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Many Alaskans are unaware of the Alaska Human Rights Commission or its constitutional purpose to enforce the civil rights of Alaskans. The Commission investigates and prosecutes cases alleging discrimination in employment, public places of public use, the sale or rental of real estate, lending and credit, and state and local government practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, and in some cases age, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, sexual orientation or gender identity.
Over the past year, the Alaska State Commission on Human Rights celebrated a major milestone: 60 years of helping Alaskans who suffer discrimination. In July 2023, we celebrated with government officials and Alaskans at an event held at the Delaney Park Strip in Anchorage. The celebration coincided with the first state civil rights conference, which we co-hosted with Alaska Native Brotherhood/Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 87 and the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission in October.
Recently, the commission has focused on changing procedures to expedite the resolution of cases that have backlogged for decades; in some cases, investigations have taken years to even begin.
Legislative audits in 2000 and 2010 found investigations were not being conducted in a timely manner, and the commission has restructured, including implementing operational and regulatory changes in 2021 and 2022, to help improve processing times.
These efforts have dramatically reduced case resolution times, with the average time for cases opened (both new and old cases) in 2023 being 231 days, but the median time being just 139 days. The average time for cases opened and closed in 2023 was just 198 days.
Looking at the categories and number of complaints, the most common issue was dismissal, and the most common type was employment issues. In terms of race, complaints from whites made up the majority, at a ratio of more than 4 to 1.
In 2023, the Commission’s work resulted in 43 cases being closed through pre-litigation settlements and eight cases being settled at an early stage of litigation. The majority of complaints were closed because no substantial evidence of discrimination was found during the investigation, with 111 cases being closed for this reason.
In addition to reviewing and resolving new cases in a timely manner, the Commission passed several resolutions. As diagnoses and awareness of disabilities increase, so do claims of disability discrimination. The Commission passed three resolutions related to access for Alaskans with disabilities as a means of combating discrimination. The Commission also wanted to expand voting access for non-English speakers and urged the Alaska Legislature to codify First Amendment protections for public accommodations where people may be forced to speak in a manner that contradicts their sincerely held religious beliefs. To draw further attention to human trafficking, the Commission urged several state agencies to increase awareness and prevention efforts.
As we look ahead to the remainder of 2024, the Commission vows to continue to resolve complaints promptly and thoroughly and ensure that Alaskans across the state have access to the tools they need to fight discrimination.
Robert Corbusier She is executive director of the Alaska Human Rights Commission.
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