FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Transgender Day of Remembrance
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
November 20, 2013
The State Department joins people around the world in marking Transgender Day of Remembrance, honoring the memory of lives lost to violence provoked by fear and hatred of transgender and gender non-conforming people.
We have made tremendous progress in advancing the rights of LGBT persons. But when people continue to be harassed, arrested and even killed simply because of who they are and who they love, we know that we still have hard work before us.
The sad truth is that in too many places, including the United States, transgender persons continue to face violence and discrimination on a daily basis.
In too many cases, crimes against LGBT persons, including murder, are not thoroughly investigated or prosecuted. Transgender persons are frequently denied medical care and public services. They still suffer discrimination in employment, education, and housing.
Each of these episodes threatens our common humanity. Together, we pay a price when rights are trampled. And, together, we win when rights are protected.
That is why we are engaging diplomatically to address the specific challenges faced by transgender persons. And that’s why we will continue to urge other governments to protect all of their citizens regardless of their gender identity. Through the Global Equality Fund, we are increasing support to civil society organizations to combat bias-motivated violence targeting transgender persons.
The rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons are not special or separate or different. They are basic human rights. And human rights are universal, not negotiable.
On Transgender Day of Remembrance, we renew our commitment to ensuring that all persons are able to live safely, freely and with dignity, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Showing posts with label DISCRIMINATION. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DISCRIMINATION. Show all posts
Friday, November 22, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
DOJ-RESTAURANT SETTLE ALLEGED INA VIOLATIONS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, November 15, 2013
Justice Department and San Francisco Restaurant Settle Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim
The Justice Department today reached an agreement with Kim Hoang Coffee and Fast Food, a restaurant in San Francisco, resolving claims that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
In a charge filed with the department, a work-authorized immigrant alleged, and the department found, that Kim Hoang Coffee and Fast Food improperly rejected valid work-authorization documents when re-verifying her authorization for employment, which caused the immigrant to believe she had been terminated. The investigation also revealed that the employer believed she could ask non-U.S. citizens to produce specific documents to establish work authorization upon initial hire, but did not need to make similar demands of U.S. citizens. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from discriminating against non-U.S. citizens in the employment eligibility verification process by demanding different documentation than U.S. citizens are required to present.
In response to the department’s investigation, Kim Hoang Coffee and Fast Food offered to rehire the charging party and provide back pay for the charging party’s month of lost wages. Under the terms of the agreement, Kim Hoang Coffee and Fast Food must pay $485 in civil penalties to the United States, undergo department training on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA and be subject to monitoring of its employment eligibility verification practices for a period of three years. The employer also agreed to post the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices’ (OSC) “Right to Work” poster, which highlights the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The case settled prior to the department filing a complaint in this matter.
“Imposing different documentary requirements on individuals based on their citizenship status during the employment eligibility verification process is discrimination prohibited by the INA,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels. “The Department of Justice is committed to protecting U.S. citizens and all work-authorized immigrants from document abuse.”
The OSC is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Justice Department and San Francisco Restaurant Settle Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim
The Justice Department today reached an agreement with Kim Hoang Coffee and Fast Food, a restaurant in San Francisco, resolving claims that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
In a charge filed with the department, a work-authorized immigrant alleged, and the department found, that Kim Hoang Coffee and Fast Food improperly rejected valid work-authorization documents when re-verifying her authorization for employment, which caused the immigrant to believe she had been terminated. The investigation also revealed that the employer believed she could ask non-U.S. citizens to produce specific documents to establish work authorization upon initial hire, but did not need to make similar demands of U.S. citizens. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from discriminating against non-U.S. citizens in the employment eligibility verification process by demanding different documentation than U.S. citizens are required to present.
In response to the department’s investigation, Kim Hoang Coffee and Fast Food offered to rehire the charging party and provide back pay for the charging party’s month of lost wages. Under the terms of the agreement, Kim Hoang Coffee and Fast Food must pay $485 in civil penalties to the United States, undergo department training on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA and be subject to monitoring of its employment eligibility verification practices for a period of three years. The employer also agreed to post the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices’ (OSC) “Right to Work” poster, which highlights the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The case settled prior to the department filing a complaint in this matter.
“Imposing different documentary requirements on individuals based on their citizenship status during the employment eligibility verification process is discrimination prohibited by the INA,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels. “The Department of Justice is committed to protecting U.S. citizens and all work-authorized immigrants from document abuse.”
The OSC is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.
Monday, June 17, 2013
HEALTH-RELATED SCHOOLS TO RECEIVE LETTER REGARDING HEPATITIS B DISCRIMINATION
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services Issue Letter to Health-Related Schools Regarding Hepatitis B Discrimination
June 12, 2013
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services sent a joint letter today to the nation’s medical schools, dental schools, nursing schools, and other health-related schools regarding hepatitis B discrimination.
In the letter, the departments express concern that some health-related schools may be making enrollment decisions based on an incorrect understanding of the hepatitis B virus, resulting in discrimination.
The letter updates schools on the latest recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding the participation of students with hepatitis B in health-related schools. The letter also emphasizes the importance of CDC’s recommendations, especially as they relate to the schools’ obligation to comply with federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, race, color, and national origin.
Approximately 800,000 to 1.4 million people in the United States have hepatitis B. Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders make up roughly 4.5 percent of the U.S. population, but represent 50 percent of the persons with hepatitis B in the United States.
The letter cites to a March 2013 settlement agreement that the Justice Department reached with a medical school and a school of osteopathic medicine resolving allegations that the schools violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by excluding previously-accepted applicants with hepatitis B from their programs.
The updated CDC recommendations, based on the most current scientific information, dispel many myths associated with hepatitis B and provide guidance to health-related schools on managing students with the virus. The CDC also notes that since the last update of the recommendations in 1991, there have been no reports of hepatitis B transmission in the United States or other developed countries from medical or dental students to patients. Among other recommendations, the CDC recommends that chronic hepatitis B virus infection, in itself, should not preclude the study or practice of medicine, surgery, dentistry, or allied health professions.
"The Justice Department strongly urges health-related schools to review the CDC’s recommendations and to ensure that their policies and practices comply with federal nondiscrimination laws," said Jocelyn Samuels, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. "Applicants and students with hepatitis B should not have to face exclusion on the basis of unfounded fears and stereotypes, and the Justice Department will not tolerate it."
"Both public ealth and civil rights will be promoted when medical schools rely on the most recent scientific information, not overbroad generalizations, in dealing with medical students with hepatitis B," said Seth Galanter, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the Department of Education.
Leon Rodriguez, Director of the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services, agrees that health-related schools must ensure that they do not deny equal access to individuals based on discrimination, adding: "The CDC recommendations promote public health and safety while also offering guidance on the management of students with hepatitis B. Our agencies place considerable weight on this guidance in our enforcement of Federal civil rights laws."
The Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services share responsibility for protecting the rights of students and applicants with disabilities, including hose with hepatitis B, in schools of higher education by enforcing titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. These laws prohibit covered postsecondary institutions from discriminating on the basis of disability and from refusing to make reasonable modifications to their policies, practices, or procedures when necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability, unless such modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the program or the services provided. The Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services also enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance, including those of health-related schools.
Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services Issue Letter to Health-Related Schools Regarding Hepatitis B Discrimination
June 12, 2013
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services sent a joint letter today to the nation’s medical schools, dental schools, nursing schools, and other health-related schools regarding hepatitis B discrimination.
In the letter, the departments express concern that some health-related schools may be making enrollment decisions based on an incorrect understanding of the hepatitis B virus, resulting in discrimination.
The letter updates schools on the latest recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding the participation of students with hepatitis B in health-related schools. The letter also emphasizes the importance of CDC’s recommendations, especially as they relate to the schools’ obligation to comply with federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, race, color, and national origin.
Approximately 800,000 to 1.4 million people in the United States have hepatitis B. Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders make up roughly 4.5 percent of the U.S. population, but represent 50 percent of the persons with hepatitis B in the United States.
The letter cites to a March 2013 settlement agreement that the Justice Department reached with a medical school and a school of osteopathic medicine resolving allegations that the schools violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by excluding previously-accepted applicants with hepatitis B from their programs.
The updated CDC recommendations, based on the most current scientific information, dispel many myths associated with hepatitis B and provide guidance to health-related schools on managing students with the virus. The CDC also notes that since the last update of the recommendations in 1991, there have been no reports of hepatitis B transmission in the United States or other developed countries from medical or dental students to patients. Among other recommendations, the CDC recommends that chronic hepatitis B virus infection, in itself, should not preclude the study or practice of medicine, surgery, dentistry, or allied health professions.
"The Justice Department strongly urges health-related schools to review the CDC’s recommendations and to ensure that their policies and practices comply with federal nondiscrimination laws," said Jocelyn Samuels, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. "Applicants and students with hepatitis B should not have to face exclusion on the basis of unfounded fears and stereotypes, and the Justice Department will not tolerate it."
"Both public ealth and civil rights will be promoted when medical schools rely on the most recent scientific information, not overbroad generalizations, in dealing with medical students with hepatitis B," said Seth Galanter, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the Department of Education.
Leon Rodriguez, Director of the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services, agrees that health-related schools must ensure that they do not deny equal access to individuals based on discrimination, adding: "The CDC recommendations promote public health and safety while also offering guidance on the management of students with hepatitis B. Our agencies place considerable weight on this guidance in our enforcement of Federal civil rights laws."
The Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services share responsibility for protecting the rights of students and applicants with disabilities, including hose with hepatitis B, in schools of higher education by enforcing titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. These laws prohibit covered postsecondary institutions from discriminating on the basis of disability and from refusing to make reasonable modifications to their policies, practices, or procedures when necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability, unless such modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the program or the services provided. The Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services also enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance, including those of health-related schools.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
ILLINOIS ELECTIONS WILL BE MONITORED BY THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Monday, March 19, 2012
Justice Department to Monitor Elections in Illinois
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that the Civil Rights Division will monitor elections on March 20, 2012, in Cook and Lake Counties, Ill. The monitoring will ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes. The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.
Justice Department personnel will monitor polling place activities in Cook and Lake Counties. Civil Rights Division attorneys will coordinate federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.
Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, as well as departmental staff, to monitor elections across the country. To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.
Visit www.justice.gov/crt/voting/index.php for more information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
ELECTIONS IN MISSISSIPPI TO BE MONITORED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:
Monday, August 22, 2011
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor primary runoff elections on Aug. 23, 2011, in Bolivar, Noxubee, Tunica and Wilkinson Counties in Mississippi to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.
Under the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to jurisdictions that are certified by the attorney general or by a federal court order. Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Bolivar, Noxubee and Wilkinson Counties based on the attorney general’s certification. The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations, and Civil Rights Division attorneys will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.
In addition, Justice Department personnel will monitor polling place activities in Tunica County. A Civil Rights Division attorney will coordinate federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.
Monday, August 22, 2011
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor primary runoff elections on Aug. 23, 2011, in Bolivar, Noxubee, Tunica and Wilkinson Counties in Mississippi to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.
Under the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to jurisdictions that are certified by the attorney general or by a federal court order. Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Bolivar, Noxubee and Wilkinson Counties based on the attorney general’s certification. The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations, and Civil Rights Division attorneys will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.
In addition, Justice Department personnel will monitor polling place activities in Tunica County. A Civil Rights Division attorney will coordinate federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.
Friday, August 19, 2011
DOJ INVESTIGATES LA COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT FOR DISCRIMINATION
The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:
Friday, August 19, 2011
“LOS ANGELES – The Justice Department has opened a civil investigation into allegations of discriminatory policing by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) members based in the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, Calif. The investigation will focus on allegations that the Lancaster and Palmdale stations of the LASD are engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race or national origin in violation of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and the anti-discrimination provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act.
The Justice Department will seek to determine whether there are systemic violations of the Constitution or federal law, including the Fair Housing Act, by deputies of these LASD stations. The investigation will focus on allegations that the LASD has sought to identify during routine traffic stops individuals who use Housing Choice Vouchers, commonly known as Section 8, to subsidize housing costs for low income families. In addition, the investigation will examine allegations that t he LASD has conducted warrantless searches of African-American families’ homes under the auspices of housing authority compliance inspections, and that housing authority investigators based in the Lancaster and Palmdale sheriff’s stations have been accompanied by sheriff’s deputies as they conduct routine housing contract compliance checks. At times, it is alleged that the deputies approach the Section 8 recipient’s home with guns drawn and in full SWAT armor and conduct searches and questioning themselves, unrelated to the housing program.
In addition, the Justice Department has an ongoing investigation under the Fair Housing Act of the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster, as well as of the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles, to determine whether there has been a systematic effort to discriminate against African-Americans and Latinos.
During the course of the investigation of the LASD, the Justice Department will consider all relevant information, particularly the efforts that LASD has undertaken to ensure compliance with federal law. The Justice Department has taken similar steps involving a variety of state and local law enforcement agencies, both large and small, in jurisdictions such as New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia and Louisiana.”
Friday, August 19, 2011
“LOS ANGELES – The Justice Department has opened a civil investigation into allegations of discriminatory policing by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) members based in the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, Calif. The investigation will focus on allegations that the Lancaster and Palmdale stations of the LASD are engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race or national origin in violation of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and the anti-discrimination provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act.
The Justice Department will seek to determine whether there are systemic violations of the Constitution or federal law, including the Fair Housing Act, by deputies of these LASD stations. The investigation will focus on allegations that the LASD has sought to identify during routine traffic stops individuals who use Housing Choice Vouchers, commonly known as Section 8, to subsidize housing costs for low income families. In addition, the investigation will examine allegations that t he LASD has conducted warrantless searches of African-American families’ homes under the auspices of housing authority compliance inspections, and that housing authority investigators based in the Lancaster and Palmdale sheriff’s stations have been accompanied by sheriff’s deputies as they conduct routine housing contract compliance checks. At times, it is alleged that the deputies approach the Section 8 recipient’s home with guns drawn and in full SWAT armor and conduct searches and questioning themselves, unrelated to the housing program.
In addition, the Justice Department has an ongoing investigation under the Fair Housing Act of the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster, as well as of the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles, to determine whether there has been a systematic effort to discriminate against African-Americans and Latinos.
During the course of the investigation of the LASD, the Justice Department will consider all relevant information, particularly the efforts that LASD has undertaken to ensure compliance with federal law. The Justice Department has taken similar steps involving a variety of state and local law enforcement agencies, both large and small, in jurisdictions such as New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia and Louisiana.”
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