HomeMy WebLinkAboutBHRCMinutes_2013_10_02Brookings Human Rights Committee Minutes
Quarterly Planning Session
Wednesday, October 2, 2013 at 5:00 p.m.
Suite 230, Room 241 - Brookings City & County Government Center
Attendance: George Hamer, Chandradhar Dwivedi, Lawrence Novotny, Shafiqur Rahman, Patty
Bacon, Penny Hauffe, Hannah Larson. Absent: Steve Bayer and Sam Jennings. Staff: Shari
Thornes
1. Hamer called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m.
2. Agenda. A motion was made by Dwivedi, seconded by Novotny, to approve. Motion
carried.
3. Minutes. Approval of the 9/26 minutes was postponed.
4. Schedule future meetings: Thursday, Nov 21st at 11 a.m. and Thursday, December 19th
at noon.
5. Campus-Community Common Read Community Veterans’ Panel – October 24th
• Reviewed Press Release and approved for release to media.
• Books will be delivered by Patty, Hanna, Penny, and George
• Hanna will send us the list of who to contact with their contact info
• We’re doing an electronic invite to as many veterans as possible in addition to
committee members pushing it out to their email lists.
• American Legion is Thursday October 3 at 7:30. Hanna will attend and invite them.
• PSA’s: we’ll record them the week of October 7. Radio station will write PSA from
our Press Release. Hanna and George will do them.
• Radio program: Shari will follow up to see what time/date we’ll be on the air
• Ad design will take place next week to be placed in Shopper, Register and Collegian.
6. Fall Diversity Potluck – October 20th at McCrory Garden
• Presentation will be arranged by Shafiqur on Islamic perspective or something
similar.
• Patty will attend City Council meeting on Tuesday, October 8 at 6 pm. The
purpose is to invite the council and the public.
• Lawrence is going to bring supplies from City Hall.
• Standard checklist has been reviewed and we’re good to go.
• Committee members should arrive by 4:30 to finish set up and greet attendees.
• Committee members will visit as many tables as possible and introduce
themselves.
• Shari will send the invitation/poster to the new email lists she has for all other city
committees, chamber and other lists.
• Committee members will send it to their email lists.
• Bring extra Common Read bookmarks to Diversity Potluck to give out that night.
7. Final decisions on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Award Program
o Theme:
Poster: Be the peace you wish to see in the world.
Essay: As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington,
we would like the students to write a letter to Dr. King describing the
impact of that event and what are the continuing civil and human rights
issues that need to be addressed.
o Deadlines for both are December 6.
o Judging: Dec 11 from 11 to 1.
o Poster hanging –
Shari will set up the meeting with the City Manager regarding poster
hanging in the City/County Government Center. George, Penny and Patty
will attend. Reasons cited to include a tribute to the city and county and it
brings people into this building.
Plan B: Cultural Center, Downtown Brookings.
Explore scanning posters, projecting them in City Hall and put them on the
TV channel in off hours.
8. Human Rights Campaign Foundation Municipal Equality Index Scorecard
a. Summary – Lawrence updated that he was at a meeting in Sioux Falls and Mayor
Heuther was not aware that they had also received the survey.
b. Preliminary identification of issues – George shared that this summer when we met to
help Shari complete the survey we thought it would be good for the committee to
address items where we identified weaknesses.
i. We need to get gender identity included in the city’s non-discrimination policy
and the city charter. The committee will need to ask the city attorney to
prepare the ordinance so we can submit it to the city council. We talked about
timing. This item will be scheduled next summer.
ii. Lawrence brought up the non-descrimination policy. We need to:
Non Discrimination Policy ADD GENDER IDENTITY
A. City Employee ND Policy
• The City of Brookings’ non-discrimination policy for employment includes
sexual orientation.
• The City of Brookings’ Sexual Harassment/Anti Harassment policy includes
sexual orientation.
• The City of Brookings Volunteer and Compensated Boards, Committees,
and Commissions appointment policy states “Appointment shall be made
without reference to race, gender, sexual orientation, age, handicap,
religion, country of origin, or political affiliation.”
B. City Contractor ND Policy – REQUEST WRITTEN POLICY
• The City has non-discrimination policies for City Contractors, but does not
currently include sexual orientation and gender identity.
• The City Swiftel Center (event center) is managed by Venuworks and their non
discrimination and employment policies include sexual orientation and gender
identity.
iii. We achieved a major victory in that this survey resulted in the city putting into
writing a prior oral policy on non-discrimination with same sex marriage
benefits for same sex couples who were legally married in another state:
Same-Sex Marriage Benefits
Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) required that, in any federal statutes
and rules, the word “marriage” meant only a legal union between one man and one
woman as husband and wife, and the word “spouse” referred only to a person of the
opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled
that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional.
As a result, the City of Brookings has decided to extend marriage-based benefits under
its supervision and control to City of Brookings employees and their same-sex spouses
who have legally married in a jurisdiction that permitted same-sex marriages, regardless
of where they currently live or work. The term “spouse” shall mean the person
recognized as the covered Employee’s husband or wife under the laws of the state
where the covered Employee lives or was married. The Human Resources Department
will require documentation proving a legal marital relationship. This change in City of
Brookings policy is deemed a qualifying life event (QLE), which allows employees 90
days — from June 26, 2013, through September 26, 2013 — to make changes to their
benefits.
The City of Brookings will extend marriage-based benefits to employees and their same-
sex spouses who have legally married in a jurisdiction that permitted same-sex
marriages, regardless of where they currently live or work, for purposes of family
member definitions under employee benefits, leave programs, and the Family and
Medical Leave Act (FMLA), however, with regard to a same-sex spouse who resides in a
state that does not recognize same-sex marriage, the right to this leave is on an interim
basis only, pending guidance from the Department of Labor.
City of Brookings Employee Benefits
For employees who already have Self and Family enrollments, coverage for legally
married same-sex spouses and their eligible children under age 26 (including
stepchildren) will be effective immediately after the employee notifies the City of
Brookings Human Resources Department of the newly eligible family member(s).
Employees who are not enrolled, or who are enrolled in a Self Only plan, or who want to
change their coverage from one plan or option to another, will have until September 26,
2013, to make enrollment changes in order to cover their eligible same-sex spouses and
children under age 26 (including stepchildren). Enrollment changes include changes
from not enrolled to enrolled, and from Self Only to Self and Spouse or Self and Family.
The effective date of enrollment for a newly eligible dependent will be the first of the
month following this qualifying life event; however, the effective date of coverage will
not be any earlier than June 26, 2013.
Employees who want to make an enrollment change must notify the Human Resources
Department by September 26, 2013 and provide the required supporting
documentation.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
All legally married same-sex couples who are otherwise eligible for FMLA protected
leave now can take such leave for a qualifying FMLA reason, regardless of where they
live or work. With regard to a same-sex spouse who resides in a state that does not
recognize same-sex marriage, the right to this leave is on an interim basis only, pending
guidance from the Department of Labor.
Leave Programs
The City of Brookings will recognize same-sex spouses who have legally married in a
jurisdiction that permitted same-sex marriages, regardless of where they currently live
or work, for purposes of family member definitions with regard to leave policies.
Employees assume all responsibility for any tax implications that result from
participation in these programs.
iv. We talked about the Brookings School district’s non-discrimination policy and
we were comfortable with the fact that they kept gender identity and other
human differences. We would like to know if they have a separate policy for
students.
v. We identified that there was no sensitivity training for Brookings PD. It would
first require a face to face meeting with Chief Miller. We will put this on the
agenda for spring.
c. Schedule Conference Call with HR Campaign Legislative Counsel
i. We have set a goal to scheduling a conference call with the Human Rights
Campaign after we receive the score. Sometime after the holidays.
9. Update on Rental Housing Issues/Multi-Cultural Center
Sam talked about a web site that is being developed for rental availabilities with a rating
system. Shari asked if it will indicate if it is ADA accessible.
We talked about the fact that landlords have no orientation requirements about rights and
responsibilities. The committee decided we needed to research samples from other college
communities and then develop a proposal for the city council.
10. Shari shared that the Engage Brookings on-line campaign that will be launched on Oct. 7.
11. Sam met with Gay Straight Alliance and they had a sign taken down from McDonald’s
window. He’s working with them to frame their message as positive as possible.
12. Announcements/Correspondence/Calendar
• Sept. 26th SDSU Film
• Oct. 20th Fall Diversity Potluck
• Oct. 24th Community Veterans Panel
• Nov. 13th Community Common Read / Author Presentation
Meeting adjourned at 7:04 p.m.
Submitted by Patty Bacon