The League of Iowa Human Rights Agencies is a voluntary, non-profit organization dedi-cated to the protection and advancement of human and civil rights. Founded in the late 1970’s, the League comprises of the local human and civil rights commissions in Iowa, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and the Iowa Department of Human Rights. While its members are public agencies, the League is a private, non-governmental or-ganization.
The League meets four times a year, two times in Des Moines and two times through the Iowa Communication Network (ICN). During those meetings, League members receive train-ing on a variety of human and civil rights topics and share ideas and concerns among each other. Additional trainings may be scheduled throughout the year as desired.
League Officers for 2009
Rudy Simms, President Des Moines Human Rights
Commission rusimms@dmgov.org Ralph Rosenberg, VP Iowa Civil Rights Commission
ralph.rosenberg@iowa.gov Kelly Larson, Secretary
Dubuque Human Rights Commission k.larson@cityofdubuque.org
Michelle Olmstead, Treasurer Cedar Rapids Civil Rights
Commission m.olmstead@cedar-rapids.org
Welcome to the League of Iowa Human Rights Agencies
Legislative Breakfast: Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The League’s Annual LegislativeBreakfast and League Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 17, 2009 from 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM in Des Moines, beginning in the Legislative Dining Room of the State Capitol. The dining room is located in the lowest level of the Capitol. During the 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM Breakfast, commissioners and staff may meet and greet with their
legis-lators regarding civil and human rights issues affecting their com-munities and the state. Informal meetings with legislators unable to attend the breakfast will take place from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM. Afterward, ICRC VISTAs will guide groups between the Capitol and the Jesse Parker Building for the League meeting, which starts at 11:00 AM in the Grant Room and will include
lunch. If your commission en-gages in community awareness events or activities, we encour-age you to share them with the League during the meeting. Also, if you have a best practice you would like to share, we encourage you to bring it up during the Keeping Up with the Jones period.
March 2009 Volume 1, Issue 3
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Inside this issue you will find: EX-OFFENDERS IN EMPLOYMENT 2-3 MAJOR2009 ANNIVERSARIES 4 BESTPRACTICES 4 2009 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES 5 RALPHM ONTGOM-ERYSTATUEU N-VEILING 5 AMERICORPS VISTA EXPANSION 6
The League Website: www.iowacivilrights.webs.com Catch up on missed
meet-ings or trainmeet-ings by checking out League Resources. New additions to:
Employ-ment, Fair Housing, GLBT, Immigration, Neighborhood Safety, Changing Demograph-ics in Iowa, Women in the Issues section, and the new Google Events Calendar. Sign up for the website
mailing list and be sure to share your Best Practices! The League Blog: http://iacivilrights.blogspot.com/ Be sure to check out the
League blog for news and updates on civil & human rights!
Feel free to make com-ments or post your own news!
Currently, Iowa law lacks statu-tory language that would in-clude Iowans with a criminal history as a protected class (this lack of coverage mirrors most of the nation). However, Iowa has been shown to paral-lel EEOC guidance that states that an employer may exclude an individual from employment on the basis of a conviction record only if the employer’s decision was “justified by busi-ness necessity.” The relevant factors, the EEOC says, include: (1) The nature and seriousness of the offense; (2) the time that has passed since the conviction and/ or completion of the sentence; and (3) the nature of the job held or sought. Thus, a blanket exclu-sion based on conviction records can seldom be justified. Applica-tion forms that ask about convic-tion records should include a statement to the effect that whether a conviction will disqual-ify an applicant depends on the nature of the offense, the nature of the job, and the length of time since the conviction and incar-ceration. (IWD).
Additionally, the state recog-nizes the disparate impact model of discrimination, which speaks to the range of discrimi-nation that may occur by use of facially neutral criteria (arrest or conviction records) that may lead to a discriminatory impact on a protected class (e.g. African-Americans and Hispanics). These “protected classes” statistically make up a larger proportion of those with criminal records per capita, which directly contrasts with their representation in terms of relative population. Studies have shown that Iowa as a state incarcerates African-Americans at a rate 13.6 times higher than whites (the highest in the na-tion) (Boone). Recent years have seen federal and state action to address this
unfortu-nate reality, but these efforts have been actualized mostly in the way of government funded programs. This funding, in its most palpable form, has estab-lished employer incentives such as the Fidelity Bond Program*, which insures companies for up to $5000 for the first six months of employment; as well as the federal Work
Opportu-nity Tax Credit (WOTC)*, which provides employers with a $2400 tax credit for the hir-ing of an ex-offender. In addi-tion, the state of Iowa offers a state tax credit* of 65% of the wages paid to an ex-felon in the first 12 months of employ-ment—with a maximum deduc-tion of $20,000 per em-ployee. Several cities around the country have also “upped the ante”, including Philadel-phia, which offers a tax incen-tive of $10,000 per ex-offender.
Typical of most states, Iowa has no specific statute addressing any form of protection for ex-offenders. However, there are several outlier states that have adopted more progressive statutes. Ten states (CA, HI, IL, MA, MI, NY, OH, RI, UT, and WI) “prohibit public and private employers and occupa-tional licensing agencies from using arrests that never led to convictions”. Fourteen states prohibit employment discrimi-nation against qualified appli-cants with criminal histories; in some of these (AZ, CO, CT, FL, KY, LA, MN, NM, and WA) the laws only apply to public
employers and occupational licensing agencies. In only five of these fourteen states (HI, KS, PA, NY, and WI) does this pertain to public and private employers—respectively, these statutes express that:
“Employers' use of criminal his-tory information in employment decisions to criminal history which is rationally1, reasonably2, directly3, substantially4, or simply5 related to the job sought. In addition, some statutes employ further procedural protection either for the applicant (in the form of a right to receive a writ-ten copy of the reason for denial of a job6or even a prohibition on inquiry into criminal history until a tentative job offer has been made)7or the employer (in the form of limited liability for negli-gent hiring).8” (Geiger)
In the wake of a growing state (and national) problem of job-lessness, poverty, and crime— like-action in one form or an-other may certainly become a topic of discussion, bringing about the potential for “ex-offender protections legisla-tion” (as has been proposed by such organizations as the na-tional H.I.R.E Network, who recommended in a testimony before a Congressional sub-committee to “enact a federal standard based on recommen-dations outlined in the EEOC” (Meyers-Peeples)). Though, historically, much of this constituency has been marginalized, growing numbers may eventually call for and depend upon more compelling measures.
The fear and apprehension that accompanies the hiring of ex-offenders is tangible, but most research on the matter points in a different direction. As, Terri Jackson, the founder a Denver-based telecommunica-tions company has stated, "Of
Ex-Offenders in Employment
“Iowa as a state incarcerates African-Americans at a rate 13.6 times higher than whites (the highest in the nation)” FOR MORE INFORMATION
ON EX-OFFENDERS AND HIRING PRACTICES, PLEASE
VISIT:
Iowa Workforce Development, www.iowaworkforce.org Iowa Workforce Development,
“Successful Interviewing Guide”
www.iowaworkforce.org/70-0006.pdf
Iowa Workforce Development, “Tips for Individuals with Criminal
Histories” www.iowaworkforce.org/
region1/tips%20.pdf Urban Dreams, www.urbandreams.org/
The Safer Foundation, www.saferfoundation.org/
The H.I.R.E. Network, www.hirenetwork.org/ The Sentencing Project, www.sentencingproject.org/
all the groups we targeted, ex-offenders turned out to be the best employees, in part because they usu-ally have a desire to create a better life for themselves… They are often highly motivated and many have usable job skills that are desirable for an em-ployer. They come to work every day and do not engage in the type of be-haviors that will land them back in the penal system." Studies show that job retention for ex-offenders directly correlates with lower recidivist rates, helping curb the continued waste of taxpayer dollars on a cyclical penal system, as well as lowering crime rates. Despite this, ex-offenders con-tinue to be an underutilized resource for quality labor.
A number of cities within Iowa have undertaken successful initiatives— most notably Des Moines, whose pro-grams Urban Dreams and Spectrum have become national models of anti-recidivist success (Boone).
Nation-wide, programs like the Chicago-based Safer Foundation and the aforementioned H.I.R.E. Network are working to prepare offenders and ex-offenders for rehabilita-tion and reentry into the work-force. However, one common obstacle
for these groups has been the inability to break down the legal barriers for ex-offender reentry. Whether there are federal restrictions for certain industries (e.g. finance, insurance, unions, healthcare, childcare, prisoner transportation, avia-tion, port and ground transportation workers, and private security guards (Meyers-Peeples)) or lack of legal protec-tions in private and public hiring prac-tices—employment continues to be a
problem for those convicted of, or as is the case in most states, arrested for a crime.
While the parallels between the State of Iowa’s case law and EEOC guidance make a push for legislation appear ines-sential, it is important to remember that there is no formal federal standard that would preempt any state law on the matter. This effectively puts the fate of an already trivialized demo-graphic in the hands of the State's vague statutory language. Further specificity may provide for a more concise ap-proach to the problems associated with recidivism and joblessness—which con-tinue to plague those with criminal re-cords, especially members of minority groups who have been most dispropor-tionately affected.
Geofrey Fischer, AmeriCorps VISTA, Iowa Civil Rights Commission
“..job retention for ex-offenders directly correlates
with lower recidivist rates, helping curb the continued waste of taxpayer dollars on
a cyclical penal system.”
Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 3
The U.S. Department of Labor has a Fidelity Bonding Program available for returning ex-felons to aid in finding meaningful, full-time employ-ment and to protect employers against theft, fraud, forgery, larceny, or similar events. The Bond is good for six months and renewable at the employer’s cost for another six months.
· Business insurance policies that protect against theft, forgery, larceny, or embezzlement of money or property by an employee who is covered by the bond.
· Department of Labor (DOL) will post a $5000 bond at no cost to the employer for a 6 month period. · Contact: Iowa Workforce Development (515) 281-9097.
The Internal Revenue Service can authorize up to a $2400 Tax Credit for your business. This is an incentive to hire ex-felons and is known as the
Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC).
· This can only be used for a new hire.
· The employer cannot have used the tax credit for the same person in the past. · Employment must be full-time (over thirty hours per week).
· You must be employed for six months.
· A “letter of incarceration” is required and must be provided. · No fee to the employer.
· Needs to be done within 21 days from the employee’s start date. · Contact: Iowa Workforce Development (515) 281-9010.
* Visit http://www.iowaworkforce.org/region1/tips%20.pdffor more information.
Iowa employers that meet the following criteria are allowed an additional deduction on their Iowa income tax returns for hiring ex-offenders. This deduction is 65 percent of the wages paid in the first 12 months of employment; the maximum deduction is $20,000 per employee. This deduc-tion is in addideduc-tion to the targeted jobs tax credit.
2009 Civil & Human Rights Anniversaries
Do you have plans to celebrate any of these major anniversaries or other ones unique to your community? If so, let us know and we will help publicize them to the state.
One of the purposes of the League is for the exchange of ideas and resources among the different commissions. Best practices can describe a suc-cessful program, a recent ac-complishment or a publication for others to use as templates and examples. To share a best practice from your commis-sion, please contact Crystal Schrader to post it on the League’s website:
http://www.freewebs.com/ iowacivilrights/
Best Practice #1
Fair Housing Activities for Outreach Events: Des
Moines Human Rights
Commission VISTA
Mem-bers: Jordan Homer,
Bridget Fischels & Mikel Johnson
Using the attached diagram to
170thAnniversary of the Iowa Supreme Court Case, “In the Matter of Ralph,” which ruled that Ralph
Montgomery, a slave, was not a “fugitive slave” in Iowa and thus refused to send him back to the slave owner in Missouri.
140thAnniversary of Belle Mansfield’s admission to the Iowa Bar as the first female lawyer in the U.S.
130thAnniversary of the University of Iowa awarding a law degree to G. Alexander Clark, making it
the first public U.S. university to grant a law degree to an African American.
100thAnniversary of the founding of the National Association for Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP).
90thAnniversary of the 19thAmendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted women the right to
vote nationally and forced the State of Iowa to grant suffrage to women.
60thAnniversary of the Iowa Supreme Court case, State v. Katz, in which the Iowa Supreme Court
held that the Public Accommodations Act of 1884 could be applied to an enterprise not ex-pressly listed therein.
55thAnniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education
of Topeka, Kansas, unanimously agreeing that segregation in public schools in unconstitu-tional.
45th Anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, outlawed discrimination in employment, public
accommodations, public facilities, and federallyassisted programs; and strengthened voting pro -tections—also sets off a series civil rights actions such as Freedom Summer and the 24th Amendment.
40thAnniversary of the Stonewall Riots in NYC — marks the beginning of the gay rights movement.
20thAnniversary Douglas Wilder (VA) becomes nation’s first African-American governor.
15thAnniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court case, Adarand, which ruled that all federal laws creating
racial classifications, regardless of an intention to burden or benefit minorities, when chal-lenged, must be tested by the same stringent standard.
make puzzle piece designs, two pieces of foam board were cut
into puzzle pieces. People visit-ing the table could then deco-rate the puzzle pieces to depict what fair housing looks like to them. Those pieces were then taped to a piece of felt and put back together into two boards. Two activity booklets were also made available for kids. Access at:
http://iowacivilrights.webs.com/ bestpractices.htm
Best Practices: Sharing Ideas and Resources
Best Practice #2
MLK Art Projects 2009: Sioux City Human Rights Commission
In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Sioux City Human Rights Commission and the Sioux City Schools part-nered on a display of art work by school children. The project focused on the children’s dream to make the world a better place. The young artists are in kindergarten through fifth grade. Their art work was on display during the week of Dr. King’s birthday, January 16-25, 2009, in the Sioux City skywalks, at City Hall, and at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Transportation Center. Each child received a certificate honoring their participation in this program.
Ames CCDC The Community Conversa-tions on Diversity Commit-tee (CCDC) exists to foster a more welcoming commu-nity. The committee seeks to promote the value of respect for all people by providing individuals with a chance to get to know each other. 6 community Action Teams have been developed to address various issues from diversity in education, to creating a welcoming environment at social events, to facilitation of summer block parties, and much more! Check out the web-site at http://
sites.google.com/site/ amescommunityconversa-tionsfor more details and to find out how to get involved! We would love to know what cultural and diversity events are happening in your
neck of the woods. Please send us information about upcoming events, confer-ences, and fairs in your cities
and surrounding communi-ties. We will post the events on our calendar of events on both the League and Iowa Civil Rights Com-mission websites. You may
send them to Crystal at crystal.schrader@iowa.gov Events in Your Area?
Page 5 Volume 1, Issue 3
1. Granting the Iowa Civil Rights Commission subpoena power over witnesses during the investigation stage.
SF96/HF209 is a bill that will allow the Iowa Civil Rights Commission to subpoena witnesses in the course of investigating a complaint. It’s more of a effort to insure fair consideration of all facts than it is a civil rights issue. The effect will be to administer civil rights complaints more effectively and with more efficiency. The bill passed the Senate in February 2009 and is now in the House. The Commission can subpoena witnesses in the course of a hearing, but this bill will give ICRC investigators the option to subpoena witnesses in the course of an investigation – before it gets to the hearing stage. This subpoena power would be used only when potential witnesses or parties to a complaint refuse to cooperate. In the great majority of cases, parties or witnesses willingly cooperate in the investigation by providing testimony. State agencies that possess the authority to issue subpoenas currently include: Inspections & Appeals, Iowa Dept. of Personnel, Racing & Gam-ing Commission, the BankGam-ing Superintendent, SavGam-ings & Loan Division, the Office of Consumer Advocate, and more. 43 states already grant this power to their civil rights agency.
2. Providing an enhanced remedy for wage discrimination.
SF137/HSB73 are bills that would authorize civil and human rights commissions to award damages to a person subject to wage discrimination in an amount double the wage differential paid to any other employee compared to the complaint for the period of time for which the complainant has been discriminated, and, in instances of willful violation, up to three times that wage differential amount. While originally created in reaction to the Ledbetter case, this bill will cover all bases cov-ered by employment discrimination, including age, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national ori-gin, religion and disability. Approximately 5% of all discrimination cases filed each year deal with equal pay violations. 3. Requiring gender balance on local boards, commissions,
committees, and councils.
HF50/HF243/SF133 are bills that would require appointive boards, commissions, committees, and councils of political sub-division of that state that are established by the Iowa Code to be gender balanced beginning January 1, 2012. This bill does not apply to cities with a population of less than 1,000 persons, boards pertaining to professional licensure or otherwise requiring members with technical expertise, or to political subdivisions that have made a good faith effort to comply but have been unable to make a compliant appointment for a period of three months.
4. General call for comprehensive immigration reform with the goal of solving current immigration problems and furthering family unity.
5. Designate funding from Community Development Block Grants for Fair Housing Education Initiatives and create an Oversight Board to track money designated for fair housing education programs.
2009 Legislative Priorities
Ralph Montgomery Statue Unveiling
In early July, the State of Iowa plans tounveil a contemporary statue in honor of the 170thanniversary of the famous
Iowa court case, “In Re [gards to] the Matter of Ralph Montgomery” on the State Capitol Complex near the Judici-ary Building. The artwork will feature an orb with rays of light bursting forth from its center. The story of Ralph Montgomery and his landmark case will be engraved in stone and in Braille around the statue.
In the 1830s, Iowa was still a territory, but its young Supreme Court took the
controversial issue, slavery, head-on it its first ruling. The court’s decision declared Iowa a free territory, setting the stage for Iowa to become one of the leaders in the nation in regard to civil rights. The court case, “In Re the Matter of Ralph,” dealt with a slave from Missouri. In 1834, he entered into an agreement with his owner, J. Montgomery, to earn his free-dom by moving to Iowa to work in the lead mines near Dubuque and paying $550 plus interest.
After five years, two bounty hunters prepared to return Ralph to his previous
owner since Ralph had not earned enough money yet. Luckily, an Iowa farmer, Alexander Butterworth, got word of Ralph’s predicament and re-quested the help of the local judge, Thomas Wilson. Judge Wilson per-suade the bounty hunters to wait and let the issue be heard by the Supreme Court, upon which he also served. On July 4, 1939, the court ruled in favor of Ralph, stating that while Ralph still needed to pay the full $550 plus inter-est, “no man in this territory can be reduced to slavery.”
Neighborhood Safety Watch toolkits, organized National Night Out events, offered fair housing presentations, and compiled databases of potential funding sources.
Local commissions, Depart-ment of Human Rights agen-cies, and other organizations interested in having a full-time or summer VISTA member placed with you should contact Crystal Schrader at 515-281-0341 or
crys-tal.schrader@iowa.gov. Once given approval by the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, local sites will be in charge of recruiting candidates and interviewing them. Recruitment deadlines will be April 17thfor
Sum-mer Associates and May 15thfor all others. Summer
Associates will serve from June 3 – August 11. Full-time posi-tions will have staggered start dates, though the sooner we can fill the positions, the sooner they will be able to start.
The project is responsible for covering the costs of 5 mem-bers (the national office covers the rest. Since $10,000 covers the cost of a full-time VISTA member, the total current cost obligation for the entire project is $50,000, plus reimbursement for travel. Priority has to be given to local sites who finan-cially contribute, though we As part of the recently enacted
Economic Stimulus Package, the Corporation for National Community Service selected the Iowa Human & Civil Rights VISTA Project as one of three projects to receive additional funding for both
summer and full-time AmeriCorps VISTA positions. While final figures are still being negotiating, we are looking at doubling the size
of our program to 30 full-time members. In addition, we re-ceived funding for 15 Summer Associates, who will serve 8 or 10 weeks this summer. The Iowa Civil Rights Commis-sion started the Iowa Human & Civil Rights VISTA Project in 2006 as an effort to build the capacity of both state and local human and civil rights commis-sions and to educate the gen-eral public about civil rights and diversity. Beginning with only two people a couple of years ago, the project now reaches all across Iowa. VISTA mem-bers tailor their efforts to needs identified by local groups and community ef-forts—they facilitate educa-tional presentations, create new outreach and training pub-lications, apply for grants and other funding sources, strengthen partnerships with community and statewide agen-cies, provide humanitarian re-lief, promote fair housing, cre-ate and maintain websites and other forms of social network-ing, and provide translation services. Last year’s Summer Associates worked on discrimi-nation cases, created
hope that all commissions can contribute around $2,000. Sioux City committed to being fully responsible for covering the cost of one member. Oth-ers like Dubuque and Des Moines have already
contrib-uted as well. ICRC has cov-ered the costs of two of the five (and is also re-sponsible for grant reports, financial report-ing, grant applica-tions, training, and daily inter-action with VISTA to insure compliance with federal rules). ICRC does need the locals to help contribute to cover the remaining $20,000, which can be shared between the 15 or so agencies with VISTAs. Crystal Schrader, AmeriCorps VISTA Leader, Iowa Civil Rights Commission
Ralph Rosenberg, Executive Direc-tor, Iowa Civil Rights Commission
Iowa Civil Rights Commission Grimes State Office Building 400 E. 14th St.
Des Moines, IA 50319 Phone: (515) 281-3041 Fax: (515) 284-9425
AmeriCorps VISTA Expansion
Member Agencies Iowa Civil Rights Commission Iowa Department of Human Rights
Ames Human Relations Bettendorf Human Rights Burlington Human Rights Cedar Falls Human Rights Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Coralville Human Rights Council Bluffs Civil Rights
Davenport Civil Rights Decorah Human Rights
Des Moines Human Rights Dubuque Human Rights Fort Dodge Human Rights Fort Madison Human Rights
Grinnell Human Rights Indianola Human Relations
Iowa City Human Rights Johnson County Human Rights Keokuk Human Rights
Marshalltown Human Rights Mason City Human Rights Mount Pleasant Human Rights
Muscatine Human Rights
Ottumwa Human Rights Sioux City Human Rights Urbandale Civil Rights Waterloo Human Rights West Des Moines Human Rights
