A product of the Title VI Interagency Working Group

No person in the United States

shall, on the ground of race,
color, or national origin, be
excluded from participation in,
be denied the benefits of, or be
subjected to discrimination
under any program or activity
receiving federal financial
assistance.
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Beyond the obvious:

Person Person carries
broad meaning in Title VI.
The statute protects
residents, travelers, and
citizens alike.
Non-citizens and
undocumented individuals,
are persons for
Constitutional and Title
VI purposes.
3

Beyond the obvious:

[R]ace, color or national origin includes
any perceived race, color, or national
origin.

National origin includes an individuals

accent, ancestry, birthplace, culture,
immigration status, or language.

Recipients may not administer their programs or

activities in a manner that den[ies] any
individual any . . . benefit provided under the
program, or restrict[s] an individual in any
way in the enjoyment of any advantage or
privilege enjoyed by others receiving any . . .
benefit under the program.

Recipients may not utilize criteria or methods

of administration which have the effect of
subjecting individuals to discrimination because
of their race, color, or national origin
Title VI Regulation

Program or activity means:

[A]ll of the operations of

State and local governments

Educational institutions

Corporations & private

organizations
that receive federal financial
assistance.
[Including subrecipients therein]
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Federal financial
assistance (FFA)
does not have to be
monetary
1. Grants
and loans,
2. Grants or donation of
Federal property
(e.g., military
surplus, computers,
vehicles)
3. Detail of Federal
personnel,
4. The sale, lease, or
permission to use
Federal property, and
5. Any Federal contract

How do you find out if

there is FFA?
1. Check with your program
office
2. Research your recipient
or subrecipient
3. Check the Census Single
Audit:
http://go.usa.gov/AmUk
4. Check fund-tracking
* websites*

Intentional
Discrimination
(Disparate Treatment)
Disparate Impact
(Discriminatory
Effects)
Retaliation

What is it?
When similarly situated persons
are treated differently because
of their race, color or
national origin.

Intentional Discrimination requires:

1.The recipient was aware of the persons
race, color, or national origin; and
2.The recipient acted, at least in part,
because of the persons race, color, or
national origin.
Malice and bad faith, however, are not
required to sustain an intentional
discrimination claim.

To establish a prima facie case of

discrimination under Title VI, a plaintiff
typically shows:

membership in a group protected by Title VI;

eligibility for the recipients program,

activity, or services;

adverse action by the recipient; and

worse treatment than that of similarly

situated individual or individuals not in the
protected group.

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Legitimate Nondiscriminatory Reason

Plaintiff must first establish a prima

facie case of intentional discrimination

Defendant recipient can articulate a

legitimate nondiscriminatory reason

This can be overcome by showing that the

reason is only pretext for discrimination

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Department of Justice letter finding an intentional violation of Title

VI by the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

The AOC is aware of the requirements under federal law

to ensure
nondiscrimination against national origin minorities by
providing meaningful
language access
As a recipient of federal funds from DOJ, the AOC is
required to comply with civil rights obligations under
Title VI and [its] implementing regulations, and has
signed contractual assurances specifically agreeing to
comply with those obligations. Yet, the AOC has
implemented policies and practices that discriminate
against national origin minorities in violation of these
laws and agreements.

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What is it?
A neutral policy or
practice that
disproportionately and
adversely affects
protected individuals
(based on race, color or
national origin), and can
achieve its objectives by
less discriminatory means.

Who can enforce it?

Only federal granting agencies can
investigate disparate impact claims against
their recipients.

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Proving disparate impact:

1.Determine that the recipient

utilized a facially neutral

practice that had a
disproportionate (disparate)
impact on a protected group, and
2.Prove a causal link between

the facially neutral practice

and the disproportionate
(disparate) impact
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Substantial Legitimate Justification

Policy is important and integral

Bears a manifest relationship to the challenged

policy

Overcoming Substantial Legitimate

Justification

Determine whether an alternative practice exists

that is comparably effective with less impact.

How forceful is the practice or policy?

Show that justification is a pretext for

discrimination.
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Environmental Protection Agency letter finding noncompliance

with Title VI due to disparate impact, by the California
Department of Pesticide Regulations (CDPR)
This complaint alleged that CDPR discriminated against Latino
children by renewing the registration for methyl bromide in January
1999, without taking into consideration the health impacts that
this pesticide would have on children attending schools that were
within a 1.5 mile radius of the areas in which methyl bromide was
applied. The complaint also alleged that greater amounts of methyl
bromide were applied in areas surrounding schools with high
percentages of Latino schoolchildren (in comparison to areas
surrounding schools with lower percentages of Latino
schoolchildren) []
OCR has initially concluded that There is sufficient evidence to
make a preliminary finding of a prima facie violation of Title VI
as a result of the adverse disparate impact upon Latino
schoolchildren in California from the application of methyl bromide
between 1995 and 2001.
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What is it?
An intentional act in response to
the nature of a complaint or the
course of an investigation

Who may file a claim?

1. The target of recipients
discriminatory acts
2. A person, who is not a part of
a protected class, that is
treated adversely by the
recipient for cooperating in
the Title VI investigation
3. Only members of a protected
class
4. 1 and 2 only
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How do regulations implement Title VI?

Regulations provide enforcement mechanisms

and specific obligations for agency staff and
recipients.

Regulations implementing agency program

statutes may have affirmative provisions
expanding the scope of Title VI

Agency Title VI regulations generally include

a list of potential recipients and a list of
the agencys FFA, though such lists are not

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1.

Compliance Review

2.

Investigation

3.

Voluntary
Compliance

Also: pre-award grant reviews,

litigation

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An agency may engage in a

Compliance Review when:
1.
There is specific
evidence of an existing
violation;
2.The agency can show that
"reasonable legislative or
administrative standards for
conducting an . . . inspection
are satisfied with respect to
a particular [establishment];
or
3.The agency can show that a
search is pursuant to an
administrative plan containing

How a Compliance Review

different than a complaint
investigation?
As periodic reviews,
Compliance Reviews do not
require an existing
complaint.

Agency Example:
Language Access
Compliance
Review
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An agency typically
investigates a recipient
in response to a complaint
of discrimination
1.How do you determine that a
complaint is valid?
2.What do you do with
complaints that belong in
another agency, or that are
within multi-agency
jurisdiction?
3.What do you do with a
complaint that raises
concerns outside of the scope

Agency Examples:

Letter of
Findings

Letter Of
Findings

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Methods Include:

Agency Examples:

Providing Technical Assistance

Assistance with Language

Access Planning

Helping to Make Plans and

Policies Nondiscriminatory

Monitoring/Reviewing

Collecting Stakeholder
Feedback and Providing
Community Data

Conciliation/Resolution
Agreement

Memorandum of Agreement

Conciliation
Agreement

Memorandum of
Agreement

Resolution
Agreement

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Title VI and
Environmental
Justice:
[E]ach Federal
agency shall
ensure that all
programs or
activities
receiving Federal
financial
assistance that
affect human
health or the
environment do
not directly, or
through
contractual or
other
-Presidential
arrangements,
Memorandum use
Accompanying
EO 12898
criteria,
methods, or

Executive Order No. 12898, Federal

Actions to Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and LowIncome Populations, requires that
Federal agencies identify the effects of
their actions on the human health or
environment of low-income and minority
populations and address any adverse
effects.

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Any final questions?

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Title VI Resources
Title VI of The Civil Rights
Act of 1964,
http://www.justice.gov/crt/about
/cor/coord/titlevi.php
Executive Order 12250,
http://www.justice.gov/crt/about
/cor/12250.php

Protecting Against Race,

Color, and National Origin
Discrimination by Recipients
of Federal Funds, 4-year
report, July 2013,
http://www.justice.gov/crt/abo
ut/cor/4yr_report.pdf

Executive Order 13166,

http://www.justice.gov/crt/about
/cor/13166.php

Department of Justice
Agreements, Resolutions, and
Enforcement of Title VI,
http://www.justice.gov/crt/abo
ut/cor/agreements.php

Title VI Coordination
Regulations,
http://www.justice.gov/crt/about
/cor/byagency/28cfr424.pdf

Title VI Appellate Briefs

and Opinions,
http://www.justice.gov/crt/abo
ut/app/briefs_vi.php

Title VI Enforcement
Guidelines,
http://www.justice.gov/crt/about
/cor/byagency/28cfr503.pdf

Title VI and LEP Videos,

http://go.usa.gov/EFi

Title VI Legal Manual,

http://www.justice.gov/crt/about
/cor/coord/vimanual.pdf
Commonly Asked Questions and
Answers Regarding the Protection

Title VI Civil Rights

Newsletters,
http://www.justice.gov/crt/abo
ut/cor/pubs.php
Language Access Assessment
and Planning Tool,
http://go.usa.gov/jpJ

Federal Interagency Working

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Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice

http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/interagency/index.html
The US Department of Justice Environmental Justice Home page which contains links to the
2014 Environmental Justice Implementation Progress Report, Environmental Justice Strategy,
Environmental Justice Guidance, and to Executive Order 121898. http://www.justice.gov/ej
Federal Coordination and Compliance Section http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor
Go to the FCS website and click on the Title VI Newsletters button.
The Spring Newsletter link is:
www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/Pubs/newsletter/news@fcs/spring2015/Spring_2015_Newslett
er.pdf
Title VI Legal Manual, http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/coord/vimanual.pdf
For chart discussing crossover between Environmental Justice and Title VI, See:
http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/interagency/title-vi.html

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