The Law and Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment in the work place is a form of illegal sex discrimination and is absolutely prohibited by both state and federal law. It has become the most common form of work place harassment. Any unwelcome sexual advance in the work place, either verbal or physical, is considered sexual harassment.
The owners and manager of three apartment buildings in Washington have agreed to pay $95,000 in damages and civil penalties to resolve a lawsuit charging them with refusing to rent to families with children, according to a recent announcement by the Justice Department.
MHCO.ORG Note: Pressure continues to build to provide more renter rights and legalize some form of rent control or rent justification. Portland City Council's action this afternoon is yet another precursor of more to come in the Oregon Legislature. Stay tuned - this issue is not going away anytime soon.
* * * * * *
Last month, HUD announced that the owners and managers of two California apartment complexes has agreed to pay $72,000 to resolve allegations of discrimination against a female resident with disabilities who requires an assistance animal.
ADA
An initial question a community owner might have is, "How about my pre-existing community, does it need to comply with ADA issues?" Answer: "It depends." If your community pre-dates the ADA statute, and the community has not gone through any significant renovations (determined on a case-by-case basis), then the community may be "grandfathered in" in most cases.
This afternoon the Senate Committee on Human Services amended HB2004A with a dash 9 amendment that DOES NOT include rent stabilization, rent control or the elimination of the preemption of local rent control. The dash 9 amendment is attached below and replaces all of the language from the original HB 2004 that was introduced in January 2017.
We are in the home stretch of the 2017 Oregon Legislative Session. The target adjournment date is June 23rd, the constitutional deadline for adjournment is July 10th. The actual date will fall somewhere between the two - most likely in late June. Significant budget, tax, transportation issues still need to be haggled over as the legislative session draws to a close.