(a) Grant applicant's obligation to provide a written assurance. (1) Each application for financial assistance, under Title I of WIOA, as defined in § 38.4, must include the following assurance:

(i) As a condition to the award of financial assistance from the Department of Labor under Title I of WIOA, the grant applicant assures that it has the ability to comply with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of the following laws and will remain in compliance for the duration of the award of federal financial assistance:

(A) Section 188 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which prohibits discrimination against all individuals in the United States on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, transgender status, and gender identity), national origin (including limited English proficiency), age, disability, or political affiliation or belief, or against beneficiaries on the basis of either citizenship status or participation in any WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity;

(B) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the bases of race, color and national origin;

(C) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, which prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities;

(D) The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of age; and

(E) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs.

(ii) The grant applicant also assures that, as a recipient of WIOA Title I financial assistance, it will comply with 29 CFR part 38 and all other regulations implementing the laws listed above. This assurance applies to the grant applicant's operation of the WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity, and to all agreements the grant applicant makes to carry out the WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity. The grant applicant understands that the United States has the right to seek judicial enforcement of this assurance.

(2) The assurance is considered incorporated by operation of law in the grant, cooperative agreement, contract or other arrangement whereby Federal financial assistance under Title I of WIOA is made available, whether it is explicitly incorporated in such document and whether there is a written agreement between the Department and the recipient, between the Department and the Governor, between the Governor and the recipient, or between recipients. The assurance also may be incorporated in such grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, or other arrangements by reference.

(b) Continuing State Programs. Each Strategic Four-Year State Plan submitted by a State to carry out a continuing WIOA financially assisted program or activity must provide the text of the assurance in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, as a condition to the approval of the Four-Year Plan and the extension of any WIOA Title I assistance under the Plan. The State also must certify that it has developed and maintains a Nondiscrimination Plan under § 38.54.

(a) Where the WIOA Title I financial assistance is intended to provide, or is in the form of, either personal property, real property, structures on real property, or interest in any such property or structures, the assurance will obligate the recipient, or (in the case of a subsequent transfer) the transferee, for the longer of:

(1) The period during which the property is used either:

(i) For a purpose for which WIOA Title I financial assistance is extended; or

(ii) For another purpose involving the provision of similar services or benefits; or

(2) The period during which either:

(i) The recipient retains ownership or possession of the property; or

(ii) The transferee retains ownership or possession of the property without compensating the Departmental grantmaking agency for the fair market value of that ownership or possession.

(b) In all other cases, the assurance will obligate the recipient for the period during which WIOA Title I financial assistance is extended.

(a) Where WIOA Title I financial assistance is provided in the form of a transfer of real property, structures, or improvements on real property or structures, or interests in real property or structures, the instrument effecting or recording the transfer must contain a covenant assuring nondiscrimination and equal opportunity for the period described in § 38.25(a)(1).

(b) Where no Federal transfer of real property or interest therein from the Federal Government is involved, but real property or an interest therein is acquired or improved under a program of WIOA Title I financial assistance, the recipient must include the covenant described in paragraph (a) of this section in the instrument effecting or recording any subsequent transfer of such property.

(c) When the property is obtained from the Federal Government, the covenant described in paragraph (a) of this section also may include a condition coupled with a right of reverter to the Department in the event of a breach of the covenant.

(a) Governors. Every Governor must designate an individual as a State-level Equal Opportunity Officer (State-level EO Officer), who reports directly to the Governor and is responsible for State Program-wide coordination of compliance with the equal opportunity and nondiscrimination requirements in WIOA and this part, including but not limited to §§ 38.51, 38.53, 38.54, and 38.55 for State Programs. The State-level EO Officer must have staff and resources sufficient to carry out these requirements.

(b) All recipients. Every recipient except small recipients and service providers, as defined in § 38.4(hhh) and (ggg), must designate a recipient-level Equal Opportunity Officer (recipient-level EO Officer), who reports directly to the individual in the highest-level position of authority for the entity that is the recipient, such as the Governor, the Administrator of the State Department of Employment Services, the Chair of the Local Workforce Development Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Operating Officer, or an equivalent official. The recipient-level EO Officer must have staff and resources sufficient to carry out the requirements of this section and § 38.31. The responsibilities of small recipients and service providers are described in §§ 38.32 and 38.33.

All recipients have the following obligations related to their EO Officers:

(a) Ensuring that the EO Officer is a senior-level employee reporting directly to the individual in the highest-level position of authority for the entity that is the recipient, such as the Governor, the Administrator of the State Department of Employment Services, the Chair of the Local Workforce Development Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Operating Officer, or an equivalent official;

(b) Designating an individual who can fulfill the responsibilities of an EO Officer as described in § 38.31;

(c) Making the EO Officer's name, position title, address, and telephone number (voice and TDD/TTY) public;

(d) Ensuring that the EO Officer's identity and contact information appear on all internal and external communications about the recipient's nondiscrimination and equal opportunity programs;

(e) Assigning sufficient authority, staff, and resources to the EO Officer, and support of top management, to ensure compliance with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of WIOA and this part; and

(f) Ensuring that the EO Officer and the EO Officer's staff are afforded the opportunity to receive (at the recipient's expense) the training necessary and appropriate to maintain competency.

The EO Officer must be a senior level employee of the recipient who has the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to fulfill the responsibilities competently as described in this subpart. Depending upon the size of the recipient, the size of the recipient's WIOA Title I-financially assisted programs or activities, and the number of applicants, registrants, and participants served by the recipient, the EO Officer may, or may not, be assigned other duties. However, the EO Officer must not have other responsibilities or activities that create a conflict or the appearance of a conflict with the responsibilities of an EO Officer.

An Equal Opportunity Officer is responsible for coordinating a recipient's obligations under this part. Those responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

(a) Serving as a recipient's liaison with CRC;

(b) Monitoring and investigating the recipient's activities, and the activities of the entities that receive WIOA Title I-financial assistance from the recipient, to make sure that the recipient and its subrecipients are not violating their nondiscrimination and equal opportunity obligations under WIOA Title I and this part, which includes monitoring the collection of data required in this part to ensure compliance with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity requirements of WIOA and this part;

(c) Reviewing the recipient's written policies to make sure that those policies are nondiscriminatory;

(d) Developing and publishing the recipient's procedures for processing discrimination complaints under §§ 38.72 through 38.73, including tracking the discrimination complaints filed against the recipient, developing procedures for investigating and resolving discrimination complaints filed against the recipient, making sure that those procedures are followed, and making available to the public, in appropriate languages and formats, the procedures for filing a complaint;

(e) Conducting outreach and education about equal opportunity and nondiscrimination requirements consistent with § 38.40 and how an individual may file a complaint consistent with § 38.69;

(f) Undergoing training (at the recipient's expense) to maintain competency of the EO Officer and staff, as required by the Director; and

(g) If applicable, overseeing the development and implementation of the recipient's Nondiscrimination Plan under § 38.54.

Although small recipients, as defined in § 38.4(hhh), do not need to designate EO Officers who have the full range of responsibilities listed in § 38.31, they must designate an individual who will be responsible for adopting and publishing complaint procedures, and processing complaints, as explained in §§ 38.72 through 38.75.

Service providers, as defined in § 38.4(ggg), are not required to designate an EO Officer. The obligation for ensuring service provider compliance with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of WIOA and this part rests with the Governor or LWDA grant recipient, as specified in the State's Nondiscrimination Plan.

(a) A recipient must provide initial and continuing notice as defined in § 38.36 that it does not discriminate on any prohibited basis. This notice must be provided to:

(1) Registrants, applicants, and eligible applicants/registrants;

(2) Participants;

(3) Applicants for employment and employees;

(4) Unions or professional organizations that hold collective bargaining or professional agreements with the recipient;

(5) Subrecipients that receive WIOA Title I financial assistance from the recipient; and

(6) Members of the public, including those with impaired vision or hearing and those with limited English proficiency.

(b) As provided in § 38.15, the recipient must take appropriate steps to ensure that communications with individuals with disabilities are as effective as communications with others and that this notice is provided in appropriate languages to ensure meaningful access for LEP individuals as described in § 38.9.

The notice must contain the following specific wording:

It is against the law for this recipient of Federal financial assistance to discriminate on the following bases: Against any individual in the United States, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, sex stereotyping, transgender status, and gender identity), national origin (including limited English proficiency), age, disability, or political affiliation or belief, or, against any beneficiary of, applicant to, or participant in programs financially assisted under Title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, on the basis of the individual's citizenship status or participation in any WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity.

The recipient must not discriminate in any of the following areas:

Deciding who will be admitted, or have access, to any WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity;

providing opportunities in, or treating any person with regard to, such a program or activity; or

making employment decisions in the administration of, or in connection with, such a program or activity.

Recipients of federal financial assistance must take reasonable steps to ensure that communications with individuals with disabilities are as effective as communications with others. This means that, upon request and at no cost to the individual, recipients are required to provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services to qualified individuals with disabilities.

If you think that you have been subjected to discrimination under a WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity, you may file a complaint within 180 days from the date of the alleged violation with either:

The recipient's Equal Opportunity Officer (or the person whom the recipient has designated for this purpose); or

The Director, Civil Rights Center (CRC), U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-4123, Washington, DC 20210 or electronically as directed on the CRC Web site at www.dol.gov/crc.

If you file your complaint with the recipient, you must wait either until the recipient issues a written Notice of Final Action, or until 90 days have passed (whichever is sooner), before filing with the Civil Rights Center (see address above).

If the recipient does not give you a written Notice of Final Action within 90 days of the day on which you filed your complaint, you may file a complaint with CRC before receiving that Notice. However, you must file your CRC complaint within 30 days of the 90-day deadline (in other words, within 120 days after the day on which you filed your complaint with the recipient).

If the recipient does give you a written Notice of Final Action on your complaint, but you are dissatisfied with the decision or resolution, you may file a complaint with CRC. You must file your CRC complaint within 30 days of the date on which you received the Notice of Final Action.

(a) At a minimum, the Equal Opportunity Notice required by §§ 38.34 and 38.35 must be:

(1) Posted prominently, in reasonable numbers and places, in available and conspicuous physical locations and on the recipient's Web site pages;

(2) Disseminated in internal memoranda and other written or electronic communications with staff;

(3) Included in employee and participant handbooks or manuals regardless of form, including electronic and paper form if both are available; and

(4) Provided to each participant and employee; the notice must be made part of each employee's and participant's file. It must be a part of both paper and electronic files, if both are maintained.

(b) The notice must be provided in appropriate formats to registrants, applicants, eligible applicants/registrants, applicants for employment and employees and participants with visual impairments. Where notice has been given in an alternate format to registrants, applicants, eligible applicants/registrants, participants, applicants for employment and employees with a visual impairment, a record that such notice has been given must be made a part of the employee's or participant's file.

(c) The notice must be provided to participants in appropriate languages other than English as required in § 38.9.

(d) The notice required by §§ 38.34 and 38.35 must be initially published and provided within 90 days of January 3, 2017, or of the date this part first applies to the recipient, whichever comes later.

The Governor or the LWDA grant recipient, as determined by the Governor and as provided in that State's Nondiscrimination Plan, will be responsible for meeting the notice requirement provided in §§ 38.34 and 38.35 with respect to a State's service providers.

(a) Recipients must indicate that the WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity in question is an “equal opportunity employer/program,” and that “auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities,” in recruitment brochures and other materials that are ordinarily distributed or communicated in written and/or oral form, electronically and/or on paper, to staff, clients, or the public at large, to describe programs financially assisted under Title I of WIOA or the requirements for participation by recipients and participants. Where such materials indicate that the recipient may be reached by voice telephone, the materials must also prominently provide the telephone number of the text telephone (TTY) or equally effective telecommunications system, such as a relay service, videophone, or captioned telephone used by the recipient, as required by § 38.15(b).

(b) Recipients that publish or broadcast program information in the news media must ensure that such publications and broadcasts state that the WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity in question is an equal opportunity employer/program (or otherwise indicate that discrimination in the WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity is prohibited by Federal law), and indicate that auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

(c) A recipient must not communicate any information that suggests, by text or illustration, that the recipient treats beneficiaries, registrants, applicants, participants, employees or applicants for employment differently on any prohibited basis specified in § 38.5, except as such treatment is otherwise permitted under Federal law or this part.

During each presentation to orient new participants, new employees, and/or the general public to its WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity, in person or over the internet or using other technology, a recipient must include a discussion of rights and responsibilities under the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of WIOA and this part, including the right to file a complaint of discrimination with the recipient or the Director. This information must be communicated in appropriate languages as required in § 38.9 and in formats accessible for individuals with disabilities as required in this part and specified in § 38.15.

Recipients must take appropriate steps to ensure that they are providing equal access to their WIOA Title I-financially assisted programs and activities. These steps should involve reasonable efforts to include members of the various groups protected by these regulations including but not limited to persons of different sexes, various racial and ethnic/national origin groups, various religions, individuals with limited English proficiency, individuals with disabilities, and individuals in different age groups. Such efforts may include, but are not limited to:

(a) Advertising the recipient's programs and/or activities in media, such as newspapers or radio programs, that specifically target various populations;

(b) Sending notices about openings in the recipient's programs and/or activities to schools or community service groups that serve various populations; and

(c) Consulting with appropriate community service groups about ways in which the recipient may improve its outreach and service to various populations.

(a) The Director will not require submission of data that can be obtained from existing reporting requirements or sources, including those of other agencies, if the source is known and available to the Director.

(b)(1) Each recipient must collect such data and maintain such records, in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Director, as the Director finds necessary to determine whether the recipient has complied or is complying with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of WIOA or this part. The system and format in which the records and data are kept must be designed to allow the Governor and CRC to conduct statistical or other quantifiable data analyses to verify the recipient's compliance with section 188 of WIOA and this part.

(2) Such records must include, but are not limited to, records on applicants, registrants, eligible applicants/registrants, participants, terminees, employees, and applicants for employment. Each recipient must record the race/ethnicity, sex, age, and where known, disability status, of every applicant, registrant, participant, terminee, applicant for employment, and employee. Beginning on January 3, 2019, each recipient must also record the limited English proficiency and preferred language of each applicant, registrant, participant, and terminee. Such information must be stored in a manner that ensures confidentiality, and must be used only for the purposes of recordkeeping and reporting; determining eligibility, where appropriate, for WIOA Title I-financially assisted programs or activities; determining the extent to which the recipient is operating its WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity in a nondiscriminatory manner; or other use authorized by law.

(3) Any medical or disability-related information obtained about a particular individual, including information that could lead to the disclosure of a disability, must be collected on separate forms. All such information, whether in hard copy, electronic, or both, must be maintained in one or more separate files, apart from any other information about the individual, and treated as confidential. Whether these files are electronic or hard copy, they must be locked or otherwise secured (for example, through password protection).

(i) Knowledge of disability status or medical condition and access to information in related files. Persons in the following categories may be informed about an individual's disability or medical condition and have access to the information in related files under the following listed circumstances:

(A) Program staff who are responsible for documenting eligibility, where disability is an eligibility criterion for a program or activity.

(B) First aid and safety personnel who need access to underlying documentation related to a participant's medical condition in an emergency.

(C) Government officials engaged in enforcing this part, any other laws administered by the Department, or any other Federal laws. See also § 38.44.

(ii) Knowledge of disability status or medical condition only. Supervisors, managers, and other necessary personnel may be informed regarding restrictions on the activities of individuals with disabilities and regarding reasonable accommodations for such individuals.

(c) Each recipient must maintain, and submit to CRC upon request, a log of complaints filed with the recipient that allege discrimination on the basis(es) of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, transgender status, and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, political affiliation or belief, citizenship, and/or participation in a WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity. The log must include: The name and address of the complainant; the basis of the complaint; a description of the complaint; the date the complaint was filed; the disposition and date of disposition of the complaint; and other pertinent information. Information that could lead to identification of a particular individual as having filed a complaint must be kept confidential.

(d) Where designation of individuals by race or ethnicity is required, the guidelines of the Office of Management and Budget must be used.

(e) A service provider's responsibility for collecting and maintaining the information required under this section may be assumed by the Governor or LWDA grant recipient, as provided in the State's Nondiscrimination Plan.

In addition to the information which must be collected, maintained, and, upon request, submitted to CRC under § 38.41:

(a) Each grant applicant and recipient must promptly notify the Director when any administrative enforcement actions or lawsuits are filed against it alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, transgender status, and gender identity), national origin (including limited English proficiency), age, disability, or political affiliation or belief, or, for beneficiaries, applicants, and participants only, on the basis of citizenship or participation in a WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity. This notification must include:

(1) The names of the parties to the action or lawsuit;

(2) The forum in which each case was filed; and

(3) The relevant case numbers.

(b) Each recipient (as part of a compliance review conducted under § 38.63, or monitoring activity carried out under § 38.65) must provide the following information:

(1) The name of any other Federal agency that conducted a civil rights compliance review or complaint investigation, and that found the grant applicant or recipient to be in noncompliance, during the two years before the grant application was filed or CRC began its examination; and

(2) Information about any administrative enforcement actions or lawsuits that alleged discrimination on any protected basis, and that were filed against the grant applicant or recipient during the two years before the application or renewal application, compliance review, or monitoring activity. This information must include:

(i) The names of the parties;

(ii) The forum in which each case was filed; and

(iii) The relevant case numbers.

(c) At the discretion of the Director, grant applicants and recipients may be required to provide, in a timely manner, any information and data that the Director considers necessary to investigate complaints and conduct compliance reviews on bases prohibited under the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of WIOA and this part.

(d) At the discretion of the Director, recipients may be required to provide, in a timely manner, the particularized information and/or to submit the periodic reports that the Director considers necessary to determine compliance with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of WIOA or this part.

(e) At the discretion of the Director, grant applicants may be required to submit, in a timely manner, the particularized information that the Director considers necessary to determine whether or not the grant applicant, if financially assisted, would be able to comply with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of WIOA or this part.

(f) Where designation of individuals by race or ethnicity is required, the guidelines of the Office of Management and Budget must be used.

(a) Each recipient must maintain the following records, whether they exist in electronic form (including email) or hard copy, for a period of not less than three years from the close of the applicable program year:

(1) The records of applicants, registrants, eligible applicants/registrants, participants, terminees, employees, and applicants for employment; and

(2) Such other records as are required under this part or by the Director.

(b) Where a discrimination complaint has been filed or compliance review initiated, every recipient that possesses or maintains any type of hard-copy or electronic record related to the complaint (including records that have any relevance to the underlying allegations in the complaint, as well as records regarding actions taken on the complaint) or to the subject of the compliance review must preserve all records, regardless whether hard-copy or electronic, that may be relevant to a complaint investigation or compliance review, and maintain those records for a period of not less than three years from the date of final action related to resolution of the complaint or compliance review.

(a) Each grant applicant and recipient must permit access by the Director or the Director's designee during its hours of operation to its premises and to its employees and participants, to the extent that such individuals are on the premises during the course of the investigation, for the purpose of conducting complaint investigations, compliance reviews, or monitoring activities associated with a State's development and implementation of a Nondiscrimination Plan, and for inspecting and copying such books, records, accounts and other materials as may be pertinent to ascertain compliance with and ensure enforcement of the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of WIOA or this part.

(b) Asserted considerations of privacy or confidentiality are not a basis for withholding information from CRC and will not bar CRC from evaluating or seeking to enforce compliance with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of WIOA and this part.

(c) Whenever any information that the Director asks a grant applicant or recipient to provide is in the exclusive possession of another agency, institution, or person, and that agency, institution, or person fails or refuses to furnish the information upon request, the grant applicant or recipient must certify to CRC that it has made efforts to obtain the information and that the agency, institution, or person has failed or refused to provide it. This certification must list the name and address of the agency, institution, or person that has possession of the information and the specific efforts the grant applicant or recipient made to obtain it.

Grant applicants, recipients and the Department must keep confidential to the extent possible, consistent with a fair determination of the issues, the identity of any individual who furnishes information relating to, or assists in, an investigation or a compliance review, including the identity of any individual who files a complaint. An individual whose identity is disclosed must be protected from retaliation (See § 38.19).