06-14-10 Council Agenda & Packet

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Employment Fairness Cover Letter page 4 the course of the next months, until a vote on the proposed legislation occurred on July 10, 2006. The amendment was defeated by a close vote: 4 to 5. Recent Developments Related to the Issue After the amendment was defeated, the South Bend Human Rights Commission continued to receive reports of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Human Rights Commission has been unable to provide any assistance to individuals seeking a remedy for this type of discrimination, because they have not been empowered to do so. Citizens have continued to approach the Common Council reporting discrimination and asking for a remedy. On April 27, 2009, a group of college students spoke during Privilege of the Floor, expressing their concern that South Bend is not a welcoming community, and encouraging the Common Council to revisit the issue of amending the Human Rights Ordinance, On May 11, 2009, also during Privilege of the Floor, members of South Bend Equality spoke, reminding the Common Council that discrimination in the community was continuing. On June 24, 2009, Mayor Steve Luecke issued an executive order stating that South Bend is committed to equal employment opportunity and will not tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The executive order prohibits such discrimination in city employment. The City's Human Resources division is in charge of investigating and resolving allegations. On July 27, 2009, South Bend Equality members once again spoke at Privilege of the Floor during a Council Meeting, presenting more evidence of discrimination, including employment discrimination. It was noted that, as city employees, the members of the Common Council are protected from such discrimination, but that other citizens in South Bend are not. A member of the South Bend Human Rights Commission, Bridget Hardy, presented a set of petitions with the signatures of the majority of South Bend Human Rights Commissioners. The petitions expressed commission members" support for amending the Human Rights Ordinance to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Petitions signed by the Director of the Human Rights Commission, and commission attorneys were also presented to the Common Council Members. It is clear that members of the Human Right Commission and staff are concerned about the inability of the commission to address a known type of discrimination. When the South Bend Common Council considered amending the HRO in 2006, some Council members expressed concerns about potential problems with enforceability, given that broad amendments in other Indiana cities had, at that time, only recently been enacted. Now, several years later, we know that enforceability has not been a problem elsewhere in Indiana. For example, the Indianapolis City - County Council passed a more wide - ranging HRO in 2005. Robert Ransom, of the Division of Equal Opportunity, reported that Indianapolis averages approximately 3 -5 reports of such discrimination per year. All of these cases have been successfully resolved through mediation. No legal challenges have been brought against the city since the Indianapolis ordinance was amended in 2005. Conclusions In summary, the issue of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity has