Civil Rights Complaints

If this is an emergency, call 9-1-1. If it is not an emergency, and you think you are a victim of a hate crime, you should first report it to the local police. The Attorney General’s Civil Rights Enforcement Section also has the authority to seek civil injunctions in appropriate cases.

EXAMPLES:

• • Individual physically attacks a person he believes to be Latino, while yelling derogatory statements regarding Latinos.
• • Family regularly receives harassing telephone calls about their religion (such as Judaism, or Islam) which include threats of physical harm or damage to property or is otherwise intended to annoy, alarm, or harass.
• • Individual motivated by racial hatred toward African Americans paints racial slurs on someone’s property.
• • In a supermarket parking lot, a man approaches an Asian American couple and spits on them, saying they’re to blame for COVID-19 and they should “go back where they came from.”
• • A person defaces a religious facility (e.g., church, synagogue, mosque, etc.), burial facility (e.g., cemetery), a school, community center, state or local government building, or any personal property in any such facilities (institutional vandalism).

The following are examples of systemic discrimination in housing or related lending which the Civil Rights Enforcement Section could exercise its discretion to investigate. Complainants alleging non-systemic or single incidents of discrimination are referred to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission or another appropriate agency.

EXAMPLES:

• • A real estate agent routinely requires African American potential buyers to be pre-qualified for a mortgage prior to providing listings or conducting home tours, but does not require the same of others.
• • Family regularly receives harassing telephone calls about their religion (such as Judaism, or Islam) which include threats of physical harm or damage to property or is otherwise intended to annoy, alarm, or harass.
• • A mortgage lender has a pattern of avoiding seeking or making home loans in certain neighborhoods because they are heavily African American or Hispanic.
• • A landlord refuses to allow persons with disabilities to have service or support animals, or persons with disabilities to make a reasonable modifications to their apartments at their own expense.
• • A real estate agent has a practice of steering white potential buyers toward neighborhoods with lower percentages of minorities, and steering minority potential buyers toward neighborhoods with higher percentages of minorities.
• • A landlord’s advertisements imply that renters with children are not welcome.

The following are examples of systemic employment discrimination which the Civil Rights Enforcement Section could exercise its discretion to investigate. Complainants alleging non-systemic or single incidents of discrimination are referred to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission or another appropriate agency.

EXAMPLES:

• • Persons are fired, not hired, or demoted for reasons unrelated to job performance or qualifications and there is a pattern or practice of discrimination i.e., discrimination is “standard operating procedure” or the “regular, rather than the unusual, practice.”
• • An employer uses a policy, procedure, or practice that is not intended to discriminate but nevertheless has a significant disparate impact without a strong justification.
• • There was widespread harassment or hostile work environment and/or the harassment otherwise reflected a systemic failing (e.g., lack of a policy or reporting mechanism; retaliation for complaints; or harassment by a senior executive or owner).
• • An employer has a policy or practice of denying accommodations for persons with disabilities.

The Civil Rights Enforcement Section works with the Criminal Law Division to evaluate potential violations of Pennsylvania’s Criminal History Record Information Act (CHRIA), governing the use of criminal records in hiring for employment, to determine whether such use violates CHRIA and/or laws against employment or housing discrimination.

EXAMPLES

• • An employer or housing provider treats Black and Latino applicants with a criminal record differently than White applicants with the same or similar criminal record.
• • An employer or housing provider requires all applicants to state whether they have ever been convicted of a crime, and automatically rejects all applicants who answer “yes” without determining suitability for employment.
• • An employer or housing provider screens applicants’ backgrounds for not only convictions, but also arrests that never led to a conviction.

The following are examples of systemic discrimination by businesses in public accommodations which the Civil Rights Enforcement Section could exercise its discretion to investigate. Complainants alleging non-systemic or single incidents of discrimination are referred to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission or another appropriate agency.

EXAMPLES:

• • Persons are denied service or entry because of perceived personal characteristics like race, sex, or religion.
• • A physical or online location does not provide disability accommodations
• • Persons are not allowed to have a service animal in a commercial or public location.

The following are examples of systemic education discrimination which the Civil Rights Enforcement Section could exercise its discretion to investigate. Complainants alleging non-systemic or single incidents of discrimination are referred to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission or another appropriate agency.

EXAMPLES:

• • A school’s administration tolerates student harassment based on race, sex, national origin, disability, religion, or another protected characteristic.
• • A school’s administration discriminates in student admissions, programs or activities, or discipline.
• • A school’s administration denies educational accommodations for disabilities or language barriers.

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General does not have direct administrative or criminal jurisdiction over police departments or police misconduct issues. The Criminal Law Division can prosecute cases of local police misconduct only when referred by district attorneys. Allegations of police misconduct generally should be made to the following:

• • The local police department’s internal affairs unit, or a department supervisor;
• • The county District Attorney, if the local police department has been unresponsive; and
• • If local authorities have been unresponsive, complaints of unlawful policing may be made to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) – the FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office (Eastern District of PA; Middle District of PA; Western District of PA), or Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section and Special Litigation Section.

The discrimination contexts above reflect some but not all of the types of matters that the Civil Rights Enforcement Section may address or assist you with. Select this option if you do not see a discrimination context or example that applies to your situation. You will have an opportunity to explain later. However, first please also review the options below to determine whether another Section in the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General may have clearer jurisdiction.