Title VI of the Civil Rights Act: Strengthening Title VI Enforcement Related to Environmental...

8/19/2019 Title VI of the Civil Rights Act: Strengthening Title VI Enforcement Related to Environmental Justice Issues by by Daria Neal, Dylan Nicole de Kervor, Joshua Douglas

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A product of the Title VI Interagency Working Group 1


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“No person in the United Statesshall, on the ground of race,

color, or national origin, beexcluded from participation in,be denied the benefits of, or be

subjected to discriminationunder any program or activityreceiving federal financial

assistance.”2


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Beyond the obvious:

“erson! erson carriesbroad meaning in 'itle ().'he statute protects

residents, travelers, andciti/ens ali0e.

Non-citizens andundocumented individuals,

are “persons” forConstitutional and Title

VI purposes.3


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Beyond the obvious:

“"#$ace, color or national origin! includesany perceived race, color, or nationalorigin.

4

National origin includes an individual1saccent, ancestry, birthplace, culture,

i%%igration status, or language.


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!ecipients may not administer their programs oractivities in a manner that “den2ies3 anyindividual any . . . benefit provided under theprogram,” or “restrict2s3 an individual in any&ay in the enjoyment of any advantage orprivilege enjoyed by others receiving any . . .

benefit under the program.”

!ecipients may not “utili/e criteria or methodsof administration &hich have the effect ofsubjecting individuals to discrimination becauseof their race, color, or national origin”

Title VI Regulation 5


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rogra% or activity %eans:

“"A$ll of the operations of'

• State and local governments

• 4ducational institutions

• orporations 5 private

organi/ations'that receive federal financial

assistance(!

2)ncluding subrecipients therein3

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#. 6rants and loans,

*. 6rants or donation of7ederal property8e.g., militarysurplus, computers,vehicles9

:. ;etail of 7ederalpersonnel,

&. 'he sale, lease, orpermission to use7ederal property, and

http>??go.usa.gov?"mU0&. hec0 fund-trac0ing

=ebsites@

)ederal financialassistance *))A+

does not have to be%onetary

o& do you find out ifthere is ))A-

@

http://go.usa.gov/AmUkhttp://go.usa.gov/AmUk


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Intentional.iscri%ination

8;isparate 'reatment9

.isparate I%pact

8;iscriminatory4ffects9

#etaliation 8


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Intentional .iscri%ination re/uires:#.'he recipient =as a&are of the person1srace, color, or national originA and

*.'he recipient acted, at least in part,because of the person1s race, color, ornational origin.

0alice and bad faith, ho=ever, are not

reBuired to sustain an intentionaldiscrimination claim.

9

What is it-

Chen similarly situated personsare treated differently because

of their race, color ornational origin.


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To establish a pri%a facie case ofdiscri%ination under Title VI, a plaintiff

typically sho&s:

%e%bership in a group protected by 'itle ()A

eligibility for the recipient1s program,activity, or servicesA

adverse action by the recipientA and

&orse treat%ent than that of similarlysituated individual or individuals not in theprotected group.

10


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2egiti%ate 3ondiscri%inatory #eason

laintiff must first establish a prima

facie case of intentional discrimination ;efendant recipient can articulate alegitimate nondiscriminatory reason

'his can be overco%e by sho=ing that thereason is only pretext for discrimination

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.epart%ent of 4ustice letter finding an intentional violation of TitleVI by the 3orth 5arolina Ad%inistrative 6ffice of the 5ourts *A65+

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“D 'he "E is a=are of the reBuirements under federal la=to ensure

nondiscrimination against national origin minorities byproviding meaningfullanguage accessD

"s a recipient of federal funds from ;EF, the "E isreBuired to comply =ith civil rights obligations under

'itle () D and 2its3 implementing regulations, and hassigned contractual assurances specifically agreeing tocomply =ith those obligations. Get, Dthe "E hasimplemented policies and practices that discriminateagainst national origin minorities in violation of thesela=s and agreements.

http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/TitleVI/030812_DOJ_Letter_to_NC_AOC.pdf


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What is it-

" neutral policy orpractice thatdisproportionately andadversely affectsprotected individuals8based on race, color ornational origin9, and canachieve its objectives byless discriminatory means.

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Who can enforce it-

6nly federal granting agencies caninvestigate disparate impact claims against

their recipients.


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roving disparate i%pact:

#.;etermine that the recipientutili/ed a facially neutral

practice that had adisproportionate 8disparate9impact on a protected group, and

*.rove a causal link bet=een

the facially neutral practiceand the disproportionate8disparate9 impact

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7ubstantial 2egiti%ate 4ustification

olicy is important and integral

Iears a manifest relationship to the challenged

policy

6verco%ing 7ubstantial 2egiti%ate4ustification

;etermine =hether an alternative practice exists

that is comparably effective =ith less impact.• o! forceful is t"e practice or policy#

Sho= that justification is a prete8t fordiscrimination.

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9nviron%ental rotection Agency letter finding nonco%pliance&ith Title VI due to disparate i%pact, by the 5alifornia

.epart%ent of esticide #egulations *5.#+

“'his complaint alleged that ;! discriminated against Jatinochildren by rene=ing the registration for methyl bromide in Fanuary

#$$$, =ithout ta0ing into consideration the health impacts thatthis pesticide =ould have on children attending schools that =ere=ithin a #.< mile radius of the areas in =hich methyl bromide =asapplied. 'he complaint also alleged that greater amounts of methylbromide =ere applied in areas surrounding schools =ith highpercentages of Jatino schoolchildren 8in comparison to areassurrounding schools =ith lo=er percentages of Jatinoschoolchildren9 2D3

E! has initially concluded that 'here is sufficient evidence toma0e a preliminary finding of a prima facie violation of 'itle ()as a result of the adverse disparate impact upon Jatinoschoolchildren in alifornia from the application of methyl bromidebet=een #$$< and *#.”

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What is it-

"n intentional act in response tothe nature of a complaint or thecourse of an investigation

Who %ay file a clai%-#. 'he target of recipient1s

discriminatory acts

*. " person, =ho is not a part ofa protected class, that istreated adversely by therecipient for cooperating inthe 'itle () investigation

:. Enly members of a protectedclass

&. # and * only

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!egulations provide enforce%ent %echanis%sand specific obligations for agency staff andrecipients.

!egulations implementing agency progra%statutes may have affir%ative provisions expanding the scope of 'itle ()

"gency 'itle () regulations generally includea list of potential recipients and a list of

the agencys 77", though such lists are not 18

o& do regulations i%ple%ent Title VI-


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;( 5o%pliance #evie&

a&ard grant revie&s,litigation


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An agency %ay engage in a5o%pliance #evie& &hen:

#. 'here is specificevidence of an existingviolationA

*.'he agency can sho= thatKreasonable legislative oradministrative standards forconducting an . . . inspectionare satisfied =ith respect toa particular 2establishment3A”or

:.'he agency can sho= that a

search is “pursuant to anadministrative plan containing

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o& a 5o%pliance #evie&different than a co%plaint

investigation-"s periodic revie=s,ompliance !evie=s do notreBuire an existingcomplaint.

2anguage Access5o%pliance#evie&

Agency 98a%ple:


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An agency typicallyinvestigates a recipient

in response to a co%plaintof discri%ination

#.Lo= do you determine that acomplaint is validM

*.Chat do you do =ithcomplaints that belong inanother agency, or that are=ithin multi-agencyjurisdictionM

:.Chat do you do =ith a

complaint that raisesconcerns outside of the sco e

Agency 98a%ples:

2etter of)indings

2etter 6f)indings

http://go.usa.gov/8aXzhttp://go.usa.gov/8aXk


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0ethods Include:

roviding 'echnical "ssistance

• "ssistance =ith Janguage"ccess lanning

• Lelping to Oa0e lans andolicies Nondiscriminatory

• Oonitoring?!evie=ing

•ollecting Sta0eholder7eedbac0 and rovidingommunity ;ata

onciliation?!esolution"greement

Oemorandum of "greement

Agency 98a%ples:

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5onciliationAgree%ent

0e%orandu% ofAgree%ent

#esolutionAgree%ent

http://go.usa.gov/8aXzhttp://go.usa.gov/8aXkhttp://go.usa.gov/4KrH


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4xecutive Erder No. #*P$P, $ederal %ctions to %ddress &nvironmental

'ustice in (inority )opulations and *o!-Income )opulations, reBuires that

7ederal agencies identify the effects oftheir actions on the hu%an health or

environ%ent of lo&>inco%e and %inoritypopulations and address any adverseeffects.

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Title VI and9nviron%ental

4ustice:“243ach 7ederalagency shall

ensure that allprograms oractivities

receiving 7ederalfinancial

assistance thataffect humanhealth or the

environment donot directly, orthrough

contractual orother

arrangements, use

criteria,methods, or

-residentialOemorandum

"ccompanying 4E #*P$P


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Any final /uestions-

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Title VI #esources

Q 'itle () of 'he ivil !ights"ct of #$%&,http>??===.justice.gov?crt?about

?cor?coord?titlevi.php

Q 4xecutive Erder #**??===.justice.gov?crt?about?cor?#**??===.justice.gov?crt?about

?cor?#:#%%.php

Q 'itle () oordination!egulations,http>??===.justice.gov?crt?about?cor?byagency?*Pcfr&*&.pdf

Q 'itle () 4nforcement

6uidelines,http>??===.justice.gov?crt?about?cor?byagency?*Pcfr??===.justice.gov?crt?abo

ut?cor?agreements.php

Q 'itle () "ppellate Iriefsand Epinions,http>??===.justice.gov?crt?about?app?briefsvi.php

Q 'itle () and J4 (ideos,

http>??go.usa.gov?47i

Q 'itle () ivil !ightsNe=sletters,http>??===.justice.gov?crt?about?cor?pubs.php

Q Janguage "ccess "ssessmentand lanning 'ool,

http>??go.usa.gov?jpF

Q 7ederal )nteragency Cor0ing25

http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/coord/titlevi.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/coord/titlevi.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/12250.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/12250.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/13166.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/13166.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/byagency/28cfr424.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/byagency/28cfr424.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/byagency/28cfr503.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/byagency/28cfr503.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/coord/vimanual.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/coord/vimanual.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/4yr_report.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/4yr_report.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/agreements.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/agreements.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/app/briefs_vi.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/app/briefs_vi.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/app/briefs_vi.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/app/briefs_vi.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/agreements.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/agreements.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/4yr_report.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/4yr_report.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/coord/vimanual.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/coord/vimanual.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/byagency/28cfr503.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/byagency/28cfr503.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/byagency/28cfr424.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/byagency/28cfr424.pdfhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/13166.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/13166.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/12250.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/12250.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/coord/titlevi.phphttp://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/coord/titlevi.php


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Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justicehttp://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/interagency/inde.html

!he "# $epartment o% Justice Environmental Justice &ome page which contains links to the

'()* Environmental Justice Implementation +rogress ,eport- Environmental Justice #trategy-

Environmental Justice Guidance- and to Eecutive rder )')0. http://www.justice.gov/ej

Federal 1oordination and 1ompliance #ection http://www.justice.gov/crt/a2out/cor

Go to the F1# we2site and click on the !itle 3I 4ewsletters 2utton.

!he #pring 4ewsletter link is:

www.justice.gov/crt/a2out/cor/+u2s/newsletter/news5%cs/spring'()6/#pring7'()674ewslett

er.pd%

!itle 3I 8egal 9anual- http://www.justice.gov/crt/a2out/cor/coord/vimanual.pd%

For chart discussing crossover 2etween Environmental Justice and !itle 3I- See:

http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/interagency/titlevi.html


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