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Washington State FAIR HOUSING UPDATE |
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from Seattle's Ingersoll Gender Center by Seth Kirby, Program Specialist, Washington State Human Rights Commission The Ingersoll Gender Center honored the Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC) on Saturday, December 9th for its outstanding implementation of the state's new sexual orientation and gender expression/identity jurisdiction. Commissioner Jerry Hebert accepted the Judith Botzer award on the WSHRC's behalf. Operations Manager Dixie Shaw and Program Specialist Seth Kirby were honored for their work in implementing the new jurisdiction. The Legislature approved, and Governor Chris Gregoire signed ESHB 2661 into law on January 31, 2006, prohibiting sexual orientation and gender expression/identity discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodation, credit and lending, and insurance. The jurisdiction was effective June 7, 2006. To date, the WSHRC has received over twenty sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination complaints, two of which are housing related. The WSHRC enforces the WLAD, which prohibits discrimination in employment (employers with eight of more employees), housing, places of public accommodation, and credit and insurance transactions, on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, including gender expression/ identity, marital status, age (over 40), the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, retaliation for opposing an unfair practice, filing a whistleblower complaint with the Washington State Auditor, or filing a nursing home abuse complaint. The WSHRC was honored for its publication of the Self-Assessment Checklist for Compliance and Suggested Best Practices for Employment, a practical tool for employers and others who want to comply with the law. This is the first self-assessment of its kind in the US, and is being adapted for use in other states. Copies of the Checklist and other resources can be found online at www.hum.wa.gov. The WSHRC has also published Self-Assessment Checklist for Real Estate and Housing Transactions for housing providers, realtors, landlords and others who want to learn and do more about being in compliance with the WLAD. The WSHRC is proud to have this opportunity. WSHRC Commissioners are Kathy Baros Friedt, Chair, Olympia; Ellis Casson, Seattle; Deborah Sioux Cano-Lee, Olympia; Jerry Hebert, Kitsap County; and Shawn Murinko, Spokane. The Executive Director of the WSHRC is Marc Brenman. Visit us on the web at www.hum.wa.gov. Call us at 800-233-3247. Complaint questionnaires can be submitted online. OCR Fair Housing Home Page | Your comments about this Web site Updated: Jan. 12, 2007 King County | DES | OCR | News | Services | Comments | Search Links to external sites do not constitute
endorsements by King County. |