Audit of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination

This is a state performance audit of the Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination, covering January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2020.

“In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of the Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination (MCAD) for the period January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2020.”

Auditors looked at whether MCAD handled discrimination cases on time, managed CARES Act money properly, and trained staff who handled those funds on cybersecurity.

“Additionally, we assessed whether MCAD had created a process for ensuring that Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds received complied with the policies issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth (CTR).”

When discrimination cases drag on, people waiting for answers may be denied a timely resolution.

“If investigations take an excessive time to complete, individuals who have allegedly been subjected to discrimination are deprived of timely resolution.”

If you live, work, visit, rent, apply for housing, go to school, or seek services in Massachusetts, MCAD is one of the agencies meant to protect you from discrimination.

“We protect the people of Massachusetts, our workers, and our visitors from discriminatory treatment based on your membership in a protected class, such as race, color, creed, national origin, age, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and more.”

Nearly half of the discrimination investigations completed during the audit period took longer than allowed.

“During the audit period, the Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination (MCAD) exceeded the allowable timeframe for completing 1,308 (45.8%) of the 2,854 discrimination investigations it completed.”

The auditor recommended that MCAD figure out how many investigators it needs, fix delays inside investigations, notify state finance officials about CARES Act funds, update its internal controls, and provide annual cybersecurity training.

“MCAD should determine the number of investigators required to complete investigations on time.”

The report matters because delays, weak fund tracking, outdated controls, and missed cybersecurity training can affect fairness, accountability, and protection of sensitive information.

“Incomplete cybersecurity awareness training may lead to user error and compromise the integrity and security of protected information in MCAD’s information technology systems.”

A “backlog” means investigations that took longer than the legal time limit; CARES Act funds were federal COVID relief money; an internal control plan is an agency’s written system for reducing risks and managing processes.

“MCAD uses the term “backlog” to mean the population of investigations that took longer to complete than the time allowed by Section 1.05 of Title 804 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations.”