Human Rights Commission

Membership

Appointments of to the Commission are made by City Council, and all must be residents of the City. All seats are non-ward specific. Upon formation in October 2012, terms are to be staggered: 4 shall serve two-year terms, 3 shall serve one-year terms in the first year. Thereafter, all terms will be staggered two-year terms. All new appointments and reappointments will need to be interviewed at the end of their term.

About the Commission

Morgantown City Council first established a Human Rights Commission in 2001. The work of the Commission was redirected and reactivated in 2012 following National League of Cities designation of Morgantown as an "Inclusive City" in 2006 and collaborative work of an Inclusive City Committee thereafter.

Purpose

The purpose of the Human Rights Commission is to provide leadership for addressing community interaction and fairness concerns. It works to ensure that the City is not only providing services, but maintaining ways in which a community can live together inclusively, functionally, and justly despite differences, complexities, and conflicts. The Commission focuses on stewardship and service, but also on the quality of community life and the protection of the community from preventable unfair damage to the lives of individual citizens and families.

Filing a Complaint

Below you will find the forms and instruction necessary to file a complaint of discrimination with the City of Morgantown Human Rights Commission. Please click on the appropriate form, print it, fill it out, sign it and then mail or deliver it to the Office of the City Manager ATTN: City of Morgantown Human Rights Commission at 389 Spruce St. Morgantown, WV 26505, or submit the completed form by email  to hrc@morgantownwv.gov.

• Morgantown Human Rights Commission Complaint Form (PDF)
• Complaint Process Flowchart Pt. 1 (PDF)
• Complaint Process Flowchart Pt. 2 (PDF)
• Audio Guide for Complaint Process

Marriage Equality & Nondiscrimination

Morgantown Human Rights Commission showed extraordinary leadership advocating for the fair and equal treatment for LGBT West Virginians earlier in 2015 when the members of the Commission unanimously passed resolutions in support of marriage equality and nondiscrimination. Every single member of the Morgantown City Council unanimously endorsed both resolutions.

A comprehensive non-discrimination protective city code provision was adopted on the city’s two hundred thirty second birthday, October 17, 2017. “Morgan’s Town” was founded on October 17, 1785.

Additional Endorsements

The City Council also endorsed both a "Welcome Statement (PDF)" and a "Resolution Supporting the Rights of Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylees (PDF)" in May of 2017.