[Iabs-talk] Hud charges Illinois university with violating FairHousing Act
Patti Gregory-Chang
pattichang at att.net
Sat Oct 3 21:53:19 UTC 2009
HUD Charges? Illinois University with Violating the Fair Housing Act?
> Thursday, Oct 1, 2009 @10:50am CDT
>
>
> WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today
> announced that it has charged? Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois
> with housing discrimination for allegedly refusing to allow a student with
> epilepsy and blindness to live in a dormitory with her trained service
> dog.
>
>
> The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to refuse to make reasonable
> accommodations in policies or practices when a person with a disability
> may require such an accommodation in order be afforded the equal housing
> opportunity others enjoy.
>
>
> "Having a service animal promotes independent living for many people with
> disabilities, " said John Trasvia, HUD's Assistant Secretary for Fair
> Housing and Equal Opportunity. "HUD is committed to making sure colleges
> and universities promote supportive living environments for people living
> with disabilities. "
>
>
> HUD brought the charge on behalf of the student who obtained a service dog
> from a non-profit organization that trained the dog to assist the student
> in the event of an epileptic seizure. HUD alleges that once the student
> obtained the service animal, Millikin University banned the student from
> even entering the dormitory building with the dog, requiring the student
> to vacate her room if she wanted to keep the animal and commute to school
> from her parents' home. Later, the university relocated the student to an
> inaccessible dormitory.
>
>
> The HUD charge will be heard by a United States Administrative Law Judge
> unless any party to the charge elects to have the case heard in federal
> district court. If an administrative law judge finds after a hearing that
> discrimination has occurred, he may award damages to the complainant for
> her damages as a result of the discrimination. The judge may also order
> injunctive relief and other equitable relief to deter further
> discrimination, as well as payment of attorney fees. In addition, the
> judge may impose civil penalties in order to vindicate the public
> interest.
>
>
> A federal district court judge may also award punitive damages to the
> complainant.
>
>
> FHEO and its partners in the Fair Housing Assistance Program investigate
> approximately 10,500 housing discrimination complaints annually. People
> who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact
> HUD at 1-800-669-9777(voice),
> 800-927-9275 (TTY). Additional information is available at
> www.hud.gov/fairhousing.
> http://illinoishomepage.net/content/fulltext /?cid=109371_
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