XXII. Civil Rights

1. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in the delivery of services or benefits by recipients of federal financial assistance.  42 U.S.C. 2000d; 28 C.F.R. pt. 42, subpt. D.
2. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in both employment and the delivery of services or benefits by recipients of federal financial assistance.  29 U.S.C. § 794; 28 C.F.R. pt. 42, subpt. G.
3. Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in both employment and the delivery of services or benefits by public entities. Statute; 42 U.S.C. § 12132; 28 C.F.R. pt. 35.Revised ADA Regulations Implementing Title II and Title III
4. The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, prohibits discrimination on the basis of age in the delivery of services or benefits by recipients of federal financial assistance.  42 U.S.C. § 6102; 28 C.F.R. pt. 42, subpt. I.
5. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance.  20 U.S.C. § 1681; 34 C.F.R. pt. 106.; 28 C.F.R. pt. 54
6. The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act (Safe Streets Act) of 1968, as amended, prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or religion in both employment and the delivery of services or benefits by a recipient of federal financial assistance under the Safe Streets Act.  34 U.S.C. § 10228; 28 C.F.R. pt. 42, subpt. D.
7. The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) of 1974, as amended, adopts by reference the civil rights provisions of the Safe Streets Act. The JJDPA prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion in both employment and the delivery of services or benefits by recipients of federal financial assistance under the JJDPA. Recipients of funding under the Safe Streets Act and VOCA must also comply with the Equal Employment Opportunity Plan requirements of the Safe Streets Act. 34 U.S.C. § 10228 ; see also 28 C.F.R. pt. 42, subpt. E.
8. The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984, as amended, prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, or disability in both employment and the delivery of services or benefits by recipients of federal financial assistance under VOCA. Recipients of funding under the Safe Streets Act and VOCA must also comply with the Equal Employment Opportunity Plan requirements of the Safe Streets Act.  34 U.S.C. § 20110(e)
9. The Partnerships with Faith-Based and Other Neighborhood Organizations Regulation of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) prohibits faith-based organizations that receive DOJ financial assistance from using federal resources to advance inherently (or explicitly) religious activities such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytization and prohibits discrimination in federally-assisted social service programs based on religion in the delivery of services or benefits. 28 C.F.R. pt. 38; see also Exec. Order No. 13,559, 75 Fed. Reg. 71,319 (May 4, 2016) (Fundamental Principles and Policymaking Criteria for Partnerships with Faith-Based and Other Neighborhood Organizations); Exec. Order No. 13,279, 67 Fed. Reg. 77,141 (Dec. 12, 2002) (Equal Protection of the Laws for Faith-Based and Community Organizations).
10. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, as amended, prohibits discrimination in programs either funded under the statute or administered by the Office on Violence Against Women, both in employment and in the delivery of services or benefits, based on actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and  gender identity) (referring to the Safe Streets Act for enforcement). 34 U.S.C. § 12291(b)(13)

1. The federal civil rights laws that may apply to OCJP subrecipients collectively prohibit discrimination in both employment and the delivery of services or benefits based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion, or disability.  The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 prohibits discrimination on the basis of age in the delivery of services or benefits. In addition to these, subrecipients of funds under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, as amended, are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation
2. All subrecipients must have a written policy that prohibits discrimination in both employment and the delivery of services or benefits based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion, or disability, and establishes a civil rights complaint procedure. The policy of subrecipients of funding under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 must also prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
3. All subrecipient agencies must identify a compliance coordinator and a procedure for responding to discrimination complaints.  Each agency must submit the name and contact information of the person responsible for reporting all civil rights complaints and findings to OCJP by completing the Certification of Regulations Compliance form as an attachment to its grant contract.
4. All subrecipient agencies must notify their employees, program participants, beneficiaries, and other interested persons that they do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion or disability.  Additionally, if an agency is receiving funds under the Violence Against Women Act, they must notify their employees, program participants, beneficiaries, and other interested persons that they also do not discriminate based on gender identity and sexual orientation.  To assist agencies in complying with this requirement see Appendix C. Agencies are required to post this or similar signage regarding Civil Rights compliance and procedures for filing a discrimination complaint. 
5. The recipient acknowledges that 34 U.S.C. § 12291(b)(13) prohibits recipients of OVW awards from excluding, denying benefits to, or discriminating against any person on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability in any program or activity funded in whole or in part by OVW. Recipients may provide sex-segregated or sex-specific programming if doing so is necessary to the essential operations of the program, so long as the recipient provides comparable services to those who cannot be provided with the sex-segregated or sex-specific programming. The recipient agrees that it will comply with this provision. The recipient also agrees to ensure that any subrecipients ("subgrantees") at any tier will comply with this provision.

1. All subrecipient agencies must have written procedures for responding to complaints alleging unlawful discrimination in employment and the delivery of services or benefits on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, disability.  Additionally, if the agency is a subrecipient of funds under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, as amended, these written procedures must also address complaints of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The agency policy may provide for discrimination complaints to be forwarded to the F & A Civil Rights Coordinator. Instructions for filing a complaint of discrimination in employment and delivery of services directly with the Department of Finance and Administration are on the OCJP website. 
2. Agencies or individuals may file complaints of discrimination in employment and the delivery of services or benefits directly with the Tennessee Human Rights Commission (TNHRC) at http://www.tn.gov/humanrights/ or by calling (615) 741-5825, Toll Free: 1-800-251-3589 or Spanish Toll Free Line: 1-866-856-1252.
3. Agencies or individuals may file complaints of discrimination in employment and the delivery of services or benefits directly with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Civil Rights (OCR).  Instructions for filing a complaint may be found on the OCR website at https://www.ojp.gov/about/ocr/complaint.htm.
4. Agencies should have policies prohibiting discrimination related to employment and procedures for filing complaints. Complaints related to employment may be filed with the Tennessee Human Rights Commission (TNHRC) at http://www.tn.gov/humanrights/  or with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at https://www.eeoc.gov/employees/charge.cfm.

1. In the event of an allegation of civil rights discrimination, including those related to employment, OCJP subrecipients must immediately notify the OCJP Civil Rights Coordinator by completing the Civil Rights Complaint Notification form (See Appendix P: Discrimination Complaint Notification​)​ within forty-five (45) days.  Subrecipients must report, in writing, the status of any on-going investigations to OCJP. A subrecipient may request exemption or modification of Appendix P by submitting a written request to the OCJP Civil Rights Coordinator.
2. In the event a federal or state court or a federal or state administrative agency makes an adverse finding of discrimination against a subrecipient agency, after a due-process hearing, on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex, the subrecipient agency must send a copy of the finding to OCJP within forty-five (45) days.

For OCJP staff to determine whether the subrecipient agency is complying with applicable civil rights laws, the subrecipient must maintain required civil rights statistics on race, national origin, sex, age, and disability for all clients served.  Agencies must permit the OCJP staff reasonable access to the books, documents, papers, and records.

Each subrecipient agency should have a plan to assist clients with limited English proficiency (LEP).  LEP persons are individuals who do not speak English as their primary language and have a limited ability to read, speak, write, or understand English.  Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as DOJ program statues, requires subrecipients to take reasonable steps to ensure that LEP persons have meaningful access to their programs and activities.  Providing meaningful access will generally involve some combination of oral interpretation services and written translation of vital documents.  Meaningful access may entail providing language assistance services, including telephone interpreter lines, bilingual staff and volunteers, oral interpretation services, and written language services.  Subrecipient agencies should evaluate their current practices in providing language-access services to LEP beneficiaries, including the following:

• Determine the size and linguistic demographics of the LEP service population;
• Collect data on the frequency of contacts with LEP beneficiaries;
• Identify the most significant services or benefits that will require language-access services;
• Assess the resources that are available both inside and outside the agency for providing language-access services;
• Make an inventory of existing written materials, especially vital documents, that need to be available to beneficiaries in translation;
• Establish quality-control measures to ensure the linguistic competency of interpreters and translators;
• Develop a language-access plan consistent with federal guidelines; and

Train staff members in public-contact positions on the legal obligation to provide appropriate language-access services to LEP beneficiaries.

For information on providing services to LEP persons and for detailed agency-specific guidance on language-access services, see www.LEP.gov.

As a condition for receiving financial assistance from DOJ, OCJP subrecipient agencies agree to comply with the DOJ regulation now entitled, "Partnerships with Faith-Based and Other Neighborhood Organization", 28 C.F.R. pt. 38.  This regulation states that DOJ financial assistance may not support inherently (or explicitly) religious activities, such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytization. In addition, 28 C.F.R. Part 38 includes rules that prohibit specific forms of discrimination on the basis of religion, a religious belief, a refusal to hold a religious belief, or refusal to attend or participate in a religious practice.   Faith-based subrecipients may still engage in inherently (or explicitly) religious activities, but the activities must be separate either in time or in place from the federally funded program and any participation in the inherently religious activities by program beneficiaries must be voluntary.  Under federal law, all subrecipients, including faith-based organizations, must not discriminate in the provision of grant-funded services on the basis of a participant’s religious practice or belief, or the lack of them.  Contrary to the general rule under federal law that prohibits employment discrimination based on religion, funded faith-based organizations may, in some circumstances, take religion into account in making hiring decisions.  Subrecipient faith-based organizations that have employment policies favoring co-religionists see the OJP website or contact their OCJP program manager for additional information.

All recipients of federal financial assistance are subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations listed above, which prohibit discrimination based on race, color, national origin, age, sex, or disability. And if the agency receives funds under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, as amended, sexual orientation or gender identity. Regulations governing Civil Rights compliance require that all OCJP subrecipients provide annual Civil Rights training for all employees.

To improve compliance with Civil Rights laws, OCJP requires that all grant Project Directors and the Civil Rights Compliance Officers provide evidence of having completed Civil Rights training provided on the OCJP website annually.  All new Project Directors must complete the training program within ninety (90) days of their start date.  At the end of the online quiz, Project Directors should retain verification of completion in the grant file.  The Project Director and the Civil Rights Compliance Officer should complete this training annually.  Verification of the training must be retained in the personnel files.

To be in compliance with OCJP’s training requirement on Civil Rights, subrecipient agencies must train other staff members by using the training program on OCJP’s website or another training program that includes information on Civil Rights compliance.  Although staff members other than the Project Directors may complete the online quiz at the end of OCJP’s  training program, they are not required to do so.  Project Directors are responsible for maintaining documentation showing that staff members completed the required Civil Rights training annually.

The Civil Rights Compliance Training Presentation and Quiz is available here.

Civil Rights training : the OCJP grant Project Director and Civil Rights Compliance Officer  are required to access the training and quiz at this link annually. They are then responsible to use this or other training materials for the rest of the agency staff. In addition to this if applicable, the Office for Violence Against Women’s website has videos on Faith-Based Organizations and the Violence Against Women Act for recipients and subrecipients of federal financial assistance.