Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission Faces Staffing Crisis After Recent Resignations
Multiple resignations have left Pennsylvania’s main civil rights agency without enough members to conduct business, threatening discrimination investigations statewide.
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA — The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is facing operational challenges after multiple resignations left the civil rights enforcement agency without enough members to conduct business, affecting its ability to investigate discrimination complaints and deliver justice across the commonwealth.
The commission’s membership dropped from seven to five commissioners in recent weeks, falling below the six-member quorum required for official actions. Executive Director Chad Dio Lassiter has also announced his departure in June, adding to staffing challenges for the 70-year-old agency.
“The lack of quorum could delay or halt the Commission’s ability to advance specific guidance … hear cases; and deliver justice to the people it serves,” according to the announcement of the most recent commissioner resignation.
Commission’s Civil Rights Mission
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission has enforced civil rights throughout the state since its establishment, beginning with the Fair Employment Practice Act of 1955 and the Fair Educational Opportunities Act of 1961. The agency processes thousands of discrimination complaints annually based on age, race, sex, disability and other protected characteristics.
Recent highlights include supporting the CROWN Act, which Governor Josh Shapiro signed into law on November 25, 2025. The legislation, sponsored by Representative La’Tasha Mayes of Allegheny County, prohibits discrimination against hair textures and hairstyles, building on existing commission definitions.
Appointment Drought Compounds Crisis
No new commissioners have been appointed since 2018 under former Governor Tom Wolf, when attorney Aleena Sorathia was confirmed. The commission’s size has steadily shrunk from 11 members two years after Sorathia’s appointment to nine commissioners, then to seven by 2022.
According to the commission’s first annual report under Governor Shapiro in 2022, the membership declined to seven after one commissioner became a judge and another joined the Biden administration. The recent departures of former Chair M. Joel Bolstein and former Vice President Raquel O. Yiengst have pushed the commission below operational capacity.
The staffing shortage threatens the commission’s core functions at a time when civil rights enforcement remains essential across Pennsylvania. Without a functioning quorum, the agency cannot hold hearings, issue guidance or advance cases through its formal processes.
The commission’s operational challenges underscore the need for adequate staffing for civil rights enforcement agencies. For seven decades, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission has served as the state’s primary mechanism for investigating and addressing discrimination complaints from residents across all 67 counties.
