MINNEAPOLIS — The city of Minneapolis helped facilitate more than $500,000 in settlements to resolve complaints involving allegations of discrimination last year.
A news release details how the city's Civil Rights Complaint Investigations Division followed up on complaints and brokered the highest amount of money paid out since tracking began in 1993. Along with financial payouts, the settlements also led to policy changes and enhanced training for companies, organizations and individuals.
City officials say 2022 settlements came from cases where the department facilitated mediation either before or during investigations, or where the Civil Rights Complaint Investigations Division found probable cause that discrimination had occurred.
Among those who filed successful complaints:
- A transgender person who received a verbal job offer that was revoked shortly after they informed the employer they were transgender and objected to a bathroom use policy as discriminatory.
- A woman in her 60s working at an employee leasing company whose manager subjected her to repeated comments regarding her sex and age and excluded her from work assignments in favor of less experienced male employees. The woman reported her experience and the company failed to act.
- A Black woman with a disability working at a nonprofit who was terminated on the day she was set to return from a medical leave; she had raised concerns about racism in company culture shortly before she needed the medical leave.
- A woman in her 50s working as an executive in food manufacturing, who was excluded from valuable employee perks available to younger, less senior male employees. Her position was eliminated and she was laid off; the company then hired a younger, less experienced male into a similar role.
The Civil Rights Complaint Investigations Division follows up on reports of discrimination that occur within the city limits of Minneapolis based on a person’s protected class (race, sex, disability, national origin and more) in areas including employment, housing, public accommodation and public services.
Anyone who feels they have been discriminated against is encouraged to file a complaint online (available in six different languages), in person at the Service Center in the Public Service Building or inside City Hall, Room 239.
For more on anti-discrimination policies in Minneapolis, check out the city's website.
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