Auditor General DePasquale Urges Resignations at PA Human Relations Commission
Auditor General DePasquale Urges Resignations at PA Human Relations Commission
HARRISBURG (April 1, 2019) – Auditor General Eugene DePasquale today joined the state chapter of the NAACP in calling for resignations at the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC).
“It’s been nearly a year since a federal jury ruled in favor of a plaintiff who alleged that racial discrimination kept him from being hired as the commission’s executive director in 2011,” DePasquale said. “Several individuals who are still serving on the commission were members during that debacle.”
The PHRC was ordered to pay a total of nearly $260,000 to the plaintiff. Because the PHRC is an entity of state government, tax dollars must be used to pay that award.
“Anyone found by a jury to have been a party to discrimination should not continue to serve on a commission that exists to fight bias,” DePasquale added.
DePasquale also called for clarifications to state law to address the process of replacing commission members prior to the expiration of their terms or removing them for cause. He also encouraged the governor and Senate leaders to carefully vet the qualifications and backgrounds of future nominees to the commission.
Learn more about the Department of the Auditor General online at www.paauditor.gov.
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