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September 13, 2007
RE: PROPOSAL TO DIVEST FEHC OF ITS ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES AND FORCE ITS RELIANCE ON THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
To the Members of the Fair Employment and Housing Commission: The members of the California Coalition for Civil Rights (CaCCR) wish to express our concern over SCSA Secretary Rosario Marin’s proposal that the FEHC discharge its own administrative law judges, rely upon the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) to oversee and adjudicate civil rights cases, and transfer its staff to offices in Sacramento. CaCCR is a statewide alliance of civil rights organizations, activists, educators, lawyers, and advocates dedicated to achieving a just and healthy society. We fear that implementation of Secretary Marin’s proposal would effectively eviscerate the FEHC and drastically undermine civil rights protections in the state of California. The California legislature specifically granted the FEHC the right to appoint its own administrative judges in recognition of the importance and complexity of civil rights claims. Before the FEHC was permitted to employ its own pool of judges, its cases were adjudicated by members of the OAH, to the detriment of the FEHC, the OAH, and civil rights claimants. Because civil rights claims are governed by intricate layers of statutory and regulatory law, they are difficult to adjudicate—a fact demonstrated by the fact that FEHC staff were forced to revise and/or correct ninety percent of the opinions prepared by the OAH during the time that OAH staff served as judges for the FEHC. The legislature permitted the FEHC to hire its own judges, and to cease its reliance on the OAH, because allowing inexpert OAH staff to handle civil rights claims results in an inefficient, error-ridden, and potentially unjust review process. We strongly urge you not to accept a return to that process. Although we are aware that the FEHC’s chosen judges cannot be displaced unless the FEHC itself approves the change, we have grave concerns that the Schwarzenegger administration has timed this proposal to ensure that several commission members will feel acute political pressure to bend to the governor’s wishes. Secretary Marin has advanced
her proposal just before the terms of three commissioners are set to expire at the end of this month. These commissioners may fear that they will not be reappointed if they fail to approve the proposal. We condemn the apparently calculated timing of this proposal, and urge all members of the commission to vote to protect the civil rights of Californians. We respectfully request that you reject Secretary Marin’s proposal, and continue to entrust the administration of the state’s civil rights policies to the expert and experienced judges of the FEHC. Sincerely,
Jamienne S. Studley Co-Chair
Malcolm Yeung Co-Chair
Cc: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger