Civil Rights Act Of 1964 (Title VI) - Grievance Procedures

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TITLE VI GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

The Grievance Procedure is established to meet the requirements of the California Department of Transportation, under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ensure that, “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” Related federal statutes and state law further those protections to include sex, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and age

This procedure does not apply to complaints of discrimination in employment. If this is an employment related complaint, please contact the Human Resources Division.

Procedure

Any person who believes they have been discriminated against based on race, color, or national origin by Caltrans or a sub-recipient may file a Title VI complaint by completing and submitting the agency’s Title VI Complaint Form. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) processes complaints received no more than 180 days after the alleged incident. OCR will only process complaints that are complete, which include the complainant’s contact information, details of the alleged discrimination, and the complainant’s signature. Once the Title VI complaint is received, OCR will determine which federal administering agency has jurisdiction to investigate/process the complaint.

If OCR is delegated the responsibility of performing an investigation, OCR has 90 days to investigate the complaint. If additional time is needed, OCR will call the Complainant and inform them. If more information is needed to resolve the case, the OCR investigator may contact the Complainant. The Complainant has ten business days from the date of the letter to send the requested information to the investigator assigned to the case. If the investigator is not contacted by the Complainant or does not receive the additional information within ten business days, OCR can administratively close the case. A case can be administratively closed also if the complainant no longer wishes to pursue their case.

OCR with consult with HCR regarding the disposition of the complaint. Disposition of Title VI complaint will be undertaken by HCR, through either (1) informal resolution or (2) issuance of a Letter of Finding of compliance or noncompliance with Title VI. A copy of the Letter of Finding will be sent to all parties via the Division Office.

A person may also file a complaint directly with:

• Federal Transit Administration
• Civil Rights Division
• Attention: Complaint Team
• East Building, 5th Floor – TCR
• 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
• Washington, DC 20590
• Phone: (202) 366-0693
• Email: FHWA.TitleVIcomplaints@dot.gov