“Administrative law judge” means a Commissioner or non-Commissioner designated or delegated by the chair or vice chair to:
(1) conduct public hearings
(2) conduct appeal hearings; and
(3) rule on motions.
“Appeal hearing” means a hearing with the Commission held subsequent to a no probable cause finding which is open to the public.
“Appeal Hearing Panel” means a Panel of Commissioners or non-Commissioners, or a combination of both, designated or delegated by the chair or vice chair to hear evidence and rule on motions at an appeal hearing.
“Chair” means the person elected chair of the Commission in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance.
“Commission” means the Metropolitan Human Relations Commission of the City of Fort Wayne.
“Commissioner” means an individual appointed as a Commissioner pursuant to the Ordinance.
“Complainant” means a person or persons, the Commission, or the Director claiming to be aggrieved by a discriminatory practice or act contrary to the provisions of the Ordinance.
“Complaint” means a written statement submitted to the Commission sufficiently precise to identify the parties, and to describe generally the action or practices complained of.
“Day” means a calendar day unless the context clearly requires otherwise, provided, however, that when any period in which action must be taken under these rules expires on a Saturday, Sunday, national or state holiday, or a day upon which the Commission is closed for business, such period shall be extended to the next business day, provided further, that all periods of notice or time for taking action prescribed by these rules or the Ordinance shall be calculated by excluding the day from which the period begins to run and including the day on which the notice is effective or the action must be taken.
“Determination Hearing” means a non-public session where an investigator submits all pertinent information gathered during an investigation to the Determination Hearing Panel for a finding.
“Determination Hearing Panel” means no more than two Commissioners approved by the chair to issue findings at a Determination Hearing and carry out other duties as required by these rules.
“Director” means the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Human Relations Commission or a designee.
“Discrimination” means any difference in treatment based on race, sex, color, religion, disability, age, ancestry, national origin, place of birth, familial status, or sexual orientation. Discrimination also means the exclusion of a person from or failure or refusal to extend to a person equal opportunities because of race, sex, religion, color, disability, age, ancestry, national origin, place of birth, familial status, or sexual orientation.
“Disparate treatment” means an evidentiary theory of intentional discrimination.
“Disparate impact” means an evidentiary theory of unintentional discrimination, generally involving facially neutral practices or criteria that disproportionately affect members of a particular protected group, and the practices or criteria are not justified by business necessity.
“Dual filed case” means a complaint filed with the Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Commission and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“Final order” means an order issued by the Commission following the exhaustion of the administrative appeal process.
“Finding of no probable cause” means a written finding issued by the Commission that probable cause does not exist to believe that an unlawful discriminatory practice occurred.
“Finding of probable cause” means a written finding issued by the Commission that probable cause exists to believe that a discriminatory practice occurred.
“Order by default” means an order issued by the Commission, after proper notice, against a respondent that has failed to answer a complaint within the time provided by these rules, against a party that has failed to appear at a public hearing, or against a party that has otherwise failed to comply with the Ordinance or these rules. An order by default shall have the same scope and effect as a final order issued by the Commission subsequent to a public hearing.
“Ordinance” means City of Fort Wayne General Ordinance G-21-78, G-22-00, G-16-01, G-34-78, and G-33-92, as amended.
“Party” means a complainant, a respondent, an intervener, or, where appropriate, the Commission, or Director or deputy Director of the Commission, acting in his or her official capacity.
“Person” means person as defined by the Ordinance.
“Presiding officer” means the administrative law judge, or, if more than one administrative law judge has been appointed for a given complaint, it means that administrative law judge selected by the chair or the vice chair to preside over a public hearing and shall rule on all motions. In those instances where a presiding officer has not been appointed, the chair or the vice chair shall perform all the duties of the presiding officer until such time as a presiding officer is duly appointed.
“Probable cause” means such an apparent state of facts established by personal knowledge or by information from others reasonably accepted as true, as would lead a person of normal intelligence and prudence to believe that an unlawful discriminatory practice has occurred.
“Public hearing” means a hearing open to the public designed to enable the Commission to take evidence and hear arguments on pending charges.
“Rebuttal” means a written statement from the complainant which may be necessary to aid in the investigation of the complaint.
“Respondent” means any person against whom a complaint has been filed.