Vermont Human Rights Commission warns of staffing shortfall and longer case backlogs in FY26 budget testimony

Jay Hartman, executive director and general counsel of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, told the Senate Committee on Appropriations on Feb. 18 that the commission is facing a staffing and funding squeeze that is lengthening case processing times and limiting preventive outreach. Hartman said the commission currently has seven full-time staff, relies almost entirely on the state general fund, and that roughly 8% of its budget comes from federal funds tied to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development contract for fair-housing work.

Hartman said the commission continues to see heavy demand: “We get over a hundred requests a month for new complaints,” he said, and the agency accepted 59 new complaints for investigation in fiscal year 2024. He reported the commission closed 42 cases that year; 33 were brought to a commission meeting and 22 of those were found to have reasonable grounds to believe discrimination occurred. The commission’s average…