Madison’s Equal Opportunity Commission members continued the ongoing battle to establish a protected homeless class Monday after discussing an ordinance to address the issues of housing and employment for destitute citizens.
The ordinance draft will forbid establishments in the areas of employment and permanent housing in Madison to discriminate based on citizens’ homeless class.
“It’s a part of Equal Opportunity laws. You want places that allow everybody regardless of their gender, their race,” Lucia Nuñez, EOC member and Department of Civil Rights Director said.
EOC members have presented the idea of a protected homeless class ordinance previously and received both opposition and support from the public.
In a February meeting, Zach Brandon, president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, brought up concerns on behalf of employers in the city. Brandon said at a February meeting that employers do not want to be wrongfully charged with discrimination if a homeless individual does not meet the establishment’s requirements.
Nuñez said the EOC holds investigations when the city receives complaints about housing, employment and public accommodation. Nuñez said the committee will not disregard rules implemented by individual establishments, including places of employment that have certain requirements to hire applicants.
“You still have to abide by the rules that a place may establish,” Nuñez said. “Our laws don’t override those rules, they just have to be applied evenly.”
Ald. Anita Weier, District 18, agreed to sponsor the ordinance with language alterations that will prevent redundancies in city law policies that already pertain to appearance-based discrimination. Weier’s support as an alder will allow the law to move forward in the legislation process.
The draft will be presented to the entire EOC next week to begin the deliberation process before the city council can make a decision.
