March 20, 2007

RYAN SAYS ALL RESIDENTS DESERVE PROTECTION
OF THE COUNTY’S HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

---Board Chair Introduces Legislation to Make
Commission’s Jurisdiction Countywide---

To ensure all residents have equal access to justice, Board Chair Bill Ryan (D-IN-WF, White Plains) has introduced legislation that would give Westchester’s Human Rights Commission countywide jurisdiction. “Currently, if you’re a victim of discrimination in Westchester, how quickly your complaint is handled depends upon where you live,” said Ryan. “That’s unfair and it needs to change immediately.”

Ryan explained that under the county’s Human Rights Law, over 400,000 residents living in municipalities with local human rights offices must file their complaints with those local offices. Yonkers, White Plains, Mt. Vernon, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Rye City and Peekskill all have human rights offices. But these local offices have scant resources and limited jurisdiction. By state law, they must transfer any cases they can’t resolve through discussion or mediation to New York State’s Division of Human Rights for action, an office that is already significantly backlogged.

“The reality is that the state’s Human Rights Office has a 10,000 case logjam and once a complaint hits that office, it can languish unresolved for years,” said Ryan. “By contrast, the county’s Human Rights Commission has no backlog and can readily absorb the approximately 200 Westchester cases a year that are now routed to the state. Why should Westchester residents have to stand on line with the state for years when their complaints could be handled expeditiously by the county?”

Ryan’s proposal would give Westchester residents the option to initiate a complaint with the County Commission. Ryan noted that Westchester is one of only two human rights commissions that can handle cases from beginning to end without state involvement. “Given this, it’s only fair that all Westchester residents have access to the County Commission’s timely services,” said Ryan.

Ryan noted that the amendment would not have any effect on the local human rights offices. “The local offices are creatures of the state and the county has no authority to change how they do business,” said Ryan. However, Ryan added, that he was looking into ways by which local commissions could refer complaints they cannot dispose of to the county rather than the state for further action.