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"SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline) - Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced a settlement on Tuesday with the Housing Authority of Douglas County to resolve allegations of housing discrimination. <br /><br />A HADCO tenant filed a complaint with the Bureau of Labor and Industries in 2009, alleging a HADCO property manager refused to allow a service puppy to live with her while she cared for her diabetic daughter. Service dogs can be trained to detect and alert other individuals when a diabetic's blood sugar levels are dangerously low. <br /><br />When the tenant refused to remove the dog, the property manager and staff members allegedly began eviction proceedings and repeatedly harassed the tenant. <br /><br />The family was eventually forced to move to a non-subsidized property. The tenant alleged the service animal failed to bond with her daughter as a result of stress in the home, and the family was not able to obtain a replacement service animal. <br /><br />\"Housing is a basic human need, and equal access to housing, especially for our most vulnerable citizens, is a basic component of equality,\" Rosenblum said.<br /><br />State and federal laws prohibit housing discrimination based on disability and require that landlords make reasonable accommodations. <br /><br />HADCO agreed to pay a total of $167,000 in damages, including close to $100,000 to the tenant's family and her attorney. HADCO must also pay civil penalties and attorney fees to Rosenblum's office and the BOLI. <br /><br />HADCO agreed to send its employees to training on federal and state discrimination laws and will let BOLI monitor its evaluation of future accommodation requests. <br /><br />"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://legalnewsline.com/stories/510517254-douglas-county-housing-authority-settles-discrimination-charges-with-ore-ag>