The Gulf Coast Workforce Development Board (the Board) shall resolve equal opportunity complaints in a fair and prompt manner. Acts of restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal towards complainants exercising their rights to file a complaint under this procedure are prohibited. This procedure applies to all applicants and participants who have cause to file a discrimination complaint related to activities or programs administered by the Board. If you have an equal opportunity complaint concerning any of these programs, you may submit your written complaint to the Board or Contractor EO Officer, as appropriate.

After your equal opportunity complaint has been received, the EO Officer will notify you of the next step in the complaint process. As long as you wish to pursue your complaint, the Board or Contractor will follow the steps described below. You should study the Discrimination Complaint Procedure carefully, and if you feel that the required steps are not being followed, contact the EO Officer. Remember, if you feel you are not being provided enough help at any stage of the complaint process, you should contact:

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.

What to do if you believe you have experienced discrimination. 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. 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.

• WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT (WIOA) / TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE (TAA) and TRADE READJUSTMENT ALLOWANCES (TRA): If you think you have been subjected to equal opportunity discrimination under a WIOA Title I or a TAA/TRA financially assisted program or activity, you may file a discrimination complaint within 180 days from the date of the alleged violation with either the Board/Contractor Equal Opportunity Officer (or designee) or Director, Civil Rights Center (CRC), U.S. Dept. of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-4123 Washington, DC 20210. If you file your complaint with the Board or Contractor, you must wait until you receive a written Notice of Final Action or 90 days have passed (whichever is sooner) before you can file with the CRC. If the written Notice of Final Action is not issued within 90 days of the day you filed your complaint, you have 30 days following the 90-day deadline to file a complaint with CRC (that is, within 120 days of the day you first filed your complaint). If you receive a written Notice of Final Action on your complaint but are dissatisfied with the decision, you may file a complaint with CRC. However, you must file your CRC complaint within 30 days of receiving the Notice of Final Action.

• TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF) / CHOICES and/or CHILD CARE SERVICES (CC): If you think you have been subjected to equal opportunity discrimination under a TANF/Choices and/or Child Care (CC) program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, you may file a complaint within 180 days from the date of the alleged violation with either the Board/Contractor Equal Opportunity Officer (or designee) or U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office for Civil Rights, 1301 Young Street, Suite 1169, Dallas, TX 75202, (800) 368-1019. Those filing complaints against child care program services receiving USDA federal financial assistance may choose to contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410. If you file your complaint with the Board or Contractor, you must wait until a written Notice of Final Action is issued or until 90 days have passed (whichever is sooner) before you can file with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

• SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING (SNAP E&T): If you think you have been subjected to discrimination under a SNAP E&T financially assisted program or activity, you may file a complaint within 180 days from the date of the alleged violation with either the Board/Contractor Equal Opportunity Officer (or designee) or the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410, (202) 260-1026. If you file your complaint with the Board or Contractor, you must wait either until a written Notice of Final Action is issued or until 90 days have passed (whichever is sooner) before filing with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Please do not sign this notice until you have read it and understand its contents. By my signature below, I acknowledge this orientation to the discrimination complaint procedure and the statement regarding Equal Opportunity Is the Law. I affirm that I have read the Orientation to Discrimination Complaint Procedures Form and that I have been given the opportunity to ask questions about its contents. I understand that the One-Stop application form is not a job application; rather, this form is used to determine my eligibility to receive program services and to meet federal reporting requirements. I further understand that failure to provide the requested information may prevent me from receiving services.