Human Rights Overview
"...to promote equal opportunity and democratic rights, and to
protect human rights of persons in Tulsa against discrimination
because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age,
disability marital status or familial status, through advisory,
educational and enforcement services..."
The HUMAN RIGHTS DEPARTMENT (HRD) is the City
of Tulsa department, created by Title 5 of the City of Tulsa
Revised Ordinances, that receives and investigates complaints of
discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, and public
accommodations. HRD is responsible for assuring compliance of City
contractors by monitoring their hiring, labor standards, Equal
Employment Opportunity (EEO), and Affirmative Action practices.
The Department uses two approaches to
accomplish the objectives of the Ordinance: proactive and
enforcement. The proactive approach to
implementing the Ordinance is handled through community involvement
by encouraging community support and awareness of human and civil
rights programs. This is the public relations and educational unit
of the department, which takes the proactive approach of
presenting our educational programs to schools, churches,
businesses, and civic organizations.
Additionally, the unit conducts special projects, surveys,
seminars, public service announcements and participation in various
community meetings and activities. This unit also works closely
with the Human Rights Commission, Mayor's Commission on the Status
of Women, Greater Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission, Mayor's
Commission on the Concerns of Persons With Disabilities, and the
Greater Tulsa Area Hispanic Affairs Commission to assess the needs
of the community.
The Investigative and Enforcement Division
enforces the Ordinance through the investigation of
complaints received which allege discrimination in housing,
employment and public accommodations. This involves coordinating a
system to receive, test, file, and investigate the complaint in
order to make a recommendation of "probable cause" or "no probable
cause" to the Director. If the Director rules there is probable
cause to believe the discrimination occurred, an attempt is made to
eliminate the violation by bringing parties together in a
conciliation agreement.
For more information, please contact us at (918)
596-7818. You can also e-mail HumanRightsRec@cityoftulsa.org
or contact us at: Human Rights Department, 175 East 2nd Street,
Suite 865, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103.
