Equal Opportunity Policy

Equal Opportunity is the Law under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

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, 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.

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 the:

If you file your complaint with the Middle Georgia Consortium or the Technical College System of Georgia Workforce Division, 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 Middle Georgia Consortium or the Technical System of Georgia, Office of Workforce Development 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 Middle Georgia Consortium or the Technical College System of Georgia gives you written Notice of Final Action on your complaint, but you are dissatisfied with the decision or resolution, you may file a complaint with the CRC. You must file your CRC complaint within 30 days of the date on which you received the Notice of Final Action.

For all other complaints, you may file a complaint within 120 days from the date of the alleged violation with the Middle Georgia Consortium Equal Opportunity Officer as listed above.

In case of suspected fraud, abuse or other alleged criminal activity, you should direct your concerns to Georgia Office of Inspector General, 1-866-435-7644 or email at [email protected]