarck
citizens and eliminate any discriminatory barriers that prevent them from
reaching their full human potential.
The Committee will seek to make education and compliance a
meaningful and visible strategy as it works to recognize the value of a
diverse community.
In Dickinson, Mary Jo Gonzales was nominated President with Rhonda Ehlis as Vice President and Jackie Miller as Secretary.
Other appointees are: Roberta
Biel, Gail Ebeltoft, Jerry Mayer, Bryan Personne, Ronald Reichert and Al Tamayo. The Human Relations Commission was formed to address macro
human rights issues such as attitudes, understandings, and acceptance of
people of varied backgrounds, beliefs, races, and lifestyles.
The
Commission will address these issues through education promotion
throughout the community. The
ultimate goal is to build the Dickinson community into one that is
diversity friendly.
CONDO
ASSOCIATION SETTLEMENT REACHED
(PICO RIVERA,
CALIF., Feb. 24, 2003) -- In a case where a condominium association and
its management company allegedly prohibited children from playing outside
at their Pico Rivera, California homes, a federal judge has signed a
Consent Decree and Final Order granting seven plaintiff-families and the
Housing Rights Center a permanent injunction and $130,000 in compensatory
damages and attorneys’ fees.
In
Housing Rights Center et al v. Rivera Townhomes et al, #CV 02-5163PA(C.D.
Cal. Feb. 2003) the Housing Rights Center along with Adele Samorano and
seventeen other plaintiffs (making up seven families), sued the
condominium association and property management company (Baldwin
Management Co.) in federal court in August of 2001, alleging that
defendants discriminated against homeowners on the basis of familial
status in the operation of the 56-unit townhouse complex. Specifically,
the complaint alleged that defendants enforced a rule prohibiting children
from playing in the complex’s common areas. According to the
defendants’ written rules and fine notices, the common areas included
the grass-covered yards and balconies. The current executive board had not
allowed a new election in nearly two years, and so the lawsuit also
alleged violations of state corporation codes.
On
February 12, 2003, Judge Percy Anderson signed a Consent Decree and Final
Order under which the defendants must pay plaintiffs $130,000 along with
repealing all rules regarding children. The defendants also agreed to a
two year program of training for all key staff in Baldwin Management and
the board members of Rivera. Earlier in the litigation, the defendants had
already agreed to resolve the election claims by allowing a new election,
which resulted in a board that decided to repeal the rules against
children.
“We’re
all thrilled with this Consent Decree,” said plaintiff Adele Samorano,
on behalf of her family and the other six. “Our children are now playing
outside, free from fears about harassment or fines. Our homes and
community are now healthy environments for all of us.”
Plaintiffs’
attorney Gary Rhoades said the case was not unusual in Los Angeles.
“Dozens of families from cities throughout Los Angeles County are
reporting to HRC these cases where rules trap their children indoors all
day, evening, weekend and summer. Each case involves landlords or managers
or board members who failed to get fair housing training, where they
should learn that housing providers can’t limit families’ access to
facilities or services.”
The
plaintiffs were represented by Gary Rhoades and Danielle Jones from HRC.
The Los Angeles law firms of Crandall, Wade & Lowe and Manning &
Marder represented the defendants.
NEXT
NEWSLETTER
In the next newsletter, we’ll review
any legislative changes as a result of the 2003 North Dakota Legislative
Assembly. Confirmed workshop
dates and locations will also be announced at that time.