[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 221 (Wednesday, November 15, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69184-69185]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-29095]



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Part IV





Department of Labor





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Office of the Secretary



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Delegation of Authority and Assignment of Equal Opportunity 
Responsibility for Department of Labor External Programs and Conducted 
Programs; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 221 / Wednesday, November 15, 2000 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary

[Secretary's Order 4-2000]


Delegation of Authority and Assignment of Equal Opportunity 
Responsibility for Department of Labor External Programs and Conducted 
Programs

    1. Purpose. To (1) assign responsibility for the enforcement of 
equal opportunity and nondiscrimination laws, executive orders and 
statutes relating to programs or activities financially assisted or 
conducted by the Department of Labor (DOL); (2) delegate responsibility 
assigned to the Department of Labor by the Department of Justice to 
implement subpart F of Title 28 CFR part 35; \1\ and (3) provide 
notification that the Directorate of Civil Rights within OASAM is now 
the Civil Rights Center (CRC).
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    \1\ Title 28 CFR part 35 effectuates Title IIA of the Americans 
with Disabilities Act of 1990.
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    2. Directives Affected. Secretary's Order 2-81 is canceled. The 
provisions of section 5(a) of this Order supersede sections 4(a)(7), 
(15), (17), and (30) of Secretary's Order 4-75 and section 4(a)(7) of 
Secretary's Order 2-85. This directive does not affect Secretary's 
Order 3-96.
    3. Policy. It is the policy of DOL to promote equal opportunity in 
programs or activities it financially assists or conducts, and to 
ensure full compliance with all constitutional, statutory, and 
regulatory equal opportunity and nondiscrimination provisions in all 
such programs or activities. Additionally, it is the policy of DOL to 
ensure full compliance with the statutory provisions of the Americans 
with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, and its implementing 
regulations among the public entities assigned to DOL by the Department 
of Justice.
    4. Background. Secretary's Order 8-80, issued on October 28, 1980, 
established the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) within the Office of the 
Secretary, and gave that office responsibility for enforcing Title VI 
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Section 504 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; Title IX of the Education 
Amendments of 1972, as amended; and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, 
as amended, in programs or activities financially assisted by DOL. 
Secretary's Order 2-81, issued on June 1, 1981, canceled Secretary's 
Order 8-80, and transferred OCR to the Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Administration and Management. On June 18, 1985, 
Secretary's Order 2-85 assigned to the Assistant Secretary, OASAM, 
working through OCR, responsibility for the enforcement of Section 167 
of the Job Training Partnership Act. Effective October 14, 1986, OCR 
underwent an organizational change, and its name changed to the 
Directorate of Civil Rights. On December 10, 1995, the name of the 
Directorate of Civil Rights became the Civil Rights Center (CRC).
    5. Delegation of Authority and Assignment of Responsibilities
    a. Through the Assistant Secretary (OASAM), the Director (CRC) is 
delegated authority and assigned responsibility for:
    (1) Developing, implementing, and monitoring DOL's civil rights 
enforcement program under all equal opportunity and nondiscrimination 
requirements applicable to programs or activities financially assisted 
or conducted by DOL, including:
    (a) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42 U.S.C. 
2000d et seq.);
    (b) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended 29 
U.S.C. 794);
    (c) Section 508(f) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended 
(29 U.S.C. 794d);
    (d) the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended (42 U.S.C. 6101 
et seq.);
    (e) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended (20 
U.S.C. 1681 et seq.);
    (f) Section 167 of the Job Training Partnership Act, as amended (29 
U.S.C. 1577) \2\;
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    \2\ Title 29 CFR part 34, which implements the nondiscrimination 
and equal opportunity provisions of the JTPA, refers to the Civil 
Rights Center by its previous name, the Directorate of Civil Rights 
(DCR).
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    (g) Section 188 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 
2938);
    (h) Executive Order 13160 (65 Fed. Reg. 39,773 (June 23, 2000)) 
\3\;
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    \3\ Executive Order 13160 forbids discrimination in Federally 
conducted education and training programs and activities on the 
basis of race, sex, color, national origin, disability, religion, 
age, sexual orientation, and status as a parent.
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    (i) Executive Order 13166 (65 Fed. Reg. 50,121 (August 11, 2000)) 
\4\; and,
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    \4\ The purpose of Executive Order 13166 is to improve access to 
federally conducted and federally assisted programs and activities 
for persons who, as a result of national origin, are limited in 
their English proficiency (LEP).
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    (j) other similarly related laws, executive orders and statutes.
    (2) Implementing subpart F of Title 28 CFR part 35, which describes 
the compliance procedures that apply to public entities subject to 
Title IIA of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 for components 
of State and local governments that exercise responsibilities, 
regulate, or administer services, programs, or activities in all 
programs, services, and regulatory activities relating to labor and the 
workforce.
    (3) Establishing and formulating all policies, standards, and 
procedures for, as well as issuing rules and regulations governing, the 
civil rights enforcement programs under the laws, executive orders and 
statutes referred to in 5.a (1) (a) through (j).
    (4) Achieving compliance through pre-approval and post-approval 
reviews, complaint investigations and other compliance monitoring 
techniques, negotiations, mediations, and other alternative dispute 
resolution techniques, conciliation proceedings, and the application of 
appropriate sanctions and remedies.
    (5) Cooperating and coordinating with DOL Agencies, the Office of 
the Inspector General, the Department of Justice, the Department of 
Health and Human Services, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 
and other agencies in connection with the administration of 
nondiscrimination and equal opportunity laws.
    (6) Developing and conducting training and providing technical 
assistance for CRC staff, as well as for DOL Agency program staffs, 
recipients of Federal financial assistance from DOL, and beneficiaries 
of that assistance, programs or activities conducted by DOL.
    (7) Developing, implementing, and maintaining a management 
information and case tracking system that can be used to assess the 
effectiveness of the DOL Civil Rights program.
    (8) Issuing subpoenas for the purpose of any investigation or 
hearing conducted under section 188 of WIA, as authorized by section 
183(c) of WIA, and pursuant to the provisions of section 9 of the 
Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 49).
    b. The Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management and 
the Director, Civil Rights Center (CRC), are delegated authority and 
assigned responsibility for:
    (1) Invoking all appropriate claims of privilege, arising from the 
functions of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration 
and Management or the Civil Rights Center, following his/her personal 
consideration of the matter and in accordance with the following 
guidelines:
    (i) Informant's Privilege (to protect from disclosure the identity 
of any person who has provided information to

[[Page 69185]]

OASAM in cases arising under authority delegated or assigned to OASAM 
or CRC in subparagraph 5(b) of this Order): A claim of privilege may be 
asserted where the Assistant Secretary, OASAM or the Director, CRC has 
determined that disclosure of the privileged matter may: Interfere with 
an investigation or enforcement action taken by OASAM under authority 
delegated or assigned to OASAM in subparagraph 5(a) of this Order; 
adversely affect persons who have provided information to OASAM; or 
deter other persons from reporting violations of the statute or other 
authority.
    (ii) Deliberative Process Privilege (to withhold information which 
may disclose predecisional intra-agency or inter-agency deliberations, 
including: the analysis and evaluation of facts; written summaries of 
factual evidence; and recommendations, opinions or advice on legal or 
policy matters; in cases arising under authority delegated or assigned 
to OASAM in section 5(a) of this Order): A claim of privilege may be 
asserted where the Assistant Secretary, OASAM or the Director, CRC has 
determined that disclosure of the privileged matter would have an 
inhibiting effect on the agency's decision-making processes.
    (iii) Privilege for Investigative Files compiled for law 
enforcement purposes (to withhold information which may reveal OASAM's 
confidential investigative techniques and procedures): The 
investigative files privilege may be asserted where the Assistant 
Secretary, OASAM or the Director, CRC has determined that disclosure of 
the privileged matter may have an adverse impact upon OASAM's 
enforcement of an authority delegated or assigned to OASAM in 
subparagraph 5(a) of this Order, by: Disclosing investigative 
techniques and methodologies; deterring persons from providing 
information to OASAM; prematurely revealing the facts of OASAM's case; 
or disclosing the identities of persons who have provided information 
under an express or implied promise of confidentiality.
    (iv) Prior to filing a formal claim of privilege, the Assistant 
Secretary, OASAM or the Director, CRC shall personally review: All the 
documents sought to be withheld (or, in cases where the volume is so 
large that all of the documents cannot be personally reviewed in a 
reasonable time, an adequate and representative sample of such 
documents); and a description or summary of the litigation in which the 
disclosure is sought.
    (v) In asserting a claim of governmental privilege, the Assistant 
Secretary, OASAM or the Director, CRC shall ask the Solicitor of Labor 
or the Solicitor's representative to file any necessary legal papers or 
documents.
    c. Agency heads are delegated authority and assigned responsibility 
for:
    (1) Promoting and instituting measures to assure that equality of 
opportunity is a reality in all programs or activities financially 
assisted or conducted by their Agencies;
    (2) Assuring that equal opportunity and nondiscrimination 
requirements are incorporated into all regulations, procedures, and 
other guidelines and references covering programs or activities 
financially assisted or conducted by their Agencies; and
    (3) Maintaining close liaison with, and cooperating with, the 
Assistant Secretary, OASAM, and the Director, CRC, in all civil rights 
and equal opportunity matters affecting programs or activities 
financially assisted or conducted by their Agencies.
    d. The Solicitor of Labor shall have the responsibility for 
providing legal advice and assistance to all officers of the Department 
relating to the administration of the statutory provisions, 
regulations, and Executive Orders listed above. The bringing of legal 
proceedings under those authorities, the representation of the 
Secretary and/or other officials of the Department of Labor, and the 
determination of whether such proceedings or representations are 
appropriate in a given case, are delegated exclusively to the 
Solicitor. The authorities established in Secretary's Order 2-90 
concerning the Office of Inspector General and the representation of 
the Inspector General are not affected by this paragraph.
    6. Redelegation and Reassignment. The responsibility herein 
assigned through the Assistant Secretary, OASAM, to the Director, CRC 
by section 5(a) of this Order may be further redelegated and 
reassigned, to the extent permitted by applicable regulations.
    7. Effective Date. This delegation of authority and assignment of 
responsibility shall be effective immediately.

    Dated: November 7, 2000.
Alexis M. Herman,
Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 00-29095 Filed 11-14-00; 8:45 am]
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