CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION DIRECTORY
- Office
of the Assistant Attorney General
- The Office of the Assistant Attorney General establishes policy and provides
executive direction and control over litigative enforcement and administrative
management activities in the Division.
- Administrative
Management Section
- In support of the enforcement responsibilities of the Division, the Administrative
Management Section provides a diverse array of management and technical services.
These services include, but are not limited to, personnel administration,
budget formulation and execution, facility services, mail and file operations,
and automated systems.
- Appellate
Section (Apelaciones)
- The Appellate Section has primary responsibility for handling civil rights
cases in the courts of appeals and, in cooperation with the Solicitor General,
in the Supreme Court.
- Complaint
Adjudication Office
- The Complaint Adjudication Office reviews cases provided to it by departmental
components or the EEOC alleging employment discrimination by employees of
the Department of Justice and renders a final decision for the Department.
- Coordination
and Review Section
- The Coordination and Review Section exercises both programmatic and non-litigation
enforcement responsibilities. Under Executive Order 12250, the Section coordinates
the enforcement by Federal agencies of various statutes that prohibit discrimination
in programs that receive Federal financial assistance. The Section also has
authority to investigate certain complaints of discrimination on the basis
of race, color, sex, national origin, and religion against certain recipients
of assistance from the Department of Justice.
- Criminal
Section
- The federal criminal civil rights statutes provide for prosecutions of conspiracies
to interfere with federally protected rights, deprivation of rights under
color of law, the use or threat of force to injure or intimidate someone in
their enjoyment of specific rights (such as voting, employment, education,
public facilities and accommodations) and criminal housing interference.
- Disability
Rights Section (Derechos en Razón a Discapacidad)
- The Disability Rights Section implements the Department of Justice's responsibilities
under titles I, II, and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment
(Title I), in all activities of state and local governments (Title II), in
places of public accommodation and in commercial facilities (Title III). The
Section's responsibilities include enforcement, technical assistance activities
and certification of building codes. Enforcement responsibilities cover a
broad spectrum of potential actions including investigations, informal or
formal settlement agreements, consent decrees (approved by a court), and litigation.
To promote voluntary compliance with the ADA and to enhance enforcement efforts,
the Technical Assistance Program provides free information and technical assistance
to businesses,state and local governments, people with disabilities, and the
general public. The Section also develops regulations to implement Titles
II and III of the ADA, including standards for accessible design, and coordinates
Federal enforcement of Title II and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
and other Federal statutes that prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability
in programs that receive Federal financial assistance. The Section also operates
a pilot project to facilitate the use of mediation to settle ADA disputes.
- Educational
Opportunities Section (Oportunidades Educativas)
- The Educational Opportunities Section enforces federal statutes which prohibit
public school officials from engaging in discriminatory practices involving
both elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education.
- Employment
Litigation Section
- The Employment Litigation Section enforces against state and local government
employers the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as
amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, the Pregnancy Discrimination
Act of 1978, and other federal laws prohibiting employment practices that
discriminate on grounds of race, sex, religion, and national origin.
- Housing
and Civil Enforcement Section (Vivienda y Coacción Civil)
- The Housing and Civil Enforcement Section has principal responsibility for enforcing the Fair Housing Act of 1968, as amended, which prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap and familial status. In addition to its enforcement responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act, the Section enforces the Equal Credit Opportunity Act which prohibits discrimination in credit transactions, and Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodations, such as hotels, restaurants and places of entertainment, and Title III of the 1964 Act which prohibits discrimination in public facilities.
- Office
of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices
- The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment
Practices investigates and prosecutes employers charged with national origin
and citizenship status discrimination under Section 102 of the Immigration
Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). It also investigates allegations of
document abuse and retaliation as a result of the Immigration Act of 1990.
- Special
Litigation Section
- The Special Litigation Section is responsible for protecting the constitutional
and federal statutory rights of persons confined in certain institutions owned
or operated by state or local governments. These institutions include facilities
for individuals who are mentally ill and developmentally disabled, elderly
persons in nursing homes, inmates in prisons and jails and juveniles confined
in detention halls. The Section also investigates state and local law enforcement
agencies alleged to engage in a pattern or practice of violating citizens'
federal rights and may bring civil lawsuits to remedy such abuses. The Section
has also been charged with the civil enforcement of the Freedom of Access
to Clinic Entrances Act which prohibits the use of force, threats or physical
obstruction to interfere with access to reproductive health services clinics
or places of worship.
- Voting
Section
- The Voting Section is responsible for the enforcement of the Voting Rights
Act of 1965, the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act,
the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the National Voter
Registration Act of 1993, and other statutory provisions designed to safeguard
the right to vote of racial and language minorities, disabled and illiterate
persons, overseas citizens, persons who change their residence shortly before
a Presidential election, and persons 18 to 20 years of age.
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Page last updated October 17, 2000