Vermont Human Rights Commission tells Judiciary committee it needs more staff to address backlog and rising complaints

Big Hartman, executive director and general counsel at the State of Vermont Human Rights Commission, told a legislative Judiciary committee that the agency is facing a rising volume of civil‑rights complaints and lacks the staff to investigate them promptly.

"We are constantly telling people, 'I'm sorry, we just aren't able to help you. We just don't have the staff. We just don't have the resources,'" Big Hartman said during the meeting. Hartman said the commission received about 100 new inquiries a month and that intake now takes three to six months from initial contact to a signed complaint.

The commission has seven full‑time staff, including three staff attorney investigators and a senior counsel who handles litigation, Hartman said. They also have five commissioners who convene monthly to hear cases. Hartman said the office currently has 16 cases in which the commission is a plaintiff and 68 cases under investigation, with about 90 people waiting to learn whether their inquiries will be accepted for formal investigation.

Hartman described the agency's workload and funding mix: its operating budget is just over $1 million, roughly 9% of which comes from a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) contract for fair housing investigations (about $100,000). The remainder is general funds, and about 90% of expenses are salaries and benefits.

Hartman said the commission's caseload has grown and changed. Fair housing complaints — many alleging disability‑related reasonable‑accommodation denials — make up roughly half of cases. Public‑accommodations complaints, including disputes over access for people with service animals, have risen. Hartman also highlighted a rise in school harassment cases, often racial harassment, some of which include physical assaults or threats and can involve social media or school platforms as well as in‑person incidents.

The commission has already streamlined investigative reports to shorten case processing times, Hartman said. He gave the committee caseload metrics: the average age of cases at closure fell from about 650 days in fiscal 2023 to about 474 days in fiscal 2024; determinations rose from 19 in fiscal 2023 to 33 in fiscal 2024, and Hartman said there were 33 determinations already in fiscal 2025.

To address capacity shortfalls, Hartman said the commission has requested multiple new positions in the fiscal‑year 2026 budget process, including an intake specialist, three staff attorney investigators, a communications and outreach coordinator, and a paralegal. The additional investigators would roughly double investigative capacity, Hartman said; the intake specialist would reduce the months‑long intake backlog; the outreach coordinator would enable public education and trainings; and the paralegal would support complex document‑intensive investigations.

Hartman told the committee he has raised the staffing request with the governor's office and the legislature. He said the Senate side of the Budget Adjustment Act (BAA) appeared to include two additional positions that could allow the commission to add an intake person and another investigator immediately, but that the request had not passed the House side at the time of his remarks.

Committee members asked about outcomes and remedies. Hartman said complainants often seek institutional change — for example, staff training and policy changes — as well as, in some cases, monetary relief. He cited settlement examples ranging from no monetary payment with policy changes up to a $175,000 settlement in a racial‑harassment school case that included a three‑year training plan for the district.

Hartman also explained jurisdictional and process limits: the commission enforces state anti‑discrimination law, follows HUD guidance on fair housing when applicable, applies Americans with Disabilities Act standards in public‑accommodations work, and handles certain employment cases involving state employees (while the Attorney General's Civil Rights Unit typically handles most private‑employer employment complaints). Hartman noted an administrative rule requiring complaints be filed within one year of the last alleged discriminatory act and said that staff shortages can create prejudicial delays that risk lost evidence and witnesses.

Hartman closed by describing staff turnover and burnout tied to the workload and said the office is operating "bare bones" with essentially no outreach budget. He urged legislative support for the staffing additions during the ongoing budget process.

Ending

Hartman offered printed copies of the commission's annual report and a plain‑language intake guide for complainants and respondents that is posted on the commission's website. He told committee members he would be available for follow‑up questions as the legislature continues budget deliberations and noted he had presented similar materials to the Senate Judiciary and appropriations committees earlier in the budget cycle.