Boca Raton Appoints Openly Gay 17-year-old Tyler Morrison to City's Community Relations Board

South Florida Gay News - Written by Dylan Bouscher
December 19, 2012

Tyler Morrison went from speaking out against the Boca Raton City Council's lack of LGBT protection, to becoming one its employees, who is now unprotected by a 46-year-old anti-discrimination policy.

Boca Raton became the only city in Palm Beach County to opt-out of protecting its LGBT employees when it passed Ordinance 5161 in January 2011. Morrison, a gay 17-year-old Boca Raton resident, introduced himself to the City Council at its Nov. 14 meeting. Once there, he urged the council members to update a 46-year-old anti-discrimination policy to include protection for the city's LGBT employees.

When city council member Constance Scott supported Morrison and asked the rest of the council what prevented them from moving into the 21st century, Morrison cried.

Then, at their Dec. 11 meeting, the Boca Raton City Council unanimously appointed Morrison to the city's community relations board.

"He seemed like such an articulate and dedicated young man who wanted to get involved," Susan Haynie, Boca Raton's Deputy Mayor, told SFGN after the meeting. "And I suggested that serving on one of the city's advisory boards was the perfect vehicle for him to get involved with our community."

Morrison, however, wasn't at the meeting where the council appointed him. He was playing oboe at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in his school's holiday concert.

"I tried to log on to watch the meeting live, and the Internet wasn't allowing me to view the live video feed," Morrison said. "So it was a little frustrating at first."

Then Rand Hoch, the President of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council (PBCHRC), left Morrison a face book comment congratulating him for the unanimous appointment.

"This makes you, probably, the youngest openly gay appointed public official in Florida. Congrats," Hoch wrote.

The PBCHRC is a local non-profit focused on eliminating discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. Recently, they have been pushing the Boca Raton City Council to rescind Ordinance 5161 and update its policy along with Morrison.

"I'm not so interested in the title or being the first this, or first that," Morrison said. "It doesn't matter unless I do something about it. I'm looking forward to what I can do."

Hoch came across the community relations board vacancy while researching the Boca Raton city council's anti-discrimination policy. He also encouraged Morrison to apply for the position.

"We discussed it, and he thought that would be something worthwhile to apply to because, at the time, there was no LGBT representation on the Board," Hoch said. "And he's extremely interested in participatory government."

Extremely interested is an understatement. Morrison wants to run for Mayor of Boca Raton in 2014.

"I think he's got to put in his time, before he becomes a viable candidate for Mayor," Hoch said. "One of the ways you do that is to run for city council and one of the ways you do that is to be on the community relations board. But there's a lot of time between now and March 2014, when the election is. Who knows, with his experience on the community relations board, he could be a viable candidate."

Boca Raton Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie agrees Morrison needs time.

"I would like to speak with him about that," Haynie said. "I really want to educate him on what kind of a commitment that truly is too. But for now I think board service is the perfect place for him."

In the meantime, Morrison is focused on using his new position to expand LGBT rights in the city. He's starting with the anti-discrimination policy.

"Absolutely, absolutely, 100 percent, there's not a doubt in my mind it should be updated," Morrison said.

  

http://www.southfloridagaynews.com/news/local-news/8384-boca-raton-appoints-openly-gay-17-year-old-to-city-board.html

PBCHRC to Boca: Extend domestic partner benefits now

"We're not asking for anything radical"

   
By Anne Geggis, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
December 6, 2012|

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-12-06/news/fl-boca-human-rights-domestic-partners-20121206_1_domestic-partners-mike-woika-gender-expression

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Thursday formally asked again that the Boca Raton City Council recognize the domestic partners of city employees as family members — and extend them the benefits legal spouses receive.

Boca Raton is the biggest Palm Beach County city that hasn't yet done it, said Rand Hoch, president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.

"We're asking the city of Boca Raton to do what the city of West Palm Beach did in February 1992 – 20 years ago," Hoch said. "We're not asking for anything radical. We're asking for them to treat their employees and their employees' families equally."

City Council members asked City Manager Leif Ahnell last month to prepare some information on what it would mean for the city to adopt a policy that recognizes domestic partners. They also wanted to know what it would mean for the city to fully embrace the county's equal employment opportunity policy — which says the county will not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender expression.

Mayor Susan Whelchel said she's waiting to see that report before she'll agree with the Human Rights Council's suggestion. But the item is not on next week's City Council agenda, said Mike Woika, assistant city manager.

"We asked the city manager to look around at what other cities are doing and, it hasn't come to us as of this moment," Whelchel said. "I don't know what the costs are, what the consequences of these changes to the city are."

Hoch said that domestic partnership benefits are currently offered by the municipalities of Delray Beach, Jupiter, Lake Worth, Palm Beach Gardens, Wellington and West Palm Beach, and also by Palm Beach County, the Palm Beach County School District, the Port of Palm Beach, the Palm Beach County Health Care District, Palm Beach State College, the Children's Services Council, Palm Tran, Seacoast Utility Authority, the Solid Waste Authority and all five of Palm Beach County's elected officials.

Boca has been on the Human Rights Council president's radar since a contract snag brought to light a City Council ordinance passed in January 2011. In that ordinance, Boca Raton opted out of including sexual orientation and gender expression as the county's equal employment policy does. The snag in the contract was resolved 30 days later when language was added to the contract providing that Boca Raton would not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, without requiring the city to provide benefits to gay domestic partners.

Hoch said many of the changes he's suggested to Boca Raton's policy won't cost much. In addition to health benefits, the proposed changes to Boca's policies would also mean, for example, that people can get bereavement leave if their domestic partner's mother dies or if a domestic partner falls ill.

In Florida, domestic partners can't legally become spouses.

"We're just asking for people to be treated the same way," Hoch said. "They are talking maybe three to five employees, at most. You are either going to treat people fairly or you are going to discriminate against them."

Boca Raton City Council To Consider LGBT-Inclusive Nondiscrimination Policies

At last week's Boca Raton City Council meeting,City Attorney Diane Grub Frieser was directed to research updating the city's nondiscrimination policies to include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression and to report back to the council "in the very near future."  

The action was taken following heartfelt comments made by Boca Raton native Tyler Morrison, a high school student at the Dreyfus School of the Arts.

"Currently in Boca Raton, LGBT employees have no legal recourse to protect themselves. LGBT employees are fair game for discriminatory acts," said Morrison.  "It is simply unacceptable."

Boca Raton's longstanding animus against its gay, lesbian and gender non-conforming municipal employees came to light again two months ago when it was revealed that the city had quietly opted out of Palm Beach County's Equal Employment Ordinance in 2011.

The county ordinance provides legal recourse to individuals who may have been subjected to discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, familial status, marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

"Since no federal or state law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, the Palm Beach County Equal Employment Ordinance provided the only legal recourse to gay, lesbian and gender non-conforming employees working for the City of Boca Raton," said Rand Hoch, president and founder of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council. "Boca Raton's gay, lesbian and gender non-conforming employees were stripped of all of their civil rights in 2011."

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council is a local non-profit organization which, since 1988, has been dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.  It promotes equality, through education, advocacy, direct action, impact litigation, and community outreach.

"Since we had no idea just who it was in city hall that was responsible for taking away the all of the rights of the city's gay, lesbian and gender non-conforming employees, we filed a series of public records requests to find out," said Hoch. 

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council also launched its "Boca Bigots Run City Hall" media campaign to prevent city officials from ignoring the issue.

When Boca Raton failed to timely provide the requested public records, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council hired attorney W. Trent Steele to file suit against the city for violations of the Florida Public Records Act. Shortly thereafter, the city began to produce some of the requested documents.

Palm Beach County Human Rights Council attorneys reviewed hundreds of pages of public records in an attempt to discover who was behind Boca Raton's discriminatory actions against the city's gay, lesbian and gender non-conforming employees.

That review led to the conclusion that the city attorney and City Manager Leif Ahnell had not provided complete and accurate information when the city council opted-out  of the Palm Beach County Equal Employment Ordinance back in 2011.

"I do not believe that a majority of the members of the Boca Raton City Council have any problems protecting the rights of Boca Raton's gay, lesbian and gender-nonconforming employees," said Hoch.  "Unfortunately, over the past few years, they made some very harmful decisions because city staff did not provide them accurate and complete information."

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council took steps to provide the city council members with the information that had been withheld by city administrators.  That information, along with Morrison's eloquent public comments at last week's city council meeting, moved the council to take action.

Immediately after City Council Member Constance Scott initiated the discussion on updating the city's nondiscrimination policies, the city attorney took an offensive position, as she had done previously.  However, it was obvious she had little support from the city council members.

In response to questioning by Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie, City Attorney Freiser was forced to admit that Boca Raton had not updated its list of protected classes in the Boca Raton Code of Ordinances since 1966.

"It is frightening that we have not looked at the policies since then," declared Haynie.

"Based on the comments made at the meeting, it appears that had the city council been presented with full and accurate information back in 2011, they would not have opted-out of the county's Equal Employment Ordinance," said Hoch.

"The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council is particularly encouraged by the hands-on approach taken by  Deputy Mayor Haynie and City Council Member Scott," said Hoch.  "It is our hope that the City of Boca Raton will soon rescind the 2011 opt-out ordinance, adopt LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination policies, and offer the full range of domestic partnership benefits to its lesbian and gay employees."

____________________________________________

TAKE ACTION

Send an e-mail message to the members of the Boca Raton City Council, thanking them for agreeing to update the city's nondiscrimination policies.

Step one:  Cut and past these e-mail addresses onto your "To" Line.

swhelchel@ci.boca-raton.fl.us,shaynie@ci.boca-raton.fl.us,amajhess@ci.boca-raton.fl.us,cscott@ci.boca-raton.fl.us,mmullaugh@ci.boca-raton.fl.us 

Step two:  When your e-mail pops up, type the following in the "Subject" line:

Thank you.

Step three:    Compose a personal message to all five Council Members or cut and past the following message:

Thank you for directing staff to update the city's nondiscrimination policies to include "sexual orientation" and "gender identity or expression."  Be sure to rescind Boca Raton Ordinance 5161 to provide your female and minority employees local recourse in the event they feel they have been discriminated against.

Also, please consider offering he full range of domestic partnership benefits to city employees.

Step four:  Hit send.

Step five:    Forward this to your supportive friends and family, so they may take action as well.

The Boca Raton City Council Members are:

Mayor Susan Whelchel
swhelchel@ci.boca-raton.fl.us

Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie
shaynie@ci.boca-raton.fl.us

Council Member Anthony Majhess
amajhess@ci.boca-raton.fl.us

Council Member Constance J. Scott
cscott@ci.boca-raton.fl.us

Council Member Michael Mullaugh
mmullaugh@ci.boca-raton.fl.us

Boca Bigots Update: Boca Raton City Attorney Lied To City Council About Nondiscrimination Ordinance

November 2, 2012

(Boca Raton, Florida)  In response to the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council's ongoing "Boca Bigots Run City Hall" media campaign, Boca Raton Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie took time out at last week's City Council meeting to address "a lot of e-mail accusing us of discriminatory action and bigotry."

"We are not discriminatory. We are not bigoted here in our community," Haynie insisted before asking City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser to explain that the charges "are certainly unfounded."

"The City has had its own 'equal employment, equal opportunity ordinance' in effect for many years and we have always followed that ordinance," Frieser told the City Council.  "It is fully compliant with state and federal law and has always been an appropriate ordinance."   

In her remarks, Frieser made no less than ten references to the city's "equal employment, equal opportunity ordinance". 

The problem is, no such ordinance appears to exist.

"That is just another lie from the bigots who run Boca Raton city hall," said Palm Beach County Human Rights Council President Rand Hoch.  "Contrary to the repeated assertions of Boca Raton's City Attorney, no equal employment or equal opportunity ordinance appears in the  Code of Ordinances of the City of Boca Raton."

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council is a local nonprofit organization, founded in 1988, which is dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

In an attempt to determine whether Boca Raton ever enacted an ordinance, but somehow did not include it in the Code of Ordinances, the Human Rights Council filed a public records request to obtain a copy of the alleged ordinance. 

"If Boca Raton has an equal employment opportunity ordinance in effect, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council wants to review it and learn how it came into existence," said Hoch. 

However, Hoch is not optimistic that the City will respond.

"We have repeatedly written to the members of the Boca Raton City Council and we have filed five different public records requests with the city so far this year," said Hoch.  "To date, we have not heard from the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor or any of the City Council Members.  Nor has a single document been produced in response to any of our public records requests."

The Human Rights Council retained attorney W. Trent Steele to to file suit against Boca Raton for its failure to comply with Florida's Public Records Act. 

"If Boca produces an 'equal employment, equal opportunity ordinance', I will personally apologize to Ms. Frieser for calling her a liar," said Hoch.  "However, I will not apologize to any of the Boca officials for calling them bigots - because I believe that is what they are."
       
The city's issues with discrimination came to light again last month when Boca Raton officials informed Palm Beach County Commissioners that the city would not sign an interlocal agreement with the county as long as it required Boca Raton to state that the city does not discriminate against its employees on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

Palm Beach County's Nondiscrimination in Contracting Policy prohibits the county from funding any entity that practices discrimination which the County has determined to be unlawful.  The policy also requires a specific nondiscrimination provision to be included in all county contracts.

The County's Equal Employment Ordinance protects employees from discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, familial status, marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

Although County Commissioner Steven Abrams, a former mayor of Boca Raton, attempted to persuade his colleagues to remove "gender identity or expression" from the interlocal agreement, the Commissioners voted unanimously to include all of the protected classes in the agreement.

The Commissioners gave Boca Raton 60 days to either execute the agreement including the County's nondiscrimination language or to forfeit the $1.2 million in County funding to be used for cleaning up hazardous materials in Boca Raton.

At last week's City Council meeting, Boca Raton acquiesced to the County's terms in order to secure the County's money.

The dispute between Boca Raton and Palm Beach County on discrimination issues has been brewing for several years.

Under Palm Beach County's Equal Employment Ordinance, the County's Office of Equal Opportunity is charged with investigating and resolving charges of discrimination.

"Since the federal government and the State of Florida have refused to enact laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, Palm Beach County's Equal Employment Ordinance provides the only legal recourse to gay, lesbian and gender non-conforming employees working in Palm Beach County," said Hoch.

Last month, both the Human Rights Council and the County Attorney learned that in 2011, Boca Raton Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie asked the Boca Raton City Council to pass an ordinance allowing Boca Raton to opt out of the County's Equal Employment Ordinance. 

After Haynie's motion was seconded by Mayor Susan Whelchel, Boca Raton Ordinance No. 5161 was unanimously enacted by the City Council. 

"It took less than two minutes for the bigots who run Boca Raton City Hall to strip away all of the civil rights previously held by the City's gay, lesbian and gender non-conforming municipal employees, " said Hoch.  "That one vote by the bigots who run Boca Raton left their gay, lesbian and gender non-conforming municipal employees without any legal recourse to challenge employment discrimination."

Within days of learning that Boca Raton had opted out of the County's Equal Employment ordinance, the Human Rights Council sent letters to Mayor Whelchel, Deputy Mayor Haynie and Boca Raton City Council Members Anthony Majhess, Constance Scott and Michael Mullaugh urging them "take prompt action to rescind City of Boca Raton Ordinance No. 5161."

Although no one from the City Council -- or anyone employed by the City of Boca Raton -- ever responded to the letters from the Human Rights Council, that  has not deterred the civil rights organization..

The Human Rights Council sent a follow-up letter to Deputy Mayor Haynie asking her "to take an objective look" at what Boca Raton has actually done concerning discrimination.

"Perhaps you would see that the City of Boca Raton is, in fact, discriminating," Hoch wrote.  "And this is not just against the City's lesbian, gay and gender nonconforming employees, but also against women and other minorities working for the City."

Hoch also informed Haynie that, from his review of the City's Code of Ordinance, it appeared that Boca Raton had not updated the classes of people protected from discrimination since 1966.

"In the 46 years which have passed since the City of Boca Raton addressed discrimination ..., the federal government has prohibited discrimination based on disability, pregnancy and genetic information.  Additionally, the State of Florida has prohibited discrimination based on marital status," wrote Hoch.  "The time has come for the City of Boca Raton to actually enact the type of equal employment/equal opportunity ordinance that you were told already was in existence."

While Boca Raton does not appear to have an ordinance addressing equal opportunity in municipal employment, the City's Job Application Process web page includes a statement which reads:   The City of Boca Raton does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin,  marital status, disability or veteran status.

A slightly different statement, which appears on the  the  City's Human Resources main web page, includes "genetic information" along with the aforementioned protected classes. 

The Human Rights Council has asked Haynie to have Boca Raton update all of the city's nondiscrimination policies to "include race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy discrimination and sexual harassment), national origin, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information or gender identity or expression."

"Boca Raton currently includes 'veteran status' in its nondiscrimination statements, even though that is not required by federal or state law," said Hoch.  "Therefore, there is precedent for Boca to include both 'sexual orientation', and "gender identity or expression", neither of which are required to be included by federal or state law."

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council also asked Haynie to have Boca Raton restore the civil rights taken away by the enactment of Boca Raton Ordinance No. 5161 and advised the Deputy Mayor that "as long as Ordinance No. 5161 remains in effect, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council will continue to expand our 'Boca Bigots Run City Hall' campaign."

Boca Bigots mislead the media on LGBT discrimination

New contract: Boca agrees not to discriminate against gays, lesbians

But Palm Beach County Human Rights Council president says they will press on with his concerns

October 24, 2012| 

By Anne Geggis, Sun Sentinel

The Boca Raton City Council Tuesday approved a contract with Palm Beach County with a provision that says the city will not discriminate against people on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

The contract was approved without discussion after a month of controversy about the city's equal opportunity policy.

The language, however, is not what you would expect in a 51-page contract that will pay Boca Raton about $235,000 a year to participate in a countywide system of removing hazardous waste.

Boca stopped short of fully adopting the county's policy. But this decision provided the understanding to smooth over the differences between the county's equal opportunity policy and the city's, which does not cover discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Later, Vice Mayor Susan Haynie complained that she was getting e-mail based on misinformation about the city's opting out of the county's more inclusive equal opportunity provision.

"We did not take away anyone's rights," Haynie said, contending that the city follows state and federal guidelines against discrimination. "We are not discriminatory."

This compromise language in the contract won't be enough to stop the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council questioning why the city in January 2011 formally opted out of the county's equal opportunity provision, said Rand Hoch, president of the council.
Approving the contract with the statement — and letting stand its internal policy that doesn't include gays, lesbians and transgender employees — leaves those groups without any recourse if they feel they've been discriminated against, Hoch said. The contract also says that the provision doesn't allow city employees to press for domestic partnership benefits

"They'll take the money [for the hazardous waste removal] but they won't do anything about discrimination" against gays, lesbians or transgender employees, Hoch said. "Until they change their minds, we at the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council are going to mark Boca Raton as a city run by bigots."

ageggis@tribune.com or 561-243-6624

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-10-24/news/fl-boca-opt-out-20121023_1_equal-opportunity-sexual-orientation-transgender-employees

PBCHRC Launches "Boca Bigots Run City Hall" Campaign

South Florida LGBT Group Launches ‘Boca Bigots Run City Hall’ Campaign

By Jason Parsley, South Florida Gay News

October 22, 2012

What started off as a routine contract over hazardous waste material has now erupted into a full-fledged war over gay rights between LGBT activists and the City of Boca Raton.

City officials claim the issue isn’t about gay rights at all, but instead about home rule. But the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council is calling it homophobia and has launched a campaign called ‘Boca Bigots Run City Hall’ to shine a spotlight on what they perceive to be 20 years of slights against the gay community.

To make matters worse for the city, three weeks ago the assistant city manager of Boca equated protecting LGBT employees from discrimination to protecting pet lovers from discrimination.

“What’s to keep other groups from wanting to be protected?” Mike Woika told SFGN. “How about me? I’m a pet lover. I think should be included in your anti-discrimination law. Someone who has dogs should not be discriminated against either.”

The issue of gay rights in Boca came to the forefront last month, when the Palm Beach County Commission was informed that the City of Boca Raton opted out of the county’s anti-discrimination clause, which includes both “sexual orientation” and “gender identity and expression.”

Boca doesn’t include either one, instead deferring to the state and federal anti-discrimination requirements. Then the city took it to another level when in January 2011 they passed Ordinance 5161, which opted them out of the county’s anti-discrimination policy. No other city in Palm Beach County has taken such a step to avoid protecting LGBT employees.

The county, meanwhile, has a policy stating that it doesn’t do business with entities that won’t adhere to its anti-discrimination policy. Because of this, the city and county have run into a conflict. In this instance, it happens to be a regional plan for the county to pay the costs of hazardous material emergencies in some of its cities, one of which is Boca.
It’s worth $235,000 to the city.

When the conflict was presented to the County Commission, County Commissioner Steve Abrams suggested they give Boca an exemption, but the suggestion was ignored and the county instead sent the contract back as is, giving Boca 60 days to accept or reject it.
Now it appears the city staff of Boca and the Palm Beach County staff are desperately trying to find a loophole to allow Boca to move forward with this agreement without actually having to agree to the county’s anti-discrimination policy.

That may be hard to do since at the beginning of this year the county made it clear that they would not do business with any public or private entity which practices discrimination.

Here’s what the county resolution says:

“It is hereby the express policy of the Board of County Commissioners of Palm Beach County, Florida that Palm Beach County, Florida shall not conduct business with nor appropriate any funds for any organization that practices discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, ancestry, sex, age, familial Status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or disability.”

President of the PBCHRC Rand Hoch said in an email to the county attorney:

“I can not tell you how upset I am right now, having read the exchange of your e-mails with your counterparts in the City of Boca Raton.  You struck a deal by which the mandatory nondiscrimination language would be included in the Interlocal Agreement, but assured Boca Raton that ‘the City and County agree that the County would not have jurisdiction over an employment discrimination claim filed by a City employee against the City under the PBC Ordinance.’”

County Attorney Denise Nieman denied any deal making.

“This is in response to the email you received from Rand Hoch late Friday alleging that the County Attorney's Office ‘cut a deal’ with the City of Boca Raton regarding the nondiscrimination language in County contracts. Please be assured that this allegation has absolutely no merit,” Neiman wrote to the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners.

“The City Attorney's Office also advised that the City of Boca had opted out of the County's Equal Employment Ordinance as it pertained to City employees.  The City is entitled to do so by law.  Due to this opt out, the County would not have jurisdiction over discrimination complaints by City employees against the City.”

Meanwhile, the PBCHRC is pushing back against city officials’ recent comments about LGBT rights and the city’s denial of four public records request they recently made.
They’ve retained the law offices of W. Trent Steele in order to force the city to comply with the state’s public records laws. On Oct. 19, they sent a letter to Boca’s city attorney giving the city one last chance before they file suit against the city.

It appears that Boca Mayor Susan Whelchel is standing behind the city’s actions on LGBT rights. She went so far as to tell the Sun Sentinel that she doesn’t see this situation as a civil rights issue.

"We follow state and federal laws — cities have the right to opt in or opt out as long as we follow the law,” she said.

The Vice Mayor of Boca Susan Haynie stood by those sentiments as well telling the Sun Sentinel:

"We feel very strong that ... it's not necessary to impose the county's rules on us.”
The PBCHRC blasted Whelchel in a letter to her this weekend. The letter starts off with:
“I am writing to explain why Ordinance 5161 is a matter of civil rights, since it appears from today’s article in the Sun-Sentinel, that you do not understand.”

The PBCHRC does give some benefit of doubt to the Mayor and Vice Mayor.

“I have reviewed the somewhat misleading January, 4, 2011 memorandum on Equal Employment Opportunity prepared by City Manager Leif Ahnell and Human Resources Director Mark Buckingham, which was included in the backup for the January 25, 2011 City Council meeting at which Ordinance 5161 was enacted. The memorandum makes no reference to “sexual orientation” “gender identity” or “gender expression.” Nor does it inform anyone that the civil rights of female and minority employees would be curtailed. Therefore, it is possible that neither you nor your colleagues had any idea that by enacting the ordinance, you were completely eliminating the civil rights of the City’s gay, lesbian, and gender non-conforming employees, as well as restricting the rights of the City’s female and minority employees.”

That very well could be the case since the Sun Sentinel noted that the Boca ordinance in question took a mere one minute and 38 seconds to unanimously pass in January 2011. However from Whelchel and Haynie’s recent statements it appears they knew exactly the impact that ordinance would have.

The letter ends demanding some action taken against Assistant City Manager Mike Woika for his comments to SFGN.

“Putting it simply, Mr. Woika’s comments are not only ignorant, but also hurtful. There is no longstanding history of employment discrimination against pet owners. While PBCHRC is not calling for a public apology by Mr. Woika, it would seem appropriate for the City to take some disciplinary action in an attempt to assure the LGBT residents of Boca Raton – and our allies – that such callous and hurtful statements are not acceptable.”

The letter concludes with “please be advised that long as Ordinance 5161 remains in effect, PBCHRC will move forward with our ‘Boca Bigots Run City Hall’ campaign.”

Boca Raton officials plan on discussing this issue at their Tuesday, Oct. 23 meeting. SFGN will attend the meeting and keep you updated on any developments.

http://www.southfloridagaynews.com/news/local-news/7634-south-florida-lgbt-group-launches-boca-bigots-run-city-hall-campaign.html

Boca Bigot Mike Woika equates gay rights to Canine Rights

Boca Raton Officials Compare LGBT Equality to Canine Rights and Bad Hair

Written by Jason Parsley, South Florida Gay News

October 3, 2012 

Protecting LGBT employees from discrimination would be like protecting pet lovers from discrimination.

That’s what the assistant city manager of Boca Raton thinks.

Mike Woika was trying to make a point — saying if the city were to adopt an ordinance protecting LGBT employees, then who knows what other classes of people would crawl out of the woodwork demanding their rights, too.

“What’s to keep other groups from wanting to be protected?” Woika said. “How about me? I’m a pet lover. I think should be included in your anti-discrimination law. Someone who has dogs should not be discriminated against either.”


The issue of gay rights in Boca Raton was thrust into the spotlight last week when the Palm Beach County Commission was informed that the City of Boca Raton opted out of the county’s anti-discrimination clause, which includes both “sexual orientation” and “gender identity and expression.”

Boca Raton doesn’t include either one in its anti-discrimination policy, instead deferring to the state and federal requirements.

The county meanwhile has a policy stating that it doesn’t do business with entities that won’t adhere to their anti-discrimination policy. The ‘business’ happens to be a regional plan for the county to pay for the costs of hazardous material emergencies in some of its cities, one of which being Boca.

But the county can’t save the city the $235,000 that the project is worth without adherence to its anti-discrimination policy. Now, Boca has 60 days to change its ways, or it loses out on almost a quarter of a million dollars.

Woika stressed that regardless of what people are protected, the City does not discriminate against anyone whether or not they are a part of a protected class.
But the issue gets even stickier.

Besides just not including “sexual orientation” and/or “gender identity and expression,” in its policies, in January 2011 Boca decided to take the unusual step of officially opting out of the county’s anti-discrimination requirements.

Woika simply called that vote a reaffirmation.

The only other city to have taken that step is West Palm Beach. The difference though is that WPB includes “sexual orientation,” and “gender identity and expression” as a part of their protected classes.

Rand Hoch, president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council has said he’s been approaching Boca Raton for more than 20 years urging them to add sexual orientation to their anti-discrimination requirements as well as offer city employees domestic partnership benefits.

Tony Plakas, the executive director of county’s GLCC, Compass, believes the opt out was done covertly and wonders if the City Council understood at the time the real impact of it.

Or was this something pushed for by the city management?

“This is a great example of things happening behind the public’s back and they don’t know about it,” he said. “Maybe they did think it was just housekeeping. But again it doesn’t matter. The motivation was to do it quietly.”

Woika, though, said the opt out came about because this isn’t the first time Boca has run into a problem with the county’s anti-discrimination requirements.

“There was a formal affirmation of the opting out. Because the city is under home rule it has established its own anti-discrimination [requirements]. There was always a conflict with the county,” Woika said. “I think when they legally adopted their own, that really was an opt out. But the city said ‘let’s make it very clear.’”

Last time around, though, the project fell through, Woika said, before the city and county came into conflict.

The current issue became muddied after Palm Beach County Commissioner Steve Abrams, whose district includes Boca, stressed to the commission that Boca only had a problem with adhering to the “gender identity and expression” requirement. He said they didn’t have a problem with the “sexual orientation” requirement.

Abrams then attempted to persuade the commission to give Boca an exemption, which it declined. Boca will now have 60 days to accept the county’s proposal or decline it and lose the funding.

Later, when Abrams realized that “sexual orientation” wasn’t a federally or state protected class, he wrote in an email:

“I want to state that the city manager advised me, as Boca’s district commissioner, only about their concerns regarding the gender identity and gender expression clauses.  I have no knowledge concerning their position on sexual orientation, which they did not raise with me.”

Woika said when Boca Raton opted out of county’s ordinance, they made it clear they would only follow state and federal requirements regarding discrimination.
Rand Hoch summed it up differently.

“What they are saying is that they wish to retain the right to discriminate against gay men, lesbian and transgender people. ‘We want to be able to preserve the right to discriminate,’” he explained. “No one else in Palm Beach County tried to opt out, except for West Palm Beach, which had its own law before the county had a law.”
SFGN reached out Boca Raton Mayor Susan Whelchel for a comment, but as of press time received no response.


Gender Identity and Expression

At the Palm Beach County Commission meeting Commissioner Steve Abrams defended Boca Raton’s right to opt out of the county’s anti-discrimination policies and claimed protections for gender identity are not a “settled area of law” and the city did not want open itself up to liability.

 He also made this comment:

“Someone could sue because the entity doesn’t like the way their hair is styled or how they dress or something like that so I’m just explaining the basis of the city’s objection.”
Michael Keeffe, Executive Director of Transaction Florida, the only statewide trans organization, took issue with Abram’s comments.

“My first response to that is it’s just ludicrous. That’s an uneducated statement. These kind of comments come from a fear of cross dressers or fetish type of people will want to come in on different days and dress differently. One day as John and one day as Jane,” he explained. “This is about people who live full time as a certain identity. This is people like myself who was born as one sex, but live my life as the opposite of that, on a full time basis.”

Keeffe said more than dozen cities across the state now offer protections for “gender identity and expression.”

Three of those cities are in PBC and include West Palm Beach, Wellington and Lake Worth. The County and School District of Palm Beach County also includes it. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton’s largest employer, already includes “sexual orientation” in its equal employment opportunity policy for employees and anti-discrimination policy covering students. FAU will consider adding “gender identity and expression” later this year.



Gay Rights in Palm Beach County

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council and its president Rand Hoch has been surprisingly successful at getting the county and municipalities to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity and expression” to their anti-discrimination requirements as well as getting some of them to offer domestic partnership benefits to their employees.
But one city where they’ve had almost no success is Boca Raton, whom Hoch said has been less than receptive.

Here are a few facts when it comes to gay rights in Palm Beach County:

West Palm Beach was the first city in Florida to enact an Equal Opportunity Ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accommodation.  And that was in 1994. In 1995 a strong effort was made to repeal the law, but the voters upheld it with 56 percent. Even smaller cities in the county have been more progressive on gay rights than Boca.

Lake Worth is home to one of the Southeastern United States’ largest gay and lesbian community center, Compass. And Lake Worth was the first city in Florida to raise the gay flag during the week of Compass’ PrideFest, a tradition that started in 2000. Lake Worth also had no problem hiring a transgender city manager.

In addition to all of the larger cities in Palm Beach County (except for Boca) offering some type of protections or benefits for the LGBT community, many smaller county municipalities also offer such protections. A few of those include Belle Glade, Hypoluxo, Lake Park, Manalapan, Royal Palm Beach South Bay, and Tequesta.

Additionally, the county and school district offer protections and benefits for the LGBT community as well as the Office of the Clerk and Comptroller, Office of the Property Appraiser, Office of the Public Defender, Office of Supervisor of Elections, Office of the Tax Collector, Children Services Council, Palm Tran, Solid Waste Authority and South Florida Water Management District.

http://www.southfloridagaynews.com/news/local-news/7421-boca-raton-officials-compare-lgbt-equality-to-canine-rights-a-bad-hair.html

 

PBCHRC Asks Boca's Bigots to Rescind "Opt Out" Ordinance

Council calls on Boca to rescind ordinance

By Anne Geggis, Sun-Sentinel Staff Writer

September 26, 2012

The president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council called on members of the Boca Raton City Council to rescind an ordinance that preserves the city's right to discriminate against employees for sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.


City officials say that Boca Raton's anti-discrimination policy meets state and federal guidelines.

Opting out of the county's version of that policy was part of an ordinance the Boca City Council unanimously passed in January 2011.

But the issue emerged this week when Boca Raton refused to join a proposed agreement that would pay the city about $235,000 to handle emergency responses to hazardous materials.

Council President Rand Hoch wrote to each of the City Council members Wednesday that such a stance, "subjects each and every one of you to being considered the five most prejudiced and bigoted public officials in Palm Beach County, if not the state."

City Council member Mike Mullaugh wouldn't rule out including homosexuals and the trans gendered in the city's discrimination policy, but it won't happen because of county demands.

"We will decide what we do ourselves," he said.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-09-26/news/fl-palm-digest-0927-20120925_1_official-rules-and-application-band-members-boca-city-council

Boca Bigots refuse to sign contract over nondiscrimination provision

Boca balks at county's anti-discrimination language

Dispute holds up deal for handling hazardous waste

By Andy Reid and Anne Geggis, Sun Sentinel

September 25, 2012

  

A contract dispute has turned into a transgender civil rights standoff between the city of Boca Raton and Palm Beach County government.

That leaves a countywide hazardous materials response plan in limbo as the city and county differ over how far to take anti-discrimination protections.

The city objects to the county's anti-discrimination requirements included in a proposed agreement that would pay the city about $235,000 to handle emergency response to hazardous materials found in Boca Raton and nearby areas.

The county includes protections for "gender identity or expression" among its anti-discrimination standards for those that want to do business with county government. The city has anti-discrimination standards of its own, but doesn't include "gender identity or expression."

Aside from the funding at stake, the dispute is really a "civil rights" issue, Commission Chairwoman Shelley Vana said Tuesday.

"As a county we have stood for equal opportunities for everybody and that means everybody," Vana said.

If the city refuses to sign onto the deal — and the anti-discrimination standards that come with it — then the city loses out on about $235,000 to help pay for hazardous material response in 2013.

As result, the county might have to send its own Fire-Rescue crews or rely on those from Delray Beach to handle hazardous material calls that would otherwise be Boca Raton's responsibility.

Mike Woika, Boca Raton's assistant city manager, said that the city's anti-discrimination policy reflects state and federal requirements — and that the city passed an ordinance in January 2011 affirming that it won't use county's more expansive anti-discrimination language.

Boca Raton agrees that regionalizing a response to a hazardous materials event as a good thing, Woika said. The city just doesn't want to get drawn into an anti-discrimination policy that goes beyond state and federal requirements.

"We're willing to go forward, but we can't agree to things that are outside of our parameters," Woika said.

Boca Raton's stance on gender identity or expression is another example of how the city is "out of touch with reality," said Rand Hoch, president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.

The purpose of getting the county to adopt anti-discrimination standards was to spread those standards to other entities that get public money, Hoch said.
"You want to do business with the county, you have to put in the contract that you don't discriminate," Hoch said.

The county since 1992 has had anti-discrimination requirements in place that forbid funding companies or other organizations that discriminate based on the county's list of standards.

The county in January added "gender identity or expression" and "familial status" to a list of anti-discrimination standards that also includes race, color, national origin, religion, ancestry, sex, age, marital status and disability.

The "gender identity or expression" change was meant to provide discrimination protection for transgender job-seekers, employees and potential contractors.

The countywide hazardous materials response program calls for the county to distribute money from the Solid Waste Authority to hazardous material response teams that include local fire-rescue departments such as Delray Beach and Boca Raton.

The County Commission approved the hazardous waste response deal with Boca Raton, contingent on the city signing off on the deal — including the anti-discrimination terms.
abreid@tribune.com, 561-228-5504 or Twitter@abreidnews

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-09-25/news/fl-transgender-dispute-boca-20120925_1_gender-identity-or-expression-discrimination-hazardous-materials

PBCHRC Update - September 2012

Thanks to the voter identification, early voting, absentee ballot and get-out-the vote campaigns conducted by the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance, members of Palm Beach County’s LGBT community– and our allies – turned out in record numbers for the August 14, 2012 election.   In contrast, voter turnout in the non-LGBT population was dismally low.

Thanks to your efforts, almost all of the endorsed candidates were victorious in the August 24 primary election.  After more than two decades of educating and turning out LGBT and allied voters, we are proud of our successes.

The candidates endorsed by the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance who were elected (or re-elected) to serve in the following offices include:

●    State Senator District 27 - Jeff Clemens
●    State House of Representatives (District 87) - David Kerner
●    Clerk of the Circuit Court - Sharon Bock
●    Property Appraiser - Gary Nikolits  
●    Supervisor of Elections - Susan Bucher
●    Tax Collector - Anne M. Gannon
●    Port of Palm Beach (Group 1) - Wayne Richards
●    Circuit Court Judge (Group 9) - Ron Alvarez
●    Circuit Court Judge (Group 26) - James L. Martz
●    County Court Judge (Group 4) - Peter M. Evans
●    County Court Judge (Group 6) - Edward A. Garrison

Congratulations to all of these great public officials!

Several of our endorsed candidates face challengers in the general election on November 6, 2012.  They include:

●    President - Barack Obama
●    U.S. Congress District 18 - Patrick Murphy
●    U.S. Congress District 20 - Alcee Hastings
●    U.S. Congress District 21 - Ted Deutch
●    U.S. Congress District 22 - Lois Frankel
●    State House of Representatives (District 81) - Kevin Rader
●    State House of Representatives (District 86) - Mark S. Pafford
●    State House of Representatives (District 90) - Lori B. Berman
●    State House of Representatives (District 91) - Irving "Irv" Slosberg
●    State Attorney - Dave Aronberg
●    County Commissioner (District 1) - David J. Levy
●    County Commissioner (District 3) - Rochelle (Shelley) M. Van
●    County Commission (District 5) - Mary Lou Berger

In addition, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance has endorsed the retention of three Justices on the Florida Supreme Court: 

●    Justice  R. Fred Lewis
●    Justice Barbara J. Parents
●    Justice Peggy Quince

The Council is also urging our supporters to vote “NO” on all eleven proposed Constitutional Amendments appearing on the November ballot.

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance will be interviewing additional candidates for the Florida Legislature who will be on the November ballot and we will inform you of any endorsements via e-mail, our website, our blog, and of course, our continuous e-mail blasts!

Florida made history on August 14, 2012 with the election of an openly gay candidate, Democrat David Richardson of Miami Beach to the Florida House of Representatives! 

In November, four other gay men have the opportunity to join him in Tallahassee: Democrats, Joe Saunders of Orange County, John Alvarez of Brevard County and Ian Whitney of Key West, and Republican Scott Herman of Wilton Manors

The November 6 election is exceptionally important and as always, your votes will make a difference in changing the laws and policies which effect our lives.

On July 21st, Palm Beach County Human Rights Council supporters joined elected officials and  candidates (who are also PBCHRC supporters) at our Summer Soirée at the Old Guard Society of Palm Beach.  Once again, longtime PBCHRC supporter Scott Kent produced the event, which was our most successful fundraiser in the past two dozen years. 

Thanks go out to Scott Velozo for his graphic design, Cal Miller & Associates their assistance with publicity, as well as to interior designer Michael Powers and his partner Scott for their amazing work transforming the club rooms into a beach party. 

Special thanks go out to Sandy James Fine Foods, Echo and The Sugar Monkey for the wonderful hors d'ouvres , sushi and desserts.

The Summer Soirée was entirely underwritten thanks to the tireless efforts of Dan Hall, the Council’s Treasurer. For more than twenty years, Dan has worked tirelessly to ensure the  funding is in place to enable the Council to move forward with our initiatives.  Dan’s efforts are greatly appreciated by the Board of Directors.

To our many event underwriters and sponsors, our vendors and volunteers, and most importantly, our supporters, thank you for making the 2012 Summer Soirée a great success!

Last Spring , the School Board of Palm Beach County created a 24 member District Diversity and Equity Committee which includes representatives from both the Council and Compass.  The Council is proud to be represented by Mark Rutherford, a West Palm Beach psychotherapist.   Mark, his partner of 21 years Tom Davis, and Moms Amber and Mimi all co-parent the family’s two children.  Their 16 year old son Cris and their 12 year old daughter Sofia attend public school in Palm Beach County.

The Council is pleased to roll out our new website at pbchrc.org.  Unlike the old website, our new website is accessible on Apple devices and has many new features. We hope you like the new look.  Thanks go out to our long-term webmaster, Joseph Abreau, who generously donated his services in creating our new website.

At the 2012  Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, Florida is represented by 40 LGBT activists (including me!).  As always, this opportunity has allowed us to strategize with LGBT activists from across the United States.  As a result, we have come away with new ideas for initiatives to benefit Palm Beach County’s LGBT community.  

PBCHRC welcomes J.P. Sasser, the openly gay Mayor of Pahokee to our Board of Directors.  His addition to our Board will help tremendously as help educate local public officials on the need to provide equal treatment and benefits to LGBT Floridians and our families.  JP replaces West Palm Beach bankruptcy attorney Michael Bakst, who stepped down this summer after serving over a decade on the Council’s Board of Directors.  We thank Michael for his years of dedicated service to our organization.

Members of the Council’s all volunteer Board of Directors are currently:

●    in the early stages of work on LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination policies and domestic partnership benefits in both Greenacres City and Boca Raton,

●    working with Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock and several County Commissioners on revisions to the County’s Domestic Partnership Ordinance, and

●    developing a training program for the judges serving in Palm Beach County, assisting them in  dealing more effectively with members of the LGBT community.


As you can see, so much work remains to be done, and we greatly appreciate your support in our endeavors.

Since 1988, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council has worked diligently on behalf of the LGBT community.  Rest assured we will continue to do so in 2012 – and beyond.

Rand Hoch,
President and Founder


This paid political advertisement, which is independent of any candidate or committee, is produced, sponsored and paid for by the The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance.

PBCHRC Voters Alliance Endorsements - 2012

The following candidates have been endorsed by The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance for the 2012 General Election:

    President
    Barack Obama (D)

    U.S. Congress (District 18)
    Patrick Murphy (D)

    U.S. Congress (District 20)
    Alcee Hastings (D)

    U.S. Congress (District 21)
    Ted Deutch (D)

    U.S. Congress (District 22)
    Lois Frankel (D)

    State Attorney
    Dave Aronberg (D)

    State Senate (District 25)
    Joseph Abruzzo (D)
 
    State Senate (District 27)
    Jeff Clemens (D)

    State House of Representatives (District 81)
    Kevin Rader (D)

    State House of Representatives (District 85)
    David Lutrin (D)

    State House of Representatives (District 86)
    Mark S. Pafford (D)

    State House of Representatives (District 89)
    Bill Hager (R)

    State House of Representatives (District 90)
    Lori Berman (D)

    Tax Collector
    Anne M. Gannon

    County Commissioner (District 1)
    David J. Levy (D)
 
    County Commissioner (District 3)
    Rochelle "Shelley" Vana (D)

    County Commissioner (District 5)
    Mary Lou Berger (D)

    School Board (District 1)
    Christine Jax

    Retain Florida Supreme Court Justices:
        R. Fred Lewis - YES
        Barbara J. Pariente - YES
        Peggy Quince - YES

    Port of Palm Beach (Group 1)
    Wayne M. Richards (D)

    Palm Beach County Soil and 
    Water Conservation District (Group 2) .
    Drew Martin                       

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance also urges our supporters to vote “NO” on all of the proposed Constitutional Amendments appearing on the November ballot. 

 ______________________

This paid electioneering communication, which is independent of any party, candidate or committee, is produced, sponsored and paid for by the The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance.

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance.
Post Office Box 267
West Palm Beach, Florida 33402
(561) 358-0105

West Palm Beach Housing Authority amends Equal Employment Policy to include gender identity and gender expression

January 27, 2012

At the request of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, the West Palm Beach Housing Authority has amended its Equal Employment Policy to include both gender identity and gender expression.

The new policy now reads: The Authority maintains a policy of non-discrimination with employees and applicants for employment. Open positions will be filled by the best qualified applicant without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, political belief, gender identity, gender expression or mental or physical disability (if such disability does not unreasonably interfere with the abilities of the employee to perform the work required).

Palm Beach County broadens commercial non-discrimination policy to include "gender identity or expression"

January 25, 2011

(West Palm Beach Beach) By a 6-1 vote, the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners amended its Nondiscrimination in Contracting Policy on Tuesday, prohibiting the County from doing business with, or appropriating funds to, public and private organizations which practice discrimination based on "gender identity or expression."

The policy now covers race, color, national origin, religion, ancestry, sex, age, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or disability.

Commissioner Steven Abrams of Boca Raton cast the only "no" vote, stating that the new standards could have a negative impact on the number of businesses bidding on county projects.

Abrams, a Republican, expressed concern that the new policy could lead to less competition and higher prices for taxpayers.

"Commissioner Abrams' concern is unfounded," said Rand Hoch, a retired judge who serves as President of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council. The Council is a local nonprofit organization is dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

"The Palm Beach County School District's Commercial Non-Discrimination Policy includes sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression," said Hoch. "Commissioner Abrams cannot point to one company that has stopped bidding for work on our schools because of that policy."

In response to Abrams' concern that the policy could lead to additional litigation, Hoch replied, "Palm Beach County law already prohibits employment discrimination based on gender identity or expression. The new policy will not give rise to any new cause of action."

The Council commended the County Commissioners for taking a proactive stand against discrimination.

City of Delray Beach Expands Domestic Partnership Benefits

(Delray Beach, Florida) The Delray Beach City Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday to amend the City's Family and Medical Leave Policy to allow city employees to use family and medical leave to care for their domestic partners in the same manner married employees may use it to care for their spouses.

The action was taken at the request of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, which has been working with the city on domestic partnership issues since 2006.

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council has been the leading advocate for domestic partner benefits in Florida since 1992, when theCity of West Palm Beach became Florida's first public employer to provide domestic partnership benefits.

"With this action, the City of Delray Beach now offers employees with domestic partners virtually all of the same family benefits it provides to married employees," said Human Rights Council President Rand Hoch, "The pro-family domestic partnership policies in Delray Beach are among the most progressive in the State of Florida."

More public employers in Palm Beach County provide domestic partnership benefits than in any of Florida's other sixty-six counties.

In Palm Beach County, public employers that provide domestic partnership health insurance and other benefits include Palm Beach County, the School District of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach State College, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, the Office of the Clerk and Comptroller, the Office of the Tax Collector, the Office of the Property Appraiser, the Office of the Supervisor of Elections, the Port of Palm Beach, the Solid Waste Authority, Palm Tran, Palm Beach County Children's Services Council, the Palm Beach County Health Care District, Seacoast Utility Authority, as well as the cities of Delray Beach, Lake Worth, and West Palm Beach, the Town of Jupiter and the Village of Wellington.

PBCHRC President's Message - January 2012

January 2012

While Florida has the third largest LGBT population of any state in the union (following California and New York), our state lacks any statewide laws offering protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents regarding employment, housing and public accommodations. Florida also lacks any statewide law protecting LGBT students from bullying and harassment. Moreover, Florida’s constitution and statutes prohibit lesbians and gay men from marrying their partners.

However, thanks to the efforts of the all-volunteer Board of Directors of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council over the past twenty-four years, more than sixty local laws and policies now provide Palm Beach County’s LGBT residents (and visitors) with both equal protection and equal family benefits.

Both Palm Beach County’s Equal Employment Ordinance and Fair Housing Ordinance prohibit discrimination based on both “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression.” The Cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth have also enacted citywide ordinances prohibiting discrimination based on both “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression”.

Other local public employers that have enacted ordinances, collective bargaining agreements, and policies prohibiting discrimination based on both “sexual orientation” and/or “gender identity or expression” for their employees include the City of Atlantis, the City of Belle Glade, the City of Boynton Beach, the City of Delray Beach, the City of Greenacres, the City of Pahokee, the City of Palm Beach Gardens, the City of South Bay, the Town of Haverhill, the Town of Hypoluxo, the Town of Juno Beach, the Town of Jupiter, the Town of Lake Park, the Town of Manalapan, the Town of Palm Beach, the Town of Palm Beach Shores, the Village of Royal Palm Beach, the Village of Tequesta, the Village of Wellington, the School District of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach State College, Florida Atlantic University, the Port of Palm Beach, the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, the Office of the Tax Collector, the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser, the Office of the Supervisor of Elections, the Office of the Public Defender, the Office of the State Attorney, the Palm Beach County Sheriffs' Office, the Office of the Clerk and Comptroller, Seacoast Utility Authority, the Solid Waste Authority, Palm Tran and the Palm Beach County Children's Services Council.

Both the City of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County have domestic partnership registries that provide limited “spousal” benefits for lesbian and gay couples who have registered as domestic partners (or who have been married or entered into a civil union anywhere in the world).

In 1992, the City of West Palm Beach became the first public employer in Florida to offer domestic partnership benefits to its employees. Other public employers in Palm Beach County that now offer family health insurance coverage and other family benefits for employees with domestic partners include (in chronological order): the Palm Beach County Sheriffs' Office, the Office of the Clerk and Comptroller, the Port of Palm Beach, the City of Lake Worth, the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser, Palm Beach County, the School District of Palm Beach County, the Office of the Supervisor of Elections, the Office of the Tax Collector, the City of Delray Beach, the Solid Waste Authority, Palm Tran, the Town of Jupiter, the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach State College, the Palm Beach County Children's Services Council and Seacoast Utility Authority.

In recent years, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council has focused on family issues, working with public employers to ensure that employees could use family medical leave to care for their domestic partners in the same manner as other employees could use it to care for their spouses. The following public employers enacted inclusive family medical leave policies in 2011: the School District of Palm Beach County, the Office of the State Attorney, the Office of the Public Defender, the City of West Palm Beach, the City of Lake Worth and the Village of Wellington.

While Palm Beach County, the City of Delray Beach, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, and Clerk & Comptroller Sharon Bock informed the Council last Spring that they will update their family and medical leave policies to include domestic partners, to date they have not revised their policies. However, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council expects these changes to be made in early 2012.

With virtually no hope of progress on the statewide (or federal level) for LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination laws and equal benefit policies for LGBT families, much work remains to be done on the local level.

Since 1988, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council has worked diligently on behalf of the LGBT community. Rest assured we will continue to do so in 2012 – and beyond.

Rand Hoch,

President and Founder