Equal Opportunity Is the Law
It is against the law for this recipient of Federal financial assistance to discriminate on the following bases: against any individual in the United States, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, sex stereotyping, transgender status, and gender identity), national origin (including limited English proficiency), age, disability, or political affiliation or belief, or, against any beneficiary of, applicant to, or participant in programs financially assisted under Title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), on the basis of the individual’s citizenship status or participation in any WIOA Title I– financially assisted program or activity.
The recipient must not discriminate in any of the following areas: deciding who will be admitted, or have access, to any WIOA Title I–financially assisted program or activity; providing opportunities in, or treating any person with regard to, such a program or activity; or making employment decisions in the administration of, or in connection with, such a program or activity.
Recipients of federal financial assistance must take reasonable steps to ensure that communications with individuals with disabilities are as effective as communications with others. This means that, upon request and at no cost to the individual, recipients are required to provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services to qualified individuals with disabilities.
The following provisions apply specifically to Employment Service operations conducted by Illinois American Job Center locations. States shall:
- Assure that no individual be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, subjected to discrimination under, or denied employment in the administration or in connection with any services or activities authorized under the Wagner-Peyser Act in violation of any applicable nondiscrimination law, including laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of age, race, sex, color, religion, national origin, disability, political affiliation, or belief. All complaints alleging discrimination shall be filed and processed according to the procedures in the applicable DOL nondiscrimination regulations.
- Assure that discriminatory job postings will not be accepted, except where the stated requirement is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ).
- Assure that employers’ valid affirmative action requests will be accepted and a significant number of qualified applicants from the target group(s) will be included to enable the employer to meet its affirmative action obligations.
- Assure that employment testing programs will comply with all applicable federal regulations.
What To Do If You Believe You Have Experienced Discrimination
If you think that you have been subjected to discrimination under a WIOA Title I–financially assisted program or activity, you may file a complaint within 180 days from the date of the alleged violation with either:
- IDES Equal Opportunity Officer, Office of Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action, 33 S. State Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603-2803
- Director, Civil Rights Center (CRC), U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-4123, Washington, DC 20210 - Or electronically as directed on the CRC website.
If you file your complaint with the recipient, you must wait either until the recipient issues a written Notice of Final Action, or until 90 days have passed (whichever is sooner), before filing with the Civil Rights Center (see address above). If the recipient does not give you a written Notice of Final Action within 90 days of the day on which you filed your complaint, you may file a complaint with CRC before receiving that Notice. However, you must file your CRC complaint within 30 days of the 90-day deadline (in other words, within 120 days after the day on which you filed your complaint with the recipient). If the recipient does give you a written Notice of Final Action on your complaint, but you are dissatisfied with the decision or resolution, you may file a complaint with CRC. You must file your CRC complaint within 30 days of the date on which you received the Notice of Final Action.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Notice on Employer Consideration of Arrest and Conviction History
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment based on race, color, national origin, religion, or sex. This law does not prohibit an employer from requiring applicants to provide information about arrests, convictions, or incarceration. But, employers may not treat people with the same criminal records differently because of their race, national, origin, or another protected characteristic. In addition, unless required by federal law or regulation, employers may not automatically bar everyone with an arrest or conviction record from employment. This is because an automatic bar to hiring everyone with a criminal record is likely to unjustifiably limit the employment opportunities of applicants or workers of certain racial or ethnic groups. If an employer’s criminal record exclusion policy or practice has disparate impact on Title VII-protected individuals, it must be job related and consistent with business necessity. For more information:
- EEOC Enforcement Guidance
- Q&A on Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions
- Pre-Employment Inquiries and Arrest Conviction
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Notice Regarding Job Bank Nondiscrimination and Hiring Restrictions Based on an Individual’s Unemployment Status
Employers may not automatically exclude job seekers based on their unemployment status unless the employer can show that an unemployment status restriction is related to the job posted and consistent with the employer’s business needs. This type of screening requirement may unjustifiably limit the employment opportunities of applicants in protected groups and may therefore violate federal civil rights laws.
Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires an employer to obtain the applicant’s permission before asking a background screening company for a criminal history report, and requires the employer to provide the applicant with a copy of the report and a summary of the applicant’s rights before the employer takes an adverse action (such as denying an application for employment) based on information in the criminal history report. For more information, read about Background Checks.
Employers may not automatically exclude job seekers based on their credit history unless the employer can show that a credit history restriction is related to the job posted and consistent with the employer’s business needs. While employers are permitted to use credit reports in hiring and other decisions, this type of screening requirement may unjustifiably limit the employment opportunities of applicants in protected groups and may therefore violate federal civil rights laws.
For additional information about these notices or to register a formal complaint about a IllinoisJobLink.com job postings or services received in a IllinoisJobLink.com American Job Center contact your local American Job Center.
