Keeping Them Honest

"...[T]he nonprofit organization Pine Tree Legal Assistance is launching a unique program this fall to gauge the level of housing discrimination in the Greater Portland area…The type of project upon which Pine Tree is embarking is called 'paired testing,' and it involves paid volunteers pretending to be interested in renting or buying a place to live." The group plans to focus on “issues of immigration, disability, familial status, and source of income..." The test even helps reveal discrimination in cases where people feel that they have been treated well. Anyone discriminated against during the test could receive monetary compensation, which some critics call entrapment.