Public Meeting #3: Human Relations Board

The Hillsborough County Human Relations Board met Oct. 14. The Board is made up of 13 members who serve three-year staggering terms, headed by Equal Opportunity Administrator Gail P. Williams.

Williams serves as the human relations liaison between the County and the community and is responsible for ensuring equal opportunity to County residents. The office implements the Human Rights Ordinance.

On November 1, 2000, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners adopted Human Rights Ordinance 00-37. It prohibits discrimination based on race, national origin, age, religion, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy and sexual harassment) and marital status in employment, public accommodations, procurement and contracting, and familial status with regard to housing.

The 13 members of the board hear discrimination cases brought up by Hillsborough County residents. The Board only operates in this county, as well as Plant City. The person who is complaining must file his or her case in writing. The Board will investigate the validity of the complaint and will serve as mediation between the discriminated person and the discriminating agency.

There are, however, exemptions to consider before bring a complaint to the Board. If a person feels that they have been discriminated by a separate governing agency, such as the School Board, that person must make a complaint to that agency since the Board has no juristiction. In addition, the Board is exempt from investigating cases involving an organization that requires membership, because that is not a public entity.

When the Board has cases to go over, the audience members are usually asked to leave the room and wait outside until the Board is finished. The reason being that the cases are unresolved and, therefore, not open to the public to respect the privacy of the complainant(s), said board member Raymond Reed after the meeting.

At the meeting today, there were no cases to discuss, and there were no public comments made from the audience, so the Board moved on to the third item on the agenda: appoval of the minutes. Board member Hunter Gambrell approved the minutes first, seconded by member Estelle Oar.

The fifth item on the agenda was explanations of absences at the last meeting. A couple of members explained why they could not be there, and the Board moved on to the discussion of the Ordinance, the intent being that the ordinance needs to be reviewed and updated. The discussion was opened up to the Board.

Ore mentioned that the staff should have enough time to work on cases and not be badgered. Board member Cindy Oster said that the Board should clarify its county role. She also mentioned that the ordinance limits getting punitive damages, citing a specific case (the Mercedes homes case). Gambrell talked about changing the rules and regulations to run a subcommittee meeting. Oster replied that requests for the change of rules and regulations must be made a month in advance.

Reed also encouraged more active participation from the newer members of the board, as his and Ore's last meeting with the Board will be in December.

"I would strongly encourage the newer members of the Board to participate (in forming) a specific subcommittee to review ordinance rules and regulations," Reed said.

Some duties would include reviewing the ordinance, bringing confusions and conflicts to light and working extra hours, including nights.

"It's not an undertaking to be taken lightly," he said.

New member Monique Pickett was concerned about not knowing about past problems and successes the Board has encountered, to which Reed replied that "sometimes fresh eyes are the best eyes" and that this could be a great opportunity for new members.

Reed also made sure to tell the newer board members that, although they are unpaid volunteers, they still must file financial disclosures. All boards of Hillsborough County have to fill out financial disclosures forms and give them to the supervisor of elections once a year, every year.

After the meeting was over, Reed told me and another attendee that a lot of the cases presented to them turn out to not be valid. Many complainants turn out to be angry ex-employees who want to save money by not hiring a lawyer to represent them. In many cases, the Board finds out that the firing was based on a bad performance rather than race, age, sex, religion or any other discriminatory factor.

Not all of the cases are like this, though. Reed said: “Every once in a while you get to see justice done, and that’s a good feeling.”

The Hillsborough County Human Relations Board will meet again Nov. 12.