28 C.F.R. ยงยง 42.401 - 42.415 Subpart F - Coordination of Enforcement of Non-discrimination in Federally Assisted Programs
Authority: Executive Order 12250 Source: Order No. 670-76, 41 FR 52669, Dec. 1, 1976, unless otherwise noted.
Sec. 42.401 Purpose and application. The purpose of this subpart is to insure that federal agencies which extend financial assistance properly enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and similar provisions in federal grant statutes. Enforcement of the latter statutes is covered by this subpart to the extent that they relate to prohibiting discrimination on the ground of race, color or national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance of the type subject to Title VI. Responsibility for enforcing Title VI rests with the federal agencies which extend financial assistance. In accord with the authority granted the Attorney General under Executive Order 12250, this subpart shall govern the respective obligations of federal agencies regarding enforcement of Title VI. This subpart is to be used in conjunction with the 1965 Attorney General Guidelines for Enforcement of Title VI, 28 CFR 50.3.
Sec. 42.402 Definitions. For purpose of this subpart: (a) "Title VI" refers to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4. Where appropriate, this term also refers to the civil rights provisions of other federal statutes to the extent that they prohibit discrimination on the ground of race, color or national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance of the type subject to Title VI itself. (b) "Agency" or "federal agency" refers to any federal department or agency which extends federal financial assistance of the type subject to Title VI. (c) "Program" refers to programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance of the type subject to Title VI. (d) "Assistant Attorney General" refers to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, United States Department of Justice. (e) Where designation of persons by race, color or national origin is required, the following designations shall be used:
(f) "Covered employment" means employment practices covered by Title VI. Such practices are those which: (1) Exist in a program where a primary objective of the federal financial assistance is to provide employment, or (2) cause discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin with respect to beneficiaries or potential beneficiaries of the assisted program. Sec. 42.403 Agency regulations. (a) Any federal agency subject to Title VI which has not issued a regulation implementing Title VI shall do so as promptly as possible and, no later than the effective date of this subpart, shall submit a proposed regulation to the Assistant Attorney General pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section. (b) Any federal agency which becomes subject to Title VI after the effective date of this subpart shall, within 60 days of the date it becomes subject to Title VI, submit a proposed regulation to the Assistant Attorney General pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section. (c) Regarding issuance or amendment of its regulation implementing Title VI, a federal agency shall take the following steps:
(d) The Title VI regulation of each federal agency shall be supplemented with an appendix listing the types of federal financial assistance, i.e., the statutes authorizing such assistance, to which the regulation applies. Each such appendix shall be kept up-to-date by amendments published, at appropriate intervals, in the Federal Register. In issuing or amending such an appendix, the agency need not follow the procedure set forth in paragraph (c) of this section.
(a) Federal agencies shall publish Title VI guidelines for each type of program to which they extend financial assistance, where such guidelines would be appropriate to provide detailed information on the requirements of Title VI. Such guidelines shall be published within three months of the effective date of this subpart or of the effective date of any subsequent statute authorizing federal financial assistance to a new type of program. The guidelines shall describe the nature of Title VI coverage, methods of enforcement, examples of prohibited practices in the context of the particular type of program, required or suggested remedial action, and the nature of requirements relating to covered employment, data collection, complaints and public information. (b) Where a federal agency determines that Title VI guidelines are not appropriate for any type of program to which it provides financial assistance, the reasons for the determination shall be stated in writing and made available to the public upon request. Sec. 42.405 Public dissemination of Title VI information. (a) Federal agencies shall make available and, where appropriate, distribute their Title VI regulations and guidelines for use by federal employees, applicants for federal assistance, recipients, beneficiaries and other interested persons. (b) State agency compliance programs (see sec. 42.410) shall be made available to the public. (c) Federal agencies shall require recipients, where feasible, to display prominently in reasonable numbers and places posters which state that the recipients operate programs subject to the nondiscrimination requirements of Title VI, summarize those requirements, note the availability of Title VI information from recipients and the federal agencies, and explain briefly the procedures for filing complaints. Federal agencies and recipients shall also include information on Title VI requirements, complaint procedures and the rights of beneficiaries in handbooks, manuals, pamphlets and other material which are ordinarily distributed to the public to describe the federally assisted programs and the requirements for participation by recipients and beneficiaries. To the extent that recipients are required by law or regulation to publish or broadcast program information in the news media, federal agencies and recipients shall insure that such publications and broadcasts state that the program in question is an equal opportunity program or otherwise indicate that discrimination in the program is prohibited by federal law. (d)
Sec. 42.406 Data and information collection. (a) Except as determined to be inappropriate in accordance with paragraph (f) of this section or sec. 42.404(b), federal agencies, as a part of the guidelines required by sec. 42.404, shall in regard to each assisted program provide for the collection of data and information from applicants for and recipients of federal assistance sufficient to permit effective enforcement of Title VI. (b) Pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, in conjunction with new applications for federal assistance (see 28 CFR 50.3(c) II A) and in any applications for approval of specific projects or significant changes in applications for continuation or renewal of assistance (see 28 CFR 50.3(c) II B), and at other times as appropriate, federal agencies shall require applicants and recipients to provide relevant and current Title VI information. Examples of data and information which, to the extent necessary and appropriate for determining compliance with Title VI, should be required by agency guidelines are as follows:
(c) Where additional data, such as demographic maps, the racial composition of affected neighborhoods or census data, is necessary or appropriate, for understanding information required in paragraph (b) of this section, federal agencies shall specify, in their guidelines or in other directives, the need to submit such data. Such additional data should be required, however, only to the extent that it is readily available or can be compiled with reasonable effort. (d) Pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, in all cases, federal agencies shall require:
(e) Federal agencies should inquire whether any agency listed by the applicant or recipient pursuant to paragraph (d)(2) of this section has found the applicant or recipient to be in noncompliance with any relevant civil rights requirement. (f) Where a federal agency determines that any of the requirements of this section are inapplicable or inappropriate in regard to any program, the basis for this conclusion shall be set forth in writing and made available to the public upon request. Sec. 42.407 Procedures to determine compliance. (a) Agency staff determination responsibility. All federal agency staff determinations of Title VI compliance shall be made by, or be subject to the review of, the agency's civil rights office. Where federal agency responsibility for approving applications or specific projects has been assigned to regional or area offices, the agency shall include personnel having Title VI review responsibility on the staffs of such offices and such personnel shall perform the functions described in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section. (b) Application review. Prior to approval of federal financial assistance, the federal agency shall make written determination as to whether the applicant is in compliance with Title VI (see 28 CFR 50.3(c) II A). The basis for such a determination under "the agency's own investigation" provision (see 28 CFR 50.3(c) II A(2)), shall be submission of an assurance of compliance and a review of the data submitted by the applicant. Where a determination cannot be made from this data, the agency shall require the submission of necessary additional information and shall take other steps necessary for making the determination. Such other steps may include, for example, communicating with local government officials or minority group organizations and field reviews. Where the requested assistance is for construction, a pre-approval review should determine whether the location and design of the project will provide service on a nondiscriminatory basis and whether persons will be displaced or relocated on a nondiscriminatory basis. (c) Post-approval review.
(d) Notice to assistant attorney general. Federal agencies shall promptly notify the Assistant Attorney General of instances of probable noncompliance determined as the result of application reviews or post-approval compliance reviews. Sec. 42.408 Complaint procedures. (a) Federal agencies shall establish and publish in their guidelines procedures for the prompt processing and disposition of complaints. The complaint procedures shall provide for notification in writing to the complainant and the applicant or recipient as to the disposition of the complaint. Federal agencies should investigate complaints having apparent merit. Where such complaints are not investigated, good cause must exist and must be stated in the notification of disposition. In such cases, the agency shall ascertain the feasibility of referring the complaint to the primary recipient, such as a State agency, for investigation. (b) Where a federal agency lacks jurisdiction over a complaint, the agency shall, wherever possible, refer the complaint to another federal agency or advise the complainant. (c) Where a federal agency requires or permits recipient to process Title VI complaints, the agency shall ascertain whether the recipients' procedures for processing complaints are adequate. The federal agency shall obtain a written report of each such complaint and investigation and shall retain a review responsibility over the investigation and disposition of each complaint. (d) Each federal agency shall maintain a log of Title VI complaints filed with it, and with its recipients, identifying each complainant by race, color, or national origin; the recipient; the nature of the complaint; the dates the complaint was filed and the investigation completed; the disposition; the date of disposition; and other pertinent information. Each recipient processing Title VI complaints shall be required to maintain a similar log. Federal agencies shall report to the Assistant Attorney General on January 1, 1977, and each six months thereafter, the receipt, nature and disposition of all such Title VI complaints. Sec. 42.409 Employment practices. Enforcement of Title VI compliance with respect to covered employment practices shall not be superseded by state and local merit systems relating to the employment practices of the same recipient. Sec. 42.410 Continuing State programs. Each state agency administering a continuing program which receives federal financial assistance shall be required to establish a Title VI compliance program for itself and other recipients which obtain federal assistance through it. The federal agencies shall require that such state compliance programs provide for the assignment of Title VI responsibilities to designated state personnel and comply with the minimum standards established in this subpart for federal agencies, including the maintenance of records necessary to permit federal officials to determine the Title VI compliance of the state agencies and the sub-recipient. Sec. 42.411 Methods of resolving noncompliance. (a) Effective enforcement of Title VI requires that agencies take prompt action to achieve voluntary compliance in all instances in which noncompliance is found. Where such efforts have not been successful within a reasonable period of time, the agency shall initiate appropriate enforcement procedures as set forth in the 1965 Attorney General Guidelines, 28 CFR 50.3. Each agency shall establish internal controls to avoid unnecessary delay in resolving noncompliance, and shall promptly notify the Assistant Attorney General of any case in which negotiations have continued for more than sixty days after the making of the determination of probable noncompliance and shall state the reasons for the length of the negotiations. (b) Agreement on the part of a noncomplying recipient to take remedial steps to achieve compliance with Title VI shall be set forth in writing by the recipient and the federal agency. The remedial plan shall specify the action necessary for the correction of Title VI deficiencies and shall be available to the public. (a) The Attorney General's authority under Executive Order 12250 is hereby delegated to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division. (b) Consistent with this subpart and the 1965 Attorney General Guidelines, 28 CFR 50.3, the Assistant Attorney General may issue such directives and take such other action as he deems necessary to insure that federal agencies carry out their responsibilities under Title VI. In addition, the Assistant Attorney General will routinely provide to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget copies of all inter-agency survey reports and related materials prepared by the Civil Rights Division that evaluate the effectiveness of an agency's Title VI compliance efforts. Where cases or matters are referred to the Assistant Attorney General for investigation, litigation or other appropriate action, the federal agencies shall, upon request, provide appropriate resources to the Assistant Attorney General to assist in carrying out such action.
Sec. 42.413 Interagency cooperation and delegations. (a) Where each of a substantial number of recipients is receiving assistance for similar or related purposes from two or more federal agencies, or where two or more federal agencies cooperate in administering assistance for a given class of recipients, the federal agencies shall:
(b) Where such designations or delegations of functions have been made, the agencies shall adopt adequate written procedures to assure that the same standards of compliance with Title VI are utilized at the operational levels by each of the agencies. This may include notification to agency personnel in handbooks, or instructions on any forms used regarding the compliance procedures. (c) Any agency conducting a compliance review or investigating a complaint of an alleged Title VI violation shall notify any other affected agency upon discovery of its jurisdiction and shall subsequently inform it of the findings made. Such reviews or investigations may be made on a joint basis. (d) Where a compliance review or complaint investigation under Title VI reveals a possible violation of Executive Order 11246, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e), or any other federal law, the appropriate agency shall be notified. Sec. 42.414 Federal agency staff. Sufficient personnel shall be assigned by a federal agency to its Title VI compliance program to ensure effective enforcement of Title VI. Sec. 42.415 Federal agency Title VI enforcement plan. Each federal agency subject to Title VI shall develop a written plan for enforcement which sets out its priorities and procedures. This plan shall be available to the public and shall address matters such as the method for selecting recipients for compliance reviews, the establishment of timetables and controls for such reviews, the procedure for handling complaints, the allocation of its staff to different compliance functions, the development of guidelines, the determination as to when guidelines are not appropriate, and the provision of civil rights training for its staff. |
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