February 2008 Coach's Quiz

We have given you six rules for personnel as your first line of defense against fair housing claims. Now let's look at how the rules might apply in the real world. Take the COACH's Quiz to see what you have learned.

INSTRUCTIONS: Each of the following questions has only one correct answer. On a separate piece of paper, write down the number of each question, followed by the answer you think is correct—for example, 1)b, 2)a, and so on.

COACH's TIP: The correct answers (with explanations) follow the quiz. Good luck!

QUESTION #1

Your community has a written policy to comply with fair housing law. You have never arranged formal training for your employees, but you know they are all experienced professionals who would never intentionally discriminate against anyone based on race, color, national origin, sex, familial status, disability, or religion. When you receive a notice about an upcoming fair housing seminar hosted by your local apartment association, what should you do?

1. Throw away the notice because your leasing staff doesn't need it.

2. Send only the leasing consultant you hired recently.

3. Send your entire leasing staff.

4. Send all your employees.

QUESTION #2

A new employee is hired to work in the leasing office. Your staff is shorthanded, and you need her to get right to work answering the phones. She has previous experience working in the leasing office in another community in your state, so it's not necessary for you to provide her with fair housing training before she starts work. True or false?

1. True.

2. False.

QUESTION #3

You receive a phone call from a female resident complaining that a maintenance worker made a suggestive comment while he was repairing her shower. When you ask the maintenance worker about it, he denies saying anything inappropriate. You know the resident has a history of making complaints about a variety of problems, so you decide there is no validity to the complaint. You don't have to do anything else. True or false?

1. True.

2. False.

QUESTION #4

A resident submits a request for a parking space as a reasonable accommodation for his disability. You can see that the request is incomplete because he didn't provide all the necessary medical documentation. What should you do?

1. Nothing. The resident didn't follow your community's procedures, so you are under no obligation to respond.

2. Tell the resident that you can't process the request until he files the missing paperwork.

3. Explain to the resident what he needs to do, then wait to file the request until the resident submits the needed paperwork.

4. Refer the matter to your community's fair housing coordinator.

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Coach's Answers & Explanations

QUESTION #1

Correct answer: d

Reason: Rule #1 applies here.

Rule #1: Ensure All Employees Receive Fair Housing Training

Though you have a lot of options for providing fair housing training to your employees, fair housing experts agree that you should provide all your employees with training on a regular basis.

Wrong answers explained:

1. Despite your confidence that your employees would never commit intentional discrimination, you could face a fair housing complaint from even inadvertent comments or actions.

2. Fair housing training is important to keep even experienced staff members updated on recent developments in fair housing law.

3. Fair housing claims could result from the conduct of any staff member, so you should not limit training to only your leasing staff.

QUESTION #2

Correct answer: b

Reason: Rule #3 applies here.

Rule #3: Provide Immediate Training to All New Hires

Your community is vulnerable to a fair housing claim when you allow a new employee to deal with the public without at least some training in how your community complies with fair housing law.

Wrong answers explained:

1. Even with previous experience at a community in your local area, your new employee may not be familiar with your fair housing policies and practices, so it's important to provide some in-house training to new hires as part of the orientation process.

QUESTION #3

Correct answer: b

Reason: Rules #2 and #5 apply here.

Rule #2: Designate a Fair Housing Coordinator

Rule #5: Establish a System to Monitor Employee Compliance

The best way to prevent resident complaints from escalating into full-blown litigation is to establish policies and appoint one person—a fair housing coordinator—to monitor employee compliance with fair housing law.

Wrong answers explained:

1. It is important to take every fair housing complaint seriously, even if it doesn't seem to be legitimate. Training all staff members to refer all complaints to the fair housing coordinator will provide the best protection against fair housing trouble.

QUESTION #4

Correct answer: d

Reason: Rule #6 applies here.

Rule #6: Establish and Implement Follow-Up Procedures

To prevent fair housing complaints from disabled residents, it's best to have established procedures to ensure that your employees provide a prompt and consistent response to requests for reasonable accommodations.

Wrong answers explained:

1. Even though you may not have an obligation to process the request without the missing paperwork, your policy should address how to respond to such requests.

2. Employees should be trained in your policy for handling incomplete requests for reasonable accommodations. A flat refusal to process the request could trigger a fair housing complaint.

3. While it may be helpful to tell the resident what he needs to do, the request could fall through the cracks if your employee simply files it away without informing anyone about it.