Department of Justice 

 Office of Justice Programs 

 Office for Civil Rights 

MEMORANDUM 

TO: COPS Grant Recipients 

FROM: Michael L. Alston 

Director, Office for Civil Rights, Office of Justice Programs 

DATE: July 1, 2010 

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 is responsible for ensuring that recipients of financial assistance from the Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) comply with the applicable federal civil 

rights statutes and regulations. We at the OCR are available to help you and your 

organization meet the civil rights requirements that come with Justice Department funding. 

Ensuring Access to Federally Assisted Programs 

As you know, federal laws prohibit recipients of financial assistance from discriminating on 

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

activities, not only in respect to employment practices but also in the delivery of services or 

benefits. Federal law also prohibits funded programs or activities from discriminating on the 

basis of age in the delivery of services or benefits. 

Providing Services to Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Individuals 

In accordance with Department of Justice 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 Equal Treatment for Faith-Based Organizations 

The Department of Justice has published a regulation specifically pertaining to the funding of 

faith-based organizations. In general, the Justice Department regulation, Equal Treatment for 

Faith-Based Organizations, 28 C.F.R. pt. 38, requires State Administering Agencies to treat 

faith-based organizations the same as any other applicant or recipient. The regulation 

prohibits State Administering Agencies from making award or grant administration decisions 

on the basis of an organization's religious character or affiliation, religious name, or the 

religious composition of its board of directors. 

The regulation also prohibits faith-based organizations from using financial assistance from 

the Department of Justice to fund inherently religious activities. While faith-based 

organizations can engage in non-funded inherently religious activities, they must be held 

separately from the program funded by the Department of Justice, and recipients cannot 

compel beneficiaries to participate in them. The Equal Treatment Regulation also makes 

clear that organizations participating in programs funded by the Department of Justice 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. 

State Administering Agencies and faith-based organizations should also note that the Safe 

Streets Act, as amended; the Victims of Crime Act, as amended; and the Juvenile Justice and 

Delinquency Prevention Act, as amended, contain prohibitions against discrimination on the 

basis of religion in employment. Despite these nondiscrimination provisions, the Justice 

Department has concluded that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) can be 

construed, on a case-by-case basis, to permit some faith-based organizations to receive 

Justice Department funds while taking into account religion when hiring staff, even if the 

statute that authorizes the funding program generally forbids recipients from considering 

religion in employment decisions. 

Questions about the regulation or the application of RFRA to the statutes that prohibit 

discrimination in employment may be directed to the OCR. 

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 the 

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 all segments of their service population and that their 

employment practices meet equal employment opportunity standards. 

Complying with the Safe Streets Act or Program Requirements 

In addition to these general prohibitions, an organization that is a recipient of financial 

assistance subject to the nondiscrimination provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

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Safe Streets Act (Safe Streets Act) of 1968, 42 U.S.C. § 3789d(c), or other federal grant 

program requirements, must meet two additional obligations: (1) complying with federal 

regulations pertaining to the development of an Equal Employment Opportunity Plan (EEOP) 

(see 28 C.F.R. § 42.301-.308) and (2) submitting to the OCR findings of discrimination (see 

28 C.F.R. §§ 42.204(c), 42.205(c)(5)). 

(1) Meeting the EEOP Requirement 

In accordance with federal regulations, Assurance No. 6 in the Standard Assurances, 

COPS Assurance No. 8B, or certain federal grant program requirements, your 

organization must comply with the following EEOP reporting requirements: 

If your organization 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 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 an EEOP Short Form, please 

consult the OCR's website at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/about/ocr/eeop.htm. You may also 

request technical assistance from an EEOP specialist at the OCR by telephone at (202) 616-

3208. 

If your organization received an award between $25,000 and $500,000 and has fifty or 

more employees, your organization still has to prepare 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 EEOP Short Form 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 can be found at 

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

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