If the proposed Pennsylvania budget passes as is, it could have major implications for the state agency that investigates civil-rights violations.
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is slated to take a $2.4-million cut in the current budget, which still has to be considered by a joint House and Senate conference committee, before it goes to the full legislature.
The agency received approximately $12 million in state funding last year and an additional $3 million from the federal government.
Steve Glassman, openly gay chair of the commission, explained that the majority of the agency’s funding — nearly 90 percent — goes toward staff salaries.
In the past six years, the commission has decreased its staff size from 145 to 132 to save money. The current budget crisis has forced the agency to eliminate 12 vacant positions and mandate 20 furloughs and, if the $2.4-million funding decrease goes through, the commission will have to lay off another 18 employees, resulting in a 44-percent staff reduction in six years.
“This is critical, particularly because we’ve already had our funding cut in previous years and we’re at the point where the loss of further positions will diminish our effectiveness,” said Glassman. “It will create delays in our ability to properly investigate and adjudicate cases because the caseload for each employee will dramatically increase and the entire process will be slowed down.”
The agency takes on approximately 4,000 cases each year, with an additional 3,000 cases referred from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and 400 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Cases include discrimination based on race, color, religion, ancestry, sex and national origin, among others. Presently, sexual orientation and gender identity are not protected classes at the state level.
Glassman explained that a slower case turnaround resulting from the layoffs could also put the agency’s federal funding, which it receives from both the federal EEOC and HUD, in jeopardy.
“The federal funding comes to every state commission on a case-by-case reimbursement basis, so if our staff diminishes to the point where we can’t accomplish the work in a timely fashion, we’re penalized by both federal agencies with regard to the amount of money we receive per case,” he said. “And then as we receive less money because it takes longer to complete the work for each case, we then have to have fewer staff members to accomplish the same amount of work and it just becomes a downward spiral.”
Glassman said the budget’s elimination of the governor’s advisory commissions could also have a negative impact on the agency’s productivity. The commissions, which focus on the issues of women, African Americans, Latinos and Asians, often bring cases to the Human Relations Commission and additionally provide guidance and outreach to minority groups within the state.
“Their existence is vital to the wellbeing of all minorities and women in the commonwealth,” Glassman said. “They provide extremely important advocacy services, education, outreach activities and a visibility and awareness with regards to the needs and current issues affecting the lives of those who are already marginalized.”
Glassman said he and other commission representatives have been meeting with legislative leaders from both parties over the past few months to communicate the organization’s funding needs and encouraged “everyone to contact their legislators to demand that our agency be fully funded at last year’s levels so that we can continue to do the essential work required to eradicate discrimination and bias.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].