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CHAPTER 3. TITLE VI COMPLAINT PROCEDURES

6\. PROCEDURES FOR FILING.

a\. Who May File. Any person or any specific class of

persons, Who believe that he/she has been subjected to

discrimination prohibited by Title VI and HUD\'s

implementing procedures may personally, or by a

representative, file a complaint.

b\. How, When, and Where to File. All complaints under

Title VI must be submitted in writing and filed with

HUD not later than 180 days from the date of the

alleged discrimination, unless the time for filing has

been extended by the AS/FHEO. Title VI complaints

should be sent to the ARA/FHEO for the Region having

jurisdiction of the State in which the agency

identified in the complaint is located. Title VI

complaints may alternatively be directed to the AS/FHEO

or HUD Area or Insuring Office if more expedient for

the complainant.

c\. Special Situation. Any person may bring their concerns

about HUD programs to the attention of FHEO compliance

staff by telephone or in person. Such communications

should be examined by FHEO staff during the course of

the conversation. If the nature of the concern

suggests Title VI jurisdiction the person should be

asked to reduce the matter to writing and mail the

complaint or communication to the ARA/FHEO.

7\. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES FOR PROCESSING COMPLAINTS.

a\. Control Date. A complaint shall be date stamped on the

date on which it was first received by Fair Housing and

Equal Opportunity staff in HUD Central, Regional, Area

or Insuring Office.

b\. Routing Complaints. (1) When a Title VI complaint of

discrimination based on race, color, or national origin

is received in any office other than that of the

ARA/FHEO it shall be date stamped and a letter of

acknowledgment (see Appendix 3.1. for form letter) sent

immediately to the complainant. The original complaint

and a copy of the letter of acknowledgment shall

immediately be sent to the ARA/FHEO for appropriate

action and disposition. (2) When a complaint is

received directly by the ARA/FHEO it shall be date

stamped and a letter of acknowledgment sent to the

complainant (see Appendix 3.2(a) for form letter).

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8\. REGIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES. The Fair Housing and Equal

Opportunity compliance staff in each of the Regional Offices

has the responsibility to conduct investigations of

complaints under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,

unless otherwise directed by the AS/FHEO.

a\. Establishing Jurisdiction. The

ARA/FHEO or Director of Compliance shall assign an

investigator to each complaint received or otherwise

directed to the Regional Office. After receipt of a

complaint has been acknowledged by letter, the Director

of Compliance shall make an initial determination of

whether FHEO has jurisdiction of the complaint under

Title VI or other authority. A determination to open a

Title VI case must be based on the following two (2)

factors:

\(1\) The complaint involves a program or activity which

is financed by HUD (see Appendix 2); and

\(2\) The complaint alleges that persons are

discriminated against, segregated, or receive

disparate treatment based on race, color, or

national origin.

b\. Policy Considerations. Policy considerations which

would support a decision to open a Title VI case are:

\(1\) The complaint alleges employment discrimination

and the primary purpose of the HUD program or

activity which is the subject of the complaint, is

to provide employment (see Chapter 3, paragraph 11

for discussion on Employment Discrimination);

\(2\) A Title II compliance review or complaint

investigation is not currently open (under review

or investigation) in the specific program or

activity which is the subject of the complaint;

\(3\) The complaint alleges noncompliance with the

nondiscrimination provisions of Title I of the

Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 as

indicated in Chapter 3, paragraph 10;

\(4\) The complaint does not contain an allegations)

from an individual complainant whose rights are

protected under Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act

of 1968, and/or contain an allegation for which

individual remedy would be available under Title

VIII; and

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8040.1

\(5\) A Title VI issue becomes apparent during the

course of the investigation or resolution of a

complaint filed under any other law or Executive

Order administered and enforced by the Office of

Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.

c\. Contact with Complainant.

\(1\) Second Letter to Complainant. A second letter

sent to the complainant should request a time and

date when an investigator could reach the

complainant by telephone for the purpose of

discussing the complaint, (see Appendix 3.3 for

form letter). Through the use of the telephone,

the investigator should be able to:

\(a\) isolate issues and major concerns;

\(b\) inform the complainant of the probability (if

none give reasons) for a field investigation;

and

\(c\) thank the complainant for bringing the matter

to the attention of the Office of Fair

Housing and Equal Opportunity.

A second letter shall be sent to the complainant

by the ARA/FHEO if:

1 the complaint falls within the criteria

stated in this paragraph for

establishing initial Title VI

jurisdiction

2 the complaint does not clearly state the

basis (e.g. race, color, or national

origin) for the complaint (see Appendix

3.2(b)); or

3 a letter acknowledging receipt of the

complaint has been sent to the

complainant by another Office of Fair

Housing and Equal Opportunity.

NOTE: Where a complaint is received

by the Regional Office of Fair Housing

and Equal Opportunity, the letter of

acknowledgment and the second letter to

the complainant may be combined.

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8040.1

4 the complaint does not fall within Title

VI or other HUD jurisdiction and is

being referred to another HUD Office or

outside agency (see Appendix 3.2(b) for

form letter).

\(2\) Role of Complainant. The complainant is not

a party to a Title VI case and does not enjoy

a status different from any other person to

be interviewed (see also Chapter 7, paragraph

28 b.).

9\. COMPLAINTS INVOLVING TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF

1964 AND TITLE VIII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1968.

a\. General Rule. There are situations where it is more

appropriate to open a case under Title VIII of the

Civil Rights Act of 1968 than Title VI of the 1964 Act.

The general rule is as follows:

A complaint which contains an allegation(s) from

an individual complainant whose rights are

protected under Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act

of 1968, and/or contains an allegations) for which

individual remedy is available under Title VIII,

should be handled under Title VIII.

b\. Application of Rule. In such situations as stated

above the FHEO staff may be successful in efforts to

assist a complainant to recover financial compensation

or damages for violations of rights protected under

Title VIII, either through Title VIII administrative

(or judicial) enforcement processes. Title VI does not

afford the Department the opportunity to secure such

remedies on the complainant\'s behalf. Such complaint

may suggest the need for a Title VI compliance review,

however, and that need should be noted by the ARA/FHEO.

c\. Concomitant Title VI and Title VIII Complaints.

Complaints which fall under Title VI of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964 and Title VIII of the Civil Rights

Act of 1968 may be received for processing and opened

in the same manner as described in Chapter 3, paragraph

7, of this Handbook. A complaint should be opened

under both Title VI and VIII in instances where:

\(1\) The complaint involves the operation,

administration, or application of any housing

program or housing financing program (other than

the program of insurance or guaranty) which

receives financial assistance from this

Department; and

\(2\) The complaint alleges discrimination, segregation,

disparate treatment of specific (named) minority

persons by recipients of HUD financial assistance,

the resolution of which would insure benefits to

and participation of minorities generally.

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NOTE: For example: John Doe, a minority,

alleges that a local housing authority

refused to rent an available

appropriately sized top floor unit to

him and his family. The Executive

Director of the Authority informed Mr.

Doe that he could not rent any of the

top floor units to minorities because

of a Housing Commission rule which

forbade top floor rentals to

minorities because minority families

have noisy children.

10\. COMPLAINTS INVOLVING TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RICHTS ACT OF

1964 AND SECTION 109 OF THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY

DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1974 (CD BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM).

a\. Basis. Complaints which involve the CD Block Grant

program and are based on race, color, or national

origin may be opened under both Title VI and Section

109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of

1974 (HCDA 1974). However, care mat be taken not to

open concomitant cases where SEX discrimination is

alleged.

b\. Concomitant Title VI and Section 109 Complaints.

Complaints which fall under Title VI and Section 109,

HCDA 1974 may be processed in the same manner (see

Chapter 3, paragraph 7 of this Handbook), particularly

since both laws have the same principal requirements

(with the exception of the prohibition of sex and

employment discrimination under Section 109) and since

neither law authorizes remedy to a person aggrieved as

a result of its violation.

11\. EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION. Employment discrimination may be

characterized as any action which denies a person the

opportunity to be employed, paid, transferred, promoted,

re-assigned, etc. on the basis of race, color, national origin,

sex or religion.

a\. Title VI. The employment practices of a HLJD recipient

may be review or investigated under Title VI to the

extent necessary to assure equality of opportunity and

nondiscriminatory treatment of beneficiaries of HUD

program. Discrimination on the basis of sex and

religion are not cognizable under Title VI. Title VI

authorizes the review or investigation of the

employment practices of HUD recipients in two instances

ONLY (see 24 CFR 1.4(c)(1) and (2)):

\(1\) Where the primary objective of the HUD program or

activity is to provide employment; or

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8040.1

\(2\) Where a routine compliance review or complaint

investigation tends to indicate apparent

noncompliance with Title VI; in the operation or

administration of a HUD program, which may have

been brought about or conditioned by the

employment practices of the HUD recipient.

NOTE: If analysis of materials gathered as a

result of a routine Title VI

compliance review, complaint

investigation, or data supplied by HUD

recipients, tends to indicate that a

HUD recipient has violated the

provisions of Title VI, and that said

apparent noncompliance was or could

have been brought about as a result of

the employment practices of the

recipient, then the employment

practices of the recipient may be

examined in depth under Title VI.

b\. Section 109. Compliance reviews or complaint

investigations of the employment practices of M Block

Grant recipients may be conducted to determine

compliance with Section 109, the nondiscrimination

section of Title I of the Housing and Community

Development Act of 1974. Section 109 prohibits

discrimination based on race, color, national origin,

or sex in any program or activity funded in whole or

part with monies made available under the HCDA of 1974.

The Department Regulation under that Section of the Act

prohibits employment discrimination in all CD Block

Grant programs and activities (see 24 CFR 570.601(b)

c\. Funded Agencies. Agencies funded in whole or in part

with HUD financial assistance enter into Annual

Contributions Contracts (ACC) or contracts for Loans or

Grants. These contracts contain language which

requires affirmative action and nondiscrimination in

employment (based on race, color, national origin, sex,

or religion) as a condition of the contract (see

Appendix 4.7 for standard HUD contract clause

language). Such agencies, commonly referred to as

\"Funded Agencies, Contractors or Grantees\" may be

subject to other laws and Executive Orders administered

and enforced by the Office of FHEO which require

nondiscrimination in employment, as well as the

nondiscrimination in employment clause of the contract

with HUD. HUD funded agencies are subject to review

and investigation for compliance with the above

referenced clause (see Appendix 3.4(b) for form

letter).

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\(1\) Those funded agencies subject to review or

investigation in order to determine compliance

with the above cited nondiscrimination in

employment clause of HUD contracts, generally are

not subject to:

\(a\) the employment exceptions under the Title VI

Regulation;

\(b\) the employment section of the regulation

pursuant to Section 109 of HCDA, 1974, where

the agency does not receive CD Block Grant

funds; and

\(c\) the provisions of Executive Order 11246 with

respect to nonconstruction employment.

\(2\) The employment practices of funded agencies which

are a part of state or local government are

subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of

1964 as well as the HUD funded agency

nondiscrimination in employment clause. Title VII

is enforced by the Federal Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission and the Department of

Justice.

12\. COMPLAINTS WHICH ON THEIR FACE DO NOT INDICATE A FAILURE TO

COMPLY WITH TITLE VI.

a\. Rule. Complaints which do not on their face indicate a

possible FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH TITLE VI should not be

investigated under Title VI authority (24 CFR 1.7(c)).

However, this rule does not preclude an agency against

which a complaint has been received, from being

scheduled for a Title VI compliance review at some

future date. Moreover, this rule does not eliminate

the obligation to request more detailed information and

to encourage the complainant to be specific, as

appropriate.

b\. Comprehensive Complaints. \"Comprehensive complaints\"

are complaints of discrimination in a number of program

areas without identifying a particular program,

project, activity, complainant (aggrieved individual)

or basis. For example: \"The City of Smackover

practices discrimination. Therefore, many people are

not able to be hired,

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buy or rent homes, serve on Planning Committees, or participate

in Federal program in this town\". Such an allegation is cosmic

in nature and does not contain enough information to indicate a

possible failure to comply with Title VI. Cosmic complaints

should not be investigated; however consideration should be given

to scheduling a Title VI community-wide compliance review.

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