ISLAND VOICES
Enforcing civil rights delayed by decision
By Daphne Barbee-Wooten
In June, there was a significant civil rights decision in Hawai'i that will clog the already backlogged civil rights cases in Hawai'i. In SCI Management Corp. v. Simms et al., three Hawai'i Supreme Court justices ruled that an employer can have a jury trial, after the lengthy process of going through the Civil Rights Commission administrative investigations, hearings and decisions.
Prior to the SCI Management decision, discrimination complaints before the Civil Rights Commission, much like worker's compensation claims, were processed administratively, with a hearings officer, the commission and appeal rights to the circuit courts and Supreme Court. The administrative approach allowed victims of civil rights abuses an opportunity to be represented by an attorney by the Civil Rights Commission, and is less costly than filing a court complaint.
Just to file a complaint costs $425 these days, and if you are an unemployed victim of sex harassment, $425 is a lot of money. Then you have to hire someone to serve the complaint. And finding an attorney who is willing to take the complaint on a contingent basis is difficult. Employers, who generally have money, are able to afford an attorney, at $300 per hour, jury trial costs and costs of witnesses, discovery and all other legal expenses.
Unfortunately, justice is not equal and is very expensive.
Under the prior civil rights procedure, the employer had the same opportunity as the employee to litigate a discrimination charge in front of a hearings officer. If an employee brought charges into court with a right to sue, employers likewise had the opportunity to go to court and obtain a jury trial. Now, even after the administrative process, which could take up to five years, the employer can request a jury trial even if the complainant does not request it, which means more years, more time delayed before a decision, witnesses and evidence lost.
The result is that a victim of sex discrimination or other types of discrimination who is out of a job with little money may just give up.
Daphne Barbee-Wooten is president of the African American Lawyers Association.
