OVERVIEW

The Iowa Civil Rights Commission was created in 1965 by passage of the Iowa Civil Rights Act. The Commission's mandate is to eliminate discrimination in areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, credit, education and retaliation on the basis of race, sex (in education the only basis), physical disability, mental disability (except in credit), creed, color, religion, age (except in public accommodations and housing), and marital status (only a basis in credit). The mission of the commission is being achieved by 1) processing civil rights complaints in the most efficient and timely manner possible, 2) educating the public through workshops, training sessions and seminars and 3) advocating behavior consistent with the Iowa Civil Rights Act once there is a finding of probable cause that a discriminatory act occurred.