OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS

OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

th 810 7 Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20531 

Tel: (202) 307-0690 

TTY: (202) 307-2027 

E-mail: askOCR@usdoj.gov

Website: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ocr

MEMORANDUM 

TO: COPS Office Grant Recipients 

FROM: Michael L. Alston 

Director, Office for Civil Rights, Office of Justice Programs 

DATE: September 1, 2015 

RE: Federal Civil Rights Statutes and Regulations 

Congratulations on your recent award. In establishing financial assistance programs, Congress 

linked the receipt of federal funding to compliance with federal civil rights laws. The Office for 

Civil Rights (OCR), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is 

responsible for ensuring that recipients of financial assistance from the OJP, the Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), and the Office on Violence Against 

Women (OVW) comply with the applicable federal civil rights laws. We at the OCR are available 

to help you and your organization meet the civil rights requirements that come with DOJ funding. 

Ensuring Access to Federally Assisted Programs 

Federal laws that apply to recipients of financial assistance from the DOJ prohibit discrimination 

on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or disability in funded programs or 

activities, not only in employment but also in the delivery of services or benefits. A federal law 

also prohibits recipients from discriminating on the basis of age in the delivery of services or 

benefits. 

Enforcing Civil Rights Laws 

All recipients of federal financial assistance, regardless of the particular funding source, the 

amount of the grant award, or the number of employees in the workforce, are subject to 

prohibitions against unlawful discrimination. Accordingly, the OCR investigates recipients that 

are the subject of discrimination complaints from both individuals and groups. In addition, based 

on regulatory criteria, the OCR selects a number of recipients each year for compliance reviews, 

audits that require recipients to submit data showing that they are providing services equitably to 
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all segments of their service population and that their employment practices meet equal 

opportunity standards. 

Providing Services to Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Individuals 

In accordance with DOJ guidance pertaining to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 

U.S.C. § 2000d, recipients of federal financial assistance must take reasonable steps to provide 

meaningful access to their programs and activities for persons with limited English proficiency 

(LEP). See U.S. Department of Justice, Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients 

Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited 

English Proficient Persons, 67 Fed. Reg. 41,455 (2002). For more information on the civil rights 

responsibilities that recipients have in providing language services to LEP individuals, please see 

the website http://www.lep.gov. 

Ensuring the Equal Treatment of Faith-Based Organizations and Safeguarding 

Constitutional Protections Related to Religion 

The DOJ regulation, Equal Treatment for Faith-Based Organizations, 28 C.F.R. pt. 38, prohibits 

all recipient organizations, whether they are law enforcement agencies, governmental agencies, 

educational institutions, houses of worship, or faith-based organizations, from using financial 

assistance from the DOJ to fund inherently (or explicitly) religious activities. Inherently religious 

activities include worship, religious instruction, or proselytization. While funded organizations 

may engage in non-funded inherently religious activities (e.g., prayer), they must hold them 

separately from the program funded by the DOJ, and recipients cannot compel beneficiaries to 

participate in them. The Equal Treatment Regulation also makes clear that organizations 

participating in programs funded by the DOJ are not permitted to discriminate in the provision of 

services on the basis of a beneficiary's religion. For more information on the regulation, please 

see the OCR's website at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/about/ocr/equal_fbo.htm. 

The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act (Safe Streets Act) of 1968, as amended, 42 

U.S.C. § 3789d(c), as well as other DOJ program statutes, prohibit discrimination based on 

religion in employment. A funded faith-based organization may under certain circumstances 

request an exemption to hire co-religionists; the DOJ will consider such requests on a case-bycase basis. Please consult with the OCR if you have any questions related to a religious 

preference in hiring. 

Using Arrest and Conviction Records in Making Employment Decisions 

The OCR issued an advisory document for recipients on the proper use of arrest and conviction 

records in making hiring decisions. See Advisory for Recipients of Financial Assistance from the 

U.S. Department of Justice on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s 

Enforcement Guidance: Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment 

Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (June 2013), available at

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov//about/ocr/pdfs/UseofConviction_Advisory.pdf. Recipients should be 

mindful that the misuse of arrest or conviction records to screen either applicants for employment 

or employees for retention or promotion may have a disparate impact based on race or national 

origin, resulting in unlawful employment discrimination. In light of the Advisory, recipients 

should consult local counsel in reviewing their employment practices. If warranted, recipients 

should also incorporate an analysis of the use of arrest and conviction records in their Equal 

Employment Opportunity Plans (EEOPs) (see below).
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Complying with the Safe Streets Act 

An organization that is a recipient of financial assistance subject to the nondiscrimination 

provisions of the Safe Streets Act, must meet two obligations: (1) complying with the federal 

regulation pertaining to the development of an EEOP (see 28 C.F.R. pt. 42, subpt. E) and (2) 

submitting to the OCR findings of discrimination (see 28 C.F.R. §§ 42.204(c), .205(c)(5)). 

Meeting the EEOP Requirement 

If your organization has less than fifty employees or receives an award of less than $25,000 or is 

a nonprofit organization, a medical institution, an educational institution, or an Indian tribe, then 

it is exempt from the EEOP requirement. To claim the exemption, your organization must 

complete and submit Section A of the Certification Form, which is available online at 

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/about/ocr/pdfs/cert.pdf. 

If your organization is a government agency or private business and receives an award of 

$25,000 or more, but less than $500,000, and has fifty or more employees (counting both fulland part-time employees but excluding political appointees), then it has to prepare a Utilization 

Report (formerly called an EEOP Short Form), but it does not have to submit the report to the 

OCR for review. Instead, your organization has to maintain the Utilization Report on file and 

make it available for review on request. In addition, your organization has to complete Section 

B of the Certification Form and return it to the OCR. The Certification Form is available at 

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/about/ocr/pdfs/cert.pdf. 

If your organization is a government agency or private business and has received an award for 

$500,000 or more and has fifty or more employees (counting both full- and part-time employees 

but excluding political appointees), then it has to prepare a Utilization Report (formerly called 

an EEOP Short Form) and submit it to the OCR for review within sixty days from the date of 

this letter. For assistance in developing a Utilization Report, please consult the OCR's website at 

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/about/ocr/eeop.htm. In addition, your organization has to complete 

Section C of the Certification Form and return it to the OCR. The Certification Form is available 

at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/about/ocr/pdfs/cert.pdf. 

To comply with the EEOP requirements, you may request technical assistance from an EEOP 

specialist at the OCR by telephone at (202) 307-0690, by TTY at (202) 307-2027, or by e-mail 

at EEOsubmisson@usdoj.gov. 

Meeting the Requirement to Submit Findings of Discrimination 

If in the three years prior to the date of the grant award, your organization has received an adverse 

finding of discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, or sex, after a due-process 

hearing, from a state or federal court or from a state or federal administrative agency, your 

organization must send a copy of the finding to the OCR. 

If the OCR can assist you in any way in fulfilling your organization’s civil rights responsibilities 

as a recipient of federal financial assistance, please contact us.