CORPORATE PARTNERS, COMPLIANCE AND TRAINING PROGRAM
Civil rights is the right thing to do, and it's good for business.
T he ERC’s Corporate Partners, Compliance and Training program assists and guides the private sector in maintaining compliance with a variety of civil rights laws. Through relationships with housing developers, retailers, and restauranteurs, the ERC promotes equal access and opportunity for all as a corporate culture, and demonstrates that focusing on civil rights is not only the right thing to do, it’s also smart business. The CPT program provides training, compliance testing and best practices technical assistance to businesses. For more information about CPT Program services, download our brochure, contact us, or call 202.234.3062.
Training, Testing and Other Services
General Fair Housing ($150)
This course covers basic fair housing and nondiscrimination guidelines as regulated by the Fair Housing Act. In addition, the course addresses recent developments and hot topics such as assistance animals, source of income discrimination/housing choice vouchers, criminal records screening, and other relevant topics. The course contains material for all skill levels and is appropriate for leasing/sales agents, human resources departments, maintenance personnel, and all other executive management or staff who communicate with the general public. The course takes approximately 90 minutes to complete. Please contact the Equal Rights Center at info@equalrightscenter.org for any reasonable accommodation requests.
Guía de Equidad en la Vivienda ($150)
Este curso, presentado por el Centro para la Igualdad de Derechos, proporcionará a los proveedores de vivienda una visión general de la Ley de Equidad en la Vivienda (FHA, por sus siglas en inglés) y de las normas contra la discriminación reguladas por esta ley federal. El curso dura aproximadamente una hora y media y es adecuado para agentes de alquiler/ventas, departamentos de recursos humanos, personal de mantenimiento, y todo otro tipo de directores ejecutivos y personal que se comunican con el público en general. Si hay alguna otra forma de hacer este curso más accesible para usted, por favor póngase en contacto con nosotros al info@equalrightscenter.org.
Assessing Requests for Assistance Animals ($0)
In January 2020, the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued new guidance clarifying the process by which housing providers should assess a person’s request to have an animal as a reasonable accommodation. This video will walk you through that process. This video is not legal advice, but may help you to make informed decisions when it comes to approving or denying reasonable accommodation requests. You can also follow along with our one-page flowchart, available in the “Additional References” section of the course.
Washington, D.C. Fair Housing Laws for Housing Providers ($55)
This course will allow housing providers to stay-up-to-date on the many unique local protections and laws in Washington, D.C. It reviews protected classes like source of income and status as a victim of an intra-family offense under the D.C. Human Rights Act, details about how local occupancy codes intersect with fair housing requirements, and requirements for criminal records screening. The course is interactive, with video and audio components including interviews with national and local fair housing experts. It is designed to take 1.5 hours to complete. Captioning available upon request at info@equalrightscenter.org.
Best Practices for Ensuring that Criminal Records Screening Policies & Practices Comply with Fair Housing Requirements ($50)
This course will give housing providers best practices for ensuring that their housing related criminal records screening policies & practices align with the Fair Housing Act and recent guidance from HUD. The course is interactive with audio and video components to help establish how criminal records screening can become a fair housing issue. It provides concrete information housing providers can use to comply with fair housing requirements and takes less than 1.5 hours to complete.
Guide to Multifamily Housing ($55)
This course provides a basic overview on maintaining compliance with accessibility laws, specifically covering the Fair Housing Act accessibility requirements. The course takes approximately 60 minutes to complete.
- General Fair Housing: This training includes information the Fair Housing Act and other applicable state or local laws that impact housing. The class discusses federal, state, and local protected classes, prohibited activities, and reasonable accommodation/modification requirements. This class contains interactive scenarios and is appropriate for all staff members.
- Advanced Fair Housing for Supervisors and Trainers: This training expands on the basic fair housing training and focuses on learning how to analyze emerging trends in fair housing and communicate basic fair housing information to staff.
- Source of Income: This training includes information on the background and history of the Fair Housing Act and other laws that impact housing with special focus on the Housing Choice Voucher program, as well as other source of income related rules and regulations.
- Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications for Property Managers: This training focuses on the requirements of property managers to allow reasonable accommodations and modifications. It details common requests, including service animals and hoarding issues.
- Accessible Design and Construction: This training focuses on the accessible design requirements as they pertain to newly constructed multifamily buildings under the federal Fair Housing Act. Also included is a detailed look at the seven technical requirements as well as common compliance oversights.
- Underserved Population Sensitivity: This training focuses on best practices for working with historically underserved populations and communities including immigrants, limited/non-english proficiency, LGBTQ, and individuals with disabilities.
For pricing information or to arrange a live training in-person or via webinar, please contact us or call us at 202-234-3062.
Testing is a controlled process designed to identify differences in treatment afforded to individuals who are similar in every significant respect except the variable being tested (i.e., race or number of children). Testing allows the ERC to measure and document differences in the quality, content, and quantity of information and services. It is a legal process by which the nature and extent of illegal discrimination can be ascertained. This process can also be referred to as “auditors” or “secret shoppers.”
- Single Part Tests are tests where only one tester is assigned, and that tester will gather information about the policies and practices of an entity. The analysis of the test report will be completed solely on the information provided from that single tester, unlike a matched-pair or sandwich test where two or more test reports can be compared.
- Matched-Paired Tests are tests where two testers, one control tester and one protected tester, who are similarly matched in all characteristics except for the characteristic or basis that is being tested. Each tester will have similar profiles, will be provided with similar test instructions, and will attempt to gather similar information about the policies and practices of an entity. The two test reports can then be compared to see if both testers received similar information, similar services and similar treatment. Matched-paired testing is an effective way of exposing differential treatment or more subtle forms of discrimination.
- Sandwich Tests are tests that utilize three testers, two control testers and one protected tester, who are similarly matched in all characteristics except for the characteristic or basis that is being tested. Each tester will have similar profiles, will be provided with similar test instructions, and will attempt to gather similar information about the policies and practices of an entity. This type of test can confirm differential treatment by strategically sequencing control tests on either side of the protected test.
Tests can be conducted in-person, by phone, by email, by another method, or through a combination of methods. The best approach will depend on the type of information that the test coordinator would like to capture.
For pricing information or to arrange a live training in-person or via webinar, please contact us or call us at 202-234-3062.
Site surveys are tests that determine whether a property, business, or entity is compliant with the accessibility standards for persons with disabilities, where testers take measurements and/or photographs of a location to determine its compliance with applicable accessibility laws.
For pricing information, or to arrange for a site survey, please contact us or call us at 202-234-3062.
The ERC provides best practices technical assistance at an hourly rate. This assistance is designed to maximize access and accommodations for residents and patrons and will in many instances go beyond the requirements of the law. This can include the review or creation of documents or policies and the provision of legal information and guidance.
The ERC does not give legal advice, including advice on the minimum requirements for complying with the law or assistance applying the law to a specific set of facts. For that, we encourage consultation with legal counsel.
For pricing information, or to arrange for a group in-person training course, please contact us or call us at 202-234-3062.
The Multifamily Housing Resource Program (MHRP) is a membership program within the Equal Rights Center’s (ERC) Corporate Partnerships and Training Program. The MHRP reflects nearly 30 years of experience by the ERC with federal laws, and offers development, design, and construction companies a proactive approach to increasing housing accessibility.
MHRP trainings, convenings, and other resources are available only to members. To learn more about the MHRP, click here.
