ML23297A199
| ML23297A199 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 10/24/2023 |
| From: | NRC/SBCR |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML23269A245 | List: |
| References | |
| NUREG/BR-0344 | |
| Download: ML23297A199 (1) | |
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National Origin Discrimination Is Against the Law If you believe that you have experienced national origin discrimination and require immediate assistance and/or need additional information, please contact:
Office of Small Business and Civil Rights U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Email: EEOPROGRAMS.Resource@nrc.gov Telephone No.:(301) 415-7380/TDD (301) 415-5244 Quick Links:
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 U.S. Department of Justice Executive Order 13166 - Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
Improving Access to Public Websites and Digital Services for Limited English Proficient (LEP) Persons NRCs Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS Limited English Proficiency No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. 42 U.S.C. § 2000d Office of Small Business and Civil Rights NUREG/BR-0344. Rev 2 October 2023 Insert Picture here
What is a federally conducted activity?
All Federal agencies subject to Executive Order 13166 must design and implement a federally conducted plan to ensure access for individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) to all of its federally conducted programs and activities (basically, everything that it does).
Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and recipients of its Federal Financial Assistance (FFA) must take reasonable steps to ensure that persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) have meaningful access to the programs, services, and information those entities provide. This will require recipients of FFA to create solutions to address the needs of this population of individuals for whom English is not their primary language.
Who is an individual with LEP?
Individuals who do not speak English as their primary language and who have a limited ability to read, speak, write, or understand English can be a person with LEP. These individuals may be entitled to language access assistance with respect to a particular type of federal service, benefit, or encounter.
What is Federal Financial Assistance (FFA)?
Federal Financial Assistance (FFA) includes federally provided grants, training, equipment, donations of surplus property, and other assistance. A recipient is an entity which receives FFA from the NRC. A subrecipient is one who receives FFA passed on from a recipient. Subrecipients have the same LEP responsibilities as recipients of FFA. Recipients of FFA range from state and local agencies to nonprofits and other organizations.
Who Must Comply and Who Can be Found in Violation?
All entities that receive FFA from the NRC must comply with Executive Order 13166 in the provision of programs and activities. This includes State agencies, local agencies, private/non-private entities, and sub-recipients (entities that receive Federal funding from one of the recipients mentioned above).
Legal Authorities Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VI, 42 U.S.C §§ 2000d - 2000d-7 et seq., is the Federal law that was enacted as part of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. The law states, in part, that:
No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
As President John F. Kennedy said in 1963:
Simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races, colors, and national origins contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes or results in racial, color, or national origin discrimination.
Executive Order 13166 - Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
Executive Order 13166, signed on August 11, 2000, requires Federal agencies to examine the programs and services they provide, identify any need for services to those with LEP, and develop and implement a system to provide those services so persons with LEP can have meaningful access to them. It is expected that agency plans will provide for such meaningful access consistent with, and without unduly burdening, the fundamental mission of the agency. The Executive Order also requires that Federal agencies work to ensure that recipients of FFA provide meaningful access to their applicants and beneficiaries with LEP.
OBLIGATIONS Four-Factor Analysis Recipients of FFA have an obligation to reduce language barriers that can preclude persons with LEP from meaningful access to important benefits, programs, information, and services (the Federal government has the same obligations because of Executive Order 13166).
The starting point is an individualized assessment that balances the following four (4) factors:
The number or proportion of persons with LEP eligible to be served or likely to be encountered by the program or grantee/recipient.
The frequency with which individuals with LEP encounter the program.
The nature and importance of the program, activity, or service provided by the program to people's lives; and The resources available to the grantee/recipient and costs.
Elements of an Effective Strategic LEP Plan (SLEPP)
Elements that may be helpful in designing an SLEPP:
Assessment of LEP populations and language needs.
Identification of ways in which language assistance will be provided.
Public outreach and notice of the availability of language assistance.
Provision of appropriate staff training on the LEP Program/SLEPP.
Periodic self-assessment and self-monitoring.
Language Assistance Services The NRC and its recipients of FFA may provide language services in either oral or written form.
Quality and accuracy of the language service is critical to avoid potential serious consequences to the person with LEP and to the recipients.
Examples of Language Assistance Services Include:
Oral interpretation services conducted in-person or via telephone interpreter lines.
Bilingual staff.
Written translation services.
Community volunteers.