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EEO and Non-Discrimination Policy

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Purpose

The Greater Roanoke Workforce Development Board (GRWDB) as a recipient of federal funds,
is obligated to comply with the nondiscrimination and equal-opportunity provisions of the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of
race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation or belief and, for
beneficiaries only, citizenship, as well as any other classes protected by federal law, and
participation in WIOA programs.

References

  • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, Virginia Community College System Workforce
  • Investment Act (WIA) Policy Number: 00-10
  • Civil Rights Act of 1991
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964
  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act
  • Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
  • Age Discrimination Act of 1975
  • Rehabilitation Act of 1973
  • Title IX Education Amendments Act of 1972
  • Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
  • Title IX Education Amendments Act of 1972
  • State’s Methods of Administration (MOA)
  • DOL Civil Rights Center and state policy directives
  • Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
  • Equal Pay Act
  • VWL # 15-05, Change 1 WIOA Discrimination Complaint Process
  • VWL # 16-09 WIOA Program Grievance and Complaint Processing

Policy

It is the policy of the GRWDB to provide equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for
employment as well as participants in or recipients of any GRWDB program or activity. The
Board will ensure recruitment and hiring of staff is done in a manner as to reflect the available
workforce in the local and regional areas without regard to protected statuses. It is against the
law for this recipient of Federal financial assistance to discriminate on the following bases: race,
color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, or political affiliation or belief, and for
beneficiaries only, citizenship or participation in WIOA.
Any person who believes he or she has been subjected to discrimination based on the above
has the right to file a complaint within 180 days of the alleged discrimination.
WIOA-funded programs and activities will allow for physical as well as program accessibility to
individuals with disabilities, programs will be provided in the most integrated environment
Title: Equal Opportunity (EO) Policy
Effective Date: 1/27/2017 Revised Date: 3/3/2022
appropriate to individuals with disabilities, and that communications with individuals with
disabilities will be as effective as communications with others.

Procedure


The GRWDB has designated the Director as their Equal Opportunity (EO) Officer, who will be
responsible for adopting and publishing complaint procedures and ensuring that they are
followed. The EO Officer is also responsible for ensuring publication of the name, title, address,
telephone number and TDD number of the EO Officer or other individuals responsible for
receiving complaints. The local staff of the One Stop Operator will act as an EO liaison. The EO
Officer can be contacted at the Board’s office at 4419 Pheasant Ridge Road Suite 301
Roanoke, VA 24014 or via telephone at 540-562-8442. If the EO Officer is unavailable to
receive complaints, the Operations Director will be the alternative contact.
The GRWDB, Virginia Career Works Centers, Program Operators and Training Providers shall
include in orientations to employees and/or participants a discussion of their rights under the
nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions and the right to file a complaint of
discrimination with either the local workforce investment board (LWIB)/Civil Rights Commission
(CRC)/ U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for customers and vendors or the GRWDB EO
Officer/U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for employees and applicants.
The EO Officer has the responsibility of communicating the available options of where to file
complaints to complainants. Communication of policy shall be documented on a notification
instrument for employees and applicants/participants and retained in individuals’ files as well as
a copy provided to new employees upon employment. Potential vendors should be notified of
this policy by statements in contracts and MOUs. The GRWDB shall ensure audio access to
Equal Opportunity information for individuals with visual disabilities, as well as persons who
have difficulty reading and/or comprehending written materials. Additionally, “Equal Opportunity
Is the Law” posters will be posted in prominent locations which are accessible to applicants,
eligible participants, participants, applicants for employment & employees, applicants for funding
and other interested parties. These posters contain a nondiscrimination and EO statement as
well as information about filing a complaint. Where a significant portion of eligible population
may need service or information in a language other than English or Spanish, the GRWDB shall
provide the initial notice and other material in the needed language to the extent possible.
Customers and vendors may file discrimination complaints with the GRWDB EO Officer or with
the Director, Civil Rights Center, U. S. Department of Labor:

Director, Civil Rights Center (CRC)
U.S. Department of Labor,
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room N-4123
Washington, D.C. 20210.

Or

State WIOA EO Officer
Workforce Development Services
Virginia Community College System
300 Arboretum Place, Suite 200
Richmond, VA 23236
Email: wioa@vccs.edu
Telephone: (804) 819-1682

Retaliatory action shall not be taken by agency management against any person for filing a
complaint of discrimination; opposing a prohibited practice; furnishing information; assisting in
participating in any manner in an investigation, review, hearing or any other activity related to
the administration of, exercise of authority under, or privilege secured by, the nondiscrimination
and EO provisions, of WIOA. In accordance with 29 CFR 38.19, complaints may be filed
alleging intimidation and retaliation. Any GRWDB employee, contractor, or employee of a
GRWDB contractor found in violation of the policy shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary
action. Virginia Career Works Centers and Service and Training providers shall promptly notify
the GRWDB EO Officer of any complaints or lawsuits filed against it alleging discrimination.
Complaints must be filed within 180 days of the alleged discrimination. EO complaints may be
filed by the individual or on behalf of the individual by an authorized representative. The
complaint must be filed in writing and signed by the filer and must include the following
information:

Complainant’s name and address, or other means by which the complainant may be
contacted;

Identification of individual(s) and/or organization(s) responsible for the alleged
discrimination;

A description of the complainant’s allegations to:

  • Determine GRWDB’s jurisdiction of the complaint,
  • Timeliness of the complaint,
  • Specific prohibited basis of the alleged discrimination (i.e., race, sex, etc.), and
  • Apparent merit of the complaint.


The GRWDB may only review complaints that are in its jurisdiction. There are three criteria that
determine jurisdiction: basis, timeliness and whether the respondent is a recipient of DOL funds.
Basis is met if the claim is regarding those protected classes covered by civil rights (above).
Timeliness is met if a complaint is filed within 180 days of the alleged violation. This time limit
can be waived by the Director of CRC if certain criteria is met. All programs and activities
operated by the GRWDB that are funded by WIA/WIOA therefore meet the final criteria for
jurisdiction. If it is determined that the board does not have jurisdiction, the GRWDB EO Officer
shall notify the complainant in writing that he or she does not have jurisdiction over the
complaint, including reasons for the determination, and the complainant’s right to file with the
Director of CRC within 30 days of the notice and refer the complaint to the appropriate partner.
If the EO Officer determines that a One-Stop partner has jurisdiction, the complaint shall be
recorded in the complaint log and referred to the appropriate partner for resolution in
accordance with their complaint processing procedures.
If the complainant elects to file a complaint with the GRWDB, the GRWDB shall have 90 days to
process a complaint and issue a decision (60 days for the GRWDB to investigate and 30 days
for a review at the State level, if warranted). If the complainant files with both the CRC and the
GRWDB, they will be notified that the CRC shall not investigate until the 90-day period has
expired. If the complainant chooses to file with the CRC only, the GRWDB EO officer should log
the complaint and assist the complainant in preparing the CRC’s Complaint Information Form.
During the 90-day period, complainants may elect to participate in mediation. The choice
whether to use mediation or the customary investigative process rests with the complainant. If
mediation is not elected, or is unsuccessful, the complaint shall be investigated in accordance
with the GRWDB’s complaint-processing procedures. Such complaint procedures shall include
the following elements:

  • Initial, written notice to the complainant, and a notice that the complainant has the right
    to be represented in the complaint process;
  • A written statement provided to the complainant that contains a list of the issues raised
    in the complaint and, for each issue, a statement whether the GRWDB will accept or
    reject the issue, and the reasons for each rejection;
  • A period for fact-finding or investigation (data collection or on-site) of the issues and
    review of evidence (direct, circumstantial, comparative, or statistical) followed by the
    writing of an investigative report;

A written Notice of Final Action provided to the complainant within 90 days of the date on
which the complaint was filed, that contains the GRWDB’s determination.
The written Notice of Final Action must include:

The GRWDB’s decision on the issue and an explanation of the reasons underlying the
decision,

A description of the way the parties resolved the issue; and

A notice that the complainant has the right to file a complaint with the Director of CRC
within 30 days of the Notice if he/she is dissatisfied with the GRWDB’s final action on the
complaint.
If the GRWDB does not provide a written decision within 90 days of the filing of the complaint,
the complainant need not wait for a decision to be issued but may file a complaint with the CRC
within 30 days of the expiration of the 90-day period. If a complainant is not satisfied with the
GRWDB’s resolution, the complainant may file a complaint with the CRC. Such complaint must
be filed within 30 days of the date the complainant received the Notice of Final Action from the
GRWDB. The complainant shall be notified that if the complaint is not filed within 180 days of
the alleged discrimination or a complaint has not been filed with CRC within 30 days of the
receipt of GRWDB’s determination or expiration of the 90-day period, the Director of CRC may
extend the time limits for good cause shown.

The GRWDB EO Officer shall determine at the conclusion of the investigation of a complaint
whether there is reasonable cause to believe that a violation occurred. If an investigation results
in a “reasonable cause” finding, the GRWDB’s EO Officer shall submit the signed investigative
report, including determination and recommendation, to the State EO Officer for review within
60 days of the filing date. Based on review of the determination, the State EO Officer will
determine if further review by the Attorney General’s Office and the VEC Commissioner, or his
designee, is warranted. If the VEC concurs with the determination, the GRWDB’s EO Officer
shall issue a written determination. The determination shall notify the complainant of the specific
findings, the proposed remedial or corrective action, and the time in which corrective action
must be completed.

Where a “no cause” finding is made, the complainant shall be notified in writing. Such a
determination represents the final action of the GRWDB’s EO Officer. The GRWDB’s EO Officer
shall notify the complainant of his or her right to file a complaint with the CRC if he or she
believes the GRWDB’s resolution is unsatisfactory. The complainant shall be informed that this
right must be exercised within 30 days.

If discrimination is found through the process of a complaint investigation, the respondent shall
be requested to voluntarily comply with corrective action(s) or conciliation agreement to correct
the discriminatory actions or conditions. Actions to correct discrimination deficiencies may
include any of the following:

  • Back pay, or other monetary relief (Federal funds shall not be used to provide monetary
    relief);
  • Hire or reinstatement;
  • Promotion;
  • Benefits or other services denied; and
  • Any other remedial or affirmative relief such as outreach, recruitment, and
    training to ensure equal opportunity.

When technical violations are found during compliance monitoring, the EO Officer will notify the
recipient in writing of the violations along with recommendations for corrective action. The EO
Officer is responsible for providing technical assistance to correct the violations. Corrective
action may include policy development or educating individuals responsible for implementing
the required action. A follow-up visit, or contact will be made by either the Board’s EO Officer to
evaluate progress made toward resolving the violations when a Virginia Career Works Center,
Service or Training Provider is cited for discrimination. Violations because of an investigation
and/or monitoring efforts shall be made to achieve voluntary compliance by corrective action or
a conciliation agreement to correct the discrimination.

The GRWDB shall maintain an automated or manual log of discrimination complaints to include:

  • name and address of complainant;
  • the basis of the complaint (i.e., race, sex, age, etc.),
  • a description of the complaint;
  • the date the complaint was filed;
  • the disposition and date of disposition of the complaint; and
  • other pertinent information.

Records pertaining to discrimination complaints, investigations, or any other such actions shall
be retained for a minimum of three (3) years from the date of resolution. Information pertaining
to the identity of any persons providing information related to, or assisting in, an investigation or
a compliance review shall be maintained in a confidential manner to the extent possible. If it is
necessary that a person’s identity be disclosed, the person(s) shall be protected from retaliation.