Department of Human Rights picks up pace
By T.W. Budig
ECM Capitol Reporter
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights is speeding up.
Last year, the department — a high-profile agency in the budget battles at the State Capitol earlier this year — received about 800 complaints concerning perceived violations of civil rights law.
Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Kevin Lindsey. (Photo submitted)
Complaints come from virtually every county, and are as diverse as the population.
“We get cases throughout the entire state,” said Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Kevin Lindsey.
One recent case settled in Hennepin County dealt with a Somali woman, a Muslim, and allegations of hostile reactions from county employees when the woman attempted to fulfill a religious obligation and pray while in a county building.
Most complaints are employment-related. And last year, most complaints dealt with disabilities.
Lindsey wants complaints processed faster.
A former attorney with Ramsey County, Lindsey said for the department to be a viable alternative to the courts, findings of probable cause in cases needed be rendered more speedily.
“The first thing I thought we needed to do was get a handle on that,” said Lindsey, appointed by Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton in February.
It was taking well over a year — more than 400 days — for the department to determine probable cause in cases. Lindsey canvassed the department, which has a two-year budget of just over $6 million, for ideas on how to pick up the pace.
Out of this emerged the rocket docket, a venue with a goal of processing simpler complaints within 60 days — several already have been resolved within the time frame, said Lindsey. The department looks to handling more complex cases within eight months.
Some cases are settled through conciliation, others may be referred to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office to go before an administrative law judge. “It’s a balancing act, actually,” said Lindsey of disposing cases.
While it’s not easy to compare states to states, Minnesota’s application of human rights law is probably broader than found in most, Lindsey explained.
“Minnesota probably provides more protection than the majority of the states under a similar Human Rights Act,” he said.
Minnesota state human rights law seeks freedom from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, public service and education, because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, and age.
“Such discrimination threatens the rights and privileges of the inhabitants of this state and menaces the institutions and foundations of democracy,” state law reads.
Human Rights Department funding became an issue last spring when the Republican-controlled legislature proposed a large cut. Dayton pointed to the proposed cut in his veto of the Republican public safety bill.
“The proposed 65 percent cut to the Department of Human Rights is by far the worst to any agency, and it would eviscerate our ability to investigate human rights violations,” Dayton said.
Lindsey likes to think most Minnesotans would not support such a cut.
Calls were made to several area Republican state senators for comment regarding the human rights department proposed budget.
None were returned.
Some criticisms of the department voiced by lawmakers is that it spends too much money on education and that federal law already provides civil rights protection, according to media reports and Lindsey.
In listening to lawmakers, Lindsey heard talk of states’ rights, he explained.
And yet, some legislators seemed to hope the federal government would step into the state to provide civil rights protection. “Which I thought was very odd,” Lindsey said.
It’s wrong to suppose that the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), for instance, in cases of alleged employment discrimination can wholly take on the burden of the Minnesota Human Rights Department, Lindsey explained.
The state human rights department can become involved in an allegation of discrimination coming from a business with two employees, said Lindsey.
By law, the EOC is restricted from taking action in businesses smaller than 15 employers, and in allegations of age discrimination, smaller than 20.
“So, very clearly, there are some cases the EOC would never be able to take from the Minnesota Department of Human Rights,” Lindsey said.
Charges of civil rights violations in Minnesota has increased so far this year by 20 percent, according to the department. Exactly why so, Lindsey said at this point he can’t say.
Human rights’ issues will come to the forefront in upcoming months as Minnesotans debate the same-sex marriage ban constitutional amendment appearing on the ballot next November.
While the Minnesota Human Rights Department will have no voice in the debate, Lindsey views the language in constitutions as saying basic things about society.
“I don’t think it’s surprising for an individual such as myself to think — if the (U.S.) Constitution says you’re three-fifth of a human being, which it did at one point in time — that it says something about the values of society in America,” said Lindsey.
“I think that sends a message of what our values are,” he said.
The U.S. Constitution once counted slaves as three-fifth of a person in questions of taxation and representation.
