PART 6—NONDISCRIMINATION IN PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES RECEIVING ASSISTANCE UNDER TITLE I OF THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1974 Authority: 42 U.S.C. 3535(d) 42 U.S.C. 5309. Source: 64 FR 3797, Jan. 25, 1999, unless otherwise noted. Subpart A—General Provisions § 6.1 Purpose. The purpose of this part is to implement the provisions of section 109 of title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (Title I) (42 U.S.C. 5309). Section 109 provides that no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity funded in whole or in part with Federal financial assistance. Section 109 does not directly prohibit discrimination on the bases of age or disability, and the regulations in this part 6 do not apply to age or disability discrimination in Title I programs. Instead, section 109 directs that the prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of age under the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101-6107) (Age Discrimination Act) and the prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of disability under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) (Section 504) apply to programs or activities funded in whole or in part with Federal financial assistance. Thus, the regulations of 24 CFR part 8, which implement Section 504 for HUD programs, and the regulations of 24 CFR part 146, which implement the Age Discrimination Act for HUD programs, apply to disability and age discrimination in Title I programs. § 6.2 Applicability. (a) This part applies to any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, including Community Development Block Grants—Entitlement, State and HUD-Administered Small Cities, and Section 108 Loan Guarantees; Urban Development Action Grants; Economic Development Initiative Grants; and Special Purpose Grants. (b) The provisions of this part and sections 104(b)(2) and 109 of Title I that relate to discrimination on the basis of race shall not apply to the provision of Federal financial assistance by grantees under this title to the Hawaiian Homelands (42 U.S.C. 5309). (c) The provisions of this part and sections 104(b)(2) and 109 of Title I that relate to discrimination on the basis of race and national origin shall not apply to the provision of Federal financial assistance to grant recipients under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (25 U.S.C. 4101). See also, 24 CFR 1003.601(a). § 6.3 Definitions. The terms Department, HUD, Secretary Act Assistant Secretary Award Official Complete complaint Federal financial assistance (i) Funds; (ii) Services of Federal personnel; or (iii) Real or personal property or any interest in or use of such property, including: (A) Transfers or leases of the property for less than fair market value or for reduced consideration; and (B) Proceeds from a subsequent transfer or lease of the property if the Federal share of its fair market value is not returned to the Federal Government. (2) Any assistance in the form of proceeds from loans guaranteed under section 108 of the Act, but does not include assistance made available through direct Federal procurement contracts or any other contract of insurance or guaranty. Program or activity (funded in whole or in part) (1)(i) A department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State or local government; or (ii) The entity of a State or local government that distributes Federal financial assistance, and each department or agency (and each State or local government entity) to which the assistance is extended, in the case of assistance to a State or local government; (2)(i) A college, university, or other post-secondary institution, or a public system of higher education; or (ii) A local educational agency (as defined in section 198(a)(10) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965), system of vocational education or other school system; (3)(i) An entire corporation, partnership, or other private organization, or an entire sole proprietorship— (A) If assistance is extended to the corporation, partnership, private organization, or sole proprietorship as a whole; or (B) Which is principally engaged in the business of providing education, health care, housing, social services, or parks and recreation; or (ii) The entire plant or other comparable, geographically separate facility to which Federal financial assistance is extended, in the case of any other corporation, partnership, private organization, or sole proprietorship; or (4) Any other entity that is described in paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of this definition, any part of which is extended Federal financial assistance. Recipient Responsible Official Section 109 Title I § 6.4 Discrimination prohibited. (a) Section 109 requires that no person in the United States shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity funded in whole or in part with Federal financial assistance, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex. (1) A Recipient under any program or activity to which this part applies may not, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, take any of the following actions on the grounds of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex: (i) Deny any individual any facilities, services, financial aid, or other benefits provided under the program or activity; (ii) Provide any facilities, services, financial aid, or other benefits that are different, or are provided in a different form, from that provided to others under the program or activity; (iii) Subject an individual to segregated or separate treatment in any facility, or in any matter of process related to the receipt of any service or benefit under the program or activity; (iv) Restrict an individual's access to, or enjoyment of, any advantage or privilege enjoyed by others in connection with facilities, services, financial aid or other benefits under the program or activity; (v) Treat an individual differently from others in determining whether the individual satisfies any admission, enrollment, eligibility, membership, or other requirements or conditions that the individual must meet in order to be provided any facilities, services, or other benefit provided under the program or activity; (vi) Deny an individual an opportunity to participate in a program or activity as an employee; (vii) Aid or otherwise perpetuate discrimination against an individual by providing Federal financial assistance to an agency, organization, or person that discriminates in providing any housing, aid, benefit, or service; (viii) Otherwise limit an individual in the enjoyment of any right, privilege, advantage, or opportunity enjoyed by other individuals receiving the housing, aid, benefit, or service; (ix) Use criteria or methods of administration that have the effect of subjecting persons to discrimination or have the effect of defeating or substantially impairing accomplishment of the objectives of the program or activity with respect to persons of a particular race, color, national origin, religion, or sex; or (x) Deny a person the opportunity to participate as a member of planning or advisory boards. (2) In determining the site or location of housing, accommodations, or facilities, a Recipient may not make selections that have the effect of excluding persons from, denying them the benefits of, or subjecting them to discrimination on the ground of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex. The Recipient may not make selections that have the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing the accomplishment of the objectives of section 109 and of this part 6. (3)(i) In administering a program or activity in which the Recipient has discriminated on the grounds of race, color, national origin, religion or sex, the Recipient must take any necessary steps to overcome the effects of prior discrimination. (ii) In the absence of discrimination, a Recipient, in administering a program or activity, may take any steps necessary to overcome the effects of conditions that resulted in limiting participation by persons of a particular race, color, national origin, religion, or sex. (iii) After a finding of noncompliance, or after a Recipient has reasonable cause to believe that discrimination has occurred, a Recipient shall not be prohibited by this section from taking any action eligible under subpart C of 24 CFR part 570 to ameliorate an imbalance in benefits, services or facilities provided to any geographic area or specific group of persons within its jurisdiction, where the purpose of such action is to remedy discriminatory practices or usage. (iv)(A) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this part, nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit any Recipient from maintaining or constructing separate living facilities or restroom facilities for the different sexes in order to protect personal privacy or modesty concerns. Furthermore, selectivity on the basis of sex is not prohibited when institutional or custodial services can, in the interest of personal privacy or modesty, only be performed by a member of the same sex as those receiving the services. (B) Section 109 of the Act does not directly prohibit discrimination on the basis of age or disability, but directs that the prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of age under the Age Discrimination Act and the prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of disability under Section 504 apply to Title I programs and activities. Accordingly, for programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance, the regulations in this part 6 apply to discrimination on the bases of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex; the regulations at 24 CFR part 8 apply to discrimination on the basis of disability; and the regulations at 24 CFR part 146 apply to discrimination on the basis of age. (b) [Reserved] § 6.5 Discrimination prohibited—employment. (a) General. (b) Determination of compliance status. § 6.6 Records to be maintained. (a) General. (b) Employment. (c) Recipients shall make available such records and any supporting documentation upon request of the Responsible Official. (Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control numbers 2506-0117 and 2506-0077) Subpart B—Enforcement § 6.10 Compliance information. (a) Cooperation and assistance. (b) Access to data and other sources of information. (c) Compliance data. (d) Notification to employees, beneficiaries, and participants. § 6.11 Conduct of investigations. (a) Filing a complaint Who may file. (2) Confidentiality. (3) When to file. (4) Where to file complaints. (5) Content of complaints. (6) Amendments to complaints. (7) Notification. (8) Resolution of complaints. (i) Findings of fact and a finding of compliance or noncompliance; (ii) A description of an appropriate remedy for each violation believed to exist; and (iii) A notice of the right of the Recipient and the complainant to request a review of the letter of findings by the Responsible Official. A copy of the final investigative report will be made available upon request. (b) Compliance reviews Periodic compliance reviews. (2) Time period of the review. (ii) For the Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) program, the compliance review is applicable only to UDAG loan repayments or other payments or revenues classified as program income. UDAG repayments or other payments or revenues classified as miscellaneous revenue are not subject to compliance review under this part. ( See (iii) For the State and HUD-Administered Small Cities programs, the compliance review will cover the four years before the date of the review. (iv) For all other programs, the time period covered by the review will be four years before the date of the review. (v) On a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the Responsible Official, the above time frames for review can be expanded where facts or allegations warrant further investigation. (3) Early compliance resolution. (4) Notification of findings. (ii) Letter of findings. (c) Right to a review of the letter of findings. (2) The Responsible Official will send by certified mail, return receipt requested, a copy of the request for review to all parties. Parties other than the party requesting review and HUD shall have 20 days from receipt to respond to the request for review. (3) The Responsible Official will either sustain or modify the letter of findings or require that further investigation be conducted, within 60 days of the request for review. The Responsible Official's decision shall constitute the formal determination of compliance or noncompliance. (4) If no party requests that the letter of findings be reviewed, the Responsible Official, within 14 calendar days of the expiration of the time period in paragraph (a)(9)(i) of this section, will send a formal written determination of compliance or noncompliance to all parties. (d) Voluntary compliance time limits. (e) Informal resolution/voluntary compliance General. (2) Objectives of informal resolution/voluntary compliance. (3) Right to file a private civil action. (f) Intimidatory or retaliatory acts prohibited. § 6.12 Procedure for effecting compliance. (a) Whenever the Assistant Secretary determines that a Recipient of Federal financial assistance has failed to comply with Section 109(a) or this part and voluntary compliance efforts have failed, the Secretary will notify the Governor of the State or the Chief Executive Officer of the unit of general local government of the findings of noncompliance and will request that the Governor or the Chief Executive Officer secure compliance. If within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 60 days, the Governor or the Chief Executive Officer fails or refuses to secure compliance, the Secretary will: (1) Refer the matter to the Attorney General with a recommendation that an appropriate civil action be instituted; (2) Exercise the powers and functions provided by Title VI; (3) Terminate or reduce payments under Title I, or limit the availability of payments under Title I to programs or activities not affected by the failure to comply; or (4) Take such other actions as may be provided by law, including, but not limited to, the initiation of proceedings under 2 CFR part 2424 or any applicable proceeding under State or local law. (b) Termination, reduction, or limitation of the availability of Title I payments. (1) The Secretary has notified the Governor of the State or the Chief Executive Officer of the unit of general local government of the Recipient's failure to comply in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section and of the termination, reduction or limitation of the availability of Title I payments to be taken; (2) The Secretary has determined that compliance cannot be secured by voluntary means; (3) The Recipient has been extended an opportunity for a hearing in accordance with § 6.13(a); and (4) A final agency notice or decision has been rendered in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section or 24 CFR part 180. (c) If a Recipient does not respond to the notice of opportunity for a hearing or does not elect to proceed with a hearing within 20 days of the issuance of the Secretary's actions listed in paragraphs (b)(1), (2) and (3) of this section, then the Secretary's approval of the termination, reduction or limitation of the availability of Title I payments is considered a final agency notice and the Recipient may seek judicial review in accordance with section 111(c) of the Act. [64 FR 3797, Jan. 25, 1999, as amended at 72 FR 73491, Dec. 27, 2007] § 6.13 Hearings and appeals. (a) When a Recipient requests an opportunity for a hearing, in accordance with § 6.12(b)(3), the General Counsel will follow the notification procedures set forth in 24 CFR 180.415. The hearing, and any petition for review, will be conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in 24 CFR part 180. (b) After a hearing is held and a final agency decision is rendered under 24 CFR part 180, the Recipient may seek judicial review in accordance with section 111(c) of the Act.