Equal Opportunity-Cultural Diversity
Agenda Summary
Equal Opportunity - Cultural Diversity Committee
National Association of REALTORS®
2006 REALTORS® Conference & Expo
Hilton New Orleans Riverside
Grand Salon C, Street Level
Friday, November 10, 2006
1:30 PM - 4:30 PMChair: Alice Martin, Phoenix, AZ
Vice Chair: Bonnie Casper, Cincinnati, OH
Committee Liaison: Ron Phipps, Warwick, RI
Committee Executive: Fred Underwood, Washington, DC
I. Call To Order
OwnershipDisclosure and Conflict of Interest Policy1. When NAR has an ownership interest in an entity and a member has an ownership interest* in that same entity, such member must disclose the existence of his or her ownership interest prior to speaking to a decision making body on any matter involving that entity.
2. If a member has personal knowledge that NAR is considering doing business with an entity in which a member has any financial interest**, or with an entity in which the memberserves in a decision-making capacity*, or wit, then such member must disclose the existence of his or her financial interest or decision making role prior to speaking to a decision making body about the entity.
3. If a member has a financial interest in, or serves in a decision-making capacity for, any entity that the member knows is offering competing products and services as those offered by NAR, then such member must disclose the existence of his or her financial interest or decision-makingrole prior to speaking to a decision making body about an issue involving those competing products and services.
After making the necessary disclosure, a member may participate in the discussion and vote on the matter unless that member has aconflict of interest as defined below.
Conflict of Interest Policy
A member of any of NAR’s decision making bodies will be considered to have a conflict of interest whenever that member:
1. Is a principal, partner orcorporate officer of a business providing products or services to NAR or in a business being considered as a provider of products or services (“Business:); or
2. Holds a seat on the board of directors of the Business unless the person’s only relationship to the Business is service on such board of directors as NAR’s representative; or
3. Holds an ownership interest of more than 1 percent of the Business.
Members with a conflict of interest must immediately disclose their interest at the outset of any discussions by a decision making body pertaining to the Business or any of its products or services. Such members may not participate in the discussion relating to that Business other than to respond to questions asked of them by other members of the body. Furthermore, no member with a conflict of interest may vote on any matter in which the member has a conflict of interest, including votes to block or alter the actions of the body in order to benefit the Business in which they have an interest.
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*Ownership interest is defined as the cumulative holdings of the member, the member’s spouse, children, siblings and to any trust, corporation or partnershipin which any of the foregoing individuals is an officer or director, or owns, in the aggregate, at least 50% of the (a) beneficial interest (if a trust), (b) stock (if a corporation) or (c) partnership interests (if a partnership).
**Financialinterest means any interest involving money, investments, credit or contractual rights.
II. Approval of Previous Meeting's MinutesIII. Report from the Equal Opportunity Cultural Diversity Forum
IV. Fair Housing, Enforcement Update, and Michigan Education and Self Testing ProgramFair Housing Enforcement and REALTOR® Response
Over the past year, the National Fair Housing Alliance has filed complaints against a number of real estate firms alleging discrimination in real estate sales. Using matched pairs of testers, the Alliance alleges that African American and Hispanic testers were provided less service than white testers. Most of the complaints also allege steering because of race.
These complaints have been filed in several urban areas including Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago and NewYork. Frequently, differences included steering to school districts based on the race of the tester. None of the complaints have been adjudicated to determine if, in fact, the Fair Housing Act was violated. Several of the real estate firms involved are in discussions with the National Fair Housing Alliance to resolve the complaints.
Several issues of concern to REALTORS® arise out of these complaints. Are REALTORS® being properly educated regarding fair housing and do existing fair housing courses provide the right training? Do the HUD procedures and complaints adequately provide enough information so a person charged with discrimination can understand the complaints against them? Are there new or additional REALTOR® programs that can increase the effectiveness of education? Should NAR work to increase the public's acceptance of fair housing and inclusive housing patterns, and if so, how?
The Complaint Announcements
All of the Alliance complaints have beenaccompanied by press conferences announcing a pattern of alleged discrimination in a market area. These announcements relate a pattern from tests of a number of real estate agents and firms, not just the firm or firms named in the complaints. These announcements mention high percentages of discrimination based on these limited tests, painting the entire real estate profession with a broad brush. At the same time, the announcements outline how NAR's fair housing training program is widely available and that these alleged acts of discrimination cannot be blamed on ignorance of the law.
NAR has helped the local and state associations in each of these urban areas to respond with statements supporting fair housing laws and their enforcement and outlining the training programs available in these areas. The Michigan Association response was well received and has served as a model for other associations. The leadership of the Michigan Association attended the press announcements in Detroit and delivered strong statements about the REALTOR® commitment to fair housing.
The way these complaints were filed and announced has raised some questions regarding the enforcement process. NAR has received calls from members, including some involvedin the complaints, concerned that the public announcements about discrimination amount to trying the case in public. Others are concerned that the press announcements often predate their having copies of the complaints and that the HUD complaints offer little information about the facts alleged in the complaint. The firms named in the complaints are also being asked to resolve the matter before they have had a chance to review the specifics of the complaints.
Sample Press Announcement from the Alliance
REALTOR® Fair Housing Training
NAR released a DVD based fair housing orientation program last year. This Fair Housing Video provides basic fair housing information for members and has been praised by the director of the National Fair Housing Alliance. NAR also publishes a Fair Housing Handbook that provides brokers and office managers with tools to develop and implement fair housing procedures for the real estate office. A Fair Housing Pocket Guide answers questions that agents frequently ask about fair housing.
Many real estate schools and associations offer fair housing courses modeled on NAR's earlier fair housing curriculum. From Fair Housing in the 90's to Fair Housing Equal Opportunities and Shared Neighborhoods, these courses include information on the law along with case studies to help agents learn how to apply the law to their business. NAR's fair housing training course is now an integral part of At Home with Diversity. This training builds from a basic understanding of fair housing laws to practical steps needed to reach out and market to all racial and ethnic groups within the parameters of the law.
Fair housing training is required for real estate licenses in most states, and many states also require continuing fair housing education. To help bring fair housing training to individual real estate offices, the Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers (CRB) recently unveiled a new At Home with Diversity based course. This course, Managing Diversity for the Broker, Owner & Manager, includes extensive information about incorporating fair housing training in a real estate office.
Michigan's Program
The Michigan Association is developing a comprehensive training and self testing program to bring training to members across the state. The focus of the education clearly is to prevent violations of the fair housing laws. In order to assess whether or not the education is effective in preventing potentially discriminatory practices, MAR has partnered with Michigan’s Fair Housing Centers to develop a self-testing program. Such testswill be performed by the Fair Housing Center. MAR will encourage its brokerages involved in the testing to take whatever steps are necessary to remedy any potential violations to prevent illegal discrimination, improve customer service and establish sound business practices. A second component of the initiative is an education component. MAR will partner with the National Fair Housing Alliance to create a course for distribution to sales associates, associate brokers and brokers.
Self testingprograms have been conducted in the past. The first self testing program took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan in the mid 1980's. The test results provided material for NAR's early fair housing course, Brokers, Buyers and Bias. The Southwest Chicago Association also implemented a self testing program in the early 1990's, where differences in treatment were referred through professional standards to determine if the differences violated the Code of Ethics. Members found in violation were subject to sanctions. Other self testing programs were conducted or explored in several boards including Lake County, Illinois and Cincinnati, Ohio. In the mid 1990's the Fair Housing Council of Greater Washington contracted with several large real estate firms to test thefirm’s agents. Following the recent complaints filed against its firms by the National Fair Housing Alliance, NRT has announced a training and self testing program to be conducted by the National Community Reinvestment Corporation.
Fair Housing and the Public
HUD conducted several studies in recent years to gauge the public's understanding of and support for fair housing. 81% of survey respondents knew that restricting home sales to whites is illegal. 44% knew that treating families with children differently is against the law. 88% of survey respondents supported laws that prohibit restricting home sales to white buyers. Another question asked people to choose between two hypothetical laws. 70% supported a fair housing law thatprohibits refusals to sell based on race, while 21% supported a law allowing such restrictions.
NAR's activities to promote fair housing to the public involve creating fair housing posters and other materials for local associations to use during fair housing month.V. Report on "At Home with Diversity"
VI. Diversity in Leadership Status and Actions
VII. Minority Homeownership Partnerships
A. Congressional Black Caucus Foundation WOW program
B. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute HOGAR Program
VIII. Diversity Grant Requests and Approval
IX. Update on Cooperation with NAREB, NAHREP and AREAA
X. Unfinished Business
XI. Adjournment
