# Presentation: 552677

## Hot IssuesIn Discrimination Law for Job Corps 

**Presented by:**
- Denise Sudell, Esq.
**Senior Policy Advisor, Disability Issues**
**Civil Rights Center**
**U.S. Department of Labor**

## Four issues we’ll be discussing

- Sexual harassment
- Transgendered students
- Limited English proficiency
- New religion-related regulations

## Sexual harassment complaints

- Job Corps alone had more sexual harassment complaints in FY03 than the *entire One-Stop system*

## The numbers

- Total complaints filed with State Workforce Agencies:  881
- Total sex harassment complaints:  100

- Total complaints filed with Job Corps:  330
- Total sex harassment complaints filed with Job Corps:  184

## We’ve got a problem

- Female students:
- Are 44 % of nationwide student population
- File 4.09 complaints per thousand students (male students file one complaint per thousand)
- File 5 (five) times as many sexual harassment complaints as male students

**Notes:**
by “people” I mean students AND EMPLOYEES 

## The Southeast has a problem

- Served 31% of the students (29,776 of 94,975)
- Received 46% of the sexual harassment complaints

## What we need to do

- Do a better job of screening employees
- Do a better job of monitoring students
- Change the culture
- Educate students and employees about:
- Gender stereotyping
- Sexual harassment

## Serving transgendered students

- Legal standards
- No laws explicitly protect
- Disability discrimination laws explicitly *don’t* protect
- Laws banning gender discrimination are being interpreted to protect transgendered persons

## Pre-op vs. post-op

- Ideally, should not make a difference
- Medical principles require transitioning persons to live in the new gender for at least one year before surgery
- Female-to-male transsexuals frequently decide against having “bottom surgery”

## Clothing and dress codes

- TG students should not be forced to wear clothes associated w/ gender with which s/he does not identify
- Would a genetically female student be disciplined for wearing the clothes the TG student chooses to wear?

## Clothing and dress codes (cont’d)

- TG students may be required to comply with dress code for gender with which s/he identifies
- Dress codes must be applied in same manner for both/all genders
- Best practice:  adopt neutrally-phrased dress code (e.g. “appropriate for student’s chosen career field”)

## Housing issues

- Separate housing by gender is legal
- Balance preop TG student’s need to live as desired gender with privacy concerns of roommates
- Concerns re:  sexual harassment / violence
- Sensitivity training / education

## Limited English Proficiency

- Basic legal principles
- Failing to provide services / information in appropriate languages is discrimination on the basis of national origin
- Federal law trumps State “English-only” laws

## What is Job Corps required to do?

- “Take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to information and services”

## What’s “reasonable”?

- Four-factor analysis requires you to consider:
- number / proportion of LEP persons eligible to participate
- frequency of contact LEP person must have w/program or activity (for Job Corps it’s 24/7)
- importance of program / activity to LEP person
- resources available to Center / operator / Job Corps

## An effective language assistance program includes:

- Assessment -- thorough annual assessment of population to be served
- Written policy to ensure meaningful communication
- Staff training
- Vigilant monitoring

## Written policy re:  interpretation

- Develop procedures to take some/all of these steps:
- Hiring bilingual staff who are trained and competent in interpreting
- Hiring trained interpreters for staff
- Contracting w/outside interpreting service
- Arranging formally for volunteer interpreters
- Arranging for use of telephone interpreter service

## Translation of written materials

- Vital documents (applications, consent forms,  other docs w/important info)
- Significant number or percentage:  take advance steps to have materials translated
- What’s “significant”?
- Number:  three thousand (3,000)
- Percentage:  ten (10) percent

## What about other language groups?

- Five (5) percent:  translate vital documents in writing; other documents can be translated orally
- Less than that:  written notice that person can get oral translation of written materials

## Important exception

- If written translation would be so burdensome that it would defeat legitimate objectives of Job Corps, and
- If alternative means of providing meaningful access to the information is available (such as timely, effective oral translation)

## Religion-related changes to regs

- Students must be allowed to engage in voluntary religious activities on-center
- Includes holding religious services
- Services don’t have to be “nondenominational”

## Payment for religious services / activities

- Job Corps is now permitted to pay under these circumstances:
- facilities must be residential
- Job Corps / government must exert so much control over program environment that exercise of religious rights would be “significantly burdened” if Job Corps didn’t pay for the activities
- Otherwise, no Job Corps / govt financial support for inherently religious activities

## Where to Get More Information

***CRC website*** (http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/crc/ crcwelcome.htm)
- Contains information such as:
- CRC’s LEP Guidance
- PowerPoint presentations from National Training Conference

## How to contact me

*Postal Mail:*
- Denise Sudell, Civil Rights Center, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20210
*Telephone:*
- 202-693-6554 (voice)
- 800-877-8339 (Federal Information Relay Service
- for TTY/TDD)
*E-Mail:  *sudell.denise@dol.gov