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Commission delays decision on new protected classes, asks for community input and ordinance text
Summary
The Green Bay Equal Rights Commission reviewed potential additions to the city's Chapter 12 protected-class list, decided to gather more community input and moved the item to the next agenda for further discussion.
The Green Bay Equal Rights Commission on Sept. 11 revisited a proposal to add local protected classes to Chapter 12 of the city's civil rights ordinance and decided to postpone a decision so commissioners could solicit community input and review the current ordinance language.
The commission discussed several categories it had previously proposed for addition, including citizen/immigration status, criminal-history status, language use and accent, and physical appearance/body size. Commissioners said they want any additions to reflect community-identified problems and recommended outreach to affected groups before bringing a specific amendment to the Common Council.
Commissioners also asked staff to email a copy of the current ordinance and the commission's prior amendment proposal so members can compare existing protected categories and proposed additions. After discussion the commission voted to add the topic to the next meeting agenda for further consideration and community feedback.
No new protected-class language was adopted at the Sept. 11 meeting; commissioners emphasized wanting a bottom-up approach that checks whether proposed protections address harms residents are reporting.
