Improve sensitivity

Normally, I would not reply to a knee-jerk editorial such as “Ruling by feeling” (BDN, April 16), but I suggest you take your own advice “to base its conclusions upon thorough investigations, full consideration of the facts.”

Your inforamtion was misleading and false. This could have been caused by the fact that one of your reporters only attended one of the two hearings [conducted by the Maine Human Rights Commission], and the fact that whoever wrote the editorial attended none; nor did whoever wrote the editorial read the investigator’s report or the submissions presented by the respondents and complainant’s attorneys (this information amounts to the size of a small novel). I did.

This particular case received significantly more time, investigation and thought than most cases in recent history. It was no simple decision. It was based on the facts presented in the two hearings. I asked for this particular case [Fisher Engineering and the firing of Ellis Reid] to be tabled after a previous hearing for further investigation. The decision was no after thought but based on all available information.

As you pointed out, the Human Rights Commisson is not a court of law, actually it functions much like a grand jury, but that is where the comparison to criminal proceedings would end. Only in accessibility cases are the commission’s decisions based on clear-cut measurable offenses. The majority of cases are designed just the way the commission is set up.

Five individuals who serve as commissioners and come from all walks of life make reasonable decisions based on the information presented. Unfortunately, all our decisions term one party a winner and one a loser. In this particular case, we did disagree with our investigator and that happens from time to time. That’s precisely why the five commissioners decide after all the information is heard. We were very troubled in this case, but there seemed to be no reason other than this man’s race for his termination.

The commission realizes mistakes are made. But just as the liabilities for an accident are driven by mistakes made, we must deal with the mistakes that are perceived violations of the Maine Civil Rights Act. This in no way should be construed as a condemnation. There are winners and losers in each and every case, but it is my hope that Maine’s citizens will always continue to win through improved sensitivity to various laws that protect human rights and prevent discrimination. Paul K. Vestal Jr. Commissioner Maine Human Rights Commission