Workforce & Opportunity Investment Act (WIOA) Equal Opportunity (EO) Training July 8, 2010

1. Workforce & Opportunity Investment Act (WIOA) Equal Opportunity (EO) TrainingJuly 8, 2010 Presenters: Kelly Garrett – State EO Officer Diana White – Policy Intern

2. Agenda • Recap of recent/upcoming events • Define role/duties of EO Officer • Overview of Laws • Overview of DWD Policies • EO Monitoring • Required signs in WorkOne Offices • Grievance/Complaint Procedures • Define WIOA EO complaint • Methods of Administration (MOA)

3. Recap of recent/upcoming events • ADA surveys • Submit reports to the State EO Officer by July 9th • Goal will be to survey all other WorkOne Offices – timeline TBD • Focus on making the necessary modifications at the 20 WorkOne offices that were surveyed • EO Monitoring Questionnaire Guide • Begin monitoring on July 9, 2010 (will discuss later in the training) • Due date is August 31, 2010 • Methods of Administration • Submit to the Department of Labor’s Civil Rights Center by September 29, 2010 • Customer Service Report • Quarterly report due to the State EO Officer by July 5, 2010 • DWD Policies pertaining to EO/ADA • Revisions are currently in progress, will notify EO Officers when complete

4. Defining the role of EO Officer, duties/responsibilities §38.23 - 38.25 • Every recipient must designate an EO Officer, except small recipients and service providers • Small recipient means a recipient who serves a total of fewer than 15 beneficiaries during the entire grant year and employs fewer than 15 employees on any given day during the grant year • Eligible to serve? • Senior-level employee • Must not have other responsibilities that create a conflict, or the appearance of a conflict • Responsibilities: • Serving as the recipient’s liaison with CRC • Monitoring and investigating the recipient’s activities to make sure that the recipient and its subrecipients are not violating their nondiscrimination and equal opportunity obligations under WIOA Title I • Reviewing the recipient’s written policies to make sure that those policies are nondiscriminatory • Developing and publishing the recipient’s procedures for processing discrimination complaints • Reporting directly to the appropriate official • Undergoing training to maintain competency • If applicable, overseeing the development and implementation of the recipient’s MOA

5. Clarifying Recipient

6. Recipient§38.4 • Definition: • Any entity to which financial assistance under WIOA Title I is extended, either directly from the Department or through the Governor or another recipient (including any successor, assignee, or transferee of a recipient), but excluding the ultimate beneficiaries of the WIOA Title I-funded program or activity

7. Recipient • Includes, but is not limited to: • State-level agencies that administer, or are financed in whole or in part with, WIOA Title I funds • State Employment Security Agencies • State and local Workforce Investment Boards • LWIOA grant recipients • One-Stop operators • Eligible training providers • On-the-Job Training (OJT) employers • Job Corps contractors and center operators (excluding the operators of federally-operated Job Corps centers), national training contractors, outreach and admissions agencies, and placement agencies • Other National Program recipients

8. Recipient’s Obligations Relating to the EO Officer§38.26 • Making the EO Officer contact info public • EO Officer’s identity and contact info appears on all internal/external communications about the recipient’s nondiscrimination and equal opportunity programs • Assigning sufficient staff and resources to EO Officer • Afforded the opportunity to receive the training necessary and appropriate to maintain competency

9. Code of Federal Regulations Pertaining to Equal Opportunity

10. 29 CFR Part 38 http://www.dol.gov/oasam/regs/cfr/29cfr38(2001).htm §38.1 No individual in the United States may, on the ground of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation or belief, and for beneficiaries only, citizenship or participation in any WIOA Title I—financially assisted program or activity, be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, subjected to discrimination under, or denied employment in the administration of or in connection with any WIOA Title I—funded program or activity

11. Federal Laws Pertaining to Equal Opportunity

12. Age Discrimination Act of 1975 To prohibit discrimination on the basis of age in programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance

13. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 • Pertains to a qualified individual with a disability • A qualified individual means an individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable modifications to rules, policies, or practices, the removal of architectural, communication, or transportation barriers, or the provision of auxiliary aids and services, meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or the participation in programs or activities provided by a public entity

14. Executive Order 11246 • Prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors and federally-assisted construction contractors and subcontractors that generally have contracts that exceed $10,000 from discriminating in employment decisions on the basic of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin • It also requires covered contractors to take affirmative action to ensure that equal opportunity is provided in all aspects of their employment

15. Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 • No other wise qualified individual with a disability in the US…shall, solely by reason of his or her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency

16. Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508 • Electronic and information technology • Individuals with disabilities who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal department or agency, and individuals with disabilities who are Federal employees, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to and use of information and data by such members of the public, and Federal employees, who are not individuals with disabilities

17. Equal Pay Act of 1963 • No employer having employees subject to any provisions of this section shall discriminate, within any establishment in which such employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex in such establishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions, except where such payment is made pursuant to (i) a seniority system; (ii) a merit system; (iii) a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (iv) a differential based on any other factor other than sex: Provided, That an employer who is paying a wage rate differential in violation of this subsection shall not, in order to comply with the provisions of this subsection, reduce the wage rate of any employee

18. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1974 • 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

19. DWD Policies Pertaining to Equal Opportunity **DWD Policy is in the process of updating the DWD policies pertaining to EO/ADA – completion date is TBD

20. DWD Policy 2006-22: Nondiscrimination Requirements of the Workforce Investment Act • To communicate the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity requirements of WIOA and to denote the responsibilities for entities receiving WIOA funding • Designation of EO Officer • Notice and Communication Requirements • Review Assurances, Job Training Plans, Contracts, Policies • Universal Access • Compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 • Data and Information Collection and Maintenance • Monitoring Recipients for Compliance • Corrective Actions/Sanctions

21. DWD Policy 2008-04:Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy and Poster • The Indiana Department of Workforce Development (“DWD”) promotes a policy of fair and equitable relations with all of its employees and applicants for employment • DWD believes that equal opportunity in a state’s service is achieved through solid Affirmative Action programs • The Department emphasizes in active Affirmative Action Plan that aims to remove illegal practices that discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, disability or veteran status

22. Affirmative Action Poster

23. DWD Policy 2007-30:Ensuring Nondiscrimination and EO to Persons with Disabilities Participating in Programs and Activities in the WorkOne Delivery System • Covered Individuals • Under the ADA a person is “disabled” if s/he: • Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual • Has a record of such impairment • Is regarded as having such an impairment • Notice and Communication • Recipients must take appropriate steps to ensure that communications with individuals with disabilities are as effective as communications with others • Recipients must indicate that the WIOA Title I funded 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” • Appropriate signage (EO is the Law!) • Where marketing, recruitment, and other materials indicate that the recipient may be reached by telephone, the materials must state the telephone number of the TDD/TTY or Relay Service used by the recipient • Integrated Setting • Administer programs and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with disabilities

24. DWD Policy 2007-30 continued… • Architectural Accessibility • Designed and constructed in such manner that the facility or part of the facility is readily accessible to and useable by qualified handicapped individuals • Employment Practices • Recipients may not conduct pre-employment medical examinations or make pre-employment inquiry of an applicant for employment or training as to whether the applicant is a handicapped person or as to the nature or the severity of a handicap • A recipient may, however, make pre-employment inquiry into an applicant’s ability to perform job-related functions • Reporting Violations • DWD Policy 2007-10 “Grievance/Complaint Procedures Policy” (discussed later in the training)

25. DWD Policy 2006-19: Policy Guidance for Ensuring Access to Services for Person with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) • To provide policy and guidance to grant recipients in serving persons with LEP • WorkOne Center/Express site and activities that are a part of the One-Stop delivery system, with fewer than 5% or 1,000 persons (whichever is less) in a language group that is eligible, need not translate written materials but rather simply provide a notice that the service is available (NOTE-customer based not population) • Grant recipients must establish and implement policies and procedures to provide language assistance sufficient to fulfill their Title VI and Section 188 responsibilities that give LEP individuals meaningful access to services

26. DWD Policy 2007-31:Equal Opportunity Monitoring for the Workforce Investment Act Title I • One of the requirements of the State’s MOA, as required by regulations at 29 CFR §38.54, is for the state to have in place a system for periodic monitoring of recipients for compliance with WIOA Section 188 • DUE DATE IS August 31, 2010

27. DWD Policy 2007-31 continued… • The purpose of an EO Monitoring Review is to ensure that: • Commitments made by the recipient are being kept • Technical requirements have been met (signage) • Equal access and treatment during training and/or employment in WIOA financially assisted programs • None of the recipient’s training or employment practices are discriminatory • Any needed training/technical assistance to the recipient is provided

28. DWD Policy 2007-31 continued… • State EO Officer may target a recipient for review based on any of the following: • The review and analysis of data output reports • Request(s) for technical assistance • Complaint Records (quarterly reports) • Reports from Program Monitors or other interested parties • Demographics and geography

29. DWD Policy 2007-31 continued… Procedure • Desk Review • Involves an analysis of data output reports to compare how protected groups are treated in comparison with other groups in the programs and activities funded under WIOA Title I • Completed by the State EO Officer • Onsite Reviews • Examine problem areas revealed by the desk review • Can be done through an onsite investigation, interview of staff and participants, and by a review of applicable documentation • Completed yearly by the regional EO Officers • Periodically performed by the State EO Officer

30. DWD Policy 2007-31 continued… Procedure • Post Review Report • Issued to the recipient within thirty (30) days of the exit conference • The report will recognize positive performance/practices, describe issues that need to be resolved, findings of noncompliance and list corrective action • Corrective actions are defined as those activities undertaken by the recipient in response to equal opportunity deficiencies discovered by the EO Reviewer • Deficiencies fall into two categories • Not involving discrimination – technical deficiencies (ex. Failure to post required posters) • Involving discrimination – (ex. disparate treatment in the referral of applicants)

31. Procedure for DWD Policy 2007-31 • DWD will work with recipients to ensure that corrective actions can be achieved • Where violations of WIOA Section 188 are found and voluntary compliance has not been achieved, DWD may implement appropriate sanction procedures

32. Required Signs – WorkOne Office

33. Display in WorkOne Offices • Affirmative Action • Discrimination is Against the Law! • EO is the Law!

34. Affirmative Action Poster

35. Discrimination is Against the Law!

36. EO is the Law!

37. EO is the Law-Federal

38. EO is the Law-Federal

39. DWD Policy 2007-10: Grievance/Complaint Procedures Policy • To provide the grievance and complaint procedures under Title I of the Workforce Investment Act • This policy is currently under review by the DWD Policy Team • As soon as it has been approved, the EO Officers will be notified

40. DWD Policy 2007-10 continued… • Who may file a complaint of discrimination under WIOA Title I? • Any person who believes that either s/he or any specific class of individual has been or is being subjected to discrimination prohibited by Title I Workforce Investment Act may file a written complaint either by him/herself or through a representative

41. DWD Policy 2007-10 continued… • Where may a complaint be filed? • Complaints may be filed directly with the grant recipient’s office or with the Director, Civil Rights Center, U.S. Department of Labor • When must a complaint be filed? • Within 180 days of the alleged discrimination • What form does the complainant need to file? • Record of Complaint Information (State Form 45153) • Must be signed and dated by the complainant and include the complainant’s name and address, the identity of the respondent, and a detailed description of the complainant’s allegation

42. Record of Complaint Information

43. DWD Policy 2007-10 continued… • Recipient provides written acknowledgement of receipt • Legal Counsel, list of issues raised, accept/reject issue, ADR, and Notice of Final Action • For each issues raised in the complaint the Notice of Final must include • The recipients decision OR a description of how the issue was resolved • When must a “Notice of Final Action” be provided? • Grant recipients must provide a decision to locally filed complaints within 90 days of receiving them

44. DWD Policy 2007-10 continued… • Notice of Final Action • Must include: • An advisement that if the complainant is dissatisfied with the local level decision, s/he must appeal to the DWD State EO Officer with 5 days of the receipt of decision • State EO Officer has 25 days to respond to the appeal, or 90 days after the initial filing date (whichever is later)

45. DWD Policy 2007-10 continued… Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Process • The complainant should be given the option of ADR when the initial complaint is filed • If ADR is chosen… • An impartial mediator is selected • Both parties must sign a confidentiality agreement—mediation will be kept confidential • Any successful resolution reached will be recorded in a written settlement; however, there will be no record or other recording made of the meeting • If no agreement can be reached, the complainant can file directly with CRC within 180 days of the alleged act • If the agreement is breached, the non-breaching party may file with CRC within 30 days of the alleged breach

46. DWD Policy 2007-10 continued… Record Keeping • Customer Service Record • (Quarterly Report) • Must include: • Name and address of the complainant • Description of the complaint • Date the complaint was filed • Disposition of the complaint

47. Customer Service Record

48. DWD Policy 2007-10 continued… Customer Service Record • Submit to the State EO Officer: • April 5th, July 5th, October 5th, January 5th • Complaint records must be kept for a minimum of 3 years after the resolution • Consolidate into one complaint log and submit each fiscal year to the U.S. DOL CRC

49. DWD Policy 2007- 10 continued… Example of Complaint • Programmatic Example: Filing for Unemployment Insurance and is allegedly misinformed on the process • EO Example: John Smith is visually impaired. When coming into the WorkOne office for a resume class, no one is at the front to greet him. He searches the walls for Braille signs instructing him where to go but is unsuccessful.

50. DWD Policy 2007- 10 continued… • Each complaint must always start at the local level. If the issue is not resolved, it then moves to the State EO Officer. Once again, if the issue is not resolved, it goes to the Director of the Civil Rights Center, Department of Labor • ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution). This would happen at the local level. If an agreement cannot be reached, it would go straight to the CRC • The State EO must be informed of any WIOA EO complaints that are currently being investigated