Welcome to the Seattle Human Rights Commission Web site
The Seattle Human Rights Commission was established
in 1963 to advocate for justice and equal opportunity, to
advise the City of Seattle on human rights issues and to
collaborate with public and private sectors in order to
educate them on methods to prevent and eliminate
discrimination city-wide.
Seattle Human Rights Commissioners, staff, and Mayor Mike McGinn at the Race & Social Justice Initiative community outreach meeting at Rainier Community Center, November 2011. L-R Mariah Ortiz, Mayor Mike McGinn, Merri Ann Osborne, Andrea Negrete, Chris Stearns, Felicia Yearwood
Public safety concerns all of us. Currently, when people have done their time and leave prison, it is often difficult to find housing and employment. Adding protections to end discrimination in housing and employment based on arrest or conviction records is one strategy to help support people's re-entry, and to decrease the likelihood of re-offending. The proposal would amend the City's current anti-discrimination laws to limit the ways an employer or housing provider can use arrest or conviction records when deciding to hire, fire, promote or take other employment actions, or when deciding to rent, evict or take other housing actions.
The Human Rights Commission consists of 15
representative citizens of Seattle appointed by the Mayor
and City Council to serve in an advisory capacity to the
Mayor, City Council, Seattle Office for Civil Rights, and
other Seattle City departments in matters affecting human
rights. Seven commissioners are appointed by the Mayor, and seven appointments
are
made by the City Council. The Commission appoints the 15th member.
Commissioners
are appointed to a two year term of office and serve without pay. It
is a goal of the
Commission to recruit people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The current
Commission
has representation from the African American, Asian, Caucasian, Gay & Lesbian,
Hispanic,
Native American, and Disability communities. Commissioners are
required to live within the Seattle city limits.
