Statewide workplace discrimination complaints 2015-2020
| Submitted | Dec. 1, 2020 |
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Communications
From: Melanie Gaiser
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the New Hampshire Right to Know Law, I hereby request the following records:
Information on statewide complaints filed Federal Fiscal Year 2015-2020 (through and including the date of this request) that allege unlawful discriminatory practices in the workplace. Please note that the Federal Fiscal Year begins October 1 and ends September 30 of the following calendar year.
Specifically, I request the following:
A) The statewide total number of complaints filed, by Federal Fiscal Year, for alleged and/or actual violations of RSA 354-A:6 and RSA 354-A:7, as well as RSA 354-A:19 (please provide separate tallies for each RSA).
B) Please include separate tallies for the nature/category of the complaints filed in each Federal Fiscal Year. For example, for each year, please tally the reasons for which complainants believe they experienced discrimination (e.g., age, sex, gender identity, race, color, marital status, physical or mental disability, religious creed, or national origin, sexual orientation).
C) Please provide a separate tally for each Federal Fiscal Year with subtotals for the following:
1. Complaints that reference a hostile workplace, hostile work environment, or other phrases that may serve as derivatives of this concept
2. Complaints that allege failure to make accommodations for a known physical or mental limitation
3. Complaints that allege denial of employment opportunities
4. Complaints that allege damaging changes to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment
D) Separate tallies for each Federal Fiscal Year showing the disposition of closed and dismissed cases, as well as total fines assessed in each Federal Fiscal Year.
E) Sum total costs incurred by the State to investigate, adjudicate, and close or dismiss claims filed under RSA 354-A:6, RSA 354-A:7, and RSA 354-A19. Please break these costs down by Federal Fiscal Year and by RSA.
F) The number of cases that were appealed to Superior Court for each Federal Fiscal Year requested and please break down by case type.
G) Total costs incurred by the state to litigate cases that were appealed to Superior Court for each Federal Fiscal Year.
H) For each Federal Fiscal Year, please indicate how many complaints were received that were closed or otherwise dismissed because they had exceeded the statute of limitations.
I) If it is possible to provide tallies by the nature of the employer (e.g., public vs. private) for each Federal Fiscal Year, please do so.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Melanie Gaiser
From: New Hampshire Commission For Human Rights
Dear Ms. Gaiser,
On December 2, 2020, you submitted a New Hampshire Right to Know Law (RSA 91-A) request and it has been forwarded to me for response. You have requested statistical information relative to cases received, case outcomes and financial information for the Federal Fiscal Years 2015-2020. As an initial matter, I would suggest you review the Commission's website at www.nh.gov/hrc<http://www.nh.gov/hrc> as it has some of the requested statistical data you seek up to and including Federal Fiscal Year 2018. Due to staff vacancies, the national pandemic and the volume of information requested, it will take some time to thoroughly review your request determine what, if any, information is available. Once this determination is made, it will also take some time to compile and review the information as it is not immediately available. We anticipate that the responsive information will be gathered, reviewed and available to you on or before January 31, 2021.
Meanwhile, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.
Regards,
Sarah E. Burke Cohen, Esq.
Assistant Director
NH Commission for Human Rights
2 Industrial Park Drive
Concord, New Hampshire 03301
Phone: (603) 271-6840
Fax: (603) 271-6339
Statement of Confidentiality
The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this message may contain confidential or privileged information and is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s). Please notify the Human Rights Commission immediately at (603) 271-6840 or reply to Sarah.BurkeCohen@nh.gov<mailto:Sarah.BurkeCohen@nh.gov> if you are not the intended recipient and destroy all copies of this electronic message and any attachments.
From: New Hampshire Commission For Human Rights
Dear Ms. Gaiser,
On December 2, 2020, you submitted a New Hampshire Right to Know Law (RSA 91-A) request and it was forwarded to me for response. Thank you for your patience in allowing the NHCHR to compile the requested information.
The statistical data you requested was for the years 2015-2020. As an initial matter, the statistical data for 2015-2018 is publicly available on our website at the following link: https://www.nh.gov/hrc/commission-data/index.htm. Because it is already publicly available to you, we will not be including it in this email. Should you have questions about the data from 2015-2018, you are welcome to contact me to discuss it. Therefore, the below responses (unless indicated otherwise) contain responsive data for 2019 and 2020. We do not collect statistics to all your specifications; therefore, we provided the statistics that we collect and have available.
A) The statewide total number of complaints filed, by Federal Fiscal Year, for alleged and/or actual violations of RSA 354-A:6 and RSA 354-A:7, as well as RSA 354-A:19 (please provide separate tallies for each RSA).
Total Number of Complaints Filed
Year
Employment
Housing
Place of Public Accommodation
Public Education
2019
285
7
16
0
2020
155
4
9
2
B) Please include separate tallies for the nature/category of the complaints filed in each Federal Fiscal Year. For example, for each year, please tally the reasons for which complainants believe they experienced discrimination (e.g., age, sex, gender identity, race, color, marital status, physical or mental disability, religious creed, or national origin, sexual orientation).
Nature/Basis of Complaints Filed*
Basis
Employment
Housing
Place of Public Accommodation
Public Education
2019
2020
2019
2020
2019
2020
2019
2020
Gender
42
25
0
0
0
0
0
0
Sexual Harassment
72
31
1
0
0
1
0
1
Pregnancy
15
15
0
0
0
0
0
0
Sexual Orientation
8
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
Gender Identity
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
Disability
119
91
2
2
11
5
0
1
Age
59
29
0
0
2
0
0
0
Race
25
11
0
0
2
1
0
1
Color
19
10
0
1
2
1
0
1
National Origin
20
13
0
1
2
1
0
0
Religion
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
Marital Status
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Retaliation
202
132
3
3
7
4
0
1
Familial Status
(Housing Only)
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
*Please note each case may have multiple basis/nature; therefore, the total number of basis/nature will be different than the total number of cases filed.
C) Please provide a separate tally for each Federal Fiscal Year with subtotals for the following:
1. Complaints that reference a hostile workplace, hostile work environment, or other phrases that may serve as derivatives of this concept
2. Complaints that allege failure to make accommodations for a known physical or mental limitation
3. Complaints that allege denial of employment opportunities
4. Complaints that allege damaging changes to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment
The NHCHR does not compile data as specified above.
D) Separate tallies for each Federal Fiscal Year showing the disposition of closed and dismissed cases, as well as total fines assessed in each Federal Fiscal Year.
Case Closing
Finding Issued
2019
2020
Probable Cause Finding Issued
19
15
No Cause Finding Issued
21
41
Closure Reason
No Cause Dismissal
21
41
Settlement (Pre & Post Issuance of Finding)
83
98
Removal to Court (State or Federal)
49
72
Complainant Fails to Proceed/Cooperate/Withdraws
24
30
No Jurisdiction/Dismissal
10
8
Order Issued after Public Hearing
2
0
The NHCHR did not assess any fines in FFY2019 or FFY2020.
E) Sum total costs incurred by the State to investigate, adjudicate, and close or dismiss claims filed under RSA 354-A:6, RSA 354-A:7, and RSA 354-A19. Please break these costs down by Federal Fiscal Year and by RSA.
The NHCHR does not compile data as specified above and is unable to easily do so.
F) The number of cases that were appealed to Superior Court for each Federal Fiscal Year requested and please break down by case type.
2019 - 1 (Type: Employment; Basis/Nature: Race, Color, National Origin)
2020 - 1 (Type: Employment; Basis/Nature: Race, Color)
G) Total costs incurred by the state to litigate cases that were appealed to Superior Court for each Federal Fiscal Year.
The NHCHR does not compile data as specified above and is unable to easily do so. Additionally, the NHCHR would suggest you review the NHCHR's statute and administrative rules relative to the NHCHR's process including appeal of cases.
H) For each Federal Fiscal Year, please indicate how many complaints were received that were closed or otherwise dismissed because they had exceeded the statute of limitations.
I) If it is possible to provide tallies by the nature of the employer (e.g., public vs. private) for each Federal Fiscal Year, please do so.
The NHCHR does not compile data relative to the nature of the employer i.e. public or private. With regard to the number of cases that were dismissed from the NHCHR due to exceeding the statute of limitations: 2019: 3 cases; 2020: 2 cases. Please note due to the NHCHR's Work Share Agreement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), which allows cases to be dual filed under both state and federal. Employment cases that exceed the 180 day statute of limitations under RSA 354-A are closed at the NHCHR and waived to the EEOC for processing to determine eligibility under federal laws, which may provide a 300 day statute of limitation.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any further questions. As I am working remotely, email is best.
Regards,
Sarah E. Burke Cohen, Esq.
Assistant Director
NH Commission for Human Rights
2 Industrial Park Drive
Concord, New Hampshire 03301
Phone: (603) 271-6840
Fax: (603) 271-6339
Statement of Confidentiality
The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this message may contain confidential or privileged information and is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s). Please notify the Human Rights Commission immediately at (603) 271-6840 or reply to Sarah.E.BurkeCohen@hrc.nh.gov<mailto:Sarah.E.BurkeCohen@hrc.nh.gov> if you are not the intended recipient and destroy all copies of this electronic message and any attachments.
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