Teeth sought for state housing rules

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Thursday, Jan. 22, 2004 | 9:24 a.m.

The state agency that enforces workplace discrimination laws will ask lawmakers next year to increase its budget in order to begin handling complaints dealing with housing.

It also will seek to raise the fine for employers who don't cooperate with investigations. Both moves are in line with a Nevada Equal Rights Commission that has grown tougher and more efficient in recent years.

The commission's decision Wednesday to propose legislation to combat housing discrimination would correct a lingering problem -- the agency is charged by statute with handling such complaints but has never been given the funds or the remedies for complainants needed to do the job.

The result -- Nevada is one of only 12 states in the nation that leaves housing discrimination solely in the hands of the federal government. The situation has only become worse as the number of complaints sent to the regional Department of Housing and Urban Development office in San Francisco has steadily increased, going from 58 in 2001 to 85 in 2003.

This has included settlements in handicapped-access cases ranging from $200,000 to nearly $2 million in recent years.

Meanwhile, more citizens look to the state office for help only to be sent away.

"We've had a number of calls complaining that we don't handle housing," said Lynda Parven, agency administrator.

The commission hopes to change all of that with a bill it plans to have ready by April.

"We will ask to build into our budget funds for dealing with housing complaints -- and if that's not possible, we will ask to remove the mandate," Parven said.

Equal Rights Commissioner Lee Plotkin -- who works in real estate -- said "there's a huge need for something like this."

Parven said the agency would partner with HUD in handling complaints, which would initially be in the area of rental housing.

The commission also decided Wednesday to seek an increase in the fine it can levy on employers who don't give information needed to investigate a complaint. The current cap is $500 -- a negligible fine for most companies that was still never used until Parven took over in 2001.

The agency will now seek legislation allowing it to impose fines up to $5,000. Money collected would go to a fund for educating companies and workers about discrimination laws statewide.