SF 1384

1st Engrossment - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to the department of human rights; requiring 
  1.3             the distribution of evaluation forms to charging 
  1.4             parties; requiring reports to the legislature; 
  1.5             requiring reallocation of resources; requesting 
  1.6             consideration of a legislative audit; proposing coding 
  1.7             for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 363. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  [363.062] [EVALUATION FORM.] 
  1.10     Once a year, the commissioner shall send an evaluation form 
  1.11  to each charging party whose grievance is an open case file and 
  1.12  each charging party whose case file was closed during the 
  1.13  preceding 12 months.  The evaluation form must seek the charging 
  1.14  party's assessment of the way the party's grievance is being or 
  1.15  was processed by the department and invite the party's 
  1.16  suggestions for ways in which the department might improve its 
  1.17  processing of grievances.  The commissioner shall compile and 
  1.18  summarize the responses to the forms, including summaries of 
  1.19  favorable comments, unfavorable comments, and suggestions for 
  1.20  improvements, and submit the report to the committees of the 
  1.21  legislature having jurisdiction over the department by March 15 
  1.22  of each year. 
  1.23     Sec. 2.  [INITIAL FORMS.] 
  1.24     The initial report to the appropriate committees of the 
  1.25  legislature required by Minnesota Statutes, section 363.062, 
  1.26  must be submitted by March 15, 1996.  The commissioner of human 
  2.1   rights shall send the evaluation forms required by that section 
  2.2   to charging parties in time for responses to be returned, 
  2.3   compiled, and summarized by that date. 
  2.4      Sec. 3.  [QUARTERLY REPORTS.] 
  2.5      (a) The commissioner of human rights shall submit reports 
  2.6   to the finance divisions of the legislature having jurisdiction 
  2.7   over the budget of the department of human rights by June 30, 
  2.8   1995; September 30, 1995; December 31, 1995; and March 15, 
  2.9   1996.  The reports, at a minimum, must include the information 
  2.10  required by paragraphs (b) and (c).  The report due June 30, 
  2.11  1995, must contain the required information from March 15, 1995, 
  2.12  to the date of the report.  Each succeeding report must contain 
  2.13  information for the period covered by that report, as well as 
  2.14  cumulative information from March 15, 1995, to the date of the 
  2.15  report. 
  2.16     (b) Each report must contain the following information on 
  2.17  charges filed with the commissioner under Minnesota Statutes, 
  2.18  section 363.06, subdivision 1: 
  2.19     (1) the number of charges filed; 
  2.20     (2) the nature of the unfair discriminatory practices 
  2.21  charged; 
  2.22     (3) the resolutions of the charges, including dismissals, 
  2.23  findings of probable cause, and other outcomes; 
  2.24     (4) the reasons for any dismissals; 
  2.25     (5) the number of staff hours spent on processing 
  2.26  complaints, compared with the total number of staff hours spent 
  2.27  on other activities, with a breakdown of time spent on 
  2.28  complaints by each staff classification; 
  2.29     (6) the number of open files at the reporting date, their 
  2.30  status, and the categories of staff level or division to which 
  2.31  the files are assigned; 
  2.32     (7) the number of days required to process charges, broken 
  2.33  down according to staff level or division; 
  2.34     (8) the cost of processing each complaint; and 
  2.35     (9) any other information the commissioner considers 
  2.36  relevant. 
  3.1      (c) Each report must also contain information on how the 
  3.2   department is attempting to educate the public to eliminate and 
  3.3   prevent discrimination and to respond to the increasing 
  3.4   diversity of Minnesota's population.  Each report must focus 
  3.5   especially on the department's activities in response to 
  3.6   Minnesota Statutes, section 363.05, subdivision 1, clauses (10) 
  3.7   and (11). 
  3.8      Sec. 4.  [REALLOCATION OF RESOURCES.] 
  3.9      (a) By March 15, 1996, the commissioner of human rights, in 
  3.10  cooperation with the exclusive representatives of employees of 
  3.11  the department of human rights, shall reallocate the resources 
  3.12  of the department to accomplish the following goals: 
  3.13     (1) reduce to no more than ten percent of the total the 
  3.14  portion of the department budget devoted to administrative and 
  3.15  management functions, including the work of the commissioner, 
  3.16  deputy commissioner, and legal and policy analysts; fiscal 
  3.17  operations, human services, and information systems, except for 
  3.18  personnel with a specific budget allocation for developing a new 
  3.19  information system; 
  3.20     (2) increase the number of investigators and enforcement 
  3.21  officers capable of carrying full caseloads and reduce caseloads 
  3.22  so that each investigator or enforcement officer has no more 
  3.23  than 60 open files at any time; 
  3.24     (3) set specific goals for reducing the time required for 
  3.25  processing charges and develop a plan to achieve those goals; 
  3.26     (4) increase the number of charges resolved in a timely 
  3.27  fashion; and 
  3.28     (5) prioritize charges so that top priority go to: 
  3.29     (i) those with a high potential of being resolved in favor 
  3.30  of the charging party; 
  3.31     (ii) those that would establish precedents for a class of 
  3.32  persons; and 
  3.33     (iii) those that would affect future practices of large 
  3.34  employers or landlords. 
  3.35     (b) If a reallocation required by paragraph (a) would 
  3.36  violate the terms of a collective bargaining agreement reached 
  4.1   under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 179A, the reallocation may not 
  4.2   be implemented without the consent of the exclusive 
  4.3   representative that is a party to the agreement. 
  4.4      Sec. 5.  [LEGISLATIVE AUDIT.] 
  4.5      The legislative audit commission is asked to consider 
  4.6   directing the legislative auditor to conduct a full program 
  4.7   evaluation of the department of human rights in 1995.