The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who reports directly to the President of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet.
The Civil Rights Act of 1968 is a landmark law in the United States signed into law by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during the King assassination riots.
Anti-discrimination law or non-discrimination law refers to legislation designed to prevent discrimination against particular groups of people; these groups are often referred to as protected groups or protected classes. Anti-discrimination laws vary by jurisdiction with regard to the types of discrimination that are prohibited, and also the groups that are protected by that legislation. Commonly, these types of legislation are designed to prevent discrimination in employment, housing, education, and other areas of social life, such as public accommodations. Anti-discrimination law may include protections for groups based on sex, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, mental illness or ability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, sex characteristics, religion, creed, or individual political opinions.
The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) is an agency of California state government charged with the protection of residents from employment, housing and public accommodation discrimination, and hate violence. It is the largest state civil rights agency in the United States. It also provides representation to the victims of hate crimes. CRD has a director who is appointed by the governor of California and maintains a total of five offices and five educational clinics throughout the state. Today, it is considered part of the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency.
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is part of the U.S. Department of Labor. OFCCP is responsible for ensuring that employers doing business with the Federal government comply with the laws and regulations requiring nondiscrimination. This mission is based on the underlying principle that employment opportunities generated by Federal dollars should be available to all Americans on an equitable and fair basis.
Racial steering refers to the practice in which real estate brokers guide prospective home buyers towards or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race. The term is used in the context of de facto residential segregation in the United States, and is often divided into two broad classes of conduct:
- Advising customers to purchase homes in particular neighborhoods on the basis of race
- Failing, on the basis of race, to show, or to inform buyers of homes that meet their specifications.
Equal employment opportunity is equal opportunity to attain or maintain employment in a company, organization, or other institution. Examples of legislation to foster it or to protect it from eroding include the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which was established by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to assist in the protection of United States employees from discrimination. The law was the first federal law designed to protect most US employees from employment discrimination based on that employee's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Employment discrimination law in the United States derives from the common law, and is codified in numerous state, federal, and local laws. These laws prohibit discrimination based on certain characteristics or "protected categories." The United States Constitution also prohibits discrimination by federal and state governments against their public employees. Discrimination in the private sector is not directly constrained by the Constitution, but has become subject to a growing body of federal and state law, including the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Federal law prohibits discrimination in a number of areas, including recruiting, hiring, job evaluations, promotion policies, training, compensation and disciplinary action. State laws often extend protection to additional categories or employers.
An emotional support animal (ESA) is an animal that provides relief to individuals with "psychiatric disability through companionship." Emotional support animals may be any type of pet, and are not recognized as service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, is American legislation that guarantees certain rights to people with disabilities. It was one of the first U.S. federal civil rights laws offering protection for people with disabilities. It set precedents for subsequent legislation for people with disabilities, including the Virginians with Disabilities Act in 1985 and the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.
A protected group, protected class (US), or prohibited ground (Canada) is a category by which people qualified for special protection by a law, policy, or similar authority. In Canada and the United States, the term is frequently used in connection with employees and employment and housing. Where illegal discrimination on the basis of protected group status is concerned, a single act of discrimination may be based on more than one protected class. For example, discrimination based on antisemitism may relate to religion, ethnicity, national origin, or any combination of the three; discrimination against a pregnant woman might be based on sex, marital status, or both.
Housing discrimination in the United States refers to the historical and current barriers, policies, and biases that prevent equitable access to housing. Housing discrimination became more pronounced after the abolition of slavery in 1865, typically as part of Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation. The federal government didn't begin to take action against these laws until 1917, when the Supreme Court struck down ordinances prohibiting blacks from occupying or owning buildings in majority-white neighborhoods in Buchanan v. Warley. However, the federal government as well as local governments continued to be directly responsible for housing discrimination through redlining and race-restricted covenants until the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
Discrimination in awarding Section 8 housing describes cases of discrimination in the housing market of the United States of America whereby landlords refuse to rent to tenants using housing vouchers. In the United States, "Section 8" is a portion of the Housing Act of 1937 that provides financial assistance for housing costs of several million low-income Americans.
The Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) is a federal program that is administered by the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The FHAP program provides funding annually on a noncompetitive basis to State and local agencies that enforce fair housing laws that are substantially equivalent to the Fair Housing Act.
The Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) is managed by the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program provides funding to fair housing organizations and other non-profits who assist people who believe they have been victims of housing discrimination. The FHIP program is the only Federal grant program whose purpose is to support private partnerships in preventing and overcoming housing discrimination.
The Human Rights Commission of Austin (Texas) (hereafter the "Commission") was established on October 5, 1967, by the City of Austin Ordinance 671005-B. The current version of the ordinance can be found at Section 2-1-148 of The Code of the City of Austin, Texas.
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) is a provision of the 1968 federal Fair Housing Act signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The law requires that "All executive departments and agencies shall administer their programs and activities relating to housing and urban development in a manner affirmatively to further the purposes of" the Fair Housing Act. The law also requires the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer all HUD programs in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing.
The Iowa Civil Rights Commission is the state agency that enforces the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965, Iowa's anti-discrimination law.
The Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission is the state administrative agency that investigates and enforces Nebraska civil rights laws. The commission consists of seven members appointed by the Governor and an executive director. The commission receives, investigates and makes decisions on civil rights complaints that allege unlawful discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations practices within the state. The NEOC maintains offices in Lincoln, Omaha, and Scottsbluff.
