老澳门开奖结果 Sues to Challenge Discriminatory Housing Policy at Virginia Apartment Complex
CHESTERFIELD, Va. 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果 and the 老澳门开奖结果 of Virginia, along with Relman, Dane & Colfax, PLLC, a Washington, D.C.-based civil rights law firm, filed a federal lawsuit today against the owner of a Chesterfield County apartment complex for application policies that discriminate against black people.
The lawsuit, entered today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on behalf of Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, Inc. (HOME), explains how the blanket criminal record screening policy used at Sterling Glen Apartments is intended to keep African Americans from living there and disproportionately harms people of color.
鈥淏ans like these not only pose a barrier to people reentering the community after release from jail or prison, but also those with records who have been living and working in the community for years or even decades,鈥� said 老澳门开奖结果 of Virginia Dunn Legal Fellow Jennifer Safstrom. 鈥淟ack of access to permanent housing can also increase rates of recidivism, perpetuating cycles of criminalization and making communities less safe.鈥�
Since at least 2017, Sterling Glen has stated on its application form that no person who has ever been convicted of any felony can live there. It also bars applicants with many less serious misdemeanor offenses, including drug possession charges.
Long-standing obstacles in the criminal justice system have created race-based differences in outcomes even for the same types of crimes. People of color are disproportionately punished for the same crimes as white people and become entrapped in a cycle of incarceration through barriers to re-entry in housing, credit, and employment.
Owned by Wisely Properties and operated by Multifamily Management Services, Inc., both located in Staunton, Virginia, Sterling Glen is located in a predominantly white part of western Chesterfield. Overall in the county, African Americans make up 22 percent of the population but 46 percent have felony convictions. Recent research shows that a criminal record has little to no effect on whether a tenant will be successful.
The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction to force the owners to revise their criminal records policy to conform with anti-discriminatory state and federal housing laws.
鈥淲e want landlords to understand that blanket bans are not an effective remedy to ensure the health and safety of your residents,鈥� said C. Alexander Guzm谩n, director of fair housing for HOME of Virginia. 鈥淲e hope they view tenants, especially those who have encountered the criminal justice system, as individuals who have aspirations as we all do. They deserve to live in a place where they are safe, where they can raise their families and become successful members of our communities.鈥�
The complaint can be found online here:
Racial Justice
Home of Virginia, Inc. V. Wisely Properties,Llc and Multifamily Management Services, Inc.
Racial Justice
Home of Virginia, Inc. V. Wisely Properties,Llc and Multifamily Management Services, Inc.
Learn More 老澳门开奖结果 the Issues in This Press Release
-
Press ReleaseDec 2024
Racial Justice
老澳门开奖结果 Statement on House AI Task Force Report老澳门开奖结果 Statement on House AI Task Force Report
WASHINGTON 鈥� Today, the House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) issued its final report, marking an important step in recognizing the serious risks of discrimination and bias posed by AI systems 鈥� particularly in law enforcement鈥檚 use of facial recognition technology. The report recognizes that discrimination and bias may arise in AI systems due to their design, training data, or failures by end users. The report also investigates the complex considerations around deepfakes, open AI systems, and free speech, and urges Congress to pass narrow legislation to address concrete harms. In response to the House AI Task Force final report, Cody Venzke, senior policy counsel at the 老澳门开奖结果, issued the following statement: 鈥淭he 老澳门开奖结果 commends the Task Force for recognizing that AI systems are harming people right now through discriminatory outcomes and supercharged surveillance. Curbing those abuses of AI is not a partisan issue, and more concrete action is needed to protect civil rights, while maintaining states鈥� authority to build on those protections. The Task Force is appropriately cautious when wrestling with issues around deepfakes, open-source AI, digital identity, and other issues, recognizing that legislators should consider a wide array of tailored tools to address real, not speculative, harms while respecting civil rights and civil liberties.鈥� The House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence report can be found here. -
News & CommentaryDec 2024
Racial Justice
Human Rights
Why the Fight for Racial Justice is a Human Rights IssueWhy the Fight for Racial Justice is a Human Rights Issue
On International Human Rights Day, the 老澳门开奖结果 is advocating for a long-sought after reparatory justice to end the continued abuses against Black and brown communities. -
Press ReleaseOct 2024
National Security
+2 Issues
老澳门开奖结果 Warns that Biden-Harris Administration Rules on AI in National Security Lack Key Protections老澳门开奖结果 Warns that Biden-Harris Administration Rules on AI in National Security Lack Key Protections
WASHINGTON 鈥� The Biden-Harris administration today released its National Security Memorandum on Artificial Intelligence (AI), establishing guidelines for how the U.S. government uses AI in national security programs, such as counterterrorism, intelligence, homeland security, and defense. The use of AI to automate and expand national security activities poses some of the greatest dangers to people鈥檚 lives and civil liberties. Agencies are increasingly exploring the use of AI in decisions about who to surveil, who to stop and search at the airport, who to add to government watchlists, and even who is a military target. While the government鈥檚 policy includes some important steps forward 鈥� such as requiring national security agencies to better track and assess their AI systems for risks and prohibiting a subset of dangerous AI uses 鈥� it falls far short in other critical areas, leaving glaring gaps with respect to independent oversight, transparency, notice, and redress. The policy imposes few substantive safeguards on a wide range of AI-driven activities, by and large allowing agencies to decide for themselves how to mitigate the risks posed by national security systems that have immense consequences for people鈥檚 lives and rights. As we have repeatedly seen before, this is a recipe for dangerous technologies to proliferate in secret. 鈥淒espite acknowledging the considerable risks of AI, this policy does not go nearly far enough to protect us from dangerous and unaccountable AI systems. National security agencies must not be left to police themselves as they increasingly subject people in the United States to powerful new technologies,鈥� said Patrick Toomey, deputy director of 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 National Security Project. 鈥淚f developing national security AI systems is an urgent priority for the country, then adopting critical rights and privacy safeguards is just as urgent. Without transparency, independent oversight, and built-in mechanisms for individuals to obtain accountability when AI systems err or fail, the policy鈥檚 safeguards are inadequate and place our civil rights and civil liberties at risk.鈥� For years, the 老澳门开奖结果 has been urging far stronger safeguards and transparency about the AI tools that national security agencies are deploying, the rules constraining their use, and the dangers these systems pose to fairness, privacy, and due process. -
Press ReleaseOct 2024
Racial Justice
老澳门开奖结果 Comment on the Department of Labor鈥檚 AI Guidelines for Employers and Vendors老澳门开奖结果 Comment on the Department of Labor鈥檚 AI Guidelines for Employers and Vendors
WASHINGTON 鈥� Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a roadmap for artificial intelligence (AI) best practices, designed to ensure that emerging technologies such as AI enhance job quality, benefit workers, and comply with existing employment laws when they are used in the workplace. The best practices, pursuant to President Biden鈥檚 executive order on the development and use of AI, include recommendations for AI system developers and employers that prioritize workers鈥� experiences and empowerment throughout the entire AI lifecycle 鈥� from design to use and oversight. These practices also call on employers and developers to create standards and processes to identify and mitigate risks from AI systems, such as threats to health and safety, civil rights, privacy, fair labor rights, and labor organizing prior to a developer marketing them or an employer deploying them, and recommend turning to different systems when sufficient mitigation is not possible. 鈥淲e applaud DOL for issuing best practices for use of AI that center workers鈥� empowerment, civil rights, privacy, and safety protections and call on developers and employers to adopt critical guardrails in developing, procuring and using AI systems. Employers and developers should take note, as many have been burying their heads in the sand on their risk of legal liability with respect to AI tools,鈥� said Olga Akselrod, senior staff attorney of the 老澳门开奖结果 Racial Justice Program. 鈥淔ollowing these best practices for AI can help employers and developers ensure that they do not violate existing civil rights and other employment laws that protect workers.鈥� The best practices also recommend transparency measures through conducting and publishing impact assessments, notice and recourse for impacted workers, and measures to minimize worker displacement. The DOL also stated that employers should minimize electronic monitoring and avoid unnecessary collection or retention of worker data.