Feb. 02--Military personnel would get new city protections when it comes to seeking jobs and renting apartments under changes to city human rights and fair housing laws endorsed Tuesday by the City Council Human Relations Committee.
The changes, proposed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, would ban employers and landlords from discriminating against veterans, active military personnel, reservists and National Guard members. The city's current human rights ordinance already bans discrimination based on military discharge status.
Mona Noriega, chairman of the city Commission on Human Relations, said there's growing evidence that employers sometimes don't hire veterans or military personnel based on the fear that they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, that could lead to workplace violence or don't hire reservists or National Guard members for fear they will be deployed.
When it comes to renting, some veterans are rejected as tenants because landlords worry about PTSD, and other landlords reject reservists or National Guard members because they fret about not getting paid if the military members are deployed -- even though they are required to give landlords significant notice and, if they elect to stay in their apartment, must pay the rent, Noriega said.
The changes also would bar landlords from retaliation -- in the form of higher rent or harassment -- for filing complaints under the city's Fair Housing Ordinance. And they also would alter city code language to make more explicit existing city bans on discrimination for criminal or credit history.
If discrimination occurs under the city's human rights or fair housing laws, complaints can be filed with the commission, which can impose fines. The full City Council will vote Feb. 10 on the changes.
hdardick@tribpub.com
