Equal Opportunity compliance
The Washington workforce development system, WorkSource, is committed to providing equal access to all individuals at all levels in the delivery of its programs and services, in accordance with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity (EO) provisions of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014.
Federal and state laws prohibit discrimination in both service delivery and employment. Because we are a United States Department of Labor (USDOL) grant recipient, the Governor has agreed that WorkSource partners will take specific steps to ensure nondiscrimination in the delivery of programs and services.
WIOA Policy 5402 – Equal Opportunity and Nondiscrimination describes WorkSource’s responsibility for ensuring equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in programs and activities funded in whole or in part under WIOA. This policy can serve as templates for LWDBs to adopt or modify. The policy represents the minimum state and federal requirements and should not be modified to remove minimum state and federal requirements.
The Nondiscrimination Plan (NDP) is the document that describes to USDOL how Washington’s WorkSource system will provide workforce development programs and services in a manner which ensures equal opportunity and nondiscrimination.
The NDP consists of nine elements: State-level and local EO Officers; Notice and communication; Assurances; Affirmative outreach; Disability requirements; Data collection; Monitoring for compliance; Discrimination complaint process; and corrective actions and sanctions.
1. State-Level and Local EO Officers
The State-Level EO Officer is responsible for state program-wide coordination of compliance with the nondiscrimination and EO requirements in WIOA. They act as the state’s liaison to USDOL Civil Rights Center. The State EO Office provides training and technical assistance to local LWDB EO Officers, reviews LWDB and ESD programs to ensure nondiscrimination, and processes discrimination complaints from customers and employees.
LWBD EO Officers are responsible for local area coordination of compliance with the nondiscrimination and EO requirements in WIOA. They provide training and technical assistance to area staff, review LWDB programs to ensure nondiscrimination, and process discrimination complaints from area customers.
See this list of EO Officers.
2. Notice and Communication
In the WorkSource system, we must continuously notify customers and staff of their equal opportunity and nondiscrimination rights.
Equal Opportunity is the Law Notice
WIOA participants review and sign the Equal Opportunity Notice in the customer management information system, Efforts to Outcomes (ETO), and it is printed if paper files are maintained.
Note: The notice must be provided in appropriate formats to customers with disabilities. The notice must be provided to customers who are limited English proficient (LEP) in appropriate languages other than English.
Equal Opportunity Notice Template
EO Posters
Spanish and English versions of the equal opportunity posters will be posted in resource rooms, classrooms, places where staff greet the public, and in staff break rooms.
Equal Opportunity Posters: English, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Chuukese. Listen to an audio version of the equal opportunity poster, in English and in Spanish.
If Local EO Officers have a request for the poster in another language, please email the State EO Office at esdgpeo@esd.wa.gov.
EO tagline
All brochures, publications, and media advertisements that market WorkSource and WIOA Title I funded services will include a statement (also known as an "EO Tagline") which states:
“(Name of LWDB, WorkSource, or Service Provider) is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.”
If a phone number is listed, Washington Relay Service 711 should be provided on the brochure, flyer, or marketing material.
3. Assurances
All contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and other similar documents must include specific assurance language for nondiscrimination and equal opportunity.
They must include either:
The exact language found in 29 CFR Part 38.25 (a)(i-ii):
“(i) As a condition to the award of financial assistance from the Department of Labor under Title I of WIOA, the grant applicant assures that it has the ability to comply with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of the following laws and will remain in compliance for the duration of the award of federal financial assistance:
(A) Section 188 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which prohibits discrimination against all individuals in the United States on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, transgender status, and gender identity), national origin (including limited English proficiency), age, disability, or political affiliation or belief, or against beneficiaries on the basis of either citizenship status or participation in any WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity;
(B) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the bases of race, color and national origin;
(C) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, which prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities;
(D) The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of age; and
(E) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs.
(ii) The grant applicant also assures that, as a recipient of WIOA Title I financial assistance, it will comply with 29 CFR part 38 and all other regulations implementing the laws listed above. This assurance applies to the grant applicant’s operation of the WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity, and to all agreements the grant applicant makes to carry out the WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity. The grant applicant understands that the United States has the right to seek judicial enforcement of this assurance.”
Or a citation to the assurance language:
“The nondiscrimination assurances at 29 CFR Part 38.25 apply to this [contract/agreement/etc.].”
4. Affirmative Outreach
We must demonstrate an effort to reach all populations of eligible participants and provide equivalent levels of information about WorkSource services and activities to them.
5. Disability Requirements
All WIOA Title I-financially assisted programs and activities must be programmatically accessible, which includes providing reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities, making reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures, administering programs in the most integrated setting appropriate, communicating with persons with disabilities as effectively as with others, and providing appropriate auxiliary aids or services, including assistive technology devices and services, where necessary to afford individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in, and enjoy the benefits of, the program or activity.
No qualified individual with a disability may be excluded from participation in, or be denied the benefits of a recipient's service, program, or activity or be subjected to discrimination by any recipient because a recipient's facilities are inaccessible or unusable by individuals with disabilities.
6. Data Collection
WorkSource is required to collect and report customer equal opportunity demographic information to ensure accessibility to services for all customers. Data may only be requested on a voluntary basis. Data must be kept confidential to protect customers’ privacy. Data we collect include:
- Race/Ethnicity
- Sex
- Age
- Disability status
- LEP and Preferred Language
7. Monitoring for Compliance
Please see our EO monitoring page.
8. Discrimination Complaint Process
WorkSource System Policy 1017 – Discrimination Complaint Processing Policy - provides procedural guidance to partners in the WorkSource system for processing discrimination complaints in compliance with state and federal regulations.
The complaint procedures and tools in this policy and handbook can serve as templates for LWDBs to adopt or modify. These represent the minimum state and federal requirements and should not be modified to remove minimum state and federal requirements.
Templates for LWDB EO Officers for discrimination complaint processing:
Note: Customers with disabilities must be provided, upon request and at no cost to the individual, appropriate accommodations, auxiliary aids and services to file their concern or complaint. Customers who are limited English proficient (LEP) must be provided, upon request and at no cost to the individual, language assistance services, including oral interpretation and/or written translation to file their concern or complaint.
9. Corrective Actions and Sanctions
Voluntary Compliance - If violations of non-discrimination requirements are found, the responsible agency is asked to voluntarily adhere to correction actions.
Sanctions - The Nondiscrimination Plan and section 188 WIOA provide procedures to implement corrective actions and apply sanctions if voluntary compliance is not achieved.
Equal Opportunity Training
We are required to train staff on the nondiscrimination and EO provisions of WIOA. LWDB local EO Officers are responsible to provide training to the staff in their LWDB. The State EO Office provides training to other ESD employees and can be a resource to provide training with LWDB local EO Officers. The State EO Office and LWDB EO Officers developed the current training together for consistency across the state, and to ensure it covers all elements of the NDP.
Equal Opportunity Training for WorkSource system staff