Department of human rights and equal economic opportunity—Duties.

Saint Paul Legislative Code § 183.18

in effect

Sec. 183.18. - Department of human rights and equal economic opportunity—Duties. The director of the department of human rights and equal economic opportunity shall have general supervision over all programs of the city with respect to human and civil rights, subject to policies established by the mayor, and shall, without limitations by their enumeration, have the following specific powers and duties: (1) To foster, through education, conciliation and persuasion, the preparation of legislation and policies for action by governmental and private units, and through such other methods as the director shall deem fit, the maximum possible degree of equal opportunities and equal rights for all persons, regardless of race, creed, religion, color, sex, sexual or affectional orientation, national origin, ancestry, familial status, age, disability, marital status or status with regard to public assistance. (2) To conduct studies regarding discrimination in employment, education, real property, public accommodations, public services, contract, franchise and related areas. (3) To execute programs of compliance review designed to determine whether persons who contract with the city are observing the terms of this chapter; and to that end the director shall have power to require such persons to submit to the contract and analysis section manager or to the director such periodic reports concerning hiring, compensation, promotion, and discharge policies and the racial, religious and national composition of their work forces as the director shall deem necessary, and failure to provide such information shall constitute grounds for the council to revoke any contract in effect between the city and the person so failing to comply. All required reports shall be on forms prescribed by the director. (4) To receive complaints of violations of the provisions of this chapter; investigate charges alleging unfair discriminatory practices as defined by this chapter, and make the appropriate determination of cause. (5) As part of any investigation referenced in subdivision four (4) the director, or his or her designee, shall have the power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, and require the production for examination of any books or papers or documents relative to any matter under investigation or in question (including writings, personnel records, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, tape, CD, or DVD recordings, phonograph records and other materials from which information can be obtained). Disobedience of any subpoena issued under this subdivision shall be punishable pursuant to the procedures set forth in section 183.21. (6) The director shall, to the extent feasible, engage in attempts to resolve each charge of discrimination through a pre-determination settlement agreement, from the time it is filed to when a determination on the charge has been made. (7) To enter into conciliation agreements with the affected parties following a cause determination in favor of the complainant. (8) A pre-determination settlement agreement and a conciliation agreement shall be an agreement between the complainant, respondent, and the director. Each agreement may be made public, unless the complainant and respondent otherwise agree and the director determines that disclosure is not required in order to further the purposes of this chapter in educating the public. Nothing said or done in the course of a pre-determination settlement agreement or conciliation agreement may be made public or used as evidence in a subsequent proceeding without the written consent of the persons concerned. (9) To commence enforcement action as provided under section 183.24 where the Director finds that reasonable grounds exist to believe a violation has occurred or is about to occur. (10) To investigate all city contracts let directly by the city or entered into under its auspices. (11) To supervise the affairs of the department and to appoint such other employees and agents as are necessary to carry out the duties of the department. (12) To adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the policy set forth in section 183.01. (13) To provide suitable staff and secretarial assistance to the commission created hereunder. (14) The director shall prepare annually and submit a report to the mayor and council of the activities of the department and its staff with a statistical summary of all charges received, listing the disposition of each, all speaking engagements and other educational activities of the commission and its staff, the number of commission meetings held, together with the names of those commissioners and staff in attendance, and such other information as the director shall deem appropriate. The report shall be submitted to the mayor no later than July 1 of each year. In conjunction with the human resources director's annual reporting, the human resources director shall also report information about the city's internal workforce efforts and goals to the human rights and equal economic opportunity commission. (Ord. No. 17585, § 20, 8-30-88; Ord. No. 17744, § 13, 6-26-90; Ord. No. 17930, § 17, 6-11-92; C.F. No. 93-1177, § 8, 9-9-93; C.F. No. 01-527, § 1, 7-5-01; C.F. No. 04-163, § 1, 3-3-04; C.F. No. 08-899, § 1, 10-1-08; Ord. No. 11-105, § 1, 1-11-2012)

Source: City of Saint Paul, Minnesota, City Charter, Legislative Code and Administrative Code (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/mn/st._paul/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIILECO_TITXVIIIHURI_CH183HURI_S183.18DEHURIEQECOPUTFetched: 11/1/2026