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☆ Lawyer for Tiger Woods' ex-girlfriend, Erica Herman, alleges in court she has more details about sexual harassment claims against the golfer but says NDA is keeping her silent
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Under the federal law, judges can rule NDAs unenforceable in instances of sexual harassment or assault. Herman has alleged sexual harassment occurred during her relationship with Woods, both in how it started and how it ended. They've asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed and called the sexual harassment claims "utterly meritless." "A boss imposing different work conditions on his employee because of their sexual relationship is sexual harassment," Herman's attorneys argue in the court filing. She was then locked out of the house, away from her personal property and pets, court documents allege.

☆ Republicans dismiss fears that their debt ceiling bill would make the housing crisis worse for 1 million families as 'scaremongering'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

House Republicans' debt ceiling bill would cut significant funding from federal housing services. HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said the agency would suffer "the most devastating impacts in HUD's history" if the funding cuts in the bill are made law. He went on, "It's being positioned as congressional Republicans are heartless because they want to pass these spending cuts. "The House bill reduces spending to the levels we had in 2022. The last I checked, 2022 was not a horrid apocalypse sweeping across our country," Cruz told Insider on Wednesday.

☆ Don't bother writing a 'love letter' to home sellers. They're a waste of time and someone could get screwed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Moved by the note, dubbed a "love letter" in real-estate parlance, Byington decided to sell the house to her. Elizabeth Scire's "Barbie House" love letter to the seller. EtsyLove letters risk discriminationDeeply personal and emotionally written love letters, however, open sellers and their agents up to legal risks. In a 2020 blog post, the National Association of Realtors said love letters would be more accurately described as "liability letters." In September 2021, Oregon became the first state to enact a law that banned the practice of writing or sharing real-estate love letters during the homebuying process.

☆ Oregon bill would make it easier for homeowners to remove racist language from deeds and property documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A bill in Oregon's state legislature would make it easier to remove racist language from house deeds. A 2018 version of the bill that was passed has been criticized for not fully removing the language. Residents who testified in support of the bill said they feel uncomfortable signing documents with racist language. The new bill would create an archive for old versions of the property documents, allowing them to be entirely replaced with new versions that don't have the offensive language, KVAL reported. Koepping told The Oregonian that he and his wife were stunned to find a clause forbidding people of color from owning property in their neighborhood while signing documents for the house they bought in 2018.

☆ How an obscure legal doctrine called the Henderson test could weaken Section 230 and change free speech on the internet
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The so-called "Henderson test" would significantly weaken the power of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, several experts said in conversations and briefings following oral arguments in the case Gonzalez v. Google . One way the Supreme Court could undercut Section 230 is by endorsing the Henderson test, some advocates believe. The Henderson test came about from a November ruling by the Fourth Circuit appeals court in Henderson v. The Source for Public Data. In other words, once Public Data made changes to the information it pulled, it became an information content provider. Google pointed to the parts of its brief in the Gonzalez case that discuss the Henderson test.

Black families face unique, racist barriers to creating wealth, from homeownership to business ownership, says Salene Hitchcock-Gear, president of individual life insurance at Prudential. To work towards closing the racial wealth gap and building generational wealth for Black Americans, it's important to understand what obstacles stand in the way. Black Americans face lower median credit scoresWhile the credit scoring system was created to take the bias out of lending, it's become yet another hurdle that prevents many Black Americans from building wealth. The bottom lineAfter many generations of being excluded from wealth-building, Black Americans still face a unique set of challenges stemming from racial discrimination. However, making homebuying and financial literacy more accessible could start to narrow the wide racial wealth gap in the US, and help Black families build generational wealth.

☆ Low-income renters are frustrated by Biden's new plan to make housing more affordable because they don't think it does enough to combat surging rents
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The White House outlined actions it's taking to protect tenants amid rising rents and evictions. Tenants' groups told Insider that they wanted decisive legal and financial action from the president. In addition to that, the White House also published a "Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights," endorsing fair housing practices and a tenants' right to organize. "On the one hand, we are encouraged that the White House has released this Blueprint as a statement of values," Martin said. "As a blueprint, the document's statements don't do anything to materially help improve conditions for renters," he said.

☆ We read the Biden administration's proposal to protect renters from discrimination and unwarranted rent hikes. Here are the 3 biggest takeaways.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Biden administration announced several new protections for renters on January 25. At the same time, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, an independent organization that helps regulate the mortgage market, will create new policies that encourage development of affordable-rental units. Insider reviewed the documents the White House released concerning the new initiatives. The idea comes as many renters continue to organize in order to combat what they see as unwarranted rent increases and evictions. Some home builders like Jerry Konter, the chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, disagreed with the new protections for renters.

Jan 12 (Reuters) - City National Bank, a unit of Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), agreed to commit more than $31 million to boost lending to Black and Hispanic home buyers in the Los Angeles area, in the U.S. Department of Justice's largest settlement over illegal redlining. The Justice Department accused City National of violating the federal Fair Housing Act by having "avoided" serving majority-Black and majority-Hispanic neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area between 2017 and 2020. The bank will also improve training, spend at least $1.75 million on advertising, community programs and financial education, and set up a fair lending oversight committee. Garland said the Justice Department is trying to vigorously enforce fair lending laws and ensure that lenders "provide equal opportunity for every American to obtain credit. City National, with $95.3 billion of assets, denied wrongdoing, but said it settled to avoid prolonged litigation.

Companies Royal Bank of Canada FollowJan 12 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday filed a lawsuit against City National Bank, a unit of Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), under the federal Fair Housing Act. The lawsuit was filed with the federal court in Los Angeles, online court records show. RBC and City National had no immediate comment. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New YorkOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Grand jury indicts former N.J. landlord on sex charges against 30 tenants, authorities say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Antonio Planas | Antonio Planas Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A grand jury indicted a former New Jersey landlord last week on more than three dozen sex charges accusing him of soliciting sex from tenants who were facing eviction or struggling financially, authorities announced Wednesday. Centanni, the former owner of hundreds of rental units across 18 residential properties, “targeted tenants or prospective tenants who were homeless, about to be evicted, or otherwise struggling financially,” authorities said. The lawsuit alleged Centanni had sexually harassed susceptible tenants for more than 15 years. Centanni sold all of his properties as part of the settlement, the statement said. Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, Centanni would pay $4,392,950 in damages to tenants and prospective tenants “harmed by his harassment,” authorities said.

☆ Feds settle with California city and sheriff's department over discriminatory rental housing program
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Deon J. Hampton | Deon J. Hampton Is A National Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a first-of-its-kind agreement with a California city and sheriff's department over a "crime-free" rental housing program that led to Black people and Latinos being evicted from their homes based on allegations they had committed crimes. The consent decree announced this week requires Hesperia, California, and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department to end the program. The sheriff's department released a statement saying it could not comment because the case has not been formally dismissed by a federal judge. In one instance, the Justice Department said, a Black woman called police repeatedly because she did not feel safe with her boyfriend at her home. The sheriff’s department then notified her landlord about the domestic disturbances and threatened the landlord with a misdemeanor for violating the crime-free ordinance.

☆ DOJ touts first-of-its-kind settlement in racial discrimination case targeting ‘crime-free housing’ policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The US Justice Department on Wednesday filed what it is describing as a first-of-its-kind settlement in a racial discrimination case challenging a so-called “crime-free housing ordinance.”The proposed consent decree was filed Wednesday in a lawsuit the Justice Department brought in 2019 against the central California city of Hesperia, alleging that the city’s ordinance violated the Fair Housing Act’s prohibitions on racial discrimination in housing access. Hesperia continues to deny the allegations. She noted under the program, Black renters were almost four times more likely to be evicted than White renters and Latino renters were 29% more likely to be evicted. According to the Justice Department, Hesperia and its co-defendants – the county of San Bernardino and the San Bernardino Sheriffs Department – have agreed to pay a $950,000 settlement. It will compensate people who were harmed under the policy and will cover anti-discrimination training and other initiatives.

☆ A former Twitter employee who is a cancer survivor is suing the company after Elon Musk targeted remote work, claiming the abrupt policy change was discriminatory
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Azmi Haroun | Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A former Twitter employee with a disability has mounted a class action suit against the company. The ex-employee claimed Elon Musk's U-turn on the company's remote work policy was discriminatory. In the lawsuit, he also claimed that promises that were made when Musk bought Twitter were not kept. After Musk's purchase, he has whittled down the company's staff from some 7,500 employees to 3,000 employees as of Thursday. And days after Musk's remote work request, on November 15, he said he received a chilling email from Twitter Human Resources.

Delaware-based realtor Claryssa McEnany was helping a client sell a home earlier this year when she witnessed a blatant example of appraisal bias. How appraisal bias affects Black homeownersTesting done by fair housing groups have shown that McEnany's experience isn't uncommon, and that the impacts of appraisal bias can be costly. How does appraisal bias happen? But creating an appraisal report isn't an exact science. What to do if you think you've experienced appraisal discriminationIf you think you've experienced discrimination in the appraisal process, your first step should be to look at the appraisal report.

☆ Judge rules for California baker over same-sex wedding cake
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A California judge has ruled in favor of a bakery owner who refused to make wedding cakes for a same-sex couple because it violated her Christian beliefs. Kern County Superior Court Judge Eric Bradshaw ruled Friday that Miller acted lawfully while upholding her beliefs about what the Bible teaches regarding marriage. “I’m hoping that in our community we can grow together,” Miller told the Bakersfield Californian after the ruling. The decision comes as a Colorado baker is challenging a ruling he violated that state’s anti-discrimination law by refusing to make a cake celebrating a gender transition. That baker, Jack Phillips, separately won a partial U.S. Supreme Court victory after refusing on religious grounds to make a gay couple’s wedding cake a decade ago.

☆ Trump directed Democratic staffers of color to serve food during a White House dinner, books says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump mistook a racially diverse group of congressional aides for waitstaff in 2017. Then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus had to save the president from the gaffe, according to a new book by NYT's Maggie Haberman. Trump also accused "illegals" of making him lose the popular vote in 2016, per Haberman's book. Trump faced the staffers and asked them, "Why don't you get" the food, according to the book, before former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus corrected the president and fetched the actual waitstaff. Trump also railed against immigrants from Central and South America, and previously expressed disdain about "s-hole" countries in Africa.

I've had a great tenant for the last several years but that almost wasn't the case. I set up strict criteria for applicants but nearly rented to someone who didn't measure up because I liked them personally. She was very interested, but she had inconsistent employment and a pet that didn't meet my listed criteria. Clearly defining my rental criteria was key to making a smart, fair choiceSince then, I've become a lurker in landlord social media groups and listened to podcasts for landlords. Because of that, it's so important to have clearly defined rental criteria in your ads, including items like a minimum verifiable income and photo ID.

I've since bought other rentals, and in my 14 years as a landlord I've learned a few things. Also, it's important to stick to your written criteria when choosing a tenant and never rent to friends or family members. Over the past 14 years of being a landlord, I've learned a few things I wish I'd known when I was just starting out. How I got started as a landlordBefore I start, I thought I'd share a bit about how I became a landlord. Always stick to your (written) rental criteriaAnother thing that I have seen burn many landlords is the importance of sticking to written rental criteria when evaluating tenants.

☆ When homeowners associations were first created, they helped keep Black people out of the neighborhood. They're still doing it today.
▼ + stars: | 2020-09-18 | by ( Mariette Williams | Stephanie Hallett | Read More | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Today, HOAs are majority white and Asian, and Black homeowners say they experience targeted discrimination and harassment by their HOAs. Black homeowners say they're targeted by HOAsWhile the federal Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968, prohibiting racial discrimination in the sale and rental of homes, HOAs still find ways to exclude or discriminate against Black homeowners. HOA discrimination can also look like preferential treatment of white homeowners. While some accusations of HOA discrimination can be considered circumstantial, many HOAs still have "racially restrictive" language in their documents. Homebuyers may not have the funds to hire a lawyer, and HOA discrimination is often hard to prove.

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