LSNYC and MinKwon Settle Lawsuit Against City Challenging Widespread Civil Rights Violations at Welfare Centers

The settlement brings to an end nearly seven years of litigation and will help ensure that HRA is accessible to everyone, no matter what language they speak

April 18, 2016, NEW YORK—Legal Services NYC and MinKwon Center for Community Action today announced that they have settled a lawsuit filed in August 2009 on behalf of low-income New Yorkers who were denied access to vital benefits from the Human Resources Administration (HRA), such as Food Stamps and Medicaid, solely because they could not communicate in English. The lawsuit alleged violations of city laws, as well as City and State executive orders and HRA’s own policies, which require that city agencies, like HRA, make their services accessible to people regardless of whether they speak English well. 

In 2007, Legal Services NYC heard from numerous non-English speaking clients who had been routinely denied access to HRA services. Survey results collected from 69 centers demonstrated that legally mandated translated applications were not available at 66% of HRA centers and that fewer than two-thirds of the centers had interpreter services available in the most commonly spoken languages of the community, as legally required. The lawsuit sought to compel HRA to comply with the law.

In 2012, the case was dismissed and Legal Services NYC and MinKwon Center for Community Action appealed, resulting in the first appellate decision in New York holding that the New York City Human Rights Law requires city agencies, such as HRA, to provide reasonable access to people with limited English proficiency and that failure to do so constitutes national origin discrimination.

The settlement, approved on April 1, 2016 by Hon. Carol R. Edmead, stipulates that all public-facing HRA staff will offer free interpretation, that HRA will keep track of the languages people speak, that people with limited English proficiency will not have to wait unreasonably long to receive services, and that complaint mechanisms and oversight are in place to handle problems. The settlement also provides for ongoing information sharing between the HRA, the MinKwon Center for Community Action, and Legal Services NYC concerning the need for language services at HRA, the provision of those services, and complaints made concerning language access.

Mercedes Cruz, a mother of three, is one of nine plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Ms. Cruz’s native language is Spanish, the second most commonly spoken language in the city and a language spoken by over 2 million New York City residents. Ms Cruz said, “I’m very happy that this lawsuit is settled and I know that the settlement will help, not only me, but a lot of other people as well – not only other Spanish speakers, but people of all nationalities, who speak any language.”

“We are encouraged by this settlement, which is a meaningful step towards ensuring that language access services are available to all New Yorkers seeking assistance from HRA,” said Grace Shim, Executive Director of the MinKwon Center for Community Action, which was also a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “Over the years, MinKwon has assisted thousands of limited English proficient community members with their SNAP cases, and we look forward to working with HRA in improving language services to our community members going forward.”

Christine Clarke, staff attorney at the Civil Rights Justice Initiative of LSNYC, said, “Everyone in New York City, no matter what language they speak, deserves the right to be able to communicate with HRA, this City’s provider of so many life-saving benefits for low-income New Yorkers. We are hopeful that, going forward, the City will work with advocates and community members to ensure that HRA is accessible to everyone. This settlement is certainly a step in the right direction.”

Raun Rasmussen, Legal Services NYC’s Executive Director, stated: “We are grateful that the leadership at HRA understands the critical importance of providing language assistance to those who need benefits and services from the agency. We are hopeful that this settlement will provide guidance for other City agencies that are similarly required to provide language assistance to New Yorkers who need it.”

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Contact: Kate Whalen, 646-442-3654, kwhalen (at) legalservicesnyc.org