Office for Civil Rights
Frequently Asked Questions with Answers
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Q. What are civil rights?
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A. Civil rights are personal rights guaranteed and protected by the
U.S. Constitution and by subsequent acts of Congress, such as the
Civil Rights Act of 1964. They include, for example, the right to
free speech, due process, equal protection of the laws and to be
free from discrimination. Our office enforces part of certain
statutorily-created civil rights. As far as HHS goes, all persons
in the United States have a right to receive services in a
nondiscriminatory manner from state and local social and health
services agencies, hospitals, clinics, nursing homes or other
agencies receiving funds from HHS. For example, you cannot be
denied services or benefits, simply because of your race, national
origin, or disability.
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Q. How does one file a complaint at the Office for Civil Rights?
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A. If you believe discrimination has happened to you or any
specific class of individuals because of race, color, national
origin, age, sex, disability or religion by a health care or human
services provider (such as hospitals, nursing homes, social service
agencies, etc.), you or your representative may file a complaint
with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Complaints against the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services alleging discrimination in
services on the basis of disability may also be filed with OCR.
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Q. Is there a timeframe for filing a complaint with the Office for
Civil Rights?
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A. Complaints usually must be filed within 180 days from the date
of the alleged discriminatory act. (OCR may extend the 180-day
period if good cause to do so is shown.)
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Q. What information is needed for one to file a complaint?
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A. Include the following information in your written complaint (
request a Discrimination Complaint Form from OCR or at
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/disform.html. You will need to save the
form to a disk):
- Your name, address and telephone number. You must sign the
complaint. (If you file a complaint on someone's behalf, include
his/her name, address and telephone number and state your
relationship to that person - e.g., spouse, attorney, friend,
etc.)
- Name and address of the institution or agency you believed
discriminated against you.
- How, why and when you believe you were discriminated against. -
Any other relevant information.
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Q. What happens with my complaint once the Office for Civil Rights
receives it.
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A. Determining Jurisdiction - Once a complaint is received, OCR
must determine if it has the legal authority to review and
investigate the complaint. Our authority primarily is over those
entities (known as "Recipients") receiving federal financial
assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
and in certain cases over entities for which OCR has been
designated enforcement responsibility by another agency.
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Q. How does your office respond to my concern for privacy and
confidentiality.
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A. Privacy Act Notice/Confidentiality - In OCR investigations, the
name of the complainant usually is kept confidential unless its'
disclosure is necessary to the case. If OCR determines that release
of your identity is required for the processing of the case, you
will be asked to sign a release. If you choose not to provide a
release, the investigation my be impeded or terminated.
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Q. How does the Office for Civil Rights conduct an investigation of
my complaint?
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A. Once it is clear that OCR has jurisdiction to handle your
complaint, the investigator will gather information through
interviewing witnesses, obtaining documentation, and making visits
to appropriate sites. You may be interviewed again as information
is gathered.
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Q. What kind of notification do I receive, when the Office for
Civil Rights has completed an investigation?
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A. At the conclusion of an investigation, OCR issues a Letter of
Findings, which presents OCR's decision on whether there has been a
violation of a federal statute or regulation. If there is a
violation finding, the recipient is then allowed a specific time
period, usually 60 days, to correct the violation or provide OCR
with a plan of correction. Corrective action may involve a change
in policy or procedure, provision of a service, reinstatement to a
job, backpay, restoration of lost benefits, or a notice to clients
and employees that a recipient has taken steps to comply with with
a federal statute or regulation. If a recipient is unwilling to
take corrective action to come into compliance, OCR will recommend
that enforcement proceedings be initiated. A final decision
upholding a finding of a violation may result in the termination of
Federal financial assistance to the recipient.
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Q. Am I able to initiate a private court action?
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A. Under most of the statutes enforced by OCR, a complainant who
has been discriminated against may initiate private court action
instead of, or in addition to filing a complaint with OCR. If you
are interested in doing so, you should consult an attorney as soon
as possible to ensure that the action will be timely filed.
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Q. If I believe that I have been denied health or human services or
treated in an unfair manner because of my race, color, national
origin, disability or age, where do I go and what do I do?
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A. Contact the OCR regional office that serves your state. Describe
your situation in writing to the OCR regional staff and they will
advise you and if necessary assist you in filing a civil rights
complaint with the office. They will then investigate the complaint
and issue a Letter of Findings to you and the alleged
discriminating party. If the alleged discriminating health or human
service agency has violated your civil rights, the Office for Civil
Rights will seek an appropriate remedy in an attempt to rectify the
discrimination.
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Q. What is the extent of your geographical coverage?
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A. If a complainant alleges discrimination by a DHHS funded health
or human services entity in:
- Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, and/or Vermont, the Boston Regional Office will handle the
complaint. If the entity is outside of these states, the office
will forward the complaint to the appropriate OCR regional
office.
- New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and/or the Virgin
Islands, the New York Regional Office will handle the complaint. If
the entity is outside of these states, the office will forward the
complaint to the appropriate OCR regional office.
- Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, Virginia, and/or West Virginia, the Philadelphia
Regional Office will handle the complaint. If the entity is outside
of these states, the office will forward the complaint to the
appropriate OCR regional office.
- Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North
and South Carolina, and/or Tennessee, the Atlanta Regional Office
will handle the complaint. If the entity is outside of these
states, the office will forward the complaint to the appropriate
OCR regional office.
- Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and/or
Wisconsin, the Chicago Regional Office will handle the complaint.
If the entity is outside of these states, the office will forward
the complaint to the appropriate OCR regional office.
- Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and/or Texas,
the Dallas Regional Office will handle the complaint. If the entity
is outside of these states, the office will forward the complaint
to the appropriate OCR regional office.
- Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and/or Nebraska, the Kansas City
Regional Office will handle the complaint. If the entity is outside
of these states, the office will forward the complaint to the
appropriate OCR regional office.
- Colorado, Montana, North and/or South Dakota, Utah,
and/or Wyoming, the Denver Regional Office will handle the
complaint. If the entity is outside of these states, the office
will forward the complaint to the appropriate OCR regional
office.
- Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam, Pacific
Islands, and/or American Samoa, the San Francisco Regional Office
will handle the complaint. If the entity is outside of these
states, the office will forward the complaint to the appropriate
OCR regional office.
- Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, the Seattle Regional
Office will handle the complaint. If the entity is outside of these
states, the office will forward the complaint to the appropriate
OCR regional office.
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Q. What happens if the Office for Civil Rights cannot help me?
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A. The Office for Civil Rights will try to identify the appropriate
state or federal agency and refer your case unless you tell us not
to.
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Q. Are there other federal agencies that protect my rights?
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A. Other Federal and State agencies exist to protect your rights.
Some are:
Education - Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of
Education
Employment - Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); Office
of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, U.S. Department of
Labor
Housing - Office of Fair Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development. More than one agency may be able to help you.
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Q. I've talked to one of your representatives about a problem with
the police harassing my son because he is African American and was
told that your office cannot take the case. Why can't your office
do something? His civil rights are being violated!
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A. This office is a civil rights office within the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services. As such, our jurisdiction is
generally limited to complaints of discrimination filed against
providers of health and social services who receive Federal
financial assistance from our Department. The Department of Justice
(DOJ) usually handles complaints against law enforcement agencies.
You may wish to call DOJ at 1-800-869-4499.
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Q. What is Federal financial assistance?
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A. Examples of Federal financial assistance as defined by our
regulations include Medicaid, Medicare Hospital Insurance (Part A),
Public Health Service grants, Aid to Families with Dependent
Children. These funds are given to a facility (such as a hospital,
social service agency) or an individual service provider (such as a
doctor, dentist) by the government for services provided or to
provide a service. Social security benefits, Supplemental Security
Income, Medicare Supplemental Medical Insurance (Part B) are not
considered Federal financial assistance when applying the civil
rights laws OCR enforces. Generally speaking, the reason for this
is that these sources of funding are paid directly to an individual
beneficiary by the government.
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Q. I inquired about filing a complaint against a major university
and was told that I should file with the Department of Education's
Office for Civil Rights. I was not given a reason for this
referral. I know that the university receives millions from your
agency, so why can't your agency accept the complaint?
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A. It is possible for several Departments to have provided Federal
financial assistance to that University. In order to avoid
duplication of effort and to be more efficient, we coordinate our
activities with other agencies to determine which agency would be
the most appropriate agency to handle your complaint. This decision
is made on a case by case basis with many factors considered. Some
of these factors include, the subject matter, which department
provides the largest portion of Federal financial assistance,
whether an agency has started an investigation. Generally, DHHS
does not investigate educational institutions unless the complaint
is against a health related portion of the University, e.g., the
University's School of Medicine.
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Q. Do I have to be a minority person in order to have "civil
rights"?
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A. All persons in the United States have civil rights under the
constitution and appropriate laws. DHHS is charged with enforcing
only a few of these civil rights laws. For example, Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the ground of
race, color, and national origin. A common misperception is that
this law is for the exclusive use of "minorities." This law does
not exclude non-minority persons. In other words, this law provides
protection to all persons living in the United States from
discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin. In
addition, we enforce other laws that protect persons from
discrimination on the bases of disability, sex, age, etc. A person
of any race can have a disability, and sex and age are not
exclusive characteristics of a minority person. As such, laws
prohibiting discrimination protect ALL persons.
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Q. Does OCR have the authority to investigate discrimination
complaints filed against programs that provide low income persons
with free or reduced cost health care?
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A. Yes, we have the authority to investigate such complaints if the
following conditions are met:
* the facility receives Federal financial assistance from
DHHS - in addition, if the alleged discrimination involves
disability, we can accept complaints filed against a State or local
government entity providing health or social services even if it
does not receive Federal financial assistance, and we can accept
complaints of disability discrimination in programs conducted by
DHHS.
* the alleged discrimination must be on a basis in which we
have authority (e.g., race, disability) the subject matter must be
covered by our regulations (e.g., we generally do not accept
employment complaints based on race; the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission usually handles such complaints.)
* the complaint must be filed within 180 days of the alleged
discrimination, unless a waiver is granted
* the complaint must be in writing and signed
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Q. I have a young child who is occasionally quite sick because he
has AIDS. I've tried to enroll him in a day-care center near my
house, but was told that they do not take children who have AIDS
because of the danger that it would pose to other children. What
can I do?
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A. It is unlawful for a public or private facility to discriminate
against a person based solely on his/her disability if that person
is a qualified person with a disability and meets the eligibility
criteria to receive benefits or services. Each complaint, however,
is examined on a case by case basis. Specifically, in cases
involving AIDS, an issue that may come up is whether the person
poses a significant threat to the health and safety of others.
Generally speaking, in a day care setting, having AIDS itself
should not disqualify a child from participation. You may contact
our office to speak to one of our investigators.
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Q. I'm a disabled person. I called your office to file a complaint
and was told that your office cannot help me. What do I have to do
to have a complaint accepted for investigation by your office?
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A. In order for our office to accept a complaint for investigation,
the following conditions must be met:
* You must identify the alleged discriminating entity or agency,
you must identify the alleged injured party (the person who was
allegedly discriminated against), the alleged discrimination must
be on a basis in which we have jurisdiction (e.g., race,
disability).
* OCR must have authority to investigate the facility you are
complaining against. The facility must receive funds from DHHS, OR
if the alleged discrimination is on the basis of disability the
facility can also be a DHHS conducted program, or a state or local
government entity providing health or social services.
* The subject matter must be covered by our regulations. For
example, we generally do not accept employment complaints based on
race because the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission usually
handles such complaints. The complainant must clearly state why the
action taken was based on the complainant's protected basis. For
example, having a disability, by itself, does not protect a person
from having an adverse action taken against him. It is unlawful
only if the adverse action is taken because of the person's
disability. A hearing impaired person cannot be denied services
solely because a hospital does not want to provide a sign language
interpreter. However, a hearing impaired person may be legitimately
refused additional non-emergency services by a hospital for failing
to pay his bills.
* The complaint must be filed within 180 days of the alleged
discrimination, unless a waiver is granted.
* The complaint must be in writing and signed.
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Q. I called your office regarding being fired from my job at a
local supermarket because of age discrimination and your office
said that it could not accept my complaint. Whom should I call for
assistance?
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A. Generally speaking, most employment discrimination complaints,
especially those against private employers, should be addressed to
the local Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that services the
state in which you reside.
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Q. My constitutional, human and civil rights have been violated.
Why can't your office help me?
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A. OCR's charge is to ensure that the civil rights laws under our
jurisdiction are not violated. OCR enforces laws prohibiting
discrimination on the bases of disability, age, race, color,
national origin, sex and religion in the provision of health and
social services. OCR can investigate only those matters that are
covered by the laws it enforces.
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Q. Can your office represent me in my complaint?
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A. No. OCR is a neutral fact finding agency. Our charge is to
ensure that the laws under our jurisdiction are not violated. If
your complaint is accepted for investigation, we may, for example,
obtain a promise that the program will change its practices or
provide you with a service. Although we will consult with you, you
may not be satisfied with any individual remedies proposed. You
should consult an attorney about your right to file a private law
suit in court if you wish to protect fully your individual rights
and remedies. Delay in doing so may foreclose your right to bring a
law suit.
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Q. If you can't represent me, do you think the ACLU will help?
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A. The ACLU is not a government agency, and it decides what issues
to become involved in on a case by case basis. The concept of civil
liberties encompasses many more issues than discrimination
prohibited by the laws enforced by OCR. It also concerns individual
freedom issues found in the Constitution --freedom of speech,
association, religion are counted in the civil liberties category.
For further information, call the local ACLU office in your area.
Last revised: December 12, 2003
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