§ 22-9-1-6 — Civil rights commission; powers and duties

Indiana § 22-9-1-6

• Jurisdiction: Indiana
• Art. 9: CIVIL RIGHTS
• Ch. 1: Civil Rights Enforcement

Text

(a) The commission shall establish and maintain
a permanent office in the city of Indianapolis.
(b) Except as it concerns judicial review, the commission may adopt
rules under IC 4-22-2 to implement this chapter.
(c) The commission shall formulate policies to effectuate the
purposes of this chapter and make recommendations to agencies and
officers of the state or local subdivisions thereof to effectuate such
policies. The several departments, commissions, divisions, authorities,
boards, bureaus, agencies, and officers of the state or any political
subdivision or agency thereof shall furnish the commission, upon its
request, all records, papers, and information in their possession relating
to any matter before the commission.
(d) The commission shall receive and investigate complaints
alleging discriminatory practices. The commission shall not hold
hearings in the absence of a complaint. All investigations of complaints
shall be conducted by staff members of the civil rights commission or
their agents.
(e) The commission may create such advisory agencies and
conciliation councils, local or statewide, as will aid in effectuating the
purposes of this chapter. The commission may itself, or it may
empower these agencies and councils to:
(1) study the problems of discrimination in the areas covered by
section 2 of this chapter when based on race, religion, color, sex,
handicap, national origin, or ancestry; and
(2) foster through community effort, or otherwise, good will
among the groups and elements of the population of the state.
These agencies and councils may make recommendation to the
commission for the development of policies and procedures in general.
Advisory agencies and conciliation councils created by the commission
shall be composed of representative citizens serving without pay, but
with reimbursement for reasonable and necessary actual expenses.
(f) The commission may issue such publications and such results of
investigations and research as in its judgment will tend to promote
good will and minimize or eliminate discrimination because of race,
religion, color, sex, handicap, national origin, or ancestry.
(g) The commission shall prevent any person from discharging,
expelling, or otherwise discriminating against any other person because
the person filed a complaint, testified in any hearing before this
commission, or in any way assisted the commission in any matter under
its investigation.
(h) The commission may hold hearings, subpoena witnesses, compel
their attendance, administer oaths, take the testimony of any person
under oath, and require the production for examination of any books
and papers relating to any matter under investigation or in question
before the commission. The commission may make rules as to the
issuance of subpoenas by individual commissioners. Contumacy or
refusal to obey a subpoena issued under this section shall constitute a
contempt. All hearings shall be held within Indiana at a location
determined by the commission. A citation of contempt may be issued
upon application by the commission to the circuit or superior court in
the county in which the hearing is held or in which the witness resides
or transacts business.
(i) The commission may:
(1) before July 1, 2020, appoint administrative law judges other
than commissioners; and
(2) after June 30, 2020, request assignment of an administrative
law judge (as defined in IC 4-21.5-1-2);
when an appointment is deemed necessary by a majority of the
commission. The administrative law judges shall be members in good
standing before the bar of Indiana and shall be appointed by the
chairman of the commission. An administrative law judge appointed
under this subsection shall have the same powers and duties as a
commissioner sitting as an administrative law judge. However, the
administrative law judge may not issue subpoenas.
(j) The commission shall state its findings of fact after a hearing
and, if the commission finds a person has engaged in an unlawful
discriminatory practice, shall cause to be served on this person an order
requiring the person to cease and desist from the unlawful
discriminatory practice and requiring the person to take further
affirmative action as will effectuate the purposes of this chapter,
including but not limited to the power:
(1) to restore the complainant's losses incurred as a result of
discriminatory treatment, as the commission may deem necessary
to assure justice; however, except in discriminatory practices
involving veterans, this specific provision when applied to orders
pertaining to employment shall include only wages, salary, or
commissions;
(2) to require the posting of notice setting forth the public policy
of Indiana concerning civil rights and the respondent's compliance
with the policy in places of public accommodations;
(3) to require proof of compliance to be filed by the respondent at
periodic intervals; and
(4) to require a person who has been found to be in violation of
this chapter and who is licensed by a state agency authorized to
grant a license to show cause to the licensing agency why the
person's license should not be revoked or suspended.
When an employer has been found to have committed a discriminatory
practice in employment by failing to employ an applicant on the basis
that the applicant is a veteran, the order to restore the veteran's losses
may include placing the veteran in the employment position with the
employer for which the veteran applied.
(k) Judicial review of a cease and desist order or other affirmative
action as referred to in this chapter may be obtained under IC 22-9-8.
If no proceeding to obtain judicial review is instituted within thirty (30)
days from receipt of notice by a person that an order has been made by
the commission, the commission, if it determines that the person upon
whom the cease and desist order has been served is not complying or
is making no effort to comply, may obtain a decree of a court for the
enforcement of the order in circuit or superior court upon showing that
the person is subject to the commission's jurisdiction and resides or
transacts business within the county in which the petition for
enforcement is brought.
(l) If, upon all the evidence, the commission shall find that a person
has not engaged in any unlawful practice or violation of this chapter,
the commission shall state its findings of facts and shall issue and
cause to be served on the complainant an order dismissing the
complaint as to the person.
(m) The commission may furnish technical assistance requested by
persons subject to this chapter to further compliance with this chapter
or with an order issued under this chapter.
(n) The commission shall promote the creation of local civil rights
agencies to cooperate with individuals, neighborhood associations, and
state, local, and other agencies, both public and private, including
agencies of the federal government and of other states.
(o) The commission may reduce the terms of conciliation agreed to
by the parties to writing (to be called a consent agreement) that the
parties and a majority of the commissioners shall sign. When signed,
the consent agreement shall have the same effect as a cease and desist
order issued under subsection (j). If the commission determines that a
party to the consent agreement is not complying with it, the
commission may obtain enforcement of the consent agreement in a
circuit or superior court upon showing that the party is not complying
with the consent agreement and the party is subject to the commission's
jurisdiction and resides or transacts business within the county in
which the petition for enforcement is brought.
(p) In lieu of investigating a complaint and holding a hearing under
this section, the commission may issue an order based on findings and
determinations by the federal Department of Housing and Urban
Development or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission concerning a complaint that has been filed with one (1) of
these federal agencies and with the commission. The commission shall
adopt by rule standards under which the commission may issue such an
order.
(q) Upon notice that a complaint is the subject of an action in a
federal court, the commission shall immediately cease investigation of
the complaint and may not conduct hearings or issue findings of fact or
orders concerning that complaint.
Formerly: Acts 1961, c.208, s.6; Acts 1963, c.173, s.5; Acts
1965, c.214, s.2; Acts 1967, c.276, s.3; Acts 1969, c.298, s.4; Acts
1971, P.L.357, SEC.6; Acts 1974, P.L.111, SEC.2; Acts 1975, P.L.256,
SEC.3. As amended by Acts 1978, P.L.6, SEC.33; Acts 1979, P.L.31,
SEC.13; P.L.37-1985, SEC.45; P.L.7-1987, SEC.100; P.L.111-1992,
SEC.2; P.L.1-1993, SEC.187; P.L.23-1993, SEC.132; P.L.203-1993,
SEC.2; P.L.14-1994, SEC.3; P.L.1-1994, SEC.115; P.L.2-1995,
SEC.84; P.L.100-2012, SEC.59; P.L.136-2014, SEC.4; P.L.136-2018,
SEC.126; P.L.205-2019, SEC.25.