April 14th: Commission day!

Today is another exciting day because it is Commission day!

When I arrived, I had a nice meeting with Angie about my role within the LCHR as we talked about my experience and thoughts on my internship We agreed that the history project was a lot harder than expected, but my other experiences in and around the office has been fruitful. As I said in my last journal post, I am thankful for this POLS 470 internship because it allowed me to gain a real world, human rights' experience in Lincoln.

Before we went to the commission meeting, a gentleman walked into the office who recently won his case. Angie invited me to attend the meeting. I listened to Angie as she relayed the information about his case and told him what he can do. His options included: accepting the decision or pursuing a higher compensation in court. The man decided to accept the LCHR decision and receive the compensation for work-related (employment) discrimination. I am thankful that I was able to hear a successful case and see how it is resolved. Also, the complainant recommended anger management sessions for the restaurant manager as a way to prevent further acts of discrimination (restorative justice/resolution in action!)

After this meeting, I worked on boxing up old cases and coordinating the data base, so the move goes smoothly. This project kept me busy until it was time to leave for the commission.

When I arrived, the city attorney was giving everyone a tour of the new LCHR and attorney office space. I was very excited to see this new space because it places LCHR in the heart of what is going on in the city of Lincoln. The people of Lincoln are able to have a central location to make their complaints of discrimination, and the investigators can communicate with the Attorney's Office whenever they need advice. I am very happy for the future of the LCHR.

After the tour, we all assembled for the commission hearing in the City Council Chambers. The agenda was packed, but business went very fast because the cases were prepared with no errors. The commission quickly passed seven No Reasonable Cause cases. Hear is a quick summary of the content:
1.) Black male claims race discrimination but did not have sufficient evidence. The evidence communicated his poor work performance.
2.) 64yr old female claims sex/age discrimination, but the evidence does not support her claim.
3.) Female claims sex discrimination, but the evidence does not support her cases, especially since she quit her job and was not fired.
4.) Female claims sex discrimination, but she also quit her position.
5.) 58yr old female claims sex discrimination, but her work performance does not support discrimination claim.
6.) Mom filed case for her son which claims race discrimination, but the son was not willing to work with the store schedule (as advertised).
7.) Black female claims race and sex discrimination, but she did have sufficient evidence to support her claim.

After those cases, the commission unanimously vote on the pre-determination cases. Later the commission passed through two failure to cooperate cases.

Then, they talked about the new office space, and I talked about the difficult history project and introduced myself, again, to the new commissioners. More importantly, the city attorney informed everyone that the LCHR will get a new director because of the community-wide support to find a replacement.

The meeting was adjourned, and I went back to UNL. It was a great day!