Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) brought action against city and city commission on human relations, seeking injunctive and declaratory relief, alleging that commission was prohibited from exercising jurisdiction over SEPTA under city fair practices ordinance.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that:
- Whether SEPTA was a Commonwealth agency was not determinative of whether it was subject to jurisdiction of city, and
- SEPTA was not required to exhaust administrative remedies prior to initiating suit.
Whether Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) was an agency of the Commonwealth was not determinative of whether SEPTA was subject to municipality’s authority, and thus subject to city’s fair practices ordinances and jurisdiction of city human relations commission, rather, because the legislature authorized the creation of both entities, and set the limits of each entity’s authority, the court’s task was to determine, through an examination of the relevant statutes, which entity the legislature intended to have preeminent powers.