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Office of Human Relations |
Public Accommodations
Public Accommodations Discrimination In The City Of Orlando
Chapter 57 of the Code of the City prohibits discrimination or
separation because of
race, color, religion, national
origin, marital status, age, sex, sexual orientation or disability,
in any place of public accommodation in the City of Orlando.
A complaint must be filed within 180 calendar days from the date
of the alleged incident.
Places
of Public Accommodation
A place of public accommodation may include, but not be limited to, one
of the following establishments; meaning, this is not an attempt to list
all places and types of public accommodations, but merely the most
common ones.
· Lodging – inns, hotels motels, or other places which provide lodging to
transient guests.
· Eateries – restaurants, delis, cafeterias, lunchrooms, lunch counters,
soda fountains or other facilities principally engaged in selling food
for consumption on the premises, including those located on the premises
of any retail establishment or gasoline station.
· Entertainment – lounges, nightclubs, bars or other facilities
principally engaged in selling alcoholic beverages or both food and
alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises.
· Auditoriums – theaters, motion picture houses, concert halls, stadiums,
sports arenas, convention centers, lecture halls or other places of
exhibition and/or entertainment.
· Stores – bakeries, grocery stores, hardware stores, clothing/department
stores or other similar retail establishments.
· Public Services – laundries, banks, barber and beauty shops, travel
services, funeral parlors, gas stations, accountants, lawyers,
pharmacies, insurance agencies, health care providers, dry cleaners,
shoe repair shops, hospitals.
· Transportation – public conveyance (taxis, limousines, and buses,
including terminals), charter transportation, “shuttle” buses/vans.
· Public Exhibits – museums, any library or education facility supported
in part or whole by public funds, galleries, other places of public
display or collection.
· Parks – parks and zoos.
· Schools – private schools (elementary, secondary, undergraduate,
postgraduate), kindergarten or day care centers.
· Social Services – senior citizen centers, homeless shelters, food banks,
adoption programs and their facilities, similar social service centers.
· Recreation – swimming pools, gymnasiums, health spas, bowling alleys,
golf courses, similar places of exercise and recreation.
Exemptions to public accommodation discrimination:
· A private club or other establishment that is not open to the public.
· A religious organization, association or society may limit facilities
and accommodations which it owns or operates for other than a commercial
purpose to persons of the same religion, association or society, or may
give preference to such persons.
· Kindergartens, nurseries, day care centers, and, theaters and motion
picture houses may limit their use to persons of a particular age group.
Preventing illegal discrimination from occurring is preferable to trying
to deal with the consequences after the fact.
The OHR is committed to providing training and technical
assistance, outreach and educational programs to assist places of public
accommodations in understanding in understanding and preventing
discrimination. It can be
averted if all employees of such places know their responsibilities as
well as their legal rights.
The OHR can and will help you with your training needs, at no-cost.
Our staff is available to make presentations and participate in
meetings/workshops with your company.
Our training is extensive, and can be general and basic or custom
designed to meet your company’s specific needs, i.e., the type of
accommodations provided will determine the specific type of training.
The training venue may be on-site at your workplace or other
place of your choosing, or, a place of our choosing, e.g., Orlando City
Hall, an Orlando Community Center, etc.
A generalized presentation of public accommodation discrimination may
include:
· an overview of the laws enforced by
OHR, the State of FL and the
federal government;
· recent updates pertaining to this
issue;
· a description of each protected class; and
· how to recognize potentially discriminatory situations.
A customized presentation of public accommodations discrimination will
be per the request of the housing provider, and could include:
· training for the company’s internal investigators and employees
specializing in public accommodation issues;
· explanation of all protected classes;
· sexual harassment issues;
· stereotyping and how it may affect public accommodations; and,
· other issues as may be requested.
For
all of your housing discrimination training and outreach needs contact:
Patricia Newton, Asst. to Director
HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT OF
PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS DISCRIMINATION
Complaints of public
accommodations discrimination include the bases of race, color,
religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status and
sexual orientation.
· Call or walk-in to
OHR
to discuss your complaint with a knowledgeable staff member.
If you call and your complaint meets the requisite
standards, an appointment will be scheduled for you to come to the
office, complete and sign the paperwork necessary to file an official
complaint. If you
walk-in and your complaint meets the requisite standards, an
appointment will be scheduled for you or you will be able to complete
and sign the paperwork necessary during your office visit, subject to
openings in the schedule and staff availability.
· During your office visit
you will need to complete one or more Affidavits.
The information requested will include:
1.
the name, address and phone number of the place of public accommodations
where you were alleged discriminated against;
2.
identity of the individual that committed the act, e.g., a food server,
a ticket agent, a desk person at a hotel/motel, pool attendant, bank
teller, etc., as appropriate; and,
3.
witnesses, as may be applicable and/or appropriate.
· It is
important to remember that should any of the contact information change
for anyone referenced in your complaint, including yourself, prior to
your receiving notification that your case is closed, you are to forward
the new contact information to the OHR.
· Additionally, you will need
to provide an account of the alleged discriminatory action(s), in
chronological order if possible, along with any documents in your
possession that may be relevant to your complaint.
· Provide as much information
as possible about all parties involved in the alleged act of
discrimination, most importantly the
correct name and address of
the place of public accommodations.
Also important, if you have filed this complaint with the Florida
Commission on Human Relations, please disclose this to the OHR.
· When your complaint is
taken and your signature is affixed and notarized (you will need photo
identification), the investigative process begins.
· Once you have filed a
complaint, you will be given a detailed explanation of what to expect
regarding the investigative process and what participation is expected
of you.
Determining if your complaint and the involved place of public
accommodation are both subject to existing laws can be difficult because
the rules and regulations may vary according to the type of
discrimination and jurisdiction.
A complaint of public accommodation discrimination must be filed
with the OHR within 180 calendar days of the date of the
discriminatory act.
Therefore, it is important to contact the OHR as soon as possible if
you believe you have been discriminated against.
The staff is available to discuss your issue and will help you
sort out the details of coverage.
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