Wisconsin DOT sued over civil rights violations
In connection with a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA), the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) has been accused of violating civil rights laws. The initial lawsuit claims that DOT's reconstruction of a major highway section called the Zoo Interchange is discriminatory against minority groups because it does not consider public transportation improvements as part of the reconstruction.
This lawsuit is in accordance with the results of a recent investigation by the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Civil Rights that found that DOT has not been following mandated federal civil rights rules for at least seven years, according to the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal.
In addition, the investigation said "the violations are of even greater concern in the light of the repeated comments, concerns and complaints our organizations and others have submitted … about [the department's] failure to address the overall discriminatory nature of its planning and project selection, actions that clearly and repeatedly disadvantage communities of color in southeastern Wisconsin."
Also, the plaintiff's final 28-page report listed that DOT would often devote it's anti-discrimination efforts on hiring disabled staff members or contracting "disadvantaged businesses," rather than focusing on the overall picture of how its operations affect minorities in the area.
The report states that the department has 90 days to become compliant with federal rules.
While the initial lawsuit between DOT and the ACLU is still ongoing, the recent findings will surely complicate the depositions, hearings and trial. In order to effectively fold these findings into the trials, lawyers may want to partner with Wisconsin court reporters that can produce high-quality deposition transcripts.
