Cases and Complaints

The Commission's business volume in terms of cases and complaints must be understood in the light of the working definitions given to "case" and "complaint." A case is any matter coming to the attention of the Commission wherein an individual alleges violation of the Iowa Civil Rights Act. A complaint is a verified, written allegation of a violation of the Act filed in triplicate with the Commission containing all the information required by the Commission regulations.

Of the more than 220 matters coming before the commission, nearly 160 of these were referred to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Washington, D.C. Nearly 150 of these referred matters involved allegations of discrimination on the basis of sex, a jurisdictional basis stated in the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), but absent in the Iowa Act. Iowa, in fact, led the nation in the number of complaints before the EEOC of discrimination based upon sex.

In addition to the EEOC referrals, a number of matters were referred to other agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board, the Pentagon, and the Social Security Administration.

There were approximately 33 cases of alleged discrimination in employment, most of which involved discrimination on the basis of race. There was a finding of no probable cause in seven of these cases and a number of the cases were dropped when the complainant decided to withdraw from the proceedings. Some of these cases were successfully handled during the early stages of investigation when facts were uncovered to the satisfaction of the complainant. There were six complaints in employment filed of which these were successfully conciliated, one was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, and two are pending.

There were 29 cases of alleged discrimination in Public Accommodations, almost all of which were alleged on the basis of racial discrimination. No probable cause was found in light of these cases. Two complaints were filed; one was successfully conciliated and one was dropped when the parties settled in court proceedings. In most of these cases, the questions were satisfactorily answered during the investigative stages.

In addition to these cases, there were approximately 16 cases dealing with labor organizations or apprenticeship programs. There were also a number of cases involving special programs such as educational or vocational schools.