City Council

(11)\n26-0155\nCIVIL RIGHTS, EQUITY, IMMIGRATION, AGING, AND DISABILITY\nCOMMITTEE REPORT relative to instructing the Civil + Human Rights\nand Equity Department (CHRED), with assistance from Economic and\nWorkforce Development Department (EWDD), to report on the impacts\nof Dr. Mehmet Oz's statements in the Valley Glen video incident, and\nrelated matters.\nRecommendations for Council action, as initiated by Motion\n(Nazarian – Soto-Martínez):\n1. INSTRUCT the CHRED, with assistance from EWDD, to report\nwithin 60 days on the impacts of this incident, including but not\nlimited to the following elements:\na. Detailed Accounting: Detailing Dr. Mehmet Oz's specific,\nalleged defamatory or discriminatory statements,\nidentifying the targeted groups (especially the Armenian\ncommunity), and categorizing the nature of the claims.\nb. Civil Rights and Discrimination Analysis: an analysis of the\nclaims against established civil rights law, focusing on\npotential unlawful discrimination based on Armenian\nnational origin, examining the resulting hostile\nenvironment, and assessing non-economic harms like\nemotional distress and reputational damage.\nc. Economic Impact Assessment: quantifying and detailing\nthe financial damage sustained by local Armenian-owned\nbusinesses due to the statements, including lost revenue,\nincreased costs, and devaluation of assets, and identifying\nany financial resources to support these businesses.\n2. REQUEST the City Attorney to report to Council on the legal\nstanding of the City of Los Angeles to join the Governor’s civil\nrights complaint or to file a separate amicus brief, and to\nexplore all available local and state legal remedies regarding\nthe defamation of the City’s commercial districts by a federal\nofficial.\n3. REQUEST the City Attorney report to Council within 60 days on\nfiling an amicus brief in support of any legal actions taken or\nmade by the state of California.\nFiscal Impact Statement: Neither the City Administrative Officer nor\nthe Chief Legislative Analyst has completed a financial analysis of this\nreport.