Civil Rights Petition

We believe that the State Legislature of Arkansas should establish a human rights agency, the Arkansas Civil Rights Commission.

Arkansas is one of only two states in the country that does not have a human rights agency charged with protecting the civil rights of its citizens.  There is no state agency with authority to enforce current laws against wrongdoers who willfully abuse the right of all Arkansans to be free from discrimination based on age, race, gender, religion, disability or other characteristic.  Victims of such abuses often do not know where to go for help.

We believe that the State Legislature of Arkansas should establish a human rights agency, the Arkansas Civil Rights Commission.

The Arkansas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights prepared a detailed report in February, 2001, recommending the creation of a civil rights agency that would be an arm of state government with the authority to address civil rights violations and disputes arising in the state.  The Committee suggested that such a commission would improve civil rights enforcement in a way that is cost-effective to all Arkansans while protecting the rights of the most vulnerable.   But the Arkansas Legislature has failed to follow through with that recommendation.

The advisory committee noted that many Arkansans are unfamiliar with federal civil rights laws as well as the protections offered under our own state law.  There is little coordination among state and local government or other agencies offering services to potential complainants.  Without a state commission to hear these cases, the aggrieved are forced to navigate a complex federal system to seek justice.  Attorney assistance is hard to find and expensive, and if a case is filed, long delays can be expected before a resolution is reached.

The Arkansas Civil Rights Commission would provide:  faster case processing and resolutions; an opportunity for education and training in civil rights; effective and efficient administration of civil rights laws,  and would serve as a deterrent to future civil rights violations in the state of Arkansas.

The general powers and duties of the Commission should include, but not be limited to the following:

• establish the Arkansas Civil Rights Commission to enforce the existing Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993 as well as any and all future amendments made to said act;
• receive, investigate, and pass upon charges of unlawful employment, discriminatory housing practices and discriminatory access to public accommodations that take place anywhere in the state;
• hold hearings, subpoena witnesses, take sworn testimony, and require the production of documents related to the charges of discrimination;
• cooperate with the federal government and local human rights agencies as needed;
• attempt to eliminate unlawful employment, discriminatory housing practices and discriminatory access to public accommodations  by means of alternative dispute resolution, and persuasion;
• develop and maintain programs that build positive relations among and between diverse communities and enhance problem-solving skills through the use of education and training;
• require that all employer, employment agency, labor organization and housing entities subject to its jurisdiction make and keep such records relevant to the determination of whether unlawful employment or housing practices have been or are being committed;
• require the Commission to maintain a data base of all entities charged with civil rights violations, the nature of those charges and their results, and the complete demographic information of complainants.