As an employer, the City of Columbus maintains a full time workforce of over 400 people. Employees work in a variety of City departments and divisions including Administration, City Clerk-Treasurer, Parks and Recreation, Fire, Engineering, Planning, City Utilities, Community Development, Police, the Human Rights Commission, the City Garage and Transit. The Human Resources Department administers the recruitment process for all full-time positions. The mission of the Human Resources Department is to provide leadership in the attraction, development, and retention of a diverse, well-qualified and professional workforce, that reflects the high standards of the community we serve. I strive to create a collaborative environment that rewards outstanding performance and provide human resources support to Department leaders as they work toward excellence and continuous improvement. I’m committed to being a strategic partner with all City departments, to ensure that the City has the talent and resources needed to provide great services to the Columbus community. I believe that the City’s greatest assets are its employees, and take great pride in delivering the services that support a highly productive, innovative, caring, and customer-oriented workforce. I serve as the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Coordinator for the City, and I manage all FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) requests and appeals, ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) reasonable accommodation requests and appeals, Unemployment Claim appeals, and internal investigations and complaint processes by employees. Licensed Attorney in Indiana and Kentucky.

I provided consulting to the City of Columbus Mayor and department leaders regarding talent acquisition and talent management.

--Directs the enforcement of the local Human Rights Ordinance prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, credit, education, and public accommodation. The agency receives complaints, works to mediate settlements and if settlement is not possible, conducts civil rights investigations and issues findings in each case. --Provides technical assistance and support to local businesses, landlords, business owners, and community members and provides training in anti-harassment law, bullying and harassment prevention in the schools, diversity, cultural competency, fair housing, ADA confidentiality and other civil rights issues. Arlette enjoys working with the diverse group of all-volunteer, City Council-appointed Commissioners who shape Commission policies and procedures. Arlette earned both her Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctorate degrees at the University of Virginia, and is licensed as an attorney in Indiana and Kentucky and registered as a civil mediator in Indiana. Before coming to the Commission, she worked for a battered women and rape crisis shelter as a staff attorney.Specialties: --Certified Civil Mediator in the State of Indiana.--Licensed Attorney in Indiana and Kentucky.--Expertise in ADA, FMLA, and EEO implementation in corporate union and non-union environments; Title IX, Title VI and state anti-bullying statute implementation in public schools; fair housing implementation; administrative law; and the effective management of complex local, state and federal civil rights obligations.

Currently teaches as part of a team in the MBA (Masters in Business Administration) program. I have also taught undergraduate classes: Z440 Human Resources Strategies in the Division of Business and School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA) J306 Criminal Courts, as well as graduate level classes in the School of Education (Topics in Education Law).

--empowered survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault by directing Legal Advocacy program for Middle Way House-- supervised two employees, two work-study employees and hundreds of volunteers in a six-county area with one main office and two satellite offices to train prosecutors and their deputies, county victim advocates and social workers, judges and clerks to manage the process of protective orders, no contact orders and restraining orders consistent with the federal Violence Against Women Act, to manage the process of victim-witness statements and testimony in a manner that enhanced survivor safety rather than undermining survivor safety.--managed court monitoring program in Monroe County, and expanded court monitoring program to Greene and Owen Counties and trained all employees and volunteers.--worked with IU associate professors and graduate students to conduct a study on "no drop policy" efficacy in rural Indiana counties and the influence of factors such as assignment of a victim advocate to the case, and assisted in the compilation of data in a one year study and its publication-- managed victim advocate assignments for a seven county area--offered sexual prevention harassment training to local non-profits in Bloomington, surrounding counties, and to IU GROUPS students (incoming freshman that are part of a college success program)--supervised the study of seven judges over an 18 month period to determine custody decisions in divorce cases where domestic violence was alleged, to determine best court for victims of domestic violence to file (court assignment could be chosen at the time because of a public rotation system) and offered training to local judges as a result of the study--supervised the study of battery prosecution success-- comparing domestic violence battery conviction rates to non-domestic battery conviction rates, and assisted Ex. Director in releasing the data, which lead to a full time prosecutor for domestic cases