Introduction
Testing has been part of ICRC's efforts to eliminate unlawful
discrimination in Iowa for over 20 years. Testing is a tool the
agency uses to discover whether persons are being treated differently
because of a protected personal characteristic such as race, sex,
disability or familial status. Analogous to the "mystery
shopping" technique that many businesses use, testing is
a way to check on how applicants and customers are being treated.
When used by a civil rights agency, it also checks on compliance
with the law.
Testing helps determine the nature and extent of unlawful discrimination.
Testing also serves to educate the public about civil rights law
and encourages voluntary lawful behavior. Testing results are
used by ICRC in allocating resources and can be used by communities
as benchmarks for planning and attaining greater education and
compliance.
One of the earliest ICRC testing projects involved testing landlords,
property managers and Realtors in Council Bluffs. On-site race
tests were conducted on rental and sales property throughout the
city in 1978. During this project, 9 real estate firms, 8 landlords
and 1 rental referral service were tested. Possible violations
of fair housing laws were found in all but one of the tests.
The size and scope of the ICRC's testing program has grown since
its beginning in the 1970's. The ICRC has devoted resources to
large scale testing projects in each of the past four years. In
1995/1996 the ICRC conducted housing tests of rental properties
in 51 mid-sized communities throughout Iowa. In this project,
funded by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
the ICRC conducted on-site race tests, familial status phone tests,
and disability phone tests. These tests were designed to determine
if individuals were being treated differently because of their
race, because they had children in their households, or because
a household member had a disability.
From February 1995 to April 1996, the ICRC conducted 909 tests
(402 familial status, 262 disability, and 245 race) and found
136 possible violations of fair housing laws, and filed 41 commissioner
complaints.
In 1996/1997 the Iowa Civil Rights Commission conducted on-site
race and national origin tests of mortgage lenders in the eight
largest cities in Iowa. Pre-application tests were conducted of
lenders in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines,
Dubuque, Iowa City, Sioux City, and Waterloo/Cedar Falls. A total
of 122 tests were conducted with 33 tests showing possible violations
of fair lending laws.
In 1997/98 the ICRC conducted on-site race tests of employers,
housing providers, and lenders in 12 communities in Iowa. Familial
status housing tests were also conducted in each of the communities.
The communities tested included: Ames, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids,
Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown,
Mason City, Muscatine, Ottumwa, and Waterloo. A total of 589 tests
(36 credit, 42 employment, 49 race housing, and 462 familial status
housing) were conducted with 59 (14 credit, 2 employment, 9 race
housing, and 34 familial status housing) showing possible violations
of the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
The 1998/1999 Community Testing Project is ICRC's most recent
testing effort.