DIVERSITY CORNER
Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County , Inc .’ s Fair Housing Practice
ENEAMI BESTMAN
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 , the Fair Housing Act ( FHA ) prohibits discrimination in housing practices based on race , color , religion , national origin , sex ( gender ) i , familial status and disability ii . Perhaps the best-known objective of the FHA was to prohibit race discrimination in sales and rentals of housing , and there is no doubt that race discrimination in housing continues to be a problem , even today . However , sexual harassment is a growing issue in the fair housing arena . This this article will address sexual harassment within the housing context .
Congress amended the FHA in 1974 to add sex as a protected class . Although there is little legislative history concerning the addition of sex to the FHA , this addition can be traced to Senator William Brock , the principal sponsor of the 1974 amendment which added sex to the list of classes protected by the FHA . Senator Brock led this charge because women were being discriminated against in the home buying process iii . Today , the gender discrimination also encompasses sexual harassment .
Notably , sex discrimination in housing is on the rise and is a national focus for the U . S . Department of Justice ( DOJ ) in that it established a new Housing Initiative in 2018 that seeks to challenge sexual harassment in housing . In like manner , the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County , Inc . ( LASPBC ) is starting to see more sex-based housing discrimination claims , which includes quid pro quo sexual harassment , hostile environment sexual harassment , and domestic violence . Sexual harassment is important to the topic of diversity because women , partially minority women , who live in low-income housing are subjected to sexual harassment from their landlords , property managers , maintenance workers , etc . LASPBC ’ s fair housing program represents tenants who have been sexually harassed by their landlords who demand sexual favors from tenants or foster a sexually hostile environment for them , thus creating an untenable living situation .
Often , victims of domestic violence need assistance terminating their lease due to no longer being able to reside with their abuser because of an existing restraining order . The Violence Against Women Act ( VAWA ) protects these victims who reside in public and federally subsidized housing . However , it is important to note that because domestic violence survivors are not independently protected under the FHA or most state fair housing laws , when it comes to private landlord tenant relationships , many housing advocates argue that refusing to allow these women to terminate their lease is a form of sex discrimination and is therefore illegal under the FHA .
Nevertheless , not all courts recognize this theory of sexual harassment in housing . Because sexual harassment is a relatively new concept , when deciding sexual harassment cases under the FHA courts have longed looked to Title VII decisions , which prohibits employment discrimination because of race , color , religion , sex , and national origin iv . Recently , one of LASPBC ’ s sexual harassment cases was dismissed by the Southern District of Florida on the grounds that ( a ) the Eleventh Circuit has not determined that sexual harassment is covered by the Fair Housing Act , and ( b ) the judge did not read either the federal or Florida Fair Housing Acts as prohibiting such conduct . To quote from the Judge ’ s order , “[ t ] he allegations are clear : He [ the LL ] retaliated because she ended the sexual relationship with him . This , the FHA does not cover .”
LASPBC has appealed this case to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and has received substantial amicus support from The United States Department of Justice , Florida Housing Umbrella Group , National Fair Housing Alliance , American Civil Liberties Union , and the National Women ’ s Law Center . Although , the Eleventh Circuit has not held that sexual harassment is actionable under the FHA , as cited in Noah v . Assor , 379 F . Supp . 3d 1284 , 1288 ( S . D . Fla . 2019 ), there are sixteen federal cases holding that sexual harassment is actionable pursuant to the FHA . Based on the overwhelming weight of federal authority , we are hopeful that the Eleventh Circuit will see it our way . In addition to litigating sexual harassment cases , LASPBC seeks to ensure that there is access to fair housing by enforcing the FHA against direct providers of housing in Palm Beach , Martin , Okeechobee , Hendry , and St . Lucie counties whose discriminatory practices make housing unavailable to persons based on their membership of the seven federal and state protected classes together with the four additional protected classes in Palm Beach county comprising of sexual orientation , age , marital status , or gender identity and expression .
Eneami Bestman , Esq . is the Program Manager of the Fair Housing Project at Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County , Inc . She is a recent graduate of Class VII of the Florida Bar Leadership Academy and she serves on the Government and Public Policy Advocacy Committee of the Florida Bar .
i
See Pub . L . No . 93-383 , 88 Stat . 729 ( 1974 ). ii
Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 , PL 100 – 430 ( HR 1158 ), PL 100 – 430 , September 13 , 1988 , 102 Stat 1619 iii
See Hearings on S . 1604 before the Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs of the Senate Banking , Housing , and Urban Affairs Committee 1228 , 93rd Cong ., 1st Sess . ( 1973 ). iv
42 U . S . C . § 2000e-2 ( a )( 1 ); see also Huntington Beach NAACP v . Town of Huntington , 844 F . 2d 926 , 935 ( 2d Cir . 1984 ) ( discussing Title VII and the FHA being two pieces of a coordinated scheme of federal civil rights to end discrimination .).
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