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Vermont Human Rights Commission tells House appropriations it is understaffed and turning away hundreds of complaints
Summary
The executive director of the Vermont Human Rights Commission told the House Appropriations Committee the agency is severely backlogged, averaging hundreds of days to close cases, accepting fewer complaints than it receives and seeking short‑term funding for two positions in the current fiscal year.
Big Hartman, executive director and general counsel of the State of Vermont Human Rights Commission, told the House Appropriations Committee on Jan. 29 that the commission lacks the staff to keep up with a surge of civil‑rights complaints and is forced to decline many requests for investigation.
“We were averaging, in fiscal year 23, 649 days to close a case,” Hartman said, adding that the commission reduced that average to about 470 days this past year but remains far behind its goals. Hartman said the office now has three investigator attorneys, no full‑time intake specialist and is turning away people who seek help: “We receive over a 100, on average, over a 100 new inquiries each month,” Hartman said, and “I have about, 15 cases now that are unassigned to an investigator.”
Hartma…
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