(1) The accuracy of the document's legal citations;

(2) The appropriate translation of allegations to issues;

(3) The delineation of jurisdiction and authority of USDA;

(4) That all issues are resolved based on a preponderance of the evidence;

(5) That the facts and evidence establishing issue resolution are material, relevant, and reliable;

(6) That the findings of fact and conclusions of law reflect and are consistent with the appropriate legal theories and standards; and

(7) That recommended disposition in fact resolves and disposes of all issues and matters.

(1) Providing overall leadership, coordination, and direction for USDA civil rights compliance and enforcement;

(2) The investigation, adjudication, and resolution of complaints, including the full authority and sole responsibility for determining whether discrimination has occurred in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance from USDA, and the authority to require appropriate remedies;

(3) Reviewing and evaluating recipients' accomplishment of their civil rights responsibilities through compliance reviews and other appropriate methods;

(4) Issuing policies, directives, procedures, rules, and regulations as necessary to ensure that the Department fully achieves its civil rights compliance and enforcement obligations;

(5) Recommending enforcement actions as appropriate and where necessary to secure recipient compliance with applicable civil rights laws;

(6) Ensuring through training, dissemination of information, technical assistance, and other appropriate methods that recipients are apprised of their civil rights compliance and enforcement responsibilities;

(7) Ensuring that recipients and their. instrumentalities actively support and adhere to the civil rights policies, directives, findings, and decisions rendered by the Office of Civil Rights;

(8) As appropriate and necessary, recommending to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) enforcement actions to secure compliance with Federal civil rights requirements;

(9) Systematically reviewing, evaluating, and holding to a high accountability standard the civil rights performance of agency heads and administrators;

(10) Providing leadership, proactively promoting civil rights, and providing guidance and oversight to ensure civil rights compliance by recipients and their instrumentalities;

(11) Developing and implementing a comprehensive civil rights strategic plan that encompasses the full scope of the Department's civil rights obligations, and supplemented by an annual operating plan for strategy accomplishment, and disseminating the plan throughout the Department; and

(12) Serving as a clearinghouse for information dissemination and exchange with USDA agencies, recipients, the government and nongovernment civil rights communities.

(1) Establish and maintain an effective, proactive civil rights compliance and enforcement program in accordance with the policies, guidelines, and directives promulgated by CR;

(2) Provide adequate and appropriately trained and qualified staff and other resources as necessary to ensure efficient and effective accomplishment of the Department's civil rights obligations;

(3) Timely collect and make available all data and information as necessary and requested by CR to enable an efficient and effective evaluation of the Department's civil rights compliance and enforcement programs and activities;

(4) Cooperate with and provide assistance as necessary and requested by CR in the investigation of any complaints and compliance reviews, including ensuring access to information and the resolution of any issues of noncompliance; and

(5) Ensure that any of its recipients for which CR has made a noncompliance finding timely and effectively implements any corrective action plans determined necessary to secure compliance with a Federal civil rights requirement.

(1) Provide legal expertise, advice, and support as requested by CR to ensure the accomplishment of the Department's civil rights compliance and enforcement obligations.

(2) Conduct legal sufficiency reviews for all letters of findings resulting from complaint investigations.

(3) Upon request of the CR Director, review settlement agreements and provide legal advice relating to the award of compensatory damages and attorney fees, and other legal issues involved in the complaint investigation and compliance review process.

(1) technical guidance and assistance to agencies with the aim of resolving civil rights problems and issues associated with recipient programs and activities, and

(2) monitoring and evaluations of whether and the extent to which agencies meet their obligations to ensure that recipients administer their programs and activities pursuant to applicable civil rights requirements.

(1) The CR, with the assistance of the USDA agencies, will be responsible for conducting compliance review investigations of all USDA recipients. The CR will exercise its discretion about whether the investigation will extend to all recipient programs or merely to one or more of a recipient's programs and activities, or whether the compliance review investigations will incorporate the investigation of complaints of alleged unlawful discrimination in a recipient's programs and activities.

(2) As determined by the CR Director, CR will decide whether to conduct a compliance review of a recipient based on consideration of

(1) Unless otherwise stated, all days are calendar days.

(2) CR will complete a compliance review investigation within 180 days following the receipt of information from the recipient subject to review.

(3) CR will issue a notice to the recipient subject to review not less than 60 days prior to the date that the compliance review activities will commence. The notice will advise the recipient of the date on which the compliance review will commence, the data and information necessary to an efficient and effective compliance review, and the date on which the data and information are to be received by CR. The notice to the recipient will be sent concurrently to the appropriate USDA agency(ies).

(4) CR will notify the recipient and the Agency in writing of the findings of the compliance review within 30 days following the completion of the compliance review investigation. The letter of finding shall identify:

(5) Within 30 days following receipt of the compliance review investigation letter of findings, the recipient will be required to provide notice to CR of the actions it will undertake to remedy any findings of noncompliance.

(1) When CR issues a noncompliance letter of findings (final USDA decision) following a compliance review investigation, CR will monitor the recipient until compliance has been achieved. When all corrective actions are completed, the review will be closed.

(2) If CR concludes, or the recipient presents adequate documentation that a violation noted during the review was corrected prior to review completion, the compliance review report and the letter of findings must state that a violation existed at the time of the review, but that it was voluntarily corrected by the recipient.

(3) When CR issues a letter of finding, CR shall send a copy of the letter to the head of the recipient organization, the Agency head, OGC, the appropriate Under or Assistant Secretary, the Assistant Secretary for Administration, and the Deputy Secretary. To the extent that the compliance review was initiated in response to complaints, and to the extent appropriate and lawful, CR will notify the complainant of the findings of the compliance review and of the actions taken or being taken to remedy the discrimination.

(1) When CR issues a noncompliance letter of findings (final USDA decision), the letter will cite the actions the recipient must take to achieve compliance. The CR will monitor and evaluate a recipient's efforts to remedy a violation to ensure compliance consistent with applicable civil rights requirements.

(2) When the recipient completes its program of corrective actions, CR will notify the head of the recipient organization, the Agency head, OGC, the appropriate Under or Assistant Secretary, the Assistant Secretary for Administration, and the Deputy Secretary, following which the review will be closed.

(1) When a recipient refuses to provide CR with data and information necessary to a determination of the recipient's compliance status, CR will notify DOJ of the recipient's decision and request action to secure court enforcement of the recipient's obligation to provide access to information necessary to a determination of the recipient's compliance status.

(2) When a recipient refuses to undertake corrective actions set forth in a letter of finding, CR will notify DOJ of the recipient's decision and request an enforcement proceeding to secure a court order to require either the recipient's compliance or authority to terminate all USDA financial assistance to the recipient.

(1) Any person who believes he or she or any specific. class of individuals has been subject to discrimination by a recipient or believes that the recipient is otherwise in noncompliance with the provisions of an applicable civil rights requirement may file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

(2) If a complaint alleging discrimination or noncompliance is submitted to or filed with any agency within USDA other than the CR, the receiving agency will refer the complaint to CR within 5 calendar days of the date the complaint was received.

(1) CR will acknowledge receipt of the complaint in writing within 15 calendar days of receipt. The acknowledgment letter will, at a minimum, include: the date the complaint was received, the case number assigned, a statement that the complaint is under review to determine CR jurisdiction, any other information that may be specifically required by the appropriate statute, notice that the complainant should consult an attorney regarding other legal rights he or she may have against the recipient that are unaffected by the filing of the complaint, and a contact name and number.

(2) Where CR determines that a complaint is incomplete, the acknowledgment letter also shall advise the complainant of the information needed to complete the complaint and that the information must be submitted within 15 days of the date of receipt of the acknowledgment letter.

(3) If a complainant does not respond to requests for information necessary to complete his or her complaint, the Director of CR may make an additional request, extending the timeframe for submitting the information, or may administratively close the complaint.

(1) contain a general statement of the alleged discriminatory act(s) or noncompliance activities;

(2) advise of the Department's authority to pursue a resolution of the complaint;

(3) include other information that may be necessary to facilitate complaint resolution; and

(4) refrain from identifying or naming the complainant except when CR has received written authorization to do so from the complainant.

(1) CR will review each complaint to determine whether it is complete, timely filed, within USDA jurisdiction, subject to the authorities enforced by USDA, and to determine whether the complaint must be resolved based on an investigation or is appropriate for early resolution or pre-investigation settlement.

(2) CR will make an appropriate referral of any complaints that are not within its jurisdiction or which are subject to concurrent jurisdictions with another Federal, State or local agency. The complainant will be notified of the referral in writing.

(1) All complaints, to be timely, must be filed within 180 days of the last discriminatory act alleged.

(2) CR retains the authority to waive the timeliness requirement when it believes that good cause is shown.

(1) All investigations will be an impartial process limited to the facts and evidence pertinent and relevant to a factual determination of whether the complainant was subjected to discrimination in violation of Federal civil rights statues or the recipient otherwise was in noncompliance with a, Federal civil rights requirement.

(2) The facts, evidence, and findings of the investigation must result in a record that will withstand legal scrutiny.

(3) In conducting complaint investigations of programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance from USDA, CR will be guided by the legal standards, policies, and requirements that have been established in Federal statutes, regulations, Executive Orders, policies, and case law decisions related to discrimination based on race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, marital or familial status, or income status, and made applicable to recipients of Federal financial assistance and federally assisted programs and activities.

(4) CR will complete a complaint investigation within 180 days following complaint acceptance.

(1) Upon completion of the investigation, CR will review, evaluate, and analyze the facts and evidence, and apply the appropriate standards and legal theories to ensure findings and conclusions consistent with the applicable statutory and regulatory requirements and case law.

(2) The findings of the adjudication process will be set forth in a recommended letter of finding for acceptance or rejection by the Director of the Office of Civil Rights.

(1) The letter of finding must cite:

(2) The letter of finding may recommend no violation; -a violation finding accompanied by a further recommendation of specific remedial action (including damages); or a recommendation for a negotiated settlement.

(3) If the recommendation for settlement is accepted, the CR Director will have 30 working days in which to negotiate with the recipient. If the recipient concurs and a settlement agreement is reached, CR will notify the complainant and appropriate USDA agency advising of the final USDA decision and settlement agreement.

(4) The complainant may disagree with the settlement agreement and make a counteroffer within 15 days after receipt of the notice of the settlement proposal.

(5) If the complainant rejects terms of the compliance agreement or the CR Director rejects the complainant's counteroffer, the CR Director may go forward with the compliance agreement, direct that the case be closed, and notify the complainant of his/her right to pursue redress through other legal avenues.

(6) If the recipient declines the terms of the compliance agreement, CR will notify the recipient that CR finds the recipient in noncompliance and require the submission of a corrective action plan within 30 days of the letter of findings.

(1) When CR issues a non compliance letter of findings, CR will monitor the recipient until compliance has been achieved. When corrective actions are completed, the complaint will be closed.

(2) If CR concludes, or the recipient presents adequate documentation that the noncompliance has been corrected prior to or during the complaint investigation, the CR will issue a closure letter. The closure letter must state that a violation existed at the time the investigation commenced but that it was corrected prior to the investigation completion and, as a consequence, the agency is now in compliance based on its voluntary corrective action.

(3) When a recipient refuses to provide CR with data and information necessary to a determination of the recipient's compliance status following CR's receipt of a complaint, CR will notify the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) of the recipient's decision and request action to secure court enforcement of the recipient's obligation to provide access to information necessary to a determination of the recipient's compliance status.

(4) When a recipient refuses to undertake corrective actions set forth in a letter of finding, CR will notify DOJ of the recipient's decision and request enforcement proceeding to secure a court order to require either the recipient's compliance or authority to terminate all USDA financial assistance to the recipient.