HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-16-2018 Human Rights CommissionAGENDA
Human Rights Commission
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Helling Conference Room, City Hall
5:30 p.m.
1. Call Meeting to Order and Roll Call.
2. Public Comment of Items not on the Agenda. Commentators shall address the
Commission for no more than 5 minutes. Commissioners shall not engage in
discussion with the public concerning said items.
3. Approval of Minutes:
a. Approve minutes from September 18, 2018.
4. Correspondence.
5. Director of Diversity and Cultural Responsiveness Iowa City Community School
District.
6. Social Justice & Racial Equity Grant FY 19 Update.
7. Strategic Planning 2018 Subcommittee Updates.
8. Host International Visitors (October 23).
9. Human Rights Breakfast (October 24).
10. Refugee and Immigrant Recognition Dinner (October 27).
11. National American Indian Heritage Month (November 6).
12. Commissioner Reports of Items not on the Agenda. Commissioners shall not
engage in discussion with one another concerning said reports.
13. Staff Reports.
14. Adjournment.
If you will need disability -related accommodations to participate in this meeting, please
contact Stefanie Bowers at 319-356-5022 or at stefanie-bowers@iowa-city.org. Early
requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs.
Minutes
Draft
Human Rights Commission
September 18, 2018
Helling Conference Room
Members Present: Jeff Falk, Cathy McGinnis, Eliza Willis, Barbara Kutzko, Tahuanty Pena,
Bijou Maliabo, Joe Coulter, Adil Adams.
Members Absent: Jonathon Munoz.
Staff Present: Stefanie Bowers.
Call to Order:
Willis called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM.
Approval of August 21, 2018 Meeting Minutes:
Coulter moved to approve the minutes with one amendment; the motion was seconded by Pena.
A vote was taken and the motion passed 8-0.
Correspondence:
Willis and Maliabo are interested in attending the Refugee and Immigrant Recognition Dinner.
Strategic Planning Subcommittees:
McGinnis*, Coulter, Maliabo (Public Safety); Adams*, Falk, Munoz (Community
Outreach/Support); Falk, Willis*, Kutzko, Pena (Education); Falk*, Coulter, Adams, Pena
(Housing). Asterisks note subcommittee chairs.
Public Safety: no update.
Community Outreach: no update.
Education: plan on meeting with Annie Tucker, Executive Director of Mediation Services of
Eastern Iowa, to discuss the possibility of implementing dialogue circles in area schools. There
are several community members trained on facilitating circles who may be available to volunteer
if implemented. Subcommittee members will attend the next School District's Equity Committee
to learn more about the trainings teachers receive.
Housing: met with Tracy Hightshoe, Director of Neighborhood Development Services. Staff
will send out the PowerPoint from the presentation to all Commissioners.
Request for Funding:
The Refugee and Immigrant Recognition Dinner will foster awareness and understanding
between refugees/immigrants in Johnson and Linn counties and the wider community.
Coulter moved to approve $300 for the event, the motion was seconded by Kutzko. A. vote was
taken and the motion passed 8-0.
Minutes
Draft
Human Rights Commission
September 18, 2018
Helling Conference Room
Proclamations:
Pena will accept the National Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation at the Council meeting of
September 18 on behalf of the Commission.
Coulter will accept the Indigenous Peoples proclamation on October 2 on behalf of the
Commission.
Social Justice and Racial Equity Grant:
The Commission will hold two informational sessions on the grant on Tuesday; November 13.
There will be a session over the noon hour and another in the evening. Commissioners will assist
in spreading the word on the grant and these two sessions to the community. The Council has
asked that the Commission intentionally reach out to organizations that assist individuals with
disabilities and who serve an immigrant population. McGinnis, Coulter, Willis and Maliabo will
be available to assist at the sessions.
Human Rights Breakfast:
The event will be held on October 24. The keynote speaker will be Tammy Nyden, an advocate
for persons with mental illness. Willis, Maliabo, and Pena will serve on the selection committee.
Willis will introduce the keynote speaker.
Implicit Bias Training for Board and Commission Members:
Attendees were satisfied with the content of the program. Suggestions for the future include
more time for conversations at the tables, and more time on how bias manifests.
Reports of Commissioners:
Maliabo noted her concern over the new homework policy for elementary aged school children
with the Iowa City Community School District.
Kutzko reported on the upcoming History Makers Gala sponsored by the African American
Museum of Iowa.
Adams is working with other Sundanese community members to create a private Muslim school
in the area.
Pena recently took a trip out West and visited the Crazy Horse Memorial.
Coulter will be heading to Montana to participate in a conference on native food sovereignty.
Adiournment: Motion to adjourn at 6:43 PM.
The next Commission meeting will be on Tuesday, October 16, 2018.
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Correspondence
r
t".rii.®oo CITY OF IOWA CITY
.��;�*, MEMORANDUM
Date: October 4, 2018
To: Iowa City Business Owners
From: Kristin Watson, Human Rights Investigator
Re: Criminal Background Checks in Hiring
The United States incarcerates more of its population than any other country in the world.'
Over 60 percent of formerly -incarcerated people are unemployed one year after their
release? Former inmates who do find employment are paid over 40 percent less over their
working lives than people who have not been incarcerated.3 Incarceration has a
disproportionate impact on communities of color. Black men are over five times more likely,
and Hispanic men are almost three times more likely, to have been incarcerated than white
men ° Similarly, Black women are 5.5 times more likely, and Hispanic women over two
times more likely, to have been incarcerated than white women.5 While "person with a
criminal history" is not a protected class per se, refusing to hire people who have such
histories without individual consideration of their circumstances may lead to successful
complaints of discrimination.
What is a criminal history?
It can be more complicated than it appears to determine whether a person actually has a
criminal history. Arrests should never be used to disqualify an applicant form consideration.
An arrest has no bearing on whether the person is eventually found guilty of the act for
which they were arrested. Reports from private database companies should be examined
carefully to determine whether convictions listed are truly convictions; that is, employers
should be sure they have not been expunged, sealed, or subject to a diversion program.
In what ways can using criminal histories be discriminatory?
There are two ways in which using criminal records can be discriminatory. First, an
employer can treat this information differently for different applicants. This is called
disparate treatment. For example, a white and a Black applicant were both convicted of
possessing marijuana in high school. Both are now college graduates and neither has had
any subsequent contact with the justice system. A potential employer who treated one
applicant's conviction as a youthful indiscretion, referring him for an interview, and the
other's as evidence of an underlying criminal nature, rejecting him from consideration,
would be open to a complaint of disparate treatment.
Second, an employer's seemingly neutral policy or practice may disproportionately screen
out members of protected groups (without a job -related need or business necessity for the
policy). This is called disparate impact. If such a policy has the effect of screening out many
more people of color from consideration than white people, an employer may be open to
htmslAw washinatonoostaom/news/fact-checker/wo/2015/07/07/yes-u-s-locks-oeoole-uoat-a-hiaher-rate-than-anyother-
countrv/?utm term=.a2381579bace
Y Society for Human Resource Management, "Background Checking —The Use of Criminal Background Checks in Hiring Decisions"
(2012). httos://w shim oralhr-today/trendsand-fbrecastinalmmarch-and-surveys/oaaestcdminalbackQroundcheck wr)x
3 Bruce Western and Becky Pettit, "Collateral Costs: Incarceration's Effect on Economic Mobility,"
httas�lAw t)ewtrusts ora/—/media/lanacy/uoloadedfiles/i)m a ssets/2010/collatemicostslodf odf
httosJ/w seMencinaomiect omdpublications/trends-in-u-s-w coons/
httosJhw sentencinopmoact.org/publicationsftrends-in-u-s-mrrecdons/
October 4, 2018
Page 2
claims of disparate impact discrimination. For example, a policy that denies employment to
any person with a felony conviction, no matter how old the conviction is, of for what crime,
will operate to disproportionately reject applicants of color, due to historic patterns of
discrimination in policing.
What are best practices for using criminal histories?
Adapted from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's
Do not use policies that exclude people from employment based upon having any
criminal record.
Thoroughly train anyone who will advertise positions, interview, or make hiring
decisions.
Develop a narrowly -tailored written policy for screening applicants for criminal
conduct.
o Identify the essential requirements of the job and the circumstances under
which the job is performed.
D Determine the specific offenses that may demonstrate a person is unfit for
doing the job, based on rational analysis of all available evidence (not
assumptions, stereotypes, or fears about the "type" of person who might
commit that offense).
D Determine the duration of exclusion for such offenses. For example, is a
conviction from 10 years ago relevant if there are no law enforcement
contacts since? The answer will depend upon the job and the crime.
o Include an opportunity for an individualized assessment. Inflexible policies
leave no room for assessing the aggregate of factors that comprise a
person's history.
o Record the justification for the policy and procedures; keep a record of any
consultations and research considered in crafting them.
When asking about applicants' criminal records, limit question to records for which
exclusion would be job -related for the position and consistent with business
necessity.
Keep information about criminal records confidential. Use it only for the purpose
intended and share only with those who absolutely need to know it.
Do background checks and request criminal history information only of applicants to
whom you intend to offer the job. Do not request it of all applicants or use it as a
general screening device.
The full text of the EEOC's Guidance on this subject can be found at
httos://www.eeoc.-gov/laws/-auidance/arrest conviction.cfm.s
The City of Iowa City Office of Equity and Human Rights has been providing memos to
businesses on areas of discrimination since August of 2016. Please send topics you would
like to receive guidance on in the future, or inquiries regarding discrimination issues, to
humanriahts(Mowa-citv.ora.
In March of 2018, a Texas US District Court Judge ruled that the EEOC's Guidance was not legally enforceable within the state of
Texas, due to a procedural error in its issuance. However, the judge also declined to declare, as the State of Texas had requested,
that the state has a right to bar all convicted felons from working for state agencies. Instead, the court stated that there were many
conceivable scenarios where qualified applicants with felony convictions would "pose no objectively reasonable risk" and did not
enjoin the EEOC from issuing right -to -sue letters based upon claims of denial of employment opportunities due to criminal history.
Texas v. EEOC, 5:13-CV-255-C 2, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30558.
Celebrate our Diverse Community Step by Step!
Work to ensure all in our community enjoy their right to freedom,
equality and dignity
(Walk, Tall(, Share, Care)
Saturday
Oct 13
12:30-4 PM
V
qu
•
Rally
ig Grove Brewery
Walk to
Center for Worker
Justice,
MYEP, Crisis Center,
Shelter House,
;udanese Community
Center
"We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we
shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."
-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
RuNNE1ZSr[Y I Center for '� UNA*USA
OFlown Human Ri h % V- Vo 1oV'aDi"s`O"
,�a g is
Join Us. Step Up for Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70
The following documents were handed
out during the meeting.
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Leadership Program
. U.S. Department of State
Wo
HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION:
EFFECTIVELY ADDRESSING HISTORICAL WOUNDS
A Project for the Republic of Korea
These visitors are invited to the United States under the auspices of the Department of States
International b'isitor Leadership Program. The Meridian International Center arranged their
prograin.
Program Contacts: Ms. Rachel Craddolph and Mr. Matthew Patten, Meridian International
Center, 1624 Crescent Place, NW, Washington, DC 20009; Telephone - (202) 939-5544 or (202)
939-5570; Email - rcraddolphCmeridian.org or mpatten@meridian.org
Department of State Program Contacts: Ms. Kimberly P. Havenner and Mr. Andrew Vaccaro,
Office of International Visitors; Telephone - (202) 632-9341 or (202) 632-9399;
Email - havemerkp a,state.gov or vaccaroap@ystate.gov
Accompanied by: Mr. Hee Seok Chae and Ms. Jacki Noh, Korean Language Interpreters
October 15 - November 2, 2018
PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVES
The Department of State has outlined the following specific objectives for the project:
• To expose participants to the diverse range of historical scholarship available to educators
in the United States.
• To introduce participants to best practices and lessons learned in the field of historical
scholarship regarding controversial issues.
• To highlight programs and strategies designed to assist in complementing perceived
shortcomings in school -selected textbooks;
• To provide formal and practical information on effectively disseminating information
outside of the classroom setting.
PARTICIPANTS LIST
Republic of Korea Ms. Miri CHA
Program Officer, Education Team
Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR)
Mr. Seong Ho JI
President
Now Action and Unity for Human Rights (NAUH)
Mr. Uchol KANG
Freelancer Lecturer
Ms. Eon Koo LEE
Co -Founder
Teach North Korean Refugees (TNKR)
Mr. Younghwan LEE
Chief Director
Transitional Working Group
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Republic of Korea
Nance: Ms. Miri CHA
Present Position: Program Officer, Education Team
Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR)
Previous Positions: Senior Program Officer, NKHR, 2015
Campaign Team Program Officer, NKHR, 2014
Education/Training.- Candidate, M.A., Education Technology, Hanyang University
B.A., Political Science and Economics, New York University,
2014
Address: 10F, Gonghwa Bldg 131, Tongil-ro Seodaemun-gu
Seoul
Republic of Korea.
Languages: Korean (primary), English
U. S. Travel: New York
Professional Background: Ms. Miri Cha is one of the leading advocates for increased
educational and training opportunities for North Korean defectors
that have resettled in South Korea. One of her main responsibilities
at NKHR includes coordinating the Hangyoreh School Winter
School for resettled North Korean youth. She is part of a new
generation of South Koreans' increasingly concerned about North
Korean resettlement issues and discrimination faced by defectors in
the South.
Name,. Mr. Scong no 31
Present Position: President
Now Action and Unity for Human Rights (NAUH)
Concurrent Positions: Chairman, Freedom for North Korea (FFNK)
Youth Council Chairman, National Unification Advisory Council
Lecturer, Ministry of Education
Previous Positions- Host, "Young NAUH', Far East Broadcasting Company, 2012
2014
lntem, Byucksan Eng & Const. Co. ltd., 2012
Education'Training: Candidate, Master of Arts, Criminal Law, Dongguk University,
2019
Bachelor of Law, Dongguk University, 2014
Vocational, Tax Accounting & Computer Application, Joong-ang
Occupational Training College, 2008
Address: Room 4601, Ceukdong Bldg., 61 Yeongjung-ro,
Yeongdeungpo-gu
Republic of Korea
Languages' Korean (primary)
U S. Travel: Washington, D.C.
Professional Background: Mr. Seong no Ji is a leader and activist in the North Korean
defector community. Mr. Ji defector himself, he founded Now
Action and Unity for Human Rights. NAUH is a grassroots
organization that plays an integral role in informing the South
Korean public about the human rights abuses that occur in North
Korea. He founded the organization with North Korean Defector
and Author, Ycomni Park. NAUH is based in New York and its
main goals are to educate the public on North Korea's human rights
abuses; organize campaigns for unification; host cultural exchanges
between North and South Korean young adults; participate in radio
broadcasts to North Korea; and support rescue operations of North
Korean refugees.
Present Position
Mr. Uehol KANG
Freelancer Lecturer
Educaaion/Training; Bachelor of Medicine, Seoul National University, 2018
Master of Science, Architecture, Brandenburg University of
Technology, 2009
Bachelor of Technology, Architecture, Technical University of
Berlin, 2006
A4enaberships: Now Action and Unity for Human Rights, NAUH
Address: Republic of Korea
Languages. Korean (primary)
U. S. Travel: No previous U.S. travel
Ocher Trarck Germany
Professional Background: Mr. Uchol KANG is also a defector and activist in the North Korean
defector community. He is currently studying to become a inedical
doctor but works closely with Mr. Ji to address North Korean human
rights issues and education for defectors.
Name: Ms. Eon Koo LEE
Present Position: Co -Founder
Teach North Korean Refugees (TNKR)
Previous Position: Researcher, Korean Educational Development Institute
Address: 180-8 Gil, Dokmak-ro, Mapo-gu
Republic of Korea
Languages, Korean (primary), English
U. S. Travel: Illinois
Prokssional Background: Ms. Eun Koo Lee has spent her career empowering North Korean
young adults through her non-profit organization, Teach North
Korean Reftigees (TKNR). Before co-founding TKNR, Ms. Lee was
a researcher with the Korean Educational Development Institute, a
government -funded education think tank. She co-founded the
organization to better serve young North Korean defectors. TKNR
is a volunteer -based non-profit that works with North Korean young
adults to improve their English skills with one-on-one language
instruction, enhance their quality of life, and share their narratives
with domestic and foreign audiences. She hosts diverse events along
with her students to address North Korean human rights abuses for
domestic and foreign audiences. Since its founding in 2013, about
300 North Korean defectors have so far learned English through the
TNKR program with more than 600 volunteers having devoted their
time to teaching.
Name, Mr. Younghwan LEE
Present Position: Chief Director
Transitional Working Group
Previous Positions: Chief Director, Transitional Justice Working Group, 2014 -
Advisor, Citizens' Alliance for NK Human Rights (NKHR),
2013 - 2015
Translator, East-West Center, 2014 - 2015
Evaluator, Programs for NK Defectors, 2013 - 2014
PR Specialist, Presidential Council for Future and Vision,
2011 -2013
Education/Training: M.A., Political Science, Sogang University, 2006
B.A., English Literature & Political Science, Sogang University,
2000
Address: 4302, 3F, Koryo Bldg ,91 Saernunan-ro, Jongno-gu
Seoul
Republic of Korea
Languages Korean (primary), English
U. S. Travel: Yes
Professional Background: Mr. Younghwan LEE is a leading NGO advocate for building a
case for transitional justice measures against NK officials in the
event of Korean unification. He is an outspoken proponent of
increasing popular awareness of North Korean human rights
violations.