Operational Report to the Legislature

Fiscal Year 2014

Submitted November 26, 2014

RICK SNYDER
GOVERNOR

STATE OF MICHIGAN
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL RIGHTS
EXECUTIVE

MATTHEW WESAW
DIRECTOR

November 26, 2014

The Honorable Roger Kahn, Chairman
Senate Committee on Appropriations
Michigan State Senate
State Capitol
Lansing, MI 48909

The Honorable Joseph Haveman, Chairman

House Committee on Appropriations
Michigan House of Representatives
State Capitol
Lansing, MI 48909

Chairmen Kahn and Haveman,

In accordance with Section 404(1) of Public Act 59 of 2013, enclosed is a report detailing
departmental operations for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights for fiscal year 2014.
Please contact me if you have any questions regarding the information contained within at
517-335-3165 or wesawm@michigan.gov.

Sincerely,
Matthew J. Wesaw
Executive Director

cc: John Roberts, State Budget Director

Ellen Jeffries, Director, Senate Fiscal Agency
Mary Ann Cleary, Director, House Fiscal Agency
April Clark, Fiscal Analyst, State Budget Office

Section 404(1)(a) a detailed description of the department operations.

Though the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) is the smallest state department in terms
of employees and budget, our mission is critical to the effective functioning of our state government and
plays a substantial role in defining who we are as a state.
Article 5, Section 29 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963 created the Michigan Civil Rights
Commission and established its duty to ... investigate alleged discrimination against any person because of
race, religion, color or national origin in the enjoyment of the civil rights guaranteed by law and by this
constitution The Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act and the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, both
passed in 1976, and subsequent amendments to those statutes have added sex, age, marital status, familial
status, height, weight, arrest record, genetic information and physical and mental disabilities to the original
four protected categories of race, color, religion and national origin.
The Michigan Department of Civil Rights was created to fulfill the mission of the Civil Rights
Commission established by the Constitution and these statutes. The department works to ensure equal
protection by investigating complaints of unlawful discrimination and through outreach efforts and
educational programs which promote voluntary compliance with civil rights laws.
To meet these goals, MDCR engages in Enforcement, Outreach and Education, Mediation,
Community Relations, Crisis Response and Contractor Review.
The Enforcement Division is the largest in the department. The hard work done by our investigators
and supervisors ensures the protections of civil rights laws to all residents of Michigan, including those who
may be at risk due to age, disability or mental illness. Seven Civil Rights Enforcement units are located in
five offices across the state. Each year, our investigators complete between 2,000 and 2,500 investigations.
The department also contracts with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
and the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate complaints duallyfiled with those agencies. In addition, HUD contracts with us to conduct activities that promote awareness of
and compliance with state and federal fair housing laws.
Mediation is also an option for resolving complaints. Mediation is a voluntary alternative
dispute resolution available in most cases. Typically scheduled within 45 days from the date both
parties agree, Mediation can provide the quickest resolution of a case while addressing the concerns
of all involved. Currently, MDCR conducts both internal mediations, led by a trained mediator on
staff, as well as contracting with mediation centers around the state to facilitate these sessions.
At the conclusion of an investigation which finds sufficient cause to believe a violation occurred and
in which attempts to bring the parties to a mutually acceptable resolution are unsuccessful, a case is turned
over to our Legal Affairs staff to be charged. Staff attorneys (who also provide legal guidance during the
investigation) prepare the case, present it to a hearing officer, and later present it with the hearing report and
recommendations to the Civil Rights Commission for a final decision. In addition to supporting the
investigation process, the departments Law and Policy staff provide counsel to the Director and
Commission.

The MDCR Office of Public Affairs & Administrative Services (OPAAS) was created in 2011 and
combines six critical ongoing functions into a single unit. Those functions include: Community Relations,
Contractor Review, Mediation, Communications, Financial Services and Technological Support.
Outreach and education is one of the key components of MDCRs work. To further these
efforts, the department has increased its involvement in a broad spectrum of partnership activities
with community based organizations, faith communities, youth groups, colleges and universities,
civil rights organizations and local, state and federal law enforcement to share work and provide civil
rights assistance.
Community Relations staff members (in partnership with other OPAAS staff) provide
training to citizens, businesses, community groups and non-profits in a variety of forums. Whether
through a negotiated settlement or via a direct request from a community, public or private
organization, MDCR provides important information concerning civil rights laws and practices.
MDCR also provides information and training to businesses so that they can prevent problems rather
than respond to them. For example, the department has an ongoing contract with Motor City Casino
in Detroit to provide training for employees to ensure that they are well-versed in serving a diverse
clientele. MDCR staff train an average of 4,000 people per year.
Community relations staff members are responsible for specific geographic regions of the
state as well as serving as liaisons to cultural communities throughout Michigan. As a part of these
assignments, staff members work to develop solid working relationships with community leaders
including law enforcement, education leaders, elected officials and others.
MDCRs Crisis Response Team works to ensure a constructive and effective response to
hate crime and other related incidents of tension, bias and violence in communities across Michigan.
MDCR utilizes its partnership and liaison relationships established through collaboration with law
enforcement agencies, community and faith-based institutions, business community representatives
and advocacy agencies to initiate proactive measures to help restore the civil rights health of the
community.
In addition, OPAAS staff members provide significant leadership for the majority of the
departments key initiatives, including:

The Michigan Alliance Against Hate Crimes (MIAAHC),

Governor Snyders Global Michigan Initiative,

Anti-Bullying initiatives,

The West Michigan Leadership Collaborative,

Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker initiatives, and

Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust (ALPACT).

The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act directs that state contracts contain a non-discrimination clause
(covenant) indicating that the contractor and any subcontractors do not discriminate against employees or
applicants for employment with respect to hire, tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.

MDCR and the Department of Technology, Management and Budget have a Memorandum of Understanding
prohibiting the award of state contracts over $250,000.00 to companies who are in violation of the Act.
After a review of policies and procedures, the Contractor Review Unit issues Certificates of
Awardability to companies seeking to do business with the state to assure that they have demonstrated
compliance with the non-discrimination requirements of state and federal law. Contractor Review Unit staff
also evaluate applications of companies seeking certification as persons with disabilities enterprises.
OPAAS Financial Services and Technical Support are responsible for ensuring all department
employees have the technology resources they need to effectively serve our customers, coordinating all
aspects of the departments budget, including serving as liaison to the State Budget Office and legislative
Appropriations Committees during budget development and negotiation, coordinating audit activities,
overseeing the Internal Controls Evaluation process as well as the day-to-day management of the
departments finances.
Finally, OPAAS staff members provide technical support for the departments Contact Management
System (CMS), our Oracle-based data tracking system which is used to track all public contact with the
department, including complaint investigation, requests for training or other outreach services, crisis
response and information sharing.
MDCR is also home to the Michigan Womens Commission, the Hispanic/Latino Commission of
Michigan, the Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission, the Division on Deaf and Hard of
Hearing and the as yet unappointed Arab & Chaldean Council. For a more detailed look at the goals and
objectives of these commissions, see Section 404(1)(b).

Section 404(1)(b) a detailed description of all subunits with the department ...
Based on the structure of the budget provided for MDCR, the department is comprised of five
subunits: Unclassified employees, Civil Rights Operations, the Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the
Hispanic Latino Commission and the Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission.
(PLEASE NOTE: As of the time of the preparation of this report, book closing for Fiscal Year 2014 had not
occurred. All expenditures numbers should be considered draft until book closing occurs.)

Unclassified
In FY14, 6 FTE positions were assigned to this subunit with an appropriated budget of $707,000
General Fund/General Purpose (GF/GP). Currently, five of the six positions are filled. The existing vacancy
is expected to be filled by the end of calendar year 2014. In FY14, this subunit expended $570,300.
The FTE positions in this subunit include MDCRs Executive Director, who is selected by the Civil
Rights Commission, and the Executive Director of the Michigan Womens Commission who is appointed by
the Governor. The remaining FTE positions include the departments Deputy Director, legislative liaison
and staff who help coordinate a number of departmental initiatives, including Governor Snyders Global
Michigan Initiative as well as working with the departments ethnic commissions.
This subunit generated no revenue for the department in FY14.

Civil Rights Operations

In FY14, 114 FTE positions were assigned to this subunit with an appropriated budget of
$12,683,300, of which $9,949,800 was GF/GP, $2,675,200 was federal funds and $58,500 was state
restricted indirect funds. In FY14, this subunit expended $12,000,800.
Civil Rights Operations includes all of the operations which are described in detail in Section
404(1)(a) of this report, as well as the Michigan Womens Commission.
Through our federal contracts with HUD and EEOC, this subunit generated $2,675,200 in federal
revenues for the department in FY14.

Division on Deaf, Deafblind and Hard of Hearing

In FY14, 6 FTE positions were assigned to this subunit with an appropriated budget of $771,300, of
which $659,200 was GF/GP and $112,100 was private and restricted funds. This subunit expended $570,300
in FY14. Currently, the division is operating with an interim director and has one staff person away on
military leave.

The Division on Deaf, Deafblind and Hard of Hearing (DODDBHH) concentrates on helping
improve the lives of Michigan's one million Deaf, Deafblind and Hard of Hearing citizens. Their mission is
affirming the indisputable right of Deaf, Deafblind and Hard of Hearing Persons to secure effective
communication. It receives input from its 13-member Advisory Council appointed by the Governor and
provides the following services:

Technical Support including assisting deaf and hard of hearing persons with referrals to public or
private agencies and helping employers, educational institutions, service agencies, and businesses
make their programs and services accessible.
Information and Referral Services including responding to public inquiries about deafness,
providing Orientation to Deaf and Hard of Hearing trainings, maintaining a statewide list of services
for deaf and hard of hearing persons and other services.
Accommodations including consulting on communication barriers or access related to deaf and
hard of hearing persons, providing information and training on TTYs, signaling devices and assistive
listening devices, and maintaining a list of trainers for hearing/service dogs and assistive devices and
providers or dealers.
Interpreter Information and Services including administering the statewide Quality Assurance
Interpreter Screening Program as required by the Public Act No. 204 of 1982, consulting with the
appointing authorities on the need and use of qualified or certified interpreters and assisting state
agencies and the public in locating qualified oral and sign language interpreters.
This subunit generated no additional revenue for the department in FY14.

Hispanic Latino Commission

In FY14, 1 FTE position was assigned to this subunit with an appropriated budget of $255,600
GF/GP. In addition, this subunit received $250,000 in grant funding through the Michigan Department of
Community Health. This subunit expended $255,600 of its appropriate funding in FY14.
The Michigan Commission on Spanish-Speaking Affairs was created by Public Act 164 of 1975. The
Commissions name was changed to the Hispanic/Latino Commission of Michigan (HLCOM) in 2010.
HLCOMs goal is to develop a unified policy and plan of action to serve the needs of Michigans Hispanic
people. PA164 of 1975 as amended in 2010 directs the Commission to:

Advise the Governor, the Legislature, and the office, concerning the coordination and administration
of state programs serving Hispanics.
Make recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature regarding changes in state programs,
statutes and policies.
Advise the Governor and Legislature on the nature, magnitude, and priorities of the problems of
Hispanics. Review and advise the Governor and Legislature on the States policies concerning
Hispanic affairs.
Review and approve grants from federal, state or private funds which are administered by the Office.
Secure appropriate recognition of Hispanic accomplishments and contributions to this State.
Review and approve the Annual Report by the Hispanic/Latino Commission.
Assist with planning and implementation of Hispanic/Latino heritage month celebrations.
Assist with planning and implementation of Hispanic/Latino holiday celebrations.
This subunit generated no revenue for the department in FY14.
7

Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission

In FY14, 1 FTE position was assigned to this subunit with an appropriated budget of $103,800, all
GF/GP. This subunit expended $79,700 in FY14.
The Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission (MAPAAC) was created by Public Act
538 of 2008. The 15 members of the commission are appointed by the Governor. Their mission is to
advance the full and equal participation of Asian Pacific Americans in the building of a greater Michigan.
PA538 of 2008 directs the Commission to:

Stimulate and encourage the study and review of the status of Asian Pacific Americans in this state.
Develop a unified policy and plan of action to serve the needs of Asian Pacific Americans in this
state.
Advise the governor, the legislature, and the office concerning the coordination and administration of
state programs serving Asian Pacific Americans.
Make recommendations to the governor and legislature regarding changes in state programs, statutes,
and policies.
Advise the governor and legislature of the nature, magnitude, and priorities of the problems of Asian
Pacific Americans in this state.
Review and advise the governor and the legislature on this states policies concerning Asian Pacific
American affairs.
Secure appropriate recognition of Asian Pacific American accomplishments and contributions to this
state.
Review and approve the annual report by the office of Asian Pacific American affairs.
Make recommendations to the governor and legislature regarding methods of overcoming
discrimination against Asian Pacific Americans in public and private employment and civil and
political rights.
Work to ensure equal access to all levels of education for Asian Pacific Americans.
Promote methods to ensure equal access to state services for Asian Pacific Americans.
Cooperate with and coordinate activities with the commission on Spanish-speaking affairs, the
Michigan womens commission, and any other commission that deals with minority or ethnic affairs.
Monitor, evaluate, investigate, advocate, and initiate programs for the betterment of Asian Pacific
Americans in this state.
Serve as a reporting agency for incidents of anti-Asian and anti-Pacific islander American
harassment in this state.
Promote public awareness of Asian and Pacific islander cultures.
This subunit generated no revenue for the department in FY14.

Section 404(1)(c) the number of complaints, by type of complaint.

Based on current law, MDCR has jurisdiction in five areas: education, employment, housing, law
enforcement and public accommodation/public service.
In fiscal year 2014, MDCR opened 2,161 new complaints. The chart below details the breakdown of
those complaints, by area. As has long been the case, the majority of new complaints came from the area of
employment, though the percentage of housing complaints was up from the previous fiscal year.

New Complaints By Area, FY14

Education
4%

Law Enforcement
6%

Public
Accommodiation
17%

Employment
54%
Housing
19%

Section 404(1)(d) average cost of, and time expended, investigating complaints.
Investigating complaints of discrimination requires a team of well-trained and dedicated
professionals working together to ensure that the rights of everyone involved are protected and upheld. A
thorough investigation begins with the Intake Unit which receives the initial contact and determines
jurisdiction and timeliness. The investigator who is assigned the complaint relies on his or her manager, the
attorney assigned to the unit and their administrative support staff to help complete the investigation. The
Records Center staff uploads the information to our federal partners and ensures that records are maintained
in accordance with legal requirements.
In FY14, this team of enforcement and legal staff worked on a total of 3,527 complaints. This
included the 1,366 complaints that were open when the fiscal year began as well as the 2,161 which were
opened during the fiscal year.
In FY14, a total of $8,118,188 was expended on wages, benefits, technology, travel, rent, etc. to
support this team.
Therefore, in FY14, the average cost of a complaint investigation was $2,302.
MDCR also tracks the average number of days needed to complete an investigation with an over-all
goal of 180 days per investigation. The average for FY14 was 195 days. This marks the third fiscal year in a
row of reduced average. (Note this is measured in calendar days, not business days.) The chart below looks
at this measure on a monthly basis throughout the fiscal year.

Average Days in Investigation - FY14

220

210

200

190

180

170
Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

10

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Section 404(1)(e) percentage of complaints that are meritorious and worthy of

investigation or settlement ...
Based on the legal standards enforced by MDCR, a complaint is deemed to merit (and legally
require) an investigation if it meets three criteria: it must be timely filed, fall within our jurisdiction and
involve an adverse impact.
Timeliness is determined by the laws we enforce as well as our contracts with our federal partners,
HUD and EEOC. Complaints to be filed under state law or dually-filed with HUD or EEOC must come to us
within 180 days of the action in question.
Jurisdiction is also determined by the laws we enforce. The alleged incident must have occurred
within one of the 5 areas we enforce education, employment, housing, law enforcement and public
accommodation/public service and must allege an adverse impact based on one of the 12 protected bases
under Michigan law race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, disability, genetic information, familial
status, marital status, height, weight and arrest record.
In fiscal year 2014, MDCR received 6,302 contacts from individuals interested in filing a complaint.
Based on the criteria outlined above 3,325 (53%) were determined to merit an investigation, while 2,977
(47%) did not.**

**Note that just because an initial contact was made, and the complaint was determined to merit an investigation does
not mean an investigation was completed. The claimant may have chosen not to proceed, may have opted to file in
court or may have chosen to file exclusively with a federal agency. In other cases a settlement may have been reached
in which a responding party does not necessarily admit to the specific allegations, but does agree to take corrective
and/or remedial action.

11

Section 404(1)(f) amounts awarded to claimants.

In fiscal year 2014, 591 complaints were closed with an adjustment, meaning they were closed with
some action taken by the respondent or some benefit provided to the claimant. Not all adjustments are
monetary in nature. For example, the business involved may have changed an existing policy or adopted a
new policy, staff training may have been provided, an apology may have been issued, etc.
Of the 591 complaints closed with adjustment during this fiscal year, 344 included some kind of
monetary award. The monetary awards ranged from $9.31 to $500,000 and totaled $4,499,865.05.
The chart below details the amounts awarded.

Amounts Awarded

Number of Complaints
Closed with Amount

$500,000
$400,000
$138,000
$137,000
$125,000
$106,144
$103,000
$100,000
$99,085
$95,758
$85,000
$82,969
$82,500
$70,000
$60,000
$57,631
$55,000
$54,750
$54,100
$53,000
$50,000
$40,548
$40,000
$39,000
$38,204
$37,100
$36,000
$39,000
$34,746
$34,450
$33,280
$30,690
$28,600
$26,281

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
12

$26,212
$25,651
$25,000
$24,440
$22,853
$22,500
$22,375
$21,696
$20,000
$19,760
$17,992
$17,500
$17,280
$17,000
$16,500
$16,180
$15,000
$14,987
$14,000
$13,800
$13,557
$13,520
$13,036
$13,000
$12,816
$12,000
$11,600
$11,200
$11,000
$10,539
$10,500
$10,480
$10,000
$9,854
$9,369.22
$9,200
$8,900
$8,700
$8,675
$8,500
$8,000
$7,600
$7,500
$7,114
$7,000
$6,946
$6,750
$6,500
$6,250
$6,000

1
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
4
1
1
1
1
6
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
4
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
2
1
7
1
1
1
1
6
13

$5,500
$5,464
$5,300
$5,000
$4,816
$4,500
$4,000
$3,700
$3,650
$3,634
$3,600
$3,587.12
$3,530
$3,508
$3,500
$3,420
$3,325
$3,178
$3,160
$3,040
$3,000
$2,857.26
$2,810
$2,500
$2,250
$2,200
$2,100
$2,090
$2,000
$1,671.60
$1,660
$1,600
$1,500
$1,400
$1,375
$1,280
$1,272
$1,250
$1,240
$1,220
$1,200
$1,196
$1,125
$1,007
$1,000
$965
$960
$930.16
$900
$875

3
1
1
21
1
3
4
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
11
1
1
8
1
1
1
1
17
1
1
2
4
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
2
1
2
1
22
1
1
1
2
1
14

$850
$838.47
$800
$750
$737
$640.42
$613
$598
$574
$559
$552
$500
$400
$385
$360
$350
$349.50
$319
$300
$286
$277.08
$258
$250
$246
$240
$237
$200
$197
$175
$150
$148.39
$140
$134
$128.08
$108
$100
$83
$78
$69.46
$64
$63
$50
$40
$34.98
$20
$9.31

1
1
5
4
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
18
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
5
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
7
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
1

15

Section 404(1)(g) expenditures associated with complaint investigation and

enforcement.
As noted in Section 404(1)(d), $8,118,188 was expended in FY14 in support of complaint
investigation and enforcement. This includes the salary and benefits of 72 employees who were on staff for
all or part of the fiscal year as well as their associated expenses including rent, phones, travel, technology,
etc.

16

Section 404(1)(h) a listing of complaint investigations closed per FTE for the
past 5 years.

TOTAL
COMPLAINTS
CLOSED

AVERAGE
AVERAGE
NUMBER OF
COMPLAINTS
INVESTIGATORS* CLOSED IN
YEAR

AVERAGE
COMPLAINTS
CLOSED BY
MONTH

FY10

2,611

40.1

65.1

5.4

FY11

2,259

35.5

63.6

5.3

FY12

2,655

35.3

75.2

6.3

FY13

2,183

31.8

68.7

5.7

FY14

2,120

31.5

67.3

5.6

*Average number of investigators determined by calculating the number of investigators with caseload expectations
each month. Caseload expectation can vary based on tenure, transfer of assignments or other considerations. In
addition, this calculation accounts for investigators impacted by long-term leaves, either planned or unplanned.

17