Issuance: 2018-06 – January 25, 2018

Issuance Number: 2018-06

Date: January 25, 2018

To: All Funded WIOA Subrecipients and ETPL Training Providers

From: Kai Jackson, Equal Opportunity Officer/Program Grievance Officer

Subject: Operations Manual Update: Chapter 9: Nondiscrimination & Equal Opportunity Policy and Complaint Procedures

Purpose:

The purpose of this issuance is to notify SDWP’s subrecipients the chapter has been revised and significant changes have been made to chapter and attachments including but not limited to:

  • Refresh of the chapter and attachment formatting.

  • Attachments have been made PDF fillable forms.

  • Title of chapter has been changed from “Equal Opportunity Policy, Complaint and Grievance Process, and Criminal Activity Reporting Procedures” to “Nondiscrimination & Equal Opportunity Policy and Complaint Procedures”.
  • Title of attachments have been changed:

  • From “Program Grievance and Criminal Complaint Policy Notice” to “Complaint & Incident Reporting Policy Notice”

  • From “EO Grievance Complaint Form” to “Complaint Form”.

  • Updated contact information for the SDWP’s EO Officer/Program Grievance officer.

  • Clarifies discrimination based on sex includes:

    • Pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, transgender status, and gender identity.

  • Clarifies national origin discrimination includes:

    • Failing to provide language services to Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals.

  • Guidance regarding requirements for serving LEP individuals.

  • Changes to policy and procedures required for subrecipients:

    • Subrecipient must designate a point of contact (POC) who will be responsible for developing and publishing of complaint procedures and the processing of complaints.

    • “Equal Opportunity is the Law” notice must be posted with contact information of the staff designated as the POC.

    • New information regarding affirmative outreach, how to take reasonable steps to ensure subrecipient is providing equal access to the WIOA Title 1 financially assisted programs and activities.

    • Guidance regarding reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

    • Maintenance of records for a period of not less than three (3) years from the close of the applicable program year.

    • Referral to SDWP regarding complaints should only happen in instances where there is not a resolution of the complaint at the Subrecipient level within 60 days for Program Grievances or 90 days for Nondiscrimination & Equal Opportunity complaints or if the resolution received is not satisfactory.

    • Distributed publications, broadcasts, electronic media and other communications including the homepage of subrecipient’s website, which promotes WIOA programs or activities, shall include the following taglines: “This WIOA Title I-funded program or activity is an equal opportunity employer/program,” and that “Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.”

Action:

Effective January 25, 2018, all subrecipients are required to follow the guidelines outlined in the updated chapter and attachments. This issuance replaces and supersedes the current chapter and attachments.

If you have any questions regarding this issuance, please contact your Program Specialist at (619) 228-2900 and ETPL training providers send an email to inquiries@workforce.org.

Reference

  1. To access the chapter and its attachments, reference the “About Us” section on workforce.org under “Partner Resources.”
  2. Click on “Operations Manual” to see the list of Chapters and Operational Issuances.
  3. Click on “Chapter 9: Nondiscrimination & Equal Opportunity Policy and Complaint Procedures | Attachments” to view the policy and attachments.
  4. Click here to view the presentation.
  5. Click here to view the Q&A.

cc:
All subrecipients
Simpson & Simpson
SDWP internal distribution list