Discrimination

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Acting pursuant to state law, the New York Division of Human Rights initiated a complaint against a property manager in New York City alleging discrimination against individuals based on their immigration status.

The complaint followed an investigation which revealed an agent for the landlord posted a letter addressed to “all tenants” on the front door…

It is clear that just about all (if not all) of the federal, state, and local fair housing agencies are dealing with the exponential growth of online medical verifications for emotional support animals (ESA’s). I have addressed any number of ESA issues in this space. Professional apartment management companies continue to look for the appropriate…

Last fall, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) resolved a familial status fair housing case that I wanted to highlight. Familial status, of course, is the protected class which covers families with children under the various federal, state, and local fair housing laws. This discrimination complaint asserted that an apartment management company…

Many times the cases with what look like the most egregious set of facts are the ones that get the most publicity. To that end, a fair housing case in California just settled with the owner of several apartment complexes and rental homes agreeing to pay $100,000 to conclude a disability discrimination action involving emotional…

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that it has settled a handful of cases in which plaintiffs made allegations of sexual misconduct under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and resulting discrimination. In one case, DOJ resolved a complaint filed against a Housing Authority in Indiana in which the allegations concerned sexual misconduct and discrimination…

Pursuant to an agreement announced last week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it resolved a discrimination complaint filed by local housing advocacy groups against Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The complaint challenged the fairness of Maryland’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.  As detailed by HUD,…

In an effort to strengthen protections in the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) against sexual harassment, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan introduced a bill earlier this month to further define sexual harassment and to ensure certain conduct is covered under the law. Specifically, the legislation seeks to amend the…

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it settled yet another Fair Housing Act (FHA) case, this time for a total of $95,000. In a case from Washington state, the owners/managers of three apartment buildings resolved a lawsuit claiming that the defendants refused to rent their apartments to families with children…