HomeMy WebLinkAbout8410-93 Amending Article 9 of Chapter 2 Human Rights Ordinance . 1
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ORDINANCE No. 8410-93
Passed by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana_
August 23 , Igo 93
Attest: City Clerk
IRENE K. GAMMON
Attest: President of Common Council
Presented by me to the Mayor of the City of South Bend, Indiana—
August 24, 19 93
lCity Clerk
IRENE K. GAMMON
Approved and signed by me
° � �' Mayor
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ORDINANCE NO. O 4e/D- /3
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE
THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND AMENDING ARTICLE 9 OF
CHAPTER 2 OF THE SOUTH BEND MUNICIPAL CODE,
ENTITLED "HUMAN RIGHTS ORDINANCE"
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND INTENT
This Ordinance was comprehensively amended in July 1992, among
other reasons, to conform South Bend' s anti-discrimination law to the
federal Fair Housing Act, thereby providing citizens of South Bend with
rights and remedies substantially equivalent to those granted under
federal and state law. However, the South Bend amendments of 1992 did
not include certain specific provisions of the Fair Housing Act,
necessitating further amendment of the Ordinance at this time.
Moreover, when this Ordinance was amended in July 1992, the
definition of "handicapped" was expanded to parallel the definition of
"disability" under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) , yet the
term "handicapped" was retained in South Bend' s Ordinance. Because
federal and Indiana state law uniformly use the terms "disabled" or
"disability, " it is preferable to substitute in this Ordinance the more
uniformly applied term "disabled" for the previously used term
"handicapped. "
This Ordinance, as amended, will fully provide to the citizens of
the City of South Bend the substantial equivalent of rights and
remedies granted under federal and Indiana state law. It will also
substitute the more commonly used terms "disabled" or "disability" for
the previously used term of "handicapped. "
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, as follows:
SECTION I . Chapter 2, Article 9, Section 2-126, 2-127, 2-128, 2-
129, 2-130, 2-131 and 2-132, of the Municipal Code of the City of South
Bend, Indiana, 1976, Ordinance No. 6003-76, as amended in 1992,
Ordinance No. 8277-92 is hereby amended and reenacted to read as
follows :
Section 2-126 . Short Title.
This article shall be know as the South Bend Human Rights
Ordinance .
Section 2-127 . Purpose.
(a) It is the public policy of the City of South Bend to provide
all of its citizens equal opportunity for education,
employment, access to public conveniences and accommodations,
and acquisition through purchase or rental of real property,
including but not limited to housing, and to eliminate
segregation or separation based solely on race, religion,
color, sex, handicap disability, national origin or ancestry,
and familial status in housing, since such segregation is an
impediment to equal opportunity. Equal education and
employment opportunities and equal access to and use of public
accommodations and equal opportunity for acquisition of real
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considered discriminatory practices . The promotion of equal
opportunity without regard to race, religion, color, sex,
handicap disability, national origin, ancestry, or familial
status in the case of housing through reasonable methods is
the purpose of this article.
(c) It is also the public policy of this City to protect
employers, labor organizations, employment agencies, property
owners, real estate brokers, builders and lending institutions
from unfounded charges of discrimination.
(d) It is hereby declared to be contrary to the public policy of
the City of South Bend and an unlawful practice for any person
offer; to refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental or
otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling; or to othcrwi3c
discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions,
privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in providing
of a dwelling because of a person' s race, color, religion,
sex, familial status, handicap or national origin .
(e) No person may cocrcc, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with
any other person:
(1) In the exercise or enjoyment of any right granted or
protected by this chapter; or
(2) Because the person has exercised or enjoyed, or has
aided or encouraged another person in the exercise or
chapter. [P.L. GG 1990, §2 . ]
purpose.
Chapter 2, Article 9, Section 2-127 is hereby amended to add a new
Section 2-127 .1 of the Municipal Code of the City of South Bend,
Indiana, as follows :
Section 2-127 . 1 . Prohibited Conduct.
(a) No person shall discriminate against any other person in
education, employment, access to public conveniences and
accommodations based on race, color, sex, disability, national
origin or ancestry. Nor shall any person deny any other
person equal opportunity for education, employment, access to
public conveniences and accommodations based on race,
religion, color, sex, disability, national origin or ancestry.
Such discrimination or denial of equal opportunity shall be an
unlawful practice.
(b) No person shall refuse to sell or to rent after the making of
a bona fide offer; refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental
or otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling; or
otherwise discriminate against any person in the terms,
conditions, privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in
providing services or facilities in connection with the sale
or rental of a dwelling because of a person' s race, color,
religion, sex, familial status, disability or national
origin. Conduct in violation of this section shall be an
unlawful practice.
(c) No person may coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with
any other person:
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(d) No person shall commit any other discriminatory practices as
defined in any other section of this article.
(e) This article shall be construed broadly to effectuate its
purpose.
Section 2-128 . Definitions .
(a) The term "Commission" shall mean the South Bend Human Rights
Commission.
(b) The term "director" shall mean the Director of the South Bend
Human Rights Commission.
(c) The term "Commission attorney" shall mean the City Attorney
or such assistants of the City Attorney as may be assigned to
the Commission, or such other attorney as may be engaged by
the Commission with the consent of the City Attorney.
(d) The term "employee" shall mean any person employed by another
for wages or salary; provided, that it should not include any
person employed by his or her parents, spouse or child.
(e) The term "employer" shall include the City of South Bend, or
any department thereof, and any person having six (6) or more
employees within the State of Indiana and doing business
within the City, except that the term does not include:
(1) any bona fide private membership club (other than a
labor organization) which is exempt from taxation under
Section 501 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954;
(2) any school, educational or charitable institution
owned or conducted by or affiliated with a church or
religious institution to the extent that the school,
educational or charitable institution hires employees of
a particular religion;
(3) any office, officer, board, commission, department,
division, bureau, committee, fund, agency, and, without
limitation by reason of any enumeration herein, any
other instrumentality of the State of Indiana, any
hospital, any penal institution and any other
institutional enterprise and activity of the State of
Indiana, wherever located; the universities supported in
whole or in part by State funds; and the Judicial
Department of the State of Indiana.
(f) The term "employment agency" shall mean any person
undertaking, with or without compensation, to procure,
recruit, refer or place employees .
(g) The term "labor organization" shall mean any organization
which exists and is constituted for the purpose, in whole or
in part, of collective bargaining or of dealing with
employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of
employment or of mutual aid or protection in connection with
employment.
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(i) The term "discriminatory practice" shall mean the exclusion
of a person by another person from equal opportunity or a
system which excludes persons from equal opportunity in
employment, education, public conveniences and accommodations
because of race, religion, color, sex, handicap disability,
national origin, or ancestry. A discriminatory practice also
means the refusal to sell or rent after the making of a bona
fide offer; the refusal to negotiate for the sale or rental
or otherwise making unavailable or denying, or otherwise
discriminating against any person in the terms, conditions,
privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in providing
services or facilities in connection with the sale or rental
of a dwelling because of a person' s race, color, religion,
sex, familial status, handicap disability or national origin.
A "discriminatory practice" shall also include the following:
1 . Advertising for the sale or rental of a dwelling in
a manner that indicates any preference, limitation, or
discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex,
handicap disability, familial status, or national
origin;
2 . Falsely representing that a dwelling is not
available for inspection, sale, or rental based on race,
color, religion, sex, handicap disability, familial
status, or national origin;
3 . Coercion, intimidation, threats, or interference
with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on
account of his or her having exercised or enjoyed, or on
account of his or her having aided or encouraged any
other person in the exercise of enjoyment of any right
granted or protected by Sections 2-128 . 1, 2-128 .2,
2-128 .3, 2-128 .4 or 2-128 .5 of this Chapter;
4 . Blockbusting based on representations regarding the
entry or prospective entry into the neighborhood of a
person or persons of a particular race, color, religion,
sex, handicap disability, familial status, or national
origin;
5 . Discrimination because of race, color, religion,
sex, handicap disability, national origin or familial
status by persons or entities whose business includes
engaging in residential real estate transactions in the
making of a loan or the granting of financial assistance
for residential real estate, in the selling, brokering
or appraisal of residential real estate, or by the
denial of access to or participation in a
multiple-listing service or other real estate broker
organization or services .
Every discriminatory practice relating to the acquisition or
sale of real property, education, public accommodations or
employment shall be considered unlawful unless it is
specifically exempted by this article.
(j) The term "p"Public accommodation" shall mean any
establishment, organization or authority which caters or
offers its services or facilities or goods to the general
public, including, but not limited to, motels, hotels,
theaters, stores, public restaurants, public library
services, and public recreational services and facilities.
(k) The term "c"Charging party" shall mean any individual
charging on his own behalf to have been personally aggrieved
by a discriminatory practice or the Director of the
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(1) The term "c"Charge" shall mean any written grievances filed
by a charging party with the Commission. The original shall
be signed and verified before a notary public or other person
duly authorized by law to administer oaths and take
acknowledgments; notarial service shall be furnished by the
Commission without charge. To be acceptable by the
Commission a charge shall be sufficiently complete so as to
reflect properly the full name and address of the charging
party; the name and address of the respondent against whom
the charge is made; the alleged discriminatory practice and a
statement of the particulars thereof; if of a continuing
nature, the dates between which said continuing acts of
discrimination are alleged to have occurred; and a statement
as to any other action, civil or criminal, instituted in any
other form based upon the same grievance as is alleged in the
charge, together with a statement as to the status or
disposition of such other action. No charge based upon
discrimination in housing and housing related transactions as
prohibited by this act shall be valid unless filed within one
hundred eighty (180) days from the date of the alleged act .
No charge based upon any discrimination other than housing
and housing related transactions shall be valid unless filed
within ninety (90) days from the date of the alleged act, or
from the date of the termination of a published and
meaningful grievance procedure provided by a respondent
employer, or labor union.
(m) The term "r"Respondent" shall mean any person against whom a
charge is filed.
(n) The term "c"Consent agreement" shall mean a formal agreement
entered into in lieu of adjudication.
(o) The term "a"Affirmative action" shall mean those acts which
the Commission deems necessary to assure compliance with the
South Bend Human Rights Ordinance.
(p) The term "sex" as it applies to segregation or separation in
this article shall apply to all types of employment,
education, public accommodation and housing.
(q) "Handicap" or "handicapped" "Disabled" or "Disability" means,
with respect to a person:
(1) A physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one (1) or more of the person' s major life
activities;
(2) A record of having an impairment described in
subdivision (1) ; or
(3) Being regarded as having an impairment described in
subdivision (1) .
The term does not include current illegal use of or addiction
to a controlled substance (as defined in Section 102 of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. §802) . The term does
not include an individual solely because the individual is a
transvestite.
(r) The term "p"Person" means one (1) or more individuals,
partnerships, associations, organizations, corporations,
labor organizations, cooperatives, legal representatives,
trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, mutual companies,
joint-stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations,
trustees, receivers, fiduciaries and other organized groups
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(2) Domiciled with an individual younger than eighteen (18)
years of age in regard to whom the person:
(A) Is the parent or legal custodian; or
(B) Has the written permission of the parent or legal
custodian for domicile with that person; or
(3) In the process of obtaining legal custody of an
individual younger than 18 years of age.
(t) "To rent" includes to lease, to sublease, to let, or to
otherwise grant for a consideration the right to occupy
premises not owned by the occupant .
(u) "Dwelling" means :
(1) Any building, structure, or part of a building or
structure that is occupied as, or designed or intended
for occupancy as, a residency by one (1) or more
families; or
(2) Any vacant land that is offered for sale or lease for
the construction or location of a building, structure,
or part of a building or structure described by
subdivision (1) .
(v) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development.
Section 2-128 . 1 . Prohibited Notices, Statements, Advertisements,
or Representations in Housing.
(a) A person may not make, print, or publish or cause to be made,
printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement
with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that
indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based
on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, disability, familial
status, or national origin, or an intention to make such a
preference, limitation, or discrimination.
(b) A person may not represent to any person because of race,
color, religion, sex, handicap, disability, familial status,
or national origin that a dwelling is not available for
inspection for sale or rental when the dwelling is so
available.
(c) A person may not, for profit, induce or attempt to induce a
person to sell or rent a dwelling by representations
regarding the entry or prospective entry into a neighborhood
of a person or persons of a particular race, color, sex,
handicap, disability, religion, familial status, or national
origin.
Section 2-128 .2 . Handicapped Discrimination In Housing Based on
Disability.
(a) A person may not discriminate in the sale or rental or
otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling to any buyer or
renter, nor may a person discriminate against any person in
the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a
dwelling or in the provision of Services or facilitiPC in
dwelling after the dwelling is sold, rented, or made
available; or
(3) Any person associated with the buyer or renter or
person.
(b) For purposes of this section only, discrimination includes
the following:
(1) A refusal to permit, at the expense of the
handicapped disabled person, reasonable modifications of
existing premises occupied or to be occupied by the
person if the modifications may be necessary to afford
the person full enjoyment of the premises.
(2) A refusal to make reasonable accommodations in
rules, policies, practices or services, when the
accommodations may be necessary to afford the person
equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.
(3) In connection with the design and construction of
covered multifamily dwellings for first occupancy after
March 13, 1991, a failure to design and construct those
dwellings in a manner that :
(A) The public use and common use parts of the
dwellings are readily accessible to and usable by
handicapped disabled persons;
(B) All the doors are designed to allow passage into
and within all premises within the dwellings and are
sufficiently wide to allow passage by mapped
disabled persons in wheelchairs; and
(C) All premises within the dwellings contain the
following features of adaptive design:
(i) An accessible route into and through the
dwelling;
(ii) Light switches, electrical outlets,
thermostats, and other environmental controls in
accessible locations;
(iii) Reinforcements in bathroom walls to allow
later installation of grab bars; and
(iv) Usable kitchens and bathrooms so that an
individual in a wheelchair can maneuver about the
space.
(c) As. used in subsection (b) , "covered multifamily
dwellings" means :
(1) Buildings consisting of four (4) or more units if the
buildings have one (1) or more elevators; and
(2) Ground floor units in other buildings consisting of four
(4) or more units .
(d) Compliance with the rules of the fire prevention and building
safety commission that incorporate by reference the
appropriate requirements of the American National Standard
for buildings and facilities providing accessibility and
usability for physically handicapped disabled people
(ANSIA117 . 1) satisfies the requirements of subsection
(b) (3) (C) .
(e) This section does not require that a dwelling be made
available to an individual whose tenancy would constitute a
direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals or
whose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to
the property of others. [P.L. 66-1990, §2 . ]
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transaction" means the following:
(1) Making or purchasing loans or providing other
financial assistance:
(A) To purchase, construct, improve, repair, or
maintain a dwelling; or
(B) Secured by residential real estate.
(2) Selling, brokering, or appraising residential real
property.
(b) A person whose business includes engaging in residential real
estate related transactions may not discriminate against a
person in making a real estate related transaction available,
or in the terms or conditions of a real estate related
transaction because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap,
disability, familial status, or national origin.
[P.L. 66-1190, §2 . ]
Section 2-128 . 4 . Brokers' Organizations, Services, or Facilities .
A person may not deny any person access to, or membership or
participation in, a multiple-listing service, real estate brokers'
organization or other service, organization, or facility relating
to the business of selling or renting dwellings, or discriminate
against a person in the terms or conditions of access, membership,
or participation in such an organization, service, or facility
because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status,
or national origin. [P .L. 66-1990, §2 . ]
Section 2-128 .5. Elderly Housing Exception to Discrimination
Based on Familial Status .
(a) The denial of housing rights and opportunities based on familial
status as prohibited by this article shall not apply to housing
intended for and solely occupied by persons over 62 years of age
or older or which is designed and operated to assist elderly
persons under a federal or state program.
If there are persons living in such housing under age 62, this
exception applies provided that :
(al) All occupants after September 13, 1988 are at least 62
years old;
(b2) Any unoccupied units are reserved for occupancy by
persons at least 62 years old; and
(e3) Any persons under age 62 occupying said housing after
September 13, 1988 are employees of the housing and
their family members residing in the same unit, and such
employees perform substantial duties directly related to
the management or maintenance of the housing.
(b) The determination of whether any housing unit falls within the
exception created by this section shall be made by the Commission
and shall be consistent with any determinations already made by
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development .
Chapter 2, Article 9, is hereby amended to add a new Section 2-
128 .6 of the Municipal Code of the City of South Bend, Indiana, as
follows:
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related practices shall apply to:
(1) any single-family house sold or rented by an owner:
Provided, that such private individual owner does not own
more than three such single-family houses at any one time:
Provided further, that in the case of the sale of any such
single-family house by a private individual owner not
residing in such house at the time of such sale or who was
not the most recent resident of such house prior to such
sale, the exemption granted by this subsection shall apply
only with respect to one such sale within any twenty-four
month period: Provided further, that such bona fide private
individual owner does not own any interest in, nor is there
owned or reserved on his behalf, under any express or
voluntary agreement, title to or any right to all or a
portion of the proceeds from the sale or rental of, more than
three such single-family houses at any one time: Provided
further, that after December 31, 1969, the sale or rental of
any such single-family house shall be excepted from the
application of this title only if such house is sold or
rented (A) without the use in any manner of the sales or
rental facilities or the sales or rental services of any real
estate broker, agent, or salesman, or of such facilities or
" services of any person in the business of selling or renting
dwellings, or of any employee or agent of any such broker,
agent, salesman, or person and (B) without the publication,
posting or mailing, after notice, of any advertisement or
written notice in violation of Section 2-128 . 1 (a) of this
article; but nothing in this provision shall prohibit the use
of attorneys, escrow agents, abstractors, title companies,
and other such professional assistance as necessary to
perfect or transfer the title, or
(2) rooms or units in dwellings containing living quarters
occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than four
families living independently of each other, if the owner
actually maintains and occupies one of such living quarters
as his residence.
(b) The determination of whether any housing unit falls within the
exception created by this section shall be made by the Commission
and shall be consistent with any determinations already made by
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development .
Section 2-130 . Appointment of mMembers, efQuorum, eElection of
eOfficers; mMeetings; eConcurrence of mMeetings; eConcurrence of
mMajority rRequired for eAction.
(a) Six (6) members shall be appointed by the Mayor and three (3)
members shall be appointed by the President of the Common
Council . Each appointment shall be for a term of four (4)
years . In the event of death or resignation of any member,
his successor shall be appointed to serve for the unexpired
period of the term for which such member had been appointed.
Members of the Commission may be removed by the appointing
authority for just cause. All members of the Commission
shall serve without compensation and any five (5) members
shall constitute a quorum.
(b) The Commission shall elect from its membership once each year
a chair, vice-chair and secretary_
(c) The Commission shall hold one (1) regular meeting each month
and such special meetings as the chair may deem necessary.
Section 2-131 . Powers and dDuties of Commission.
The Commission is empowered to and shall do the following:
(a) Establish and maintain a permanent office in the City of
South Bend.
(b) Recommend to the Mayor for appointment an executive director,
or such personnel as it may deem necessary, and to prescribe
their duties .
(c) Adopt, promulgate, amend and rescind such rules and
regulations, procedural and substantive, as may be consistent
with the provisions of this article and state laws . Such
rules and regulations shall be adopted in accordance with the
provisions of this article as it may hereafter be amended.
(d) Formulate policies to effectuate the purposes of this article
and make recommendations to the City to effectuate such
policies . The several departments, commissions, boards,
authorities, divisions, bureaus and officers of the City may
furnish the Commission, upon its request, all records,
papers, and information in their possession relating to any
matter before the Commission.
(e) Receive and investigate charges of discriminatory practices .
The Commission shall not hold hearings in the absence of a
charge as herein defined. All investigations of charges
shall be conducted by staff members of the Commission.
(f) Issue such publications and such results of investigations
and research as in its judgment will tend to minimize or
eliminate discrimination because of race, color, religion,
sex, handicap, disability, national origin or ancestry, or
familial status in the case of housing.
(g) Prepare and issue a report annually to the Common Council and
Mayor, describing in detail the investigation and
conciliation proceedings it has conducted and their outcome,
the progress made and any other work performed and
achievements towards the elimination of discrimination.
(h) Prevent any person from discharging, expelling or otherwise
discriminating against any other person because he filed a
charge or has testified in any hearing before this
Commission, or has in any way assisted the Commission in any
matter under investigation.
(i) Appoint hearing officers, hold hearings, subpoena witnesses,
compel their attendance, administer oaths, take the testimony
of any such person under oath, and require the production for
examination of any books,- and papers relating to any matter
under investigation or in question before the Commission.
The Commission shall have the exclusive power to subpoena,
but it shall consult with the Department of Law concerning
the issuance of a subpoena. The Department of Law may veto
the issuance of a subpoena if and only if such an issuance
would be an abuse of the Commission' s subpoena power. Abuse
of the Commission' s subpoena power shall include but not be
limited to use of such subpoena power for harassment
purposes, issuance of a subpoena for information clearly
irrelevant to the investigation being conducted, and issuance
of a subpoena for information over an excessively broad span
of time. Contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena issued
pursuant to this sect inn ha 1 1 nct i tntc n nnni-om.,+ 71 1 1
resides or transacts business .
(1) The Commission shall state its finding of fact
after a hearing, and, if the Commission finds a person
has engaged in an unlawful discriminatory practice, it
may cause to be served on such person an order requiring
such person to cease and desist from the unlawful
discriminatory practice and requiring such person to
take further affirmative action as will effectuate the
purposes of this article, including but not limited to
the power to restore charging party' s losses incurred as
a result of discriminatory treatment, as the Commission
may deem necessary to assure justice. The Commission
may require the posting of notice setting forth the
public policy of Indiana concerning civil rights and the
respondent' s compliance with said policy in places of
public accommodations; and it may require proof of
compliance to be filed by the respondent at periodic
intervals .
(A) Except in housing cases which are separately
treated in sub-part (eC) of this section, the
Commission may impose a penalty upon any respondent
of $1, 500 .00 for the first and second violation of
this article within a five-year period, and may
further impose a penalty of $2, 500.00 for three or
more violations of this article within a five-year
period.
(B) When applied to discrimination in employment,
the Commission shall have power to restore charging
party' s losses by awarding damages including wages,
salary, commissions, fringe benefits in an amount not
to exceed that lost over a two-year period, . For
discrimination in employment and housing, the
Commission shall also have the power to award damages
which will compensate charging party for future
pecuniary loss, emotional pain, suffering,
inconvenience, anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and
other non-pecuniary losses, costs and attorney fees .
(C) To vindicate the public interest in cases of
housing discrimination, the Commission may assess a
civil penalty of $2,500.00 for each commission of a
discriminatory housing practice.
(D) The Commission may sue to recover a civil
penalty due under this section. [P.L. 66-1990, §2 . 1
(2) Judicial review of any decision of the Commission
as referred to in this article may be obtained under
I-nd. C=ode 4-22-21 .5-1 in the same manner as if the
decision was that of a State agency. However, a
complainant, a respondent, or an aggrieved person on
whose behalf the complaint was filed may elect to have
decided in a civil action those claims asserted in a
finding of probable cause. Such election must be made
not later than twenty (20) days after the date of
receipt by the electing person of service under this
chapter, and such person shall give written notice to
the Commission and all other complainants and
respondents to whom the finding of probable cause
relates. Such civil action shall be filed in the
circuit or superior court of St . Joseph County or any
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Act .
(3) In those cases involving discriminatory housing
practices as prohibited by this Act where final
adjudicative Commission action is in favor of the
charging party, the Commission shall within one year of
the alleged discriminatory housing practice seek a
judicial determination of damages at the Commission' s
expense. , the charging party shall be permitted to have
damages determined in the circuit or superior court of
St . Joseph County or any other court of proper
jurisdiction having the power to award punitive damages
as allowed by the Fair Housing Act. Charging parties
shall make such a request to the Commission in writing
within five (5) days from the notice of final Commission
action, which notice shall advise charging party of this
right to damage determination, and the Commission shall
represent charging party at the Commission' s expense in
such court action for damages . The Commission shall
seek such a judicial determination of damages within one
(1) year of the alleged discriminatory housing practice.
If it is impracticable for the Commission to seek such a
determination within one year of the alleged
discriminatory act, it shall notify charging party and
respondent in writing of its reasons for not doing so,
and shall undertake such judicial determination as soon
as practicable.
(j) Reduce the terms of conciliation agreed to by the parties to
a writing to be called a "consent agreement" which the
parties and a majority of the Commissioners shall sign and
when so signed the consent agreement shall have the same
effect as a final decision of the Commission. If the
Commission determines that a party to a consent agreement is
" not complying with the agreement, the Commission may obtain
enforcement of the consent agreement in a circuit or superior
court upon showing that the party is subject to the
Commission' s jurisdiction.
(k) Institute actions in the St . Joseph Superior or Circuit Court
for appropriate or equitable relief.
(1) Transfer cases to the Indiana Civil Rights Commission or to
an appropriate federal agency and to receive cases
transferred from the Indiana Civil Rights Commission or from
an appropriate federal agency. The South Bend Human Rights
Commission shall proceed to act on any case transferred to it
from the Indiana Civil Rights Commission as if the case had
been originally filed with the South Bend Human Rights
Commission as of the date the charge was filed with the
Indiana Civil Rights Commission.
Chapter 2, Article 9 is hereby amended to add a new Section 2-133
of the Municipal Code of the City of South Bend as follows:
Section 2-133 . Private Enforcement.
This ordinance may be enforced by an aggrieved charging party
through the commencement of an action in the St . Joseph County circuit
or superior court or any other court of proper jurisdiction not less
than one (1) year after the occurrence or termination of the alleged
discriminatory practice.
• f ± '•. _
validity, the remainder of this ordinance or any amendment thereto, or
the operation or application of such ordinance to persons or
circumstances other than those as to which it has been held invalid or
as to which compliance or enforcement has been restrained shall not be
affected thereby.
SECTION III : All rights of parties which have accrued prior to
the amendment and re-enacted of this ordinance shall not be affected
by such amendment and re-enactment, to the extent permitted by law.
SECTION IV: This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect upon
passage by the Common Council and approval of the Mayor.
em:er, ?uth Bend Common Council
r ofgned only to provide an
opportunity for public discussion
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Your Committee
of the Whole
to whom was referred
BILL NO.
58-93 PUBLIC HEARING ON A BILL OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, AMENDING ARTICLE 9 OF CHAPTER 2
OF THE SOUTH BEND MUNICIPAL CODE, ENTITLED "HUMAN RIGHTS
ORDINANCE".
Respectfully report that they have examined the matter and that in their opinion
This bill has been recommended to the Council favorable, as amended
by substitution.
Thomas Zakrzewski
Chairman
SOUTH�\.N
� •e ;:.,� {" may//�■•
i/j,, `\ 1ii/w City of South Bend "
_-, ,
/lii ,,f,',,`.-` '_ .;:a+,„;,...-,.` Joseph E. Kernan, Mayor
\��\\\__ .
Department of Administration and Finance
Kevin C.Anion
1993
July 8,
Mr. Stephen Luecke, President
South Bend Common Council
4th Floor, County-City Building
South Bend, Indiana 46601
Re: An Ordinance Amending Article 9 of Chapter 2
of the South Bend Municipal Code, Entitled
"Human Rights Ordinance"
Dear Mr. Luecke:
I am attaching for filing an ordinance amending Article 9 of
Chapter 2 of the South Bend Municipal Code, Entitled "Human Rights
Ordinance."
This Ordinance was comprehensively amended in July 1992, among
other reasons, to conform South Bend's anti-discrimination law to the
federal. Fair Housing Act, thereby providing citizens of South Bend
with rights and remedies substantially equivalent to those granted
under federal and state law. However, the South Bend amendments of
1992 did not include certain specific provisions of the Fair Housing
Act, necessitating further amendment of the Ordinance at this time.
Moreover, when this Ordinance was amended in July 1992, the
definition of "handicapped" was expanded to parallel the definition
of "disability" under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) , yet
the term "handicapped" was retained in South Bend's Ordinance.
Because federal and Indiana state law uniformly use the terms
"disabled" or "disability," it is preferable to substitute in this
Ordinance the more uniformly applied term "disabled" for the
previously used term "handicapped."
Your favorable consideration is requested.
Sincerely,
Kevin . Horton
Controller
Attachment
County-City Building • South Bend, Indiana 46601 • 219/284-9742 Fax 219/284-9892
Catherine A. Hubbard John D. Leisenring C. J. Cows ert
Personnel Director Chief Deputy Controller Safety & Risk Manager
284-9124 284-9483 284-9482