Equal Opportunity is the Law

It is against the law for this recipient of Federal financial assistance to discriminate on the following basis:

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.

What to do if you believe you have experienced discrimination:

If you think 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.

You may file a complaint with either:

• The recipient’s Equal Opportunity Officer (or the person whom the recipient has designated for this purpose)
  • Bernard Pighee
    Arkansas Division of Workforce Services
    P.O. Box 2981
    Little Rock, Arkansas 72203-2981
    Phone: (501) 682-1418
    Bernard.pighee@arkansas.gov or;

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

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.

Assurance Statement

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 will comply fully with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of the following laws:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• The Age Discrimination Act of 1975
• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

Equal Opportunity Employer/Program

The Civil Rights Center – U.S. Dept of Labor