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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Sara Manaugh, Director of Litigation at Brooklyn Legal Services
3:35:41
ยท
3 min
Sara Manaugh from Brooklyn Legal Services testifies about the importance of the Commission on Human Rights in enforcing the city's human rights law and protecting vulnerable New Yorkers from discrimination. She emphasizes the Commission's crucial role, especially given federal rollbacks of civil rights protections, but highlights current challenges including long wait times and limited mediation capacity.
- Provided an example of a successful case involving a non-binary transgender teacher, which was resolved through the Commission's mediation process
- Noted that complaints now face almost three-year wait times for resolution
- Pointed out that only 1% of complainants can have their cases mediated due to staffing limitations, compared to 10% at the EEOC
Sara Manaugh
3:35:41
Good afternoon, madam chair.
3:35:44
My name is Sarah Mana.
3:35:45
I'm the director of litigation at Brooklyn Legal Services, which is part of Legal Services New York City.
3:35:51
Legal Services New York City, or LISNI, is the nation's largest civil legal services provider with offices in all five boroughs.
3:35:59
LISNIE works to protect the rights of people with disabilities, veterans, immigrants, the LGBTQIA plus community, and other vulnerable communities.
3:36:08
We deeply appreciate the city council's long standing support for legal services and for its championship of our mission and our work.
3:36:15
Thanks in large part to the dedicated efforts of members of this body, the city human rights law provides the most robust protections of any human rights law in the country and exceeds in many ways the scope of anti discrimination protections in the state and federal law.
3:36:30
When the commission is working well, it provides critical assistance in enforcing the city human rights law for New Yorkers who have experienced discrimination and abuse at the hands of employers and landlords.
3:36:42
The commission's investigatory powers, authority to enforce the law, and skilled mediators can be powerful tools on the side of defending the rights of New Yorkers to be free from unlawful discrimination.
3:36:52
This is crucial in our efforts to represent our clients, but it's also vital to people who lack legal counsel but who can nevertheless invoke the commission's process to seek and obtain redress for unlawful contact conduct.
3:37:06
The commission is a vital resource for our clients such as Mix M, a non binary transgender teacher whom we represented in the commission in a discrimination complaint filed in early twenty twenty two.
3:37:18
Mix M taught, high school history and film at a girls charter school in Brooklyn from 2019 until their termination in May 2021.
3:37:26
During their employment, Mix M was harassed, retaliated against, and ultimately terminated in their efforts to advocate for proper pronoun usage, not for themselves, but for non binary transgender students at the school.
3:37:39
When MixM requested permission to make an announcement regarding one student's pronouns at a staff meeting, the head of school rejected this proposal and instead forced the student to attend counseling and then to make a presentation to the entire school about gender.
3:37:54
Cutting this anecdote short, will say, we filed Ms.
3:38:00
Mix M's complaint at the commission in early twenty twenty two and met to mediation in November 2023.
3:38:07
And thanks in large part to the work of the Commission's mediator, the case was ultimately settled, with MIGS M receiving a fair monetary settlement.
3:38:16
Those kinds of outcomes are increasingly rare because the complaints now can expect to wait almost three years for a resolution.
3:38:23
And with only one mediator on staff, less than 1% of complainants were able to have their cases mediated.
3:38:30
By contrast, the EEOC mediates about 10% of its cases.
3:38:35
Needless to say, with the EOC and FHEO less willing or able to protect transgender, gender non conforming and immigrant New Yorkers against discrimination, the commission's work will be more essential than ever.
3:38:49
So I realize my time is up, but I'll be submitting my testimony.
3:38:54
Thank you very much for the time.