U.S.

Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division

The Civil Rights Division

U.S. Department of Justice

Table of Contents
6 The Civil Rights Division
8 Fair Housing and Fair Lending
9 Voting Rights
11 Equal Employment Opportunity
13 Public Accommodations
14 Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons
15 Law Enforcement Misconduct and
Discriminatory Policing
17 Educational Opportunities
19 Hate Crimes
20 Human Trafficking
21 Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Clinics
22 Disability Rights
24 Servicemembers’ Rights
25 Religious Discrimination
27 Civil Rights of LGBT Individuals
28 Civil Rights as Human Rights
29 Coordinating Civil Rights Law Enforcement
Across the Federal Government
30 Friend of the Court: Amicus Practice
31 Policy Development
32 Contact Us or File a Complaint
 A Message from
the Assistant Attorney General

From the time of our nation’s founding, Americans

have cherished above all else the promise of equal opportu-
nity and equal justice under the law. The Civil Rights Divi-
sion is the conscience of our country, enforcing laws designed
to give meaning to that enduring promise.

President Barack Obama has made clear that he con-

siders civil rights enforcement a critical priority for his Ad-
ministration, and Attorney General Eric Holder has called the
Civil Rights Division the “crown jewel” of the Department of
Justice. Indeed, the Division has a long and distinguished his-
tory of combating discrimination in all its shapes and forms.
The Division’s dedicated career attorneys, professionals and
support staff work tirelessly to ensure that the Division can
carry out its critical mission of protecting and defending the
civil rights of all individuals.
 America has come a long way in the battle against
bigotry, but we are all too frequently reminded that, in the
words of the late Senator Edward Kennedy, civil rights re-
mains the unfinished business of America. The Civil Rights
Division has a critical role to play in addressing this unfin-
ished business.

Many civil rights challenges have regrettably endured

for decades, while new challenges continue to emerge.   The
Civil Rights Division must address both. Our nation’s vivid,
storied and sometimes heartbreaking past has led to much
progress. We should allow that progress to inspire us to con-
tinue the journey toward equal justice that was started cen-
turies ago, and to continue to pursue America’s promise of
equal opportunity for all.

Thomas E. Perez
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division
The Civil Rights Division is the conscience of the federal
government. Through the enforcement of a wide range of
anti-discrimination laws, the Division gives meaning to our
nation’s promise of equal opportunity. The Division works
to uphold and defend the civil and constitutional rights of
all individuals, particularly some of the most vulnerable
members of our society. The Division enforces federal stat-
utes that prohibit discrimination and provide a remedy for
constitutional violations.

Established by the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the Civil Rights

Division has grown in size and scope over the decades. The
landmark civil rights laws of the 1960s greatly expanded civil
rights protections, as well as the jurisdiction of the Division.
Our statutes aim to protect against discrimination and other
civil rights violations on the basis of race, ethnicity, reli-
gion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity,
family status or disability. They also protect the civil rights of
servicemembers and individuals housed in public institutions.

Over the decades, the Division has been instrumental in

many of our nation’s battles to advance civil rights, from the
desegregation of our nation’s schools to the prosecution of

page 6
hate crimes, from ensuring girls and women have equal
opportunities in schools and the workplace to guaranteeing
that individuals with disabilities can access civic services
to which we all have a right. Today, the Division contin-
ues to combat traditional civil rights violations, while also
addressing new, emerging challenges to equal justice and
equal rights. While litigation is a key tool for the Division,
we have a wide array of tools at our disposal -- litigation,
mediation, regulation and policy development, training and
prevention. Our focus is problem solving.

The Division’s work is carried out by 11 sections, as well

as an Administrative Management section. The Sections
include Appellate, Federal Coordination and Compliance,
Criminal, Disability Rights, Educational Opportunities,
Employment Litigation, Housing and Civil Enforcement,
Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair
Employment Practices, Policy and Strategy, Special Litiga-
tion, and Voting.

The brochure is intended to provide an informational snap-

shot of the exciting and important work of the Civil Rights
Division.

page 7
Fair Housing and Fair Lending
Housing is a basic need, and the ability to access hous-
ing without discrimination is a right to which all people
should have access. In 1968, recognizing the great damage
that housing discrimination can do to individuals, families
and communities, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act to
prohibit discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color,
religion, national origin or sex. The Act was later amended to
include disability and family status, and continues today to be
a critical tool in combating discrimination.

The Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section is

responsible for the Department’s enforcement of the Fair
Housing Act. The Section also enforces the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act, which prohibits creditors, such as banks,
finance companies, retail and department stores, credit card
companies, and credit unions, from discriminating against
credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national
origin, sex, marital status, age, or because an applicant re-
ceives income from a public assistance program or exercises
rights protected under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.

The Division uses these valuable tools to investigate and

combat all types of housing discrimination, including discrim-
ination in rental housing. The Division operates a testing

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program to uncover discrimination. Our testers have fre-
quently uncovered blatant discrimination, such as entities that
refuse to rent to people of certain races or ethnicities.

The Housing and Civil Enforcement Section also has a dedi-

cated Fair Lending Unit. The unit works to ensure that all in-
dividuals have equal access to credit whether for a home, car
or other kind of consumer loan. For more information, visit
www.justice.gov/crt/housing.

Voting Rights
Voting is one of our nation’s most sacred rights, and a hall-
mark of our democracy. On February 3, 1870, the 15th
Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, prohibiting the
federal or state governments from denying or abridging the
right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of
servitude. But because of discriminatory state laws and prac-
tices, the promise of the 15th Amendment would not be fully

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realized until nearly a century later, when Congress passed the
Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Civil Rights Division enforc-
es the Act, which prohibits any voting practices that discrimi-
nate on the basis of race, color or membership in a language
minority group. Under the Act, certain states and counties
are required to have any changes to voting practices or proce-
dures approved by the Attorney General or the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia. The Act also
requires certain jurisdictions with significant populations of
language minority citizens to provide bilingual written materi-
als and other assistance. Other provisions of the Act prohibit
practices that prevent individuals from exercising their right
to vote, such as voter intimidation, or denial of assistance to
voters who have disabilities or are illiterate.

Other laws enforced by the Division aim to make registra-

tion and voting in federal elections easier and more acces-
sible for more people. The National Voter Registration Act,
sometimes known as the “Motor Voter” law, requires states to
allow citizens to register to vote when they apply for or renew
a driver’s license, when they visit offices that provide public
assistance or services for individuals with disabilities, and
through a mail-in application. The Help America Vote Act
requires states to have statewide voter registration databases,
provisional voting, voting system standards (including acces-

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sibility for voters with disabilities and language minority vot-
ers), standards for identifying first time registrants by mail,
and voter information postings in polling places. The Uni-
formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act requires
that states allow military personnel stationed away from
home and their families, as well as civilians residing abroad,
to register and vote absentee. Under amendments to that law
by the 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act,
or the MOVE Act, servicemembers and other overseas voters
may receive their ballots electronically, and ballots must be
sent to them at least 45 days before an election, to make sure
their ballots are received in time to be counted.

For more information on the Division’s voting rights work,

visit www.justice.gov/crt/voting.

Equal Employment Opportunity

At the heart of the American Dream is the ability to earn a
living to support oneself and one’s family. Discrimination in
the workplace can have far-reaching ramifications for vic-
tims. The Civil Rights Division enforces, against state and
local government employers, Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination and
retaliation based on race, color, sex, religion and national

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origin. In addition to suits on behalf of individuals who ex-
perience discrimination, the Division investigates and brings
cases challenging patterns or practices of discrimination.
These cases allow the Division to seek broad relief for many
victims, and to help change discriminatory policies in the
workplace. To learn more, visit www.justice.gov/crt/emp.

Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of

2008 (GINA) prohibits employers from using genetic infor-
mation in making employment decisions, restricts the acquisi-
tion of genetic information by employers and other entitites
covered by Title II, and strictly limits the disclosure of genetic
information. The Disability Rights Section enforces Title II
of GINA against state and local government employers.

Additionally, through its Office of Special Counsel for

Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC),
the Division enforces the anti-discrimination provision of
the Immigration and Nationality Act. This statute prohibits
discrimination on the basis of citizenship or immigration
status in hiring, firing, and recruitment or referral for a fee,
by employers with four or more employees. Employers may
not treat individuals differently because they are (or are not)
U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens and nationals, recent permanent
residents, asylees and refugees are protected from citizenship

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status discrimination. The statute also prohibits national ori-
gin discrimination and unfair documentary practices related
to verifying the employment eligibility of employees. The
OSC conducts a nationwide public education campaign to
teach workers, employers and concerned organizations about

the statute, and about their rights and responsibilities. An es-

sential component of the Section’s outreach includes its grant
program. Each year, OSC awards grants to organizations to
assist it in educating workers and employers in areas with
sizable and/or emerging immigrant populations about their
rights and responsibilities under the anti-discrimination pro-
vision. For more information, visit www.justice.gov/crt/osc.

Public Accommodations
Prior to passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many busi-
nesses and facilities that held themselves out as open to the
public were actually closed to African Americans due to

page 13
segregation. Lunch counters, movie theaters, hotels and other
places were often off limits to African American customers.
Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made discrimina-
tion because of race, color, religion, or national origin illegal
in certain places of public accommodation, such as hotels,
restaurants, and places of entertainment. The Division’s Hous-
ing and Civil Enforcement Section can enforce this provision
when there has been a pattern or practice of discrimination at a
place of public accommodation. Individuals can also file suit
if they believe their rights under this law have been violated.
For more information, visit www.justice.gov/crt/housing.

Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons

Individuals confined in institutions are often among the most
vulnerable in our society. The Civil Rights of Institutional-
ized Persons Act of 1980 (CRIPA), gives the Attorney Gen-
eral the authority to investigate conditions at certain institu-
tions operated by state and local governments, including
facilities for individuals with psychiatric or developmental
disabilities, nursing homes, juvenile correctional facilities,
and adult jails and prisons.

In its enforcement of CRIPA, the Division investigates

conditions in public residential facilities. In institutions for
people with disabilities, the Division also examines whether

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the residents are properly confined to the institution in the
first place. If a pattern or practice of unlawful conditions
deprives individuals confined in the facilities of their
constitutional or federal statutory rights, the Division
can negotiate a settlement and provide technical assis-
tance to help jurisdictions correct deficient conditions. If
conditions cannot be addressed through negotiations and
technical assistance, the Division may file a lawsuit to
challenge them.

For more information about the Division’s work to pro-

tect the rights of individuals confined in institutions, visit
www.justice.gov/crt/split.

Law Enforcement Misconduct and

Discriminatory Policing

Law enforcement officials in our states, counties, cities and

towns put their lives on the line every day to protect public
safety. But when officers abuse their power and deprive,
or conspire to deprive an individual of rights granted under
the Constitution or federal law, or when systemic civil
rights or constitutional problems emerge in a police depart-
ment, the Civil Rights Division has a number of statutory
tools at its disposal.

The Criminal Section uses an array of criminal statutes to

prosecute law enforcement officials who knowingly abuse
their authority and deprive individuals of their constitu-

page 15
tional rights. Such acts of misconduct, known as acts commit-
ted under “color of law,” can include excessive force, sexual
assault, intentional false arrests, or the intentional fabrication
of evidence. For more information, visit www.justice.gov/crt/
crim.

The Division also has the authority to investigate and file a civ-
il suit if a law enforcement agency has engaged in a pattern or
practice of misconduct that deprives individuals of their rights.
This could include a pattern or practice of, among other things,
excessive force, discriminatory harassment, false arrests, coer-
cive sexual conduct, and unlawful stops or searches. The Divi-
sion’s Special Litigation Section has the authority to initiate
civil litigation to remedy a pattern or practice of discrimination
based on race, color, national origin, gender or religion involv-
ing services by law enforcement agencies receiving federal
financial assistance. A landmark consent decree with the Los
Angeles Police Department provided a critical blueprint for
reform, and is a prime example of how the Division’s pattern
and practice authority can be used to improve public safety and
increase public confidence in law enforcement. To learn more,
visit www.justice.gov/crt/split.

The Division’s Federal Coordination and Compliance Section

enforces a number of provisions of federal law, including Title
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which require recipients of

page 16
federal financial assistance, which often include law enforce-
ment agencies, to ensure that they do not discriminate in the
administration of their programs. Using this authority, the
Section has worked with a number of law enforcement agen-
cies to ensure, for instance, that their services are accessible to
people with limited English proficiency, and that they do not
discriminate in the performance of their duties on the basis of
race, color or national origin.

Educational Opportunities

More than 55 years ago, in its landmark

decision in Brown v. Board of Education,
the Supreme Court held that the inten-
tional segregation of students on the basis
of race in public schools violates the
Fourteenth Amendment to the U. S. Con-
stitution. Subsequent federal legislation and court decisions
also mandate that school officials not discriminate against
students on the basis of race, national origin, sex, language
barrier, religion, or disabilities. The Civil Rights Division,
through its Educational Opportunities Section, enforces these
statutes and court decisions in a diverse array of cases involv-
ing elementary and secondary schools and institutions of
higher education.

To ensure equal educational opportunities for all students,

the Division monitors and continues to seek further relief
in approximately 200 school districts that had a history of

page 17
segregation and remain under court supervision. The Division
also carries out investigations to ensure that school districts
are providing limited English proficient students with appro-
priate services to overcome their language barriers, as well as
monitors existing court orders and settlement agreements with
school districts concerning their language acquisition obliga-

tions. Moreover, each year, in both elementary and secondary

schools, as well as public colleges and universities, the Divi-
sion investigates allegations of discrimination and harassment
based on race, national origin, sex, religion, and disabili-
ty. The Division also may bring new cases and may intervene
in private suits alleging violations of education-related anti-
discrimination statutes and the Fourteenth Amendment to the
Constitution. For more information, visit
www.justice.gov/crt/edo.

page 18
Hate Crimes
Hate crimes enforcement has been a core component of the
Division’s mission since its inception. The Division’s Crimi-
nal Section, working in concert with U.S. Attorneys’ offices
across the nation, prosecutes hate crimes. Today, despite
great progress for civil rights, these crimes continue in com-
munities nationwide, and the Division remains vigilant in its
efforts to bring those who practice hate-fueled violence to
justice.

Historically, the prosecutions have involved a number of

statutes and have focused on violent acts committed because
of someone’s race, color, religion or ethnicity. Recently,
Congress recognized the need to adjust the hate crime laws to
protect additional classes of people, and passed the Matthew
Shepard and James Byrd Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of
2009, which extended protections to victims of crimes com-
mitted based on a person’s actual or perceived sexual orienta-
tion, gender identity or disability.

In 2007, Congress passed the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil

Rights Crime Act, which instructed the Division and the FBI
to investigate unsolved, racially-motivated crimes from the
Civil Rights Era. These crimes are a great blemish on our
nation’s history, and the Division is committed to actively
investigating these incidents in a continuing effort to bring
perpetrators to justice, and to bring closure to families and
communities.

page 19
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terror-
ist attacks, Arab, Muslim, Sikh, and South-Asian Americans,
and those perceived to be members of these groups, have been
the victims of increased numbers of bias-related assaults,
threats, vandalism and arson. Reducing the incidence of such
attacks, and ensuring that the perpetrators are brought to jus-
tice, remains a Civil Rights Division priority. The Church Ar-
son Prevention Act, passed in 1996, made it a crime to deface,
damage, or destroy religious property, or to interfere with a
person’s religious practice, in situations affecting interstate
commerce. The Act also bars defacing, damaging, or destroy-
ing religious property because of the race, color, or ethnicity
of persons associated with the property.

To learn more about hate crimes and the Division’s

prosecutions, visit www.justice.gov/crt/crim.

Human Trafficking
Most Americans can’t imagine that modern-day slavery ex-
ists in their own communities. But human trafficking is a
very real and growing problem, and the Civil Rights Division
works to prosecute trafficking using a combination of stat-
utes passed during Reconstruction and statutes passed during
the modern era. The Reconstruction-Era statutes criminalize

page 20
slavery, involuntary servitude, and peonage. These statutes
apply whenever labor is compelled through physical force,
restraint, threats of physical force, or threats of incarceration.
The modern statutes criminalize obtaining labor, services,
or commercial sex acts through a broader range of coercive
practices such as starvation, coercive threats of deportation,
or threats of physical harm to a relative or friend.

Together, the human trafficking statutes forbid compelling

or coercing labor, services, or commercial sex acts from a
victim or attempting to do so. The coercion can be subtle
or overt, physical or psychological. In addition to prosecu-
tions, Division attorneys participate in training and outreach
programs both in the United States and overseas to provide
expertise and assistance to law enforcement personnel, com-
munity groups, victim service providers, immigrants’ rights
organizations and others to combat human trafficking. To
learn more, visit www.justice.gov/crt/crim.

Protecting Access to Reproductive

Health Clinics
The Division enforces the criminal and civil provisions of
the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. This
critical law protects the rights of people to use the services of
reproductive health clinics free from interference. The Divi-
sion’s Criminal Section enforces the criminal provisions of
the FACE Act, and has been involved in the investigation of
some of the most heinous acts of violence directed at clinics.

page 21
The Special Litigation Section enforces the law’s civil provi-
sions, which often involve efforts to interfere with a victim’s
ability to enter the facility. For more information, visit the
Division’s Web site, www.justice.gov/crt.

Disability Rights
Individuals with disabilities have long faced great barriers
to full participation in civic life. The Civil Rights Division
works to protect the rights of persons with disabilities in a
wide variety of ways, and a majority of the Division’s sec-
tions have a role in protecting Americans with disabilities.

The Division’s Disability Rights Section protects the rights of

individuals with disabilities by enforcing the Americans
with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the
basis of disability in more than seven million places of public
accommodation nationwide, including all hotels, restaurants,
retail stores, theaters, health care facilities, convention cen-
ters, parks and places of recreation, as well as in all operations
of state and local governments and in employment decisions
made by employers with 15 or more employees. The Section
also enforces Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which
requires that individuals with disabilities cannot be excluded
from any program or service that receives federal funding.

page 22
In addition to the Disability Rights Section, other sections
protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in the fol-
lowing ways:

• The Housing and Civil En-

forcement Section enforces
provisions of the Fair Hous-
ing Act requiring that certain
dwellings be accessible to
individuals with disabilities.

• The Educational Opportu-

nities Section ensures that
students with disabilities have
access to equal educational opportunities.

• The Voting Section protects access to the ballot for per-

sons with disabilities.

• The Criminal Section prosecutes hate crimes targeted at

people with disabilities.

• The Special Litigation Section works to protect the rights

of persons with disabilities who reside in institutions, and
to enforce the landmark Olmstead v. L.C. decision, which
determined that individuals with disabilities have the
right to be provided services in the most integrated com-
munity setting possible.

For more information about disability rights, visit

www.justice.gov/crt or www.ada.gov.

page 23
Servicemembers’ Rights
Several of the statutes under the Division’s jurisdiction ap-
ply specifically to the rights of members of the military or
veterans. The Division has the authority to protect the civil-
ian employment rights
of servicemembers and
veterans under the Uni-
formed Services Employ-
ment and Reemployment
Rights Act of 1994.
Known as USERRA, the
law prohibits discrimina-
tion and retaliation based
on military service and
requires, among other
things, that employers put
individuals back to work
in their civilian jobs following military service under speci-
fied conditions. For more information about enforcement of
employment rights, visit www.justice.gov/crt/emp or www.
justice.gov/crt/military.
The Division also enforces the Servicemembers Civil Relief
Act, which protects military personnel from judicial and ad-
ministrative proceedings, and provides additional protections

page 24
in areas such as housing, credit and taxes, while they are on
active duty. It covers issues such as rental agreements, se-
curity deposits, prepaid rent, eviction, installment contracts,
credit card interest rates, mortgage interest rates, mortgage
foreclosure, civil judicial proceedings, automobile leases, life
insurance, health insurance and income tax payments.

Meanwhile, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee

Voting Act (UOCAVA) requires states to allow members of
the armed forces serving overseas, as well as other United
States Citizens living abroad, to vote by absentee ballot in
federal elections. The Civil Rights Division has the authority
to bring an enforcement action if a state does not satisfy its
responsibility under the law. For more information, visit
www.justice.gov/crt/voting/misc/activ_uoc.php.

Religious Discrimination
While many of the Division’s civil rights statutes protect
individuals from discrimination based on religion, in addition
to race, national origin and other factors, there are certain
efforts that apply specifically to religious freedom. The land-
use provisions of Religious Land Use and Institutionalized
Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) protect the religious exercise
of religious assemblies and institutions in the context of local
zoning and landmarking laws. These provisions prohibit lo-
cal governments from taking actions, such as denying per-
mits to build or expand places of worship, that substantially
burden religious exercise without sufficient justification.

page 25
RLUIPA’s land use provisions
also prohibit discrimination
against particular religions,
discrimination against reli-
gious assemblies and insti-
tutions where comparable
secular assemblies and insti-
tutions are permitted, as well
as government actions that
totally or unreasonably exclude religious assemblies and insti-
tutions from a jurisdiction. For more information, visit
www.justice.gov/crt/housing/rluipaexplain.php.

RLUIPA also protects the right of individuals confined in in-

stitutions, including facilities for individuals who are mentally
ill and developmentally disabled, nursing homes, juvenile
correctional facilities, and adult jails and prisons, to practice
their religion. State and local governments are prohibited
from substantially burdening the religious exercise of an
institutionalized person without sufficient justification. The
Department of Justice is authorized to investigate violations
of RLUIPA and to file civil lawsuits. This provision of RLU-
IPA is enforced by the Special Litigation Section, which can
be found online at www.justice.gov/crt/split.

page 26
Civil Rights of LGBT Individuals
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes
Prevention Act, passed in 2009, for the first time allows for
federal prosecution of violence undertaken because of the ac-
tual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender,
or disability of any person. Statistics gathered by the FBI
over the past decade confirm that we have a significant hate
crimes problem in this country and that lesbian, gay, bisexual
or transgender (LGBT) individuals constitute a substantial
proportion of the victims of such crimes. The Civil Rights
Division is committed to aggressive enforcement of this land-
mark law, and actively engages in outreach to federal, state
and local law enforcement, and community stakeholders, to
educate them about the new law.

In addition, the Division has a working group of career attor-

neys to advise the Division’s leadership on legal and policy
issues relating to the rights of LGBT individuals, to deter-
mine ways in which discrimination experienced by LGBT in-
dividuals might be addressed under existing civil rights laws,
and to identify appropriate cases in which the Division could
participate as a party or amicus curiae to address these mat-
ters. For example, the Division, using Title IX of the Educa-
tion Amendments of 1972, sought to intervene in a lawsuit
brought on behalf of a gay teenager who did not conform to
gender stereotypes and was verbally and physically harassed
by his peers. The school district’s alleged failure to act to
stop the harassment violates Title IX’s prohibition against

page 27
discrimination on the basis of sex or sex stereotyping as well
as the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The
case resulted in a settlement that provides for the development
and dissemination of district discrimination and harassment
policies and procedures, as well as appropriate training of
school personnel and students to ensure that every student can
go to school without fear of being harassed because of who
they are.

Civil Rights as Human Rights

It is important to remember that the United States is part of a
global community, and that we must be a leader in advancing
human rights so that we can set an example for other na-
tions. In addition to its role as the entity that enforces many

page 28
of our nation’s civil rights laws, the Division also has a role
to play in ensuring the domestic implementation of inter-
national human rights treaties that have been ratified by the
U.S. Government. While the State Department takes the lead
in working with other nations, that Department relies on the
Civil Rights Division to provide expertise on how those hu-
man rights obligations are protected at home.

Coordinating Civil Rights Law Enforcement

across the Federal Government

The Division’s Federal Coordination and Compliance Sec-

tion has the critical mission of ensuring that Federal agencies
and all programs that receive federal funding comply with
civil rights laws. The Section is responsible for coordinating
the enforcement by federal agencies of Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the ba-
sis of race, color, or national origin in programs that receive
federal financial assistance; as well as Title IX of the Educa-
tion Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimina-
tion in federally-assisted educational programs. The Division
works closely with other federal agencies to ensure compli-
ance with these and other non-discrimination obligations, and
also provides technical assistance and training. The Section’s
mission includes ensuring individuals who are limited Eng-
lish proficient can access all federal and federally-funded pro-
grams. For more information, visit www.justice.gov/crt/fcs.

page 29
Friend of the Court: Amicus Practice

In addition to handling a robust docket of criminal and civil

appeals in cases litigated by our trial sections, the Division’s
Appellate Section spearheads an amicus, or friend of the
court, practice that allows the Division to weigh in on a va-
riety of critical civil rights-related legal issues by filing legal
briefs in relevant cases. For instance, under the Americans
with Disabilities Act, the Division works to enforce the land-
mark Olmstead v. L.C. decision, which requires that individu-
als with disabilities be provided services in the most inte-
grated setting appropriate to their needs. In this context, the
Division brings cases where public entities are not fulfilling
their obligations to provide community-based services, but the
Division also has made a concerted effort to participate in pri-
vate cases by filing amicus briefs when the Division’s exper-
tise might help inform a court’s decision. Participating in this
way allows the Division to share with the courts its expertise
on civil rights issues in cases where that expertise might be
helpful. More information about the Appellate Section’s work
can be found at www.justice.gov/crt/app.

page 30
Policy Development

The Division also plays an important role in a wide array of

Department-wide and government-wide policy discussions.
The Policy and Strategy Section supports and coordinates
the policy work of the Division, providing a focal point for
proactive policy development and legislative proposals.
These include the development and analysis of policy matters
relating to the Division’s enforcement authority, the pursuit
of legislative and regulatory priorities, and the development
of a sustained relationship with the Civil Rights and Program
Offices in other federal agencies. For instance, the Divi-
sion continues to play an active role in securing passage of
the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, which would ban
discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orien-
tation or gender identity. The new Section also reports on the
policy and enforcement initiatives of the Division through
ongoing analyses and assessments that are memorialized and
disseminated through reports, strategy documents and
outreach.

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Contact Us or File a Complaint:
The Division offers e-mail updates on our work in a variety of
areas. If you are interested in signing up to receive updates,
visit our website, at www.justice.gov/crt.

Employment
For information about filing a charge of employment
discrimination, visit the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission online at www.eeoc.gov, or call the EEOC at
(800) 669-4000.

For discrimination because of citizenship or national origin

status, the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related
Unfair Employment Practices operates a hotline for workers,
at (800) 255-7688 [Voice] or (800) 237-2515 [TTY], and one
for employers at (800) 255-8155 [Voice] or
(800) 362-2735 [TTY].

Housing and Lending

If you believe you have been the victim of housing
discrimination, you can file a complaint with the Department
of Housing and Urban Development. Call (800) 669-9777 or
visit www.HUD.gov.

If you have information about a pattern or practice of housing

discrimination, you can call the Housing Discrimination tip
line at (800) 896-7743, or e-mail fairhousing@usdoj.gov.

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If you believe you have been the victim of discrimination in
a credit transaction, visit www.justice.gov/crt/housing/file.
php for information about how to file a complaint with the
appropriate agency.

Voting
For more information about the Civil Rights Division’s
voting rights work, call (800) 253-3931.

Education
If you believe you have been discriminated against in
the educational context, please contact the Educational
Opportunities Section at (202) 514-4092 or
(877) 292-3804

Hate Crimes
To report a hate crime, visit the FBI online at www.fbi.
gov/contact/fo/fo.htm to find your local field office. If you
are unable to locate your local office, a complaint can be
submitted in writing directly to the Criminal Section at the
following address:
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Criminal Section, PHB
Washington, D.C. 20530

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Human Trafficking
The Division’s Criminal Section oversees a national, toll-free
telephone complaint line to enable victims and others to report
possible trafficking and worker exploitation abuses:
(888) 428-7581.

Disability Rights
For more information about the Civil Rights Division’s
Disability Rights work and the Americans with Disabilities
Act call (800) 514-0301 [Voice] or (800) 514-0383 [TTY].

Servicemembers
To file a complaint under USERRA, contact your nearest
Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) office,
which you can locate by visiting www.dol.gov/vets/aboutvets/
contacts/main.htm.

For concerns related to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act,

servicemembers can find the nearest Armed Forces Legal
Assistance Program Office at legalassistance.law.af.mil/
content/locator.php.

Religious Land Use

If you know of a violation of RLUIPA, you can contact the
Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at
(800) 896-7743.

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Amicus Practice and Appeals
The Division’s Appellate Section can be reached at
(202) 514-2195.

Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons

For more information about the Division’s work under the
Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, contact the
Special Litigation Section at (202) 514-6255, or toll free at
(877) 218-5228.

Police Misconduct
For more information about the Division’s work to
investigate patterns or practices of law enforcement
misconduct, contact the Special Litigation Section at (202)
514-6255, or toll free at (877) 218-5228.

Access to Reproductive Health Clinics

For more information about the Freedom of Access to Clinic
Entrances (FACE) Act and the Division’s work to enforce the
Act, contact the Division at (202) 514-6255, or toll free at
(877) 218-5228.

Religious Discrimination in Institutions

For more information about the Division’s work to protect
against religious discrimination in institutions, contact the
Special Litigation Section at (202) 514-6255, or toll free at
(877) 218-5228.

page 35
Photo on page 24 courtesy of Disability Rights
Advocates for Technology (DRAFT), taken at a DRAFT-
sponsored event for wounded warriors in San Antonio,
Texas, November 2008.

For persons with disabilities, this publication is

available in large print, Braille, and on computer disk.

Reproduction of this publication is encouraged.

September 2010

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Notes

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