Ind. Code § 22-9-1-6 – Civil rights commission; powers and duties

(a) The commission shall establish and maintain a permanent office in the city of Indianapolis.
(b) Except as it concerns judicial review, the commission may adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to implement this chapter.
(c) The commission shall formulate policies to effectuate the purposes of this chapter and make recommendations to agencies and officers of the state or local subdivisions thereof to effectuate such policies. The several departments, commissions, divisions, authorities, boards, bureaus, agencies, and officers of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall furnish the commission, upon its request, all records, papers, and information in their possession relating to any matter before the commission.
(d) The commission shall receive and investigate complaints alleging discriminatory practices. The commission shall not hold hearings in the absence of a complaint. All investigations of complaints shall be conducted by staff members of the civil rights commission or their agents.
(e) The commission may create such advisory agencies and conciliation councils, local or statewide, as will aid in effectuating the purposes of this chapter. The commission may itself, or it may empower these agencies and councils to:
1. (1) study the problems of discrimination in the areas covered by section 2 of this chapter when based on race, religion, color, sex, handicap, national origin, or ancestry; and
2. (2) foster through community effort, or otherwise, good will among the groups and elements of the population of the state.
  These agencies and councils may make recommendation to the commission for the development of policies and procedures in general. Advisory agencies and conciliation councils created by the commission shall be composed of representative citizens serving without pay, but with reimbursement for reasonable and necessary actual expenses.
(f) The commission may issue such publications and such results of investigations and research as in its judgment will tend to promote good will and minimize or eliminate discrimination because of race, religion, color, sex, handicap, national origin, or ancestry.
(g) The commission shall prevent any person from discharging, expelling, or otherwise discriminating or retaliating against any other person because the person filed a complaint, testified in any hearing before this commission, or in any way assisted the commission in any matter under its investigation.
(h) The commission may hold hearings, subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, administer oaths, take the testimony of any person under oath, and require the production for examination of any books and papers relating to any matter under investigation or in question before the commission. The commission may make rules as to the issuance of subpoenas by individual commissioners. Contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena issued under this section shall constitute a contempt. All hearings shall be held within Indiana at a location determined by the commission. A citation of contempt may be issued upon application by the commission to the circuit or superior court in the county in which the hearing is held or in which the witness resides or transacts business.
(i) The commission may:
1. (1) before July 1, 2020, appoint administrative law judges other than commissioners; and
2. (2) after June 30, 2020, request assignment of an administrative law judge (as defined in IC 4-21.5-1-2 );
  when an appointment is deemed necessary by a majority of the commission. The administrative law judges shall be members in good standing before the bar of Indiana and shall be appointed by the chairman of the commission. An administrative law judge appointed under this subsection has the same powers and duties as a commissioner sitting as an administrative law judge. However, the administrative law judge may not issue subpoenas.
(j) The commission shall state its findings of fact after a hearing and, if the commission finds a person has engaged in an unlawful discriminatory practice, shall cause to be served on this person an order requiring the person to cease and desist from the unlawful discriminatory practice and requiring the person to take further affirmative action as will effectuate the purposes of this chapter, including but not limited to the power:
1. (1) to restore the complainant's losses incurred as a result of discriminatory treatment, as the commission may deem necessary to assure justice; however, except in discriminatory practices involving veterans, this specific provision when applied to orders pertaining to employment shall include only wages, salary, or commissions;
2. (2) to require the posting of notice setting forth the public policy of Indiana concerning civil rights and the respondent's compliance with the policy in places of public accommodations;
3. (3) to require proof of compliance to be filed by the respondent at periodic intervals; and
4. (4) to require a person who has been found to be in violation of this chapter and who is licensed by a state agency authorized to grant a license to show cause to the licensing agency why the person's license should not be revoked or suspended.
  When an employer has been found to have committed a discriminatory practice in employment by failing to employ an applicant on the basis that the applicant is a veteran, the order to restore the veteran's losses may include placing the veteran in the employment position with the employer for which the veteran applied.
(k) Judicial review of a cease and desist order or other affirmative action as referred to in this chapter may be obtained under IC 22-9-8 . If no proceeding to obtain judicial review is instituted within thirty (30) days from receipt of notice by a person that an order has been made by the commission, the commission, if it determines that the person upon whom the cease and desist order has been served is not complying or is making no effort to comply, may obtain a decree of a court for the enforcement of the order in circuit or superior court upon showing that the person is subject to the commission's jurisdiction and resides or transacts business within the county in which the petition for enforcement is brought.
(l) If, upon all the evidence, the commission shall find that a person has not engaged in any unlawful practice or violation of this chapter, the commission shall state its findings of facts and shall issue and cause to be served on the complainant an order dismissing the complaint as to the person.
(m) The commission may furnish technical assistance requested by persons subject to this chapter to further compliance with this chapter or with an order issued under this chapter.
(n) The commission shall promote the creation of local civil rights agencies to cooperate with individuals, neighborhood associations, and state, local, and other agencies, both public and private, including agencies of the federal government and of other states.
(o) The commission may reduce the terms of conciliation agreed to by the parties to writing (to be called a consent agreement) that the parties and a majority of the commissioners shall sign. When signed, the consent agreement shall have the same effect as a cease and desist order issued under subsection (j). If the commission determines that a party to the consent agreement is not complying with it, the commission may obtain enforcement of the consent agreement in a circuit or superior court upon showing that the party is not complying with the consent agreement and the party is subject to the commission's jurisdiction and resides or transacts business within the county in which the petition for enforcement is brought.
(p) In lieu of investigating a complaint and holding a hearing under this section, the commission may issue an order based on findings and determinations by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concerning a complaint that has been filed with one (1) of these federal agencies and with the commission. The commission shall adopt by rule standards under which the commission may issue such an order.
(q) Upon notice that a complaint is the subject of an action in a federal court, the commission shall immediately cease investigation of the complaint and may not conduct hearings or issue findings of fact or orders concerning that complaint.
(r) If the commission receives a complaint that another state or federal agency has jurisdiction to investigate, the commission:
1. (1) shall transmit the complaint and all supporting documentation to the state or federal agency that has jurisdiction to investigate the complaint; and
2. (2) may, after consulting with the state or federal agency, enter into a memorandum of understanding with the state or federal agency that grants the commission enforcement jurisdiction over the complaint.
  This section does not limit the authority granted by law to any other state agency to investigate or enforce a matter within the other state agency's jurisdiction that could be the subject of a complaint under this article.
  Formerly: Acts 1961, c.208, s.6; Acts 1963, c.173, s.5; Acts 1965, c.214, s.2; Acts 1967, c.276, s.3; Acts 1969, c.298, s.4; Acts 1971, P.L.357, SEC.6; Acts 1974, P.L.111, SEC.2; Acts 1975, P.L.256, SEC.3. As amended by Acts 1978, P.L.6, SEC.33; Acts 1979, P.L.31, SEC.13; P.L.37-1985, SEC.45; P.L.7-1987, SEC.100; P.L.111-1992, SEC.2; P.L.1-1993, SEC.187; P.L.23-1993, SEC.132; P.L.203-1993, SEC.2; P.L.14-1994, SEC.3; P.L.1-1994, SEC.115; P.L.2-1995, SEC.84; P.L.100-2012, SEC.59; P.L.136-2014, SEC.4; P.L.136-2018, SEC.126; P.L.205-2019, SEC.25; P.L.83-2026, SEC.3.