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S1360aa....................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - Amends, adds to and repeals existing law to
revise procedures on complaints before the Human Rights Commission, to
provide that a complainant may request dismissal of an administrative
complaint at any time, to provide for compliance with the Idaho Tort Claims
Act by filing a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, to provide that
a complaint must be filed with the Human Rights Commission as a condition
precedent to litigation and to revise procedures before the Human Rights
Commission.
01/29 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/30 Rpt prt - to St Aff
02/12 Rpt out - to 14th Ord
02/19 Rpt out amen - to engros
02/20 Rpt engros - 1st rdg - to 2nd rdg as amen
02/23 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg as amen
02/27 3rd rdg as amen - PASSED - 35-0-0
AYES -- Andreason, Boatright, Branch, Bunderson, Burtenshaw, Cameron,
Crow, Danielson, Darrington, Diede, Dunklin, Frasure, Geddes, Hansen,
Hawkins, Ingram, Ipsen, Keough, King, Lee, McLaughlin, Noh, Parry,
Richardson, Riggs, Risch, Sandy, Schroeder, Sorensen, Stennett,
Sweeney, Thorne, Twiggs, Wheeler, Whitworth
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- None
Floor Sponsor - Stennett
Title apvd - to House
03/02 House intro - 1st rdg as amen - to St Aff
03/11 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg as amen
03/12 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg as amen
03/13 3rd rdg as amen - PASSED - 61-0-9
AYES -- Alltus, Barraclough, Bell, Bieter, Bivens, Black(15),
Black(23), Boe, Bruneel, Callister, Campbell, Clark, Cuddy, Deal,
Denney, Ellsworth, Field(13), Field(20), Gagner, Geddes, Gould,
Hadley, Henbest, Hornbeck, Jaquet, Jones(20), Judd, Kempton, Kendell,
Kjellander, Kunz, Lake, Loertscher, Mader, Marley, McKague, Meyer,
Miller, Mortensen, Newcomb, Pischner, Pomeroy, Reynolds, Richman,
Ridinger, Robison, Sali, Schaefer, Stevenson, Stoicheff, Stone,
Stubbs, Taylor, Tilman, Tippets, Trail, Watson, Wheeler, Wood,
Zimmermann, Mr Speaker
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Barrett, Chase, Crane, Crow, Hansen, Jones(9),
Jones(22), Kellogg, Linford,
Floor Sponsor - Alltus
Title apvd - to Senate
03/16 To enrol
03/17 Rpt enrol - Pres signed
03/18 Sp signed
03/19 To Governor
03/20 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 155
Effective: 07/01/98
S1360|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session - 1998IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1360, As Amended BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION; AMENDING SECTION 67-5907, IDAHO CODE, 3 TO REVISE PROCEDURES ON COMPLAINTS, TO PROVIDE THAT A COMPLAINANT MAY 4 REQUEST DISMISSAL OF AN ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT AT ANY TIME AND TO MAKE A 5 TECHNICAL CORRECTION; AMENDING CHAPTER 59, TITLE 67, IDAHO CODE, BY THE 6 ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 67-5907A, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR COMPLIANCE 7 WITH THE IDAHO TORT CLAIMS ACT; AMENDING SECTION 67-5908, IDAHO CODE, TO 8 PROVIDE THAT A COMPLAINT MUST BE FILED WITH THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION AS 9 A CONDITION PRECEDENT TO LITIGATION AND TO REVISE PROCEDURES; AND REPEAL- 10 ING SECTION 67-5908a, IDAHO CODE. 11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 12 SECTION 1. That Section 67-5907, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 13 amended to read as follows: 14 67-5907. COMPLAINTS -- PROCEDURE ON COMPLAINT. (1) Any person who 15 believes he or she has been subject to unlawful discrimination, or a member of 16 the commission, may file a complaint under oath with the commission stating 17 the facts concerning the alleged discrimination within one (1) year of 18 the alleged unlawful discrimination . 19 (2) Upon receipt of such a complaint, the commission or its delegated 20 investigator shall endeavor to resolve the matter by informal means prior to a 21 determination of whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that unlawful 22 discrimination has occurred. The commission or its delegated investigator 23 shall conduct such investigation as may be necessary to resolve the issues 24 raised by the facts set forth in the complaint. 25 (3) If the commission does not find reasonable grounds to believe that 26 unlawful discrimination has occurred, it shall enter an order so finding, and 27 dismiss the proceeding, and shall notify the complainant and the respondent of 28 its action. 29 (4) If the commission finds reasonable grounds to believe that unlawful 30 discrimination has occurred, it shall endeavor to eliminate such discrimina- 31 tion by informal means such as conference, conciliation and persuasion. No 32 offer or counter offer of conciliation nor the terms of any conciliation 33 agreement may be made public without the written consent of all the parties to 34 the proceeding, nor used as evidence in any subsequent proceeding, civil or 35 criminal. If the case is disposed of by such informal means in a manner satis- 36 factory to the commission, the commission shall dismiss the proceeding, and 37 shall notify the complainant and the respondent. 38 (5) If the commission finds reasonable grounds to believe that unlawful 39 discrimination has occurred, and further believes that irreparable injury or 40 great inconvenience will be caused the victim of such discrimination if relief 41 is not immediately granted, or if conciliation efforts under subsection (4) 42 have not succeeded, the commission may file a civil action seeking appropriate 43 legal and equitable relief. 2 1 (6) A complainant may request dismissal of an administrative com- 2 plaint at any time. Dismissals requested before three hundred sixty-five (365) 3 calendar days from the date of filing of the administrative complaint may be 4 granted at the discretion of the staff director who will attempt to contact 5 all parties who have appeared in the proceeding and consider their interests. 6 After three hundred sixty-five (365) calendar days, if the complaint has not 7 been dismissed pursuant to subsection (3) of this section or the parties have 8 not entered into a settlement or conciliation agreement pursuant to subsection 9 (2) or (4) of this section or other administrative dismissal has not occurred, 10 the commission shall, upon request of the complainant, dismiss the complaint 11 and notify the parties. 12 SECTION 2. That Chapter 59, Title 67, Idaho Code, be, and the same is 13 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION , to be 14 known and designated as Section 67-5907A, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 15 67-5907A. COMPLIANCE WITH THE IDAHO TORT CLAIMS ACT. Compliance with sec- 16 tion 67-5907(1), Idaho Code, satisfies the notice requirements of sections 17 6-905 and 6-906, Idaho Code, as to the allegations of the administrative com- 18 plaint arising under chapter 59, title 67, Idaho Code. 19 SECTION 3. That Section 67-5908, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 20 amended to read as follows: 21 67-5908. PROCEDURE IN DISTRICT COURT. (1) Any action filed by the commis- 22 sion shall be heard by the district court unless either party shall move for a 23 jury trial. Except as otherwise provided herein, the court shall hear the case 24 and grant relief as in other civil actions. Any such action shall be brought 25 in the name of the commission for the use of the person alleging discrimina- 26 tion or a described class, and the commission shall furnish counsel for the 27 prosecution thereof. Any person aggrieved by the alleged discrimination may 28 intervene in such an action. 29 (2)Nothing contained in this chapter shall prohibit a person who30has been subject to alleged unlawful discrimination from filing an action in31the district court on his or her own behalf, but such action shall be com-32menced not more than two (2) years after the act of alleged unlawful discrimi-33nation complained ofA complaint must be filed with the commis- 34 sion as a condition precedent to litigation. A complainant may file a civil 35 action in district court within ninety (90) days of issuance of the notice of 36 administrative dismissal pursuant to section 67-5907(6), Idaho Code . 37 (3) In a civil action filed by the commission or filed directly by the 38 person alleging unlawful discrimination, if the court finds that unlawful dis- 39 crimination has occurred, its judgment shall specify an appropriate remedy or 40 remedies therefor. Such remedies may include, but are not limited to: 41 (a) An order to cease and desist from the unlawful practice specified in 42 the order; 43 (b) An order to employ, reinstate, promote or grant other employment ben- 44 efits to a victim of unlawful employment discrimination; 45 (c) An order for actual damages including lost wages and benefits, pro- 46 vided that such back pay liability shall not accrue from a date more than 47 two (2) years prior to the filing of the complaint with the commission or 48 the district court, whichever occurs first; 49 (d) An order to accept or reinstate such a person in a union; 50 (e) An order for punitive damages, not to exceed one thousand dollars 51 ($1,000) for each willful violation of this chapter. 3 1 (4) Any civil action filed by the commission under this section shall 2 commence not more than one (1) year after a complaint of discrimination under 3 oath is filed with the commission; provided, however, that the commis-4sion shall commence its actions not more than one (1) year after the effective5date of this act for sworn complaints already pending before the commission6upon passage and approval of this act. 7 (5) In any civil action under this chapter, the burden of proof shall be 8 on the person seeking relief. 9 SECTION 4. That Section 67-5908a, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 10 repealed.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS07409
To require plaintiffs to fife administrative complaints with the human rights commission within
one year of the occurrence of the allegedly discriminatory act as a prerequisite to filing a civil
action in court; and to authorize the commission to issue a notice of right to sue at the close
of the administrative process authorizing the complainant to file a civil action within 90 days
of the notice. Complainants may also request a notice of the right to sue before the 365th day
of administrative processing which may be granted at the discretion of the director. Requests
made after the 365th day shall be granted.
To provide that compliance with the human rights commission process will satisfy the notice
requirements of the tort claims act. This will have the effect of extending the time to notify
public entities of a tort claim from six months to a year for discrimination claims only.
To remove outdated provisions and simplify certain sections.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
CONTACT
Name: Daniel L. Steckel
Agency: Idaho Human Rights Commission
Phone: 334-2873
Statement of Purpose/Fiscal Impact
S1360