United States v. First Federal Bank of Florida (M.D. Fla.)

On October 12, 2016, the court entered a consent order in United States v. First Federal Bank of Florida (M.D. Fla.), a Fair Housing Act election referral. The complaint, which was filed on September 9, 2016, alleged that the bank discriminated on the basis of familial status by requiring two women on maternity leave each to return to work before closing on a loan, which caused each of them to shorten their respective maternity leave.   Under the terms of the consent order, the defendant shall pay the HUD complainants a total of $45,000, implement non-discriminatory policies and practices and obtain fair lending training for officials and employees. The defendant shall not require that an applicant on maternity or paternity leave have to physically returned to work before a loan can close and comply with monitoring of the policy. The case was referred to the Division after the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received complaints, conducted an investigation, and issued a charge of discrimination.