BRIBERY AT THE FLORIDA COMMISSION ON HUMAN RELATIONS
QUESTION: DOES THE FCHR ACCEPT BRIBES?
ANSWER: PRETTY MUCH...
| WHO: | The FCHR is a state agency that investigates discrimination (employment, housing, etc.) (see Chapter 760 Florida Statutes). In laymen's terms, it's a little brother to the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; a federal agency). |
| WHAT: | §760.06(4) FS grants the FCHR "power" to accept gifts, bequests, and many other things. Note: Bequest = something valuable given to influence an official outcome (click here) |
| WHERE: | Florida |
| WHEN: | Whenever. According to the FCHR (see below), the investigating agency can accept these items (ie, gifts/bequests/etc.) at any time; even from a company/organization that it's actively investigating. |
| HOW: | Gifts can be given to any of the 12 FCHR Commissioners (see §760.03). Gifts can also be given to the Executive Director, FCHR Staff, or the FCHR itself. |
| WHY: | It seems unlawful and unethical for an investigating agency to accept gifts and/or bequests from the people/organizations it's actively investigating (please accord Canon 5D Florida Code of Judicial Conduct). At the very least it's questionable; which is why a Floridian questioned it. |
DETAILS
In September 2019, a Floridian asked the FCHR - in an official manner - whether the FCHR could accept gifts/bequests from an organization that it was actively investigating. Roughly 80 days later, the FCHR answered with "an emphatic yes".• Scroll Below to read the pertinent excerpts.
• Click Here to read the entire statement.
• Download the full, official statement here.
The following year (September 2020), that same Floridian Petitioned the FCHR for another Declaratory Statement. This time, he asked the agency outright: "do you accept bribes?". After 211 days - and appellate court intervention - the FCHR declined to say whether it did or didn't accept bribes. A few months later, that same appellate court affirmed the FCHR's non-answer. Thereby cementing the 'obvious' fact that the FCHR can accept bequests from defendants/respondents that it actively investigates. • Scroll Below to read the public notice.
• Click Here to read the entire statement.
• Download the full, official statement here.
Altogether, the FCHR duly stated that it accepts gifts/bequests from organizations that it actively investigates. Later, however, the FCHR [hesitated then] declined to say whether it accepts bribes.
So, the answer to the question "Does the FCHR Accept Bribes?" is "pretty much, but they won't say for sure. Nevertheless, the agency can 'obviously' accept gifts/bequests; and the Courts have ratified that [legislated] ability."
2019 | FCHR FINAL ORDER (19-065) | Relevant Excerpts Only
...There is no applicable case law suggesting that the Commission cannot accept bequests during the investigation of a claim, nor is there any textual support that such a hypothetical scenario would be barred by the governing statute...
...Given that the answer to Petitioner's question of law on whether the Commission can accept gifts during the investigation phase of a claim is such an emphatic yes, there is no doubt to resolve, no controvery to address. Absent such ambiguity, accordinly, the commission must deny the petition for declaratory statement...
...
DONE AND ORDERED this 10 day of December, 2019
FOR THE FLORIDA COMMISSION ON HUMAN RELATIONS
| Commissioner Tony Jenkins, Panel Chairperson; Commissioner Mario Garza; and Commissioner Rebecca Steele |
Filed this 10 day of December, 2019 in Tallahassee, Florida.
 | |
| Clerk Florida Commission on Human Relations 4075 Esplanade Way, Room 110 Tallahassee, FL 32399 (850) 488-7082 |
Download the full, official statement here.
Sordid Note: When the FCHR entered this Final Order, its Chairperson was a man named Tony Jenkins. Mr. Jenkins, of course, approved the FCHR's briber-ous decision. Yet, that wasn’t the only decision he impacted. During that same time period, a different/unrelated litigant identified Mr. Jenkins as a civil rights aggressor/abuser (see Muriel v Florida Blue). That litigant disclosed the fact that Mr. Jenkins was influencing the investigation into her discrimination charge. Even worse: Mr. Jenkins' employer (Florida Blue) was both:
(1) a civil rights defendant (see listing); and
(2) an FCHR Stakeholder (ie, a company that was [financially] supporting the FCHR) {source: 2019 Annual Report}.
So, in short, the Commission's top commissioner (Tony Jenkins) was influencing the state's investigation into his employer's [as well as his own] discriminatory conduct. In fact, that employer (Florida Blue) was ['financially'] supporting the state agency that was investigating its [own] alleged discrimination. The state's laws (ie, §760.06(4) FS), unfortunately, allowed such lawlessness.
2021 | FCHR PUBLIC NOTICE | 47 FAR 62
Notice of Petitions and Dispositions
Regarding Declaratory Statements
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Commission on Human Relations
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Florida Commission on Human Relations has declined to rule on the petition for declaratory statement filed by Elias Makere on March 31, 2021. The following is a summary of the agency's declination of the petition:
Petitioner did not meet the requirement of alleging facts that show a bona fide, actual, present and practical need for a declaration. Subsection 760.06(4), Fla. Stat., (2020) does not indicate more than one interpretation of the provision in question.
A copy of the Order Declining of the Petition for Declaratory Statement may be obtained by contacting: Florida Commission on Human Relations, c/o Tammy Barton, Clerk of the Commission, 4075 esplanade Way, Suite 110, Tallahassee, FL 32399, (850)907-6788, tammy.barton@fchr.myflorida.com.
...POINTS & THINGS...
Also, take into consideration the agency's hesitance to state whether these gifts/bequests are outright bribes.
As always: please get the justice you deserve.
Sincerely,
www.TextBookDiscrimination.com
