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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996 NS HR & R Contract with US Department of Housing and Urban Development 4 AGRSSMENT FOR INTERIM REFERRALS OR OTHER UTILIZATION OF SERVICES BETWEEN DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND ORANGE COUNTY HQMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION All references are to 24 CFR Subtitle B, Chapter 1, Subchapter A (1989) I. PURPOSES The purposes of this Agreement for Interim Referrals or Other Utilization of Services (interim agreement) are: to provide for referral of fair housing complaints .between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("the Department") and Orange County Human Relations Commission O the Agency or OCHRC") ; to set forth the terms and conditions upon which such referrals will be made; to ' define the terms and conditions upon which the services and employees of the Department may be used by the Agency; to define the terms and conditions upon which the services and employees of the Agency may be used by the Department; and, to establish procedures for communication between the parties to this interim agreement that permit the Department to monitor and evaluate the Agency's administration and enforcement of its fair housing law for initial and continued certification. These communication procedures will assist the Department in determining whether, in operation, the fair housing law administered by the Agency provides rights, procedures, remedies, and judicial review for alleged violations of law that are substantially equivalent to those provided in the Fair Housing Act (more specifically, whether the Agency is operating in a manner consistent with the performance standards set forth at 24 CFR 115) . II. AUTHORITY The Department is responsible for the administration of the Fair Rousing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601-3619) and the implementing regulations at 24 CFR Part 14 et al. 3 2 If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact:' Shirley J. Wilkins, Director Fair Housing Enforcement Center U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Richard B. Russell Federal Building 75 Spring Street, SW Atlanta, Georgia 30303-3388 Telephone: (303) 441-5140 If you have any questions regarding this interim agreement, please contact Ms. Marcella 0. Brown, Director, Fair Housing Assistance Program Division, on (202) 708-0455 . I look forward to a continuing relationship with Orange County as we strive to make fair housing a reality throughout the United States. Sincerely, gfar+aK. Pratt, Director 0 ice of Investigations Enclosure 5 2 The Agency is responsible'for the administration and enforcement of the Orange County Civil Rights Ordinance (OCCRO) as interpreted, implemented, explained or otherwise effected by Regulation, Rule, Directive, or Formal Opinion of the State Attorney General/Chief Law Officer of the jurisdiction, as appropriate. The Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, in applying the criteria set forth in the implementing regulations, has determined that the cited law provides rights, procedures, remedies, and judicial review for alleged discriminatory housing practices that are substantially equivalent to those provided in the Fair Housing Act. The law the Agency is charged with administering has not been in effect for a sufficient time to permit demonstration of compliance with the performance standards described in 24 CFR 115.203 . Therefore; the Department and the Agency are entering into this interim agreement. III. DSFINITIONS As used in this interim agreement: A. "Agency* or 'OCHRC" means the Orange County Human Relations Commission. B. "Aggrieved person" includes any person who: (1) claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing practice; or (2) believes that such person will be injured by a discriminatory housing practice that is about to occur. C. "Commence proceedings" means when the Agency has received a complaint, assigned a case number, determined acceptability, and assigned the complaint for investigation and resolution. D. "Complainant" means the person who files a complaint under the Ordinance or Section 810 of the Fair Housing Act. 6 3 E. . "Conciliation" means the attempted resolution of issues raised by a complaint, or by the investigation of a complaint, through informal negotiations involving the aggrieved person, the respondent, and the Agency representative. F. "Conciliation agreement" means a written agreement setting forth the resolution of the issues in a conciliation agreement signed by the complainant, respondent, and Agency. G. "Concurrent processing" means the processing of a case under the Fair Housing Act and other civil rights authorities administered by the Department. H. "Department" or "HUD" means the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. I. "Dual-filed complaint" means a complaint that is filed with both the Department and the Agency and alleges discriminatory housing practices unlawful under the Ordinance and Sections 804, 805, 806 and 818 of the Fair Housing Act. J. "Fair Housing Act" means Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, 42 U.S.C. 3601-3619. K. "Investigation" is the process by which HUD and the Agency obtain information concerning the events or transactions that relate to the alleged discriminatory housing practice identified in the complaint; document policies or practices of the respondent involved in the alleged discriminatory housing practice raised in the complaint; and develop factual data necessary to determine whether reasonable cause exists to believe that a discriminatory housing practice has occurred or is about to occur. L. "Person" includes one or more individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations, labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees in cases under Title 11 of the United States Code, receivers and fiduciaries. 7 4 M. "Field Office" is the Southeast/Caribbean Field Office located at: Richard B. Russell Federal Building, 75 Spring Street SW Atlanta Georgia 30303-3388. Telephone: (303) 441-514.0 N. "Respondent" means: (1) the person or other entity accused in a complaint of a discriminatory housing practice (s) ; and (2) any other person or entity identified during investigation and notified as required. IV. FILING OF COMPLAINTS/DUAL-FILING In order to protect housing rights and facilitate the filing of complaints, HUD and the Agency each authorizes the other to receive complaints for it. Each Agency will inform complainants of their right to file with the other Agency and, pursuant to the procedures identified in this interim agreement, will assist the person alleging housing discrimination in preparing a complaint to satisfy the requirements of the other Agency. The authorization to receive complaints contained in this paragraph does not include the right of one Agency to determine the jurisdiction of the other over a complaint. A. Acceptance and Referral of Complaints (1) Complaints first received by the Department. When a complaint is filed with the Department and alleges a discriminatory housing practice that is within the jurisdiction of the Agency, the Field Office will, within 3 working days, notify the Agency by certified mail, and the complainant and respondent by mail within ten days, of the filing of the complaint with HUD and refer the complaint to the Agency for further processing. The agency shall acknowledge the date it received the complaint or the certified mail receipt and return it promptly to HUD. The Department will take no action with respect to the complaint, except for reactivation as set forth in Section V of this interim agreement. 5 Additionally, a referral does not prohibit the Department from taking appropriate action to review or investigate matters in the complaint that raise issues cognizable under other civil rights authorities applicable to HUD programs. If possible, the Department will include in the transmittal of the complaint, information as to whether other civil rights authorities are applicable. If the Department cannot make a determination that other civil rights authorities apply within three days of the receipt of the complaint, the Department will forward the complaint and provide such additional information as soon as it is determined. (2) Cgi8laints first received by the Agency. When a complaint is filed with the Agency under its fair housing law, the Agency will forward it to the Field Office within 5. working days after receipt. The Agency shall indicate its case file number on the transmittal to HUD. Upon receipt of the complaint. HUD will assign a file number and notify the Agency within 5 working days of the Department's acceptance of the complaint as dual-filed. The Field Office will notify the Agency within 5 working days after the complaint has been received whether HUD has determined that other civil rights authorities are applicable. When the Agency receives a complaint, the complainant or aggrieved person shall be informed of his/her rights under the Fair Housing Act and encouraged to file a complaint with HUD. The time period for reactivation will begin upon the Agency's acknowledged date of receipt of the complaint. The Agency acknowledges receipt by dating the Department's enclosed return receipt, assigning an Agency case file number, and returning the receipt to the Field Office. HUD will begin monitoring of the complaint based on the Agency's acknowledged receipt date. 9 6 The Agency shall assist the complainant or aggrieved person in drafting a complaint that meets the filing requirements of this Section and shall send the complaint to the Field Office designated in Section III. M. B. The Agency agrees that complaints may be filed by telephone, in person, or by mail. Complaints filed with the Agency will be considered dual-filed under its own law and with the Department under the Fair Housing Act. C. ' Each complaint must be in writing and must be signed and affirmed by the aggrieved person filing the complaint. Information can be provided by telephone and reduced to writing by an agency and the signature and affirmation may be made at any time during the investigation. D. Each complaint must contain substantially the following information: (1) The name and address of the aggrieved person; (2) The name and address of the respondent; (3) A description and the address of the dwelling that is involved, if appropriate; and (4) A concise statement of the facts, including pertinent dates, constituting .the alleged discriminatory housing practice. E. A complaint will be considered filed when it is received by the Department, or dual-filed with the Department through the Agency, in a form that meets the standards of C and D above. F. HUD will identify any complaint that may involve the need for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and refer the complaint to the agency promptly by telephone with follow-up mail. G. The Agency agrees: (1) To engage in comprehensive and thorough investigation and conciliation activities. l� 7 (2-) To commence proceedings with respect to a complaint before the end of the 30th day after receipt of the complaint, carry forward proceedings with reasonable promptness in accordance with this interim agreement, and make final administrative disposition of a complaint within one year of the date of receipt and within 100 days of receipt of the complaint, complete the following investigatory proceedings, including the preparation of a final investigative report containing: (a) The names and dates of contacts with witnesses; (b) A summary and dates of correspondence and other contacts with the aggrieved person and the respondent; (c) A summary description of other pertinent records; (d) A summary of witness statements; and - (e) Answers to interrogatories. H. The Agency agrees to notify the complainant and respondent in writing of the reasons, if the Agency is unable to complete the investigation within 100 days. I. The Agency agrees that it will not refer any complaints to any agency or unit of government unless the Department has found such agency or unit of government to be substantially equivalent. J. The Agency agrees not to permit any of its decision making authority to be contracted to or delegated to a nongovernmental entity. V. REACTIVATION A. Mutual Reactivation Reactivation may occur if the Agency or Department request reactivation or the Agency consents to reactivation. The following situations are bases for reactivation under this paragraph: 11 8 (1) If the respondent is a Federal, State, or local governmental Agency; (2) If the respondent has properties outside the jurisdiction in which the Agency operates; (3) If the case is systemic; or (4) If handling the case would result in a conflict of interest for the Agency. B. Reactivation The Agency and the Department agree that, except with the consent of or request for reactivation by the Agency, the Department, after referral of the complaint, shall take no further action with respect to such complaint unless: (1) The Department determines that the Agency no longer qualifies for certification; or (2) The Agency has failed to commence proceedings with respect to the complaint within 30 days of the Agency's acknovIedged receipt date (in accordance with Section III (C) ) ; or (3) The Agency, having so commenced such proceedings within the 30-day period, fails to carry forward such proceedings with reasonable promptness. The determination that the Agency has failed to act with reasonable promptness is one that the Department will make on a case-by-case basis through consultation with the Agency. Factors to be considered include, but need not be limited to, the following: the subject matter; the number of aggrieved persons; the complexity of the issues involved in the complaint; the progress made by the Agency since the referral of the case; the workload and resources available to the Agency; and scheduling difficulties between the Agency, the aggrieved person, and the respondent. 12 9 (4) HUD will not reactivate a complaint under this paragraph until the appropriate HUD Field Office has conferred with the Agency to determine the reason for the delay in processing the complaint. If the Assistant Secretary believes that the Agency will proceed expeditiously following the conference, the Assistant Secretary may leave the complaint with the Agency for a reasonable time. (5) The complaint will be reactivated, if, at any time during the processing of the complaint: (a) it is discovered that the complaint was improperly referred to the Agency; or (b) the complaint was properly referred, but it is discovered that the complaint involved exemptions or other restrictions that, if known at the time of referral, would have resulted in HUD's retention of the complaint under paragraph VIII (A) of this agreement. The Department may reactivate under this Agreement without regard to such time frames as set forth herein. Reactivation for untimely processing will begin from the Agency's acknowledged date of receipt of the complaint. C. If reactivation occurs under this paragraph V, the Agency will not receive payment for processing, unless HUD determines that failure to pay would impose a significant burden on the Agency. VI. REQUIRSBiTS FOR CERTIFICATION The following are requirements for receiving and maintaining certification: A. To conduct compliance reviews of all settlements, conciliation agreements and orders issued to resolve discriminatory housing practices; H. To consistently and affirmatively seek and obtain the type of relief designed to prevent recurrences of such practices; 13 10 C. To consistently and affirmatively seek the elimination of all prohibited practices under its fair housing law; D. To inform the Department of any changes in duties or responsibilities in addition to the administration of the fair housing law; E. To provide the Department, annually, data showing changes in the organization of the agency, funding and personnel made available for the enforcement of the fair housing law; and F. To immediately notify the Department of any changes in its fair housing law, regulations, directives; any pertinent opinions of the State Attorney General or the Chief Legal Officer of the Agency' s jurisdiction. VII. COMPLAINT PROCESSING A. The Department will refer to the Agency any complaint filed with the Department that alleges a violation of the Agency's fair housing law for processing. B. The Agency agrees to accept any complaint referred to it by the Department, and to process such complaint. The Agency further agrees that no complaint referred to it by the Department involving discriminatory housing practices will be referred to any other Agency. C. Investigations To ensure that complaint investigations are effective, the Agency and the Department agree that: (1) The Agency and the Department will have mutual access to all relevant information in each other's possession during the investigation of a complaint (access also may be requested from other local, State and/or Federal agencies as appropriate) unless they are legally restricted from doing so; 14 11 (2) Upon reasonable notice by either signatory, each agrees to make available to the other, to the maximum extent possible, such facilities and/or staff resources as are necessary in processing a complaint; and (3) When there are reasons for an investigation to be conducted jointly by investigators from both the Department and the Agency, the signatories will coordinate their pre- investigative planning to assure that there is no duplication of effort. During any joint investigation, the investigators from both signatories will make the same representations to respondent (s) , complainant (s) , and witnesses. For example, where a case is concurrently processed (other civil rights authorities administered by HUD as well as the Fair Housing Act and the Agency' s fair housing law apply to the case) , HUD may participate in the processing of the complaint. D. Other Civil Rights Authorities In addition to the Fair Housing Act, other civil rights authorities may be applicable in a particular case. HUD personnel in the Field Office of FHEO will investigate that portion of the complaint not covered by this interim agreement, which may violate the following civil rights authorities: • Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of . 1964; • Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; • Executive Order 11063 of November 20, 1962 Equal Opportunity in Housing; • The Age Discrimination Act of 1975; and o Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 15 12 E. Conciliation (1) During the period beginning with the filing of the complaint and ending with the filing of a charge or the dismissal of the complaint by the Director/Commissioner, the Agency will, to the extent feasible, attempt to conciliate the complaint. (2) In conciliating a complaint, the Agency will attempt to get a just resolution of the complaint and to obtain assurances that the respondent will satisfactorily remedy any violations of the rights of the aggrieved person, and take such action as will assure the elimination of the discriminatory housing practices, or the prevention of their occurrence in the future. (3) The terms of a conciliation agreement will be reduced to writing. The agreement shall seek to protect the interests of the aggrieved person, other persons similarly situated, and the public interest. (4) Where the Department has notified the Agency that a case is subject to concurrent processing, the Agency agrees to include language that states that the conciliation agreement does not prohibit HUD from taking further action against the respondent under applicable rules and regulations of the other civil rights authorities. Further, the Agency also agrees not to execute a conciliation agreement for cases subject to concurrent processing unless HUD concurs on the terms and conditions of that agreement. (5) The conciliation agreement must be signed by the respondent, complainant and the Director and/or Commissioner of the Agency. (6) The Agency may end its efforts to conciliate the complaint if the respondent fails or refuses to confer with the Agency; the aggrieved person/complainant or the 16 13 respondent fails to make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute; or, the Agency determines that voluntary agreement is not likely to result. (7) The Agency agrees to make full disclosure of all conciliation agreements to HUD. F. Enforcement (1) In appropriate cases, the Agency will use its authority to seek prompt judicial action. Upon the filing of a complaint, the Agency promptly will seek appropriate temporary or preliminary relief on behalf of the aggrieved person consistent with the law and seek the implementation of appropriate sanctions and penalties-. (2) In appropriate cases, the Agency will exercise its authority to issue subpoenas, require the attendance of witnesses to give testimony at depositions or hearings, and the production of relevant books, papers, documents, or tangible things. If a person fails to comply with a subpoena issued by the Agency, the Agency will enforce its subpoena. (3) Where a reasonable cause determination has been made, the Agency must use its authority to seek actual damages in an administrative hearing, or arrange to have adjudicated in court, at the Agency's expense, the award of actual damages to the aggrieved person. Such actual damages can include damages caused by humiliation and embarrassment. (4) Where a reasonable cause determination is made against a respondent, the Agency must use its authority to seek appropriate injunctive or other equitable relief in administrative hearings, or to seek such relief in a court of competent jurisdiction. (5) Where a reasonable cause determination is made, the Agency must use *its authority to seek and assess appropriate civil penalties against the respondent in administrative proceedings or arrange to have adjudicated 17 14 at Agency expense, the award of the appropriate punitive damages against the respondent. (6) The Agency will make final administrative disposition of a complaint within one year of the date of filing of a complaint unless it is unable to do so. If the Agency is unable to do so, it shall notify the complainant, respondent, and the Department, in writing, of the reason(s) . G. Monitoring The purpose of monitoring is to ensure timely, complete, and quality case processing of each dual-filed complaint, enforcement of complaint, and provide appropriate technical assistance to the Agency. Information obtained through monitoring is used in part, for assessing the overall performance of the Agency as required under 24 CFR Part 115. (1) The Department will use the following ."milestones" in assessing progress of the Agency in case processing. Failure by the Agency to meet these milestones alert the Department to the need to take further action. 30th Day: Agency has commenced investigation or conciliation. 75th Day: Agency has completed the Final Investigative Report, if conciliation is not completed. 100th Day: Agency has submitted to the Department the final investigative report, containing the names and dates of contacts with witnesses, summary and dates of correspondence and other contact with the complainant and respondent, a summary description of other pertinent records, a summary of witness statements, and answers to interrogatories. (2) After the 100th day, HUD must assess whether the Agency is proceeding with reasonable promptness. The Agency must provide, in writing, to the Department the