Wright State to host Ohio Civil Rights Commission

The Ohio Civil Rights Commision heard cases during a public hearing in the Student Union Atrium on May 19, 2011.

Trampling on civil rights is a sure way to trigger an investigation by the state agency that enforces laws against discrimination. Wright State University and the surrounding community will get a rare look at such investigations when the Ohio Civil Rights Commission holds a public hearing on campus.

The five-member commission, including Executive Director G. Michael Payton, will hear two cases beginning at 9:30 a.m. on April 26 in the Student Union Atrium.

“This is a unique opportunity for students, faculty, staff and the community to see firsthand how Ohio views violations of individual civil rights,” said J. Michael Bernstein, assistant dean at the Wright State Raj Soin College of Business. “The college is fortunate to have this opportunity to bring the hearings to our campus, as we are one of the few universities in the state that the commission visits during the year.”

Commission Chair Leonard Hubert said the panel is delighted to come to Wright State, which he said is well-known for promoting equality and supports research on the causes and effects of discrimination.

“This forum allows us to present  real cases that demonstrate the complexity of discrimination and the harmful effects it has that are often not discussed in the classroom, but are experienced in our everyday lives,” Hubert said. “We hope this experience will inspire a healthy discussion amongst students that serves to eliminate barriers to equality, promote diversity, and encourage inclusion in our communities.”

Last year, the commission’s public hearing at Wright State bloomed into a real-world civics lesson, drawing nearly 100 students and others to the nerve center of campus. The atrium of the Student Union was transformed into a commission hearing room, replete with courtroom-like tables laden with microphones. Note-taking students filled the chairs.

The commission receives about 5,000 cases of discrimination complaints a year, primarily in the job and housing areas. Recently, military status has been added as a protected class.

Lori Anthony, chief of the Ohio Attorney General Office’s civil rights section, says discrimination can pop up in jobs or housing, where employers or landlords are reluctant to hire or lease to members of the military for fear they will be deployed.

Last year, the audience heard the commission discuss and rule on two cases: one a complaint by a schoolteacher who alleged she was forced to resign because of age discrimination and then suffered racial discrimination when the labor union representing her chose not to arbitrate her grievance; and a complaint by a city employee who alleged she was denied training for a fill-in cashier’s position because of race, sex, disability and religious discrimination. In both cases, the school district, union and city denied the allegations.

The commission, established in 1959 as the Fair Employment Practices Commission, enforces Ohio’s laws against discrimination due to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, ancestry and age.

As a quasi-judicial, administrative state agency, the commission investigates complaints of unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, credit and institutions of higher education. It also develops educational programs for students and other residents designed to help eliminate prejudice, its harmful effects and its incompatibility with American principles of equality and fair play.

The commission meets every three weeks to discuss civil rights policy and rule on discrimination complaints based on the recommendations of its six regional offices.

The agency’s five commissioners are appointed for five-year, staggered terms.