Few cases for Human Relations Board

[Brian503a]

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs. ... 8/-1/SNN05

June 11. 2006 2:40PM

Few cases for Human Relations Board

By MIKE SAEWITZ

mike.saewitz@heraldtribune.com


SARASOTA — Nubiel "Bill" Perez leaned forward in his chair as he talked about his maintenance job at Renaissance condominiums, and why he believed he was fired.

Housekeepers and maintenance workers at the upscale condominiums were forbidden from speaking Spanish in public areas because it made some of the residents uncomfortable. Perez said he and other Latino employees felt stifled and discriminated against.

"I believe in my heart I did everything to keep this building running and clean," Perez said.

As he testified, members of the city’s Human Relations Board scribbled notes and listened quietly. This was the first case the 3-year-old board had ever heard, and they wanted to get it right.

Set up in 2003 to investigate and solve complaints of discrimination, the board has seen scant action. Only a dozen discrimination cases have been filed, and most of those were settled before the need for a hearing.

City officials say the low number of cases means that the board is largely accomplishing its goal: to solve these cases before they end up in court.

But even some of the board members wonder whether all the people who have been discriminated against are truly coming forward.

Board member Manuel Chepote, a native of Peru, worries that illegal immigrants are especially reluctant to complain.

"Maybe they don’t come forward because they are afraid of their status," said Chepote, an insurance agent. Chepote added that the city does not ask any questions about legal status when a complaint is filed.

"We need to spread the word more," he said.

About 12 complaints so far

Perez’s case was the the very first to be heard since the board was first set up in 2003, when the city passed a celebrated anti-discrimination ordinance modeled after similar rules in places like Tampa.

The city prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public accomodation. Those who use the system can claim discrimination based upon things like disability, race or sexual orientation.

About 100 people have inquired about the ordinance. One man said he was fired from a local McDonald’s because he was gay.

A woman claimed discrimination after she was ejected from a singles dance for "unladylike behavior."

A group for the hard of hearing complained that a local television station did not provide captioned information about hurricanes

Many of the 100 inquiries have not qualified for consideration by the board because the alleged act of discrimination happened outside of city limits. In those cases, the complainants were referred to the the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Tampa.

More than a dozen official complaints have been filed, and most have been resolved by conciliation and end up in confidential settlements.

"The purpose of the ordinance was to create an opportunity to air complaints," said Kurt Hoverter, Sarasota’s director of human resources. "Conciliations have worked in virtually every case."

Several citizens have been satisified with the board.

"It cuts out a lot of hassle with the courts," said George Richardson, who complained to the board that he was fired after filing a workers compensation claim.

Richardson would not talk about the details of his settlement, but said coming to the human relations board meant "no more lost sleep and no more agitation."

First hearing a tough one

Perez, who is from Colombia, said he thought he had a good case when he brought forward his complaint about the Renaissance.

Representing himself, Perez told the board that he worked hard during his five years at the Renaissance. He was sure that race played a part in his firing, which happened when a new condominium association board took over last year.

Attorneys for the condominium association, however, painted him as a hothead who routinely berated coworkers and created a negative workplace environment.

Before rendering its decision, the human relations board heard 10 hours of testimony, some of which hurt Perez’s case.

Spanish-speaking coworkers said they never felt discriminated against at the Renaissance. Some described Perez as a man who lost his temper and frequently spouted obscenities.

The new condominium association president said he fired Perez because he stopped doing his job well, an opinion also voiced by another of Perez’s bosses.

"The idea that this is related to race is disconcerting," said the association president, Brian Geery.

"I’m sorry that you feel that way," he told Perez. "I really am."

It was Geery who explained the board’s policy about requiring employees to refrain from speaking Spanish around residents, some of whom became uncomfortable because they thought the workers were talking about them.

An attorney for the Renaissance argued that the policy "facilitated the comfort level of residents and the smooth functioning" of the building.

At the end of the case a few weeks ago, the five-member board concluded that discrimination did not contribute to Perez’s dismissal.

But several members said they were disturbed by Renaissance’s policy toward Spanish-speaking employees.

Even Geery, the condominium association president, admitted that prohibiting Spanish may have been part of a misguided effort to comfort residents.

"In hindsight, was that a good thing to do? No," he said.

Slowly gaining steam

Board members also wonder how widespread it is for employers to prohibit Spanish.

Chepote has heard of several such places.

Lottie Swann-Crawford, the woman who helped found the board and now serves on it, said she thinks the board would be more effective if members had the power to investigate discrimination themselves, rather than simply waiting for complaints to be filed and then hearing from both sides.

She and others are now trying to set up a similar board in Sarasota County government.

B.J. Branson, a former city administrative specialist who handled the discrimination complaints, said the city has worked hard to make the city program visible, setting up a booth at the farmers market and making presentations at functions.

Swamm-Crawford credits the low number of cases to a few things. One of those things is "apathy."

"When people have been beaten down and discriminated against, they don’t have the will to get up and do things," she said.

She said Sarasota is a place that has largely segregated black and white communities.

About six months ago, a man yelled racial slurs at her outside an Albertsons in Sarasota.

She says black people who live here are still hesitant to shop and eat on Main Street, and that discrimination is "still well and living."

"Of course it’s going on," she said. "It’s just a little more subtle than it used to be."

[Prolegal7]

I think it's about time that every government official including the police should ask about immigration status....if the person lies and provides false identification etc, then the matter is turned over to the feds for immediate deportation.