Fed Regulator Warns AI & Machine Learning Can Worsen Lending Bias

AI & Automated Decisions Determine Credit Rating, Loan Terms, Hiring, Housing, etc. 

“While these technologies have enormous potential, they also carry risks of violating fair lending laws and perpetuating the very disparities that they have the potential to address,” the Fed’s vice chair of supervision, Michael Barr, said at the recent National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) 2023 national conference. While new artificial intelligence tools could cheaply expand credit to more people, machine learning and AI may also worsen bias or inaccuracies inherent in data used to train the systems or make inaccurate predictions.

As concerns grow over increasingly powerful artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, the nation’s financial watchdog says it’s working to ensure that companies follow the law when they’re using AI. Automated systems and algorithms help determine credit ratings, loan terms, bank account fees, and other aspects of our financial lives. AI also affects hiring, housing and working conditions.

In the past year, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau said it has fined banks over mismanaged automated systems that resulted in wrongful home foreclosures, car repossessions, and lost benefit payments, after the institutions relied on new technology and faulty algorithms.

One problem is transparency. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act, for example, financial providers legally must explain any adverse credit decision. Those regulations likewise apply to decisions made about housing and employment. Where AI make decisions in ways that are too opaque to explain, regulators say the algorithms shouldn’t be used. “I think there was a sense that, ‘Oh, let’s just give it to the robots and there will be no more discrimination,’” Chopra said. “I think the learning is that that actually isn’t true at all. In some ways the bias is built into the data.”

EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows said there will be enforcement against AI hiring technology that screens out job applicants with disabilities, for example, as well as so-called “bossware” that illegally surveils workers. The Fed recently announced two policy initiatives to address appraisal discrimination in mortgage transactions. Under the proposed rule, institutions that engage in certain credit decisions would be required to adopt policies, practices, and control systems that guarantee a “high level of confidence” in automated estimates and protect against data manipulation.

In April, 2023, about one-fourth of federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, announced their commitment to cracking down on automated systems that cause harmful business practices.

Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, said government intervention “will be critical to mitigate the risks of increasingly powerful” AI systems, suggesting the formation of a U.S. or global agency to license and regulate the technology. The Electronic Privacy Information Center said the agencies should do more to study and publish information on the relevant AI markets, how the industry is working, who the biggest players are, and how the information collected is being used - like regulators have done with previous new consumer finance products and technologies.

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Read the July 19, 2023 The Hill article.

Read the June 15, 2023 Federal Times article.

US District Court Judges are Mostly White

25 of the 94 Federal District Courts have Never Had a Non-White Judge - Including Pennsylvania Middle and All New England States

According to a recent Bloomberg Law analysis of federal court records, 8 states in the South and 15 from the Northeast to the upper Great Plains have courts that never have had a non-White judge. While there are not any formal requirements to be considered for a federal judgeship, many trial court judges come from major law firms, US attorney’s offices, or were already judges in other courts. Black Americans have historically been underrepresented in those jobs in many states. 

President Barack Obama significantly diversified the federal courts: about one-fifth of his judicial appointees were Black, and President Joe Biden already has done more. He has gotten confirmed a far higher percentage of women (67.1%) than President Donald Trump (23.9%) or President Barack Obama (41.9%). Overall, 66% of Biden’s nominees have been people of color, according to the White House. Some 30% of Biden’s confirmed judges have been African American, compared to 3.9% under Trump and 17.9% under Obama. 

Many Black lawyers have not had the elite professional experiences and political connections that help elevate White lawyers to the US bench, according to local Black lawyers. The result is a major deficit in the administration of justice on the court when ever-deepening political polarization has increased the power of a single district judge. Their rulings at the trial district court level frequently start high-profile battles over immigration, public health, criminal justice, and other contentious social issues.

One example of the impact of the proportionate deficit of black judges is the Southern District of Georgia - the cities of Savannah and Augusta and 43 counties on the coast and in state’s southeastern corner. Nearly one-third of the district’s residents are Black, making it the most diverse of any judicial district that has only ever had White judges. There is a disproportionate number of Black criminal defendants, at times 70% to 80% of the defendants charged were people of color. 

Research is mixed on how a judge’s racial identity impacts their decision-making in criminal cases. Some studies have found that Black judges are more punitive though others are not. One former prosecutor said to avoid disproportionate harm to some communities, the justice system needs to reflect a diversity of life experiences and perspectives.

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Read the September 5, 2023 Bloomberg Law News article.

Read the July 30, 2023 Washington Post article.

Banks & Realtors Urge US Agencies to Change Home Appraisal Process

Regulators Seek Standardized Home Appraisal Revaluations as Part of Push to Eliminate Appraisal Bias

Banks and realtors have just urged federal regulators to limit the number of times a potential homebuyer or seller can challenge an appraisal of the property’s value. Mortgage lenders ask independent appraisal firms to reevaluate a home value when a consumer complains that the value is too high or low.

 In June, 2023, Five agencies - the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the National Credit Union Administration - proposed regulations to make it easier for consumers to ask for "reconsiderations of value (ROV)," especially if they suspect racial biases negatively influenced the value first placed on a home.

In response, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) wrote that permitting consumers to have an unlimited number of new appraisals could muck up the homebuying process. ICBA said that there are more effective ways to reduce bias. NAR urged the agencies to use a program ("the Tidewater process") established by the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) as a way to limit ROV requests by allowing three reconsideration requests on homes purchased with a VA-backed loan.

Consumer advocates - National Consumer Law Center, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, the Consumer Federation of America, the National Fair Housing Alliance, the National Urban League, and others - mostly supported the proposal, but suggested that regulators should more clearly state that the guidance applies to both under-valuations and over-valuations. The Housing Policy Council, an industry group, said asking the same appraisal company to re-do ignores possible causes of alleged discrimination. Instead of using the original appraiser, regulators should tell banks to use other tools to reevaluate when disputes happen.

Both consumer and industry advocates urged the regulators to consult with the other mortgage agencies and entities that run government-backed housing programs - the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the VA, and the Department of Agriculture - regarding changes to the appraisal system.

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Read the September 22, 2023 Bloomberg Law News article.

Maryland Virtual Disaster Center for Insurance Assistance Opened

 

Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 12 pm - 2 pm or 5 pm - 7 pm Attendee Zoom Link: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1603802898 Dial-in: (646) 828-7666 Webinar ID: 160 380 2898  The Maryland Insurance Administration is opening our Virtual Disaster Center to help anyone with insurance related issues or questions about damage from recent weather events. Registration is not required. All are welcome to attend. To view the flyer, please click here.

Questions? Contact Us Click here to complete a customer experience survey. STAY CONNECTED:

HUD Charges New York Landlord with Disability Discrimination

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged Lakeview Avenue, LLC (“Lakeview”) in Rensselaer, New York, and its employees with violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing a tenant’s request for a disability-related reasonable accommodation to keep an assistance animal and subjecting the tenant to retaliation for requesting a reasonable accommodation. Read the Charge.

The Fair Housing Act legally outlaws discrimination and retaliation based on disability, including the failing to grant reasonable accommodations and interfering with tenants' rights protected by the Act.

HUD’s charge alleges that Lakeview refused a tenant’s request to allow her disabled child to have an assistance animal in her unit. Though they provided medical documentation documenting the child’s need for the animal, Lakeview still denied the reasonable accommodation and impose onerous and discriminatory conditions. After another request for a reasonable accommodation, the tenant received a notice to vacate her unit and had to move to another, more expensive, apartment within her daughter’s school district

A U. S. Administrative Law Judge will hear HUD’s charge unless any party to the charge elects to have the case heard in federal district court. If an administrative law judge finds, after a hearing, that discrimination has occurred, they may award damages to the individuals for their losses as a result of the discrimination, injunctive relief and other equitable relief to deter further discrimination, payment of attorney fees, and civil penalties. If the federal court hears the case, the judge may also award punitive damages to the Complainants.

People who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact HUD at 800-669-9777 (voice) or 800-927-9275 (TTY). Additional information is available at www.hud.gov/fairhousing. Housing providers and others can learn more about their responsibility to provide reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications to individuals with disabilities here. Materials and assistance are available for persons with limited English proficiency. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may contact the Department using the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

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Read the September 25, 2023 HUD release.

HUD Charges Nevada RV Resort with Discriminating Against Family with Children

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged the Owners Association and General Manager of Preferred RV Resort, a recreational vehicle resort in Pahrump, Nevada, with discriminating against a family with three minor children. Read the charge.

Pahrump is an unincorporated town in the southernmost part of Nye County, about 62 miles west of Las Vegas. The town is adjacent to the Nevada–California border.

The Fair Housing Act forbids discrimination against families with children under the age of 18.  This includes using discriminatory terms and conditions for families with children, making discriminatory statements about them, and harassing tenants because they have young children. “RV parks that offer options for long-term stays are required to abide by the Fair Housing Act and ensure that they are providing families with children the same terms and conditions as adults without children,” said Demetria L. McCain, HUD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. 

HUD’s Charge of Discrimination alleges that Preferred RV Resort, which houses some visitors year-round and others for up to nine months, discriminated against families by placing unreasonable age restrictions on many of its amenities, including forbidding anyone under 18 years old from being in the outdoor swimming pool unattended, contrary to state law, and restricting children under 14 years old from using the property’s billiards room and spa. Also, it is alleged that the property’s management made statements criticizing parents about letting their children be unsupervised on the property.  Images on the resort’s website and promotional materials are only of adults using and enjoying the resort’s amenities and grounds, with no depictions of children or families.

A U. S. Administrative Law Judge will hear HUD’s Charge unless any party to the Charge elects to have the case heard in federal district court. If an administrative law judge finds, after a hearing, that discrimination has occurred, the judge may award damages to the family for their losses as a result of the discrimination, injunctive relief and other equitable relief, to deter further discrimination, payment of attorney fees, and civil penalties. If a federal court hears the case, the judge may also award punitive damages to the complainants.

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Read the September 14, 2023 HUD press release.

Baltimore Civil Rights Week is October 30-November 3rd

 

You're Invited to Civil Rights Week 2023!

09/20/2023

We are excited to invite you to Civil Rights Week 2023 held by the Baltimore City Office of Equity and Civil Rights (OECR)! We believe your presence and insights would greatly contribute to the success of Civil Rights Week. Your voice matters, and together, we can continue the journey toward a more just and equitable society. Image Transcript: A photo of Baltimore City. Text reads: Civil Rights Week 2023: A week of educational events, panel discussions and thought leadership, kicking off with the 30th Annual Civil Rights breakfast! October 30th-November 3rd. https://civilrightsweek2023.splashthat.com. #baltcrw23 #baltoecr. Black text on a white background: We are excited to invite you to Civil Rights Week 2023 held by the Baltimore City Office of Equity and Civil Rights (OECR)! We believe your presence and insights would greatly contribute to the success of Civil Rights Week. Your voice matters, and together, we can continue the journey toward a more just and equitable society. Questions? Contact Jumel Howard at  (443) 602-5461 or jumel.howard@baltimorecity.gov. Black text on a pink background. Sponsorship. Interested in being a sponsor for Civil Rights Week 2023? Learn more. Ready to sponsor? Make check payable to Baltimore Civic Fund and mail to 7 E Redwood Street, 9th Floor, Baltimore MD 21223 OR CLICK HERE TO CONTRIBUTE ONLINE. A yellow background with orange text. Civil Rights Week 2023 Sponsorship Packages. Civil Rights Ally: $2500. Civil Rights Supporter: $5000 . Civil Rights Advocate: $10,000 . Civil Rights Defender: $15,000. Civil Rights VIP: $25,000. ***** Source: City of Baltimore Daily Digest Bulletin, September 20, 2023.

HUD CHARGES OWNER AND PROPERTY MANAGER OF MISSOURI AREA RENTAL PROPERTIES WITH DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEX

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged Second Bell Trust, owner of multiple single-family rental properties in the Springfield, Missouri area, and its agent and property manager, Jimmie Bell, with housing discrimination for allegedly subjecting a female tenant to sexual harassment, including requests for sexual favors in exchange for rent, unwanted touching, and discriminatory statements based on sex. Read the charge.

"Subjecting tenants to unwelcome sexual advances and sexual harassment is outrageous and a clear violation of the law," said Demetria L. McCain, HUD's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "Today's charge sends a clear message to all landlords that HUD is committed to taking action against landlords whose behavior violates the Fair Housing Act."

HUD's charge, issued on behalf of the tenant and her children and nephew, alleges the property manager made repeated unwelcome sexual comments to the tenant and pressured her to provide sexual favors when she fell behind on rent payments. The charge further alleges he grabbed the tenant’s intimate areas. After enduring several years of sexual harassment from him, the tenant moved out.

HUD's charge will be heard by a U.S. Administrative Law Judge unless any party to the charge wants to have the case heard in federal district court. If an administrative law judge finds after a hearing that discrimination has occurred, the judge may award damages to the complainant for harm caused by discrimination. The judge may also order injunctive relief and other equitable relief, payment of attorney fees, and civil fines. If the matter is decided in federal court, that judge may also award punitive damages.

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Source: 

Read the September 1, 2023 HUD press release.

HUD Charges Landlord with Disability Discrimination

 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged Ronit Mecham and Voyl “Tom” Mecham, the owner and property manager of a dwelling in Jamestown, New York, with violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing to allow a tenant with a disability to live with her assistance animal. Read the charge here.

The Fair Housing Act outlaws discrimination based on disability. Such discrimination includes refusing to provide reasonable accommodation so that persons with disabilities can enjoy their housing. A reasonable accommodation includes waiving a “no pet” policy for assistance animals, which was violated in this case. The Act also prohibits statements that indicate a preference or limitation based on disability.

“Assistance animals provide people with disabilities the support they need to enjoy the benefits of their housing,” said HUD’s Principal Assistant Deputy Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD is committed to zealously enforcing the Act to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities.”

HUD’s Charge alleges that Respondents denied the tenant’s request for an assistance animal and then required her to either terminate the lease early or leave when the lease term ended. Although the tenant offered to submit medical documentation supporting her request, the owner-managers stopped communicating with her instead. The charge also alleges that the owner-managers made comments indicating a preference for non-disabled tenants.

A U.S. Administrative Law Judge will hear HUD’s Charge unless either HUD or the accused owner-managers chooses to have the case heard in federal district court. If an administrative law judge finds, after a hearing, that discrimination has occurred, the judge may award damages to the individuals for their losses as a result of the discrimination. The judge may also order injunctive relief and other equitable relief to deter further discrimination, payment of attorney fees, and civil penalties. If the federal court hears the case, that judge may also award punitive damages to the complainant.

People who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact HUD at (800) 669-9777 (voice) 800-927-9275 (TTY) or the U.S. Department of Justice at (800) 896-7743 or 202-514-4713. More info is available at www.hud.gov/fairhousing and www.justice.gov. Materials and assistance are available for persons with limited English proficiency. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may contact HUD using the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

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Sources: 

HUD press release email, September 18, 2023.

Read the September 18, 2023 HUD press release.

Project Begun to Increase Accessibility of Baltimore-Area Houses of Worship

To help religious leaders make their houses of worship more welcoming to people with disabilities and their families, the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities just started its Faith Community Learning Collaborative. The object is to provide training to faith leaders and foster conversation between them and people with disabilities and their advocates about how to lower the barriers to participation in religious spaces.

Accessibility and inclusion is about more than installing a ramp for wheelchair users, said Mirian Ofonedu, director of training for the Kennedy Krieger center and creator of the project, adding that negative attitudes about disabilities and biases around disability that may exist in a congregation and ensuring that people with disabilities and their families know they can come to worship. “We are all called to know God, but more importantly, to experience God,” Ofonedu said. “How people with disabilities go about experiencing God is often socially stigmatized. An inclusive community, where people with disabilities fully participate, is a sign of God’s presence and love in that community.”

In summer 2022, two years after the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities launched the project, a survey of over 255 faith leaders and people with disabilities and their families - in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Health’s Office of Faith Based and Community Partnerships and the Faith Community Commission of the Governor’s Commission on Suicide Prevention - found that few people with disabilities or their family members held leadership positions in their faith communities and there was a need for training for faith leaders on how to connect with people who have disabilities in their congregations. People with disabilities and their families had experienced feeling isolated, rejected, and excluded by faith communities. When a child is diagnosed with a disability, their parents often turn to their faith leaders and communities for support and guidance, Ofonedu said. 

The Initiative's panel discussion covered several topics, including how to include people with developmental disabilities in services and the importance of asking whether accommodations are needed. It featured Rabbi Craig Axler of Temple Isaiah in Fulton and Matthew Plantz, a self-advocate and member of the Howard County Autism Society board of directors. To make the event more accessible to people who are hard of hearing, Baron hired an American Sign Language interpreter — something he hopes to do at future Chabad events, as well. The religious center has been offering shorter services that may be better for people who have challenges sitting through a three-hour service, such as those with ADHD or children with disabilities.

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Source: Read the September 11, 2023 Baltimore Sun article.

Get Your Tickets for the 30th Annual Civil Rights Breakfast!

 

bit.ly/blatcrw2023. ***** Source: City of Baltimore Daily Digest Bulletin, September 14, 2023.

Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition Annual Meeting is November 6th

MAHC ANNUAL MEETING November 6, 2023 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. The Hotel at Arundel Preserve Hanover, MD TICKETS: $165 - $1,000 This event is our only fundraiser of the year, so please support our important work by purchasing your tickets today!

REGISTER NOW

HOUSING AWARD NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN! 2023 MAHC AWARDS The Innovation Award celebrates innovation within the affordable rental housing industry in Maryland.  The award is given to a housing project, program or activity that is cutting edge or advances the state of affordable rental housing in Maryland.   INNOVATION AWARD NOMINATION FORM The Housing Person of the Year Award recognizes a MAHC Member who has made significant contributions to the affordable rental housing industry in Maryland and worked to help advance the interest of the affordable rental housing community through advocacy, participation in policy or program improvements, or other volunteer efforts that have impacted those who live in affordable housing.   HOUSING PERSON OF THE YEAR NOMINATION FORM Nominations are due by October 9, 2023. mdahc.org  ***** Source: Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition email, September 14, 2023.

Injustice, Inc's Author to Speak at HPRP's Free Speaker Forum on September 20th

Next Wednesday, September 20th: HPRP's Speaker Series!

On September 20th, you are invited to attend the Homeless Persons Representation Project (HPRP)'s kickoff of their 2023-2024 speaker series. Speaking will be University of Baltimore School of Law Professor Daniel Hatcher, Esq., and he will discuss his new book, Injustice, Inc.: How America's Justice System Commodifies Children and the Poor (University of California Press, 2023).

When: Wednesday, September 20th, 5:30 - 7:30 PM

Where: Enoch Pratt Central Library (400 Cathedral St., Baltimore, MD 21201), Wheeler Auditorium

This talk will be moderated by Youth Action Board Co-Chair Levy Johnson and Jenny Egan, Esq., Chief Attorney for the Juvenile Division of the Public Defender in Baltimore and co-founder of the Baltimore Action Legal Team.

This event is free, but registration is encouraged. Given the COVID-19 surge, masking is strongly encouraged and this event will be recorded for those unable to attend.

Here is a summary of the speaker's book:

From UC Press: "Injustice, Inc. exposes the ways in which justice systems exploit America's history of racial and economic inequality to generate revenue on a massive scale. With searing legal analysis, Daniel L. Hatcher uncovers how courts, prosecutors, police, probation departments, and detention facilities are abandoning ethics to churn vulnerable children and adults into unconstitutional factory-like operations. Hatcher reveals stark details of revenue schemes and reflects on the systemic racialized harm of the injustice enterprise. 

"He details how these corporatized institutions enter contracts to make money removing children from their homes, extort fines and fees, collaborate with debt collectors, seize property, incentivize arrests and evictions, enforce unpaid child labor, maximize occupancy in detention and "treatment" centers, and more. Injustice, Inc. underscores the need to unravel these predatory operations, which have escaped public scrutiny for too long."

                        

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Source: Homeless Persons Representation Project email, September 13, 2023.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!

In celebrating our Hispanic/Latino communities and residents, Mayor Brandon M. Scott, the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MIMA), and the Baltimore City Hispanic Commission are recognizing individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Latino community. Follow MIMA on social media to learn more about our outstanding leaders. A number of free community events will be held as part of the celebration: Feria Somos Baltimore Latino 2023 / Somos Baltimore Latino Fair 2023 Saturday, September 16th, 11 am - 6:00 pm Sacred Heart of Jesus / Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (600 S Conkling St, Baltimore, MD 21224) Somos Baltimore Latino Learn more here! TIANQUIZTLI | Latin American Market & Festival 2:00 pm Walk with Little Amal in Patterson Park 3:00 - 7:00 pm Festival outside Creative Alliance (3134 Eastern Ave, Baltimore, MD 21224) Saturday, September 16th Creative Alliance Free, learn more here! Hispanic Heritage Month Event: Latino Trivia Night! Tuesday, September 19th, 6:00 - 8:30 pm Centro SOL and the Latino Racial Justice Circle El Salvador Restaurant (207 South Broadway 2nd Floor Baltimore, MD 21231) Please RSVP Festival de Independencia Sunday, September 17th, 12:00 - 9:00 pm Joseph Lee Park (6300 E. Pratt St. Baltimore, MD 21224) Learn more here! Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration and Community Resource Fair Saturday, September 23, 2:30pm - 5pm  Faith Center (351 S. Woodyear St, Baltimore, MD 21223) Folkloric Dance Class with Artesanas Tuesday, October 3rd, 5:30-7:30 pm Enoch Pratt Free Library (400 Cathedral Street Baltimore, MD 21201) Free, please RSVP Latino Cultural Festival Saturday, October 7, 11am-7pm Patterson Park-Pulaski Monument (2900 Eastern Ave, Baltimore, MD 21224) Latin Nations of Fiesta Baltimore Parade Sunday, October 8th, 9 am  Patterson Park Pulaski Monument (parade starts at 3919 Eastern Ave, Baltimore, MD 21222. ***** Source: MIMA Monthly Newsletter, September, 2023.