Tax payer dollars fight discrimination

By Cheryl Chumley

Published: July 29, 2008

Editor’s note: This is the second in an occasional series looking at Prince William government salaries and positions.

When a blind man and his seeing-eye dog were denied service at a Prince William restaurant, it was the county's Human Rights Commission that stepped in and successfully mediated a settlement, the group's executive director said in an e-mail.

"The restaurant mediated the charge and provided free meals, training of staff on ADA [Americans With Disabilities Act], placed signs welcoming patrons with guide animals," Phyllis Aggrey wrote.

More common, perhaps, are cases of alleged discrimination on the job.

"In the area of employment, a complainant indicated that he and other staff were not being paid equitable wages for the work they did," Aggrey continued, citing another concluded HRC case. "He had left the position and did not want compensation for himself, but negotiated the increase of his co-workers with the employer."

Aggrey said she is barred by law from discussing the specific charges received by her staff that lead to actual investigations, but they close about 70 cases each year.

In general, the HRC was created by Section 10.1 of the county code to "ensure [the] protection and enforcement of human and civil rights for all people living or working in [the county] by the elimination of and provisions of remedies for discriminatory practices."

The code also called for the commission to protect the citizens "against unfounded charges of unlawful discrimination," the text continues.

So how is that different from what state and federal laws—like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigating Title VII Civil Rights cases—already provide?

It's the face-to-face contact and easy access that necessitates the existence of the county's HRC, Aggrey said.

"The [HRC] and staff provide access at a local level," she answered in an e-mail. "It provides an administrative solution to people bringing charges that can possibly be resolved before they enter the judicial system … [and] the six-member staff … provide law enforcement services to the public through investigation of human and civil rights complaints."

And as for their work

justifying the taxpayer cost—the six office staffers who take direction from the unpaid nine-member HRC pull a total of $403,861 in salaries, according to 2008 figures received from the county via a Freedom of Information Act. As executive director, Aggrey receives $111,663; the three investigators range in salary from an estimated $66,000 to nearly $73,000. The remaining money pays for a referral specialist and an administrative assistant, the county's salary information indicates.

View a database of all Prince William County employee salaries here.

The paid setup is similar to that in place in Fairfax, Alexandria and Arlington, Aggrey said, and moreover, in Prince William, office staffers are accountable to both Human Rights commissioners and the county executive. Some jurisdictions, on the other hand, provide human rights-type services from a full volunteer crew. Fauquier County, for instance, at one time had a Human Rights Committee comprised of Board of Supervisors appointees and one county staffer who all served for free. That committee, however, did not hold all the investigative and enforcement powers seen by staffers of the Human Rights Commission in Prince William.

A small portion of HRC funding, Aggrey said, comes from the EEOC. Some savings are seen in the shared mediation agreement between Prince William and Alexandria. Investigative and mediation departments are supposed to remain separated, according to EEOC rules, Aggrey said. But rather than hire a team of mediators and establish a fully-staffed separate department, Prince William and Alexandria share, she explained.

"In other words, Prince William County staff members travel to Alexandria to conduct their mediations and Alexandria City staff members travel here to conduct mediations," she said. "The only costs [are] the mileage borne by the staff member."

The partnership has led to an HRC annual settlement number that hovers around 30, as well as financial rewards to injured parties in the field of $50,000, she said. Other mediated relief: "apologies, promotions, return to work, positive references," Aggrey said.

According to the HRC's Web site, the total time to resolve a case from intake, when the charge is heard, to conclusion depends on the length of the investigation, and whether the path leads to mediation, conciliation or public hearing. But in general, within 30 days of filing a charge, the EEOC is notified, and a reply from the respondent is forthcoming. If mediation does not follow, the case enters a 60-day investigation period. If the investigation reveals little, the case ends. But if charges do seem warranted, the case continues until it's reconciled.

The start-to-finish timeframe for all this ranges between 120 and 300 days, the site reports.

Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-670-1907.