20 C.F.R. Subpart E—Grievances Procedures at the State and Local Level
Title 20 - Employees' Benefits
(a) General. This subpart establishes the procedures which apply to the handling of noncriminal complaints under the Act at the Governor, the SDA, and the SSG levels. Nothing contained in this subpart shall be deemed to prejudice the separate exercise of other legal rights in pursuit of remedies and sanctions available outside the Act. (b) Handling of discrimination complaints. Complaints of discrimination pursuant to section 167(a) of the Act shall be handled under 29 CFR part 34. (c) Complaints and reports of criminal fraud, waste, and abuse. Information and complaints involving criminal fraud, waste, abuse or other criminal activity shall be reported through the Department's Incident Reporting System, directly and immediately to the DOL Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room S5514, Washington, DC 20210, or to the corresponding Regional Inspector General for Investigations, with a copy simultaneously provided to the Employment and Training Administration. The Hotline number is 1–800–347–3756. Other complaints of a noncriminal nature will continue to be handled under the procedures set forth in this part, subparts E and F, and through the Department's Incident Reporting System. (d) Non-JTPA remedies. Whenever any person, organization, or agency believes that a recipient, an SDA, an SSG, or other subrecipient has engaged in conduct that violates the Act and that such conduct also violates a Federal statute other than JTPA, or a State or local law, that person, organization, or agency may, with respect to the non-JTPA cause of action, institute a civil action or pursue other remedies authorized under such other Federal, State, or local law against the recipient, the SDA, the SSG, or other subrecipient, without first exhausting the remedies in this subpart. Nothing in the Act or this chapter shall: (1) Allow any person or organization to file a suit which alleges a violation of JTPA or regulations promulgated thereunder without first exhausting the administrative remedies described in this subpart; or (2) Be construed to create a private right of action with respect to alleged violations of JTPA or the regulations promulgated thereunder. (a)(1) Each recipient shall maintain a recipient-level grievance procedure and shall ensure the establishment of procedures at the SDA level and the SSG level for resolving any complaint alleging a violation of the Act, regulations promulgated thereunder, grants, or other agreements under the Act. The procedures shall include procedures for handling complaints and grievances arising in connection with JTPA programs operated by each SDA, SSG, and subrecipient under the Act (section 144(a)). (2) The procedures described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section shall also provide for resolution of complaints arising from actions taken by the recipient with respect to investigations or monitoring reports. (b) The recipient's grievance hearing procedure shall require written notice to interested parties of the date, time, and place of the hearing; an opportunity to present evidence; and a written decision. For matters under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, the notice of hearing shall indicate the nature of the violation(s) which the hearing covers. (a) Each SDA and SSG, pursuant to guidelines established by the recipient, shall establish procedures for resolving complaints and grievances arising in connection with JTPA programs operated by the SDA, the SSG, and other subrecipients under the Act. The procedures also shall provide for resolution of complaints arising from actions taken by the SDA or the SSG with respect to investigations or monitoring reports of their subgrantees, contractors, and other subrecipients (section 144(a)). (b) Each SDA and SSG grievance hearing procedure shall include written notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing; an opportunity to present evidence; a written decision; and a notice of appeal rights. (c) The SDA and SSG procedures shall provide for a decision within 60 days of the filing of the complaint. (a) If a complainant does not receive a decision at the SDA or the SSG level within 60 days of filing the complaint or receives a decision unsatisfactory to the complainant, the complainant shall have the right to request a review of the complaint by the recipient. The recipient shall issue a decision within 30 days of receipt of the complaint. (b) The recipient shall also provide for an independent review, by a reviewer who is independent of the JTPA program, of a complaint initially filed at the recipient level on which a decision was not issued within 60 days of receipt of a complaint or on which the complainant has received an adverse decision. A decision shall be made within 30 days of receipt by the recipient. (c) A request for review under the provisions of paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section shall be filed within 10 days of receipt of the adverse decision or, if no timely decision is rendered, within 15 days from the date on which the complainant should have received a timely decision. (d) With the exception of complaints alleging violations of the labor standards under section 143 of the Act, the recipient's decision is final unless the Secretary exercises the authority for Federal-level review in accordance with the provisions at §627.601 of this part, Complaints and grievances at the Federal level. Complaints alleging violations of section 143 of the Act shall be handled under the procedures set forth at §627.603 of this part, special handling of labor standards violations under section 143. (a) Recipients, SDA's, SSG's, and other subrecipients shall assure that other employers, including private-for-profit employers of participants under the Act, have a grievance procedure relating to the terms and conditions of employment available to their participants (section 144(b)). (b)(1) Employers under paragraph (a) of this section may operate their own grievance system or may utilize the grievance system established by the recipient, the SDA, or the SSG under this subpart, except as provided for in paragraph (b)(2) of this section. Employers shall inform participants of the grievance procedures they are to follow when the participant begins employment. (2) If an employer is required to use a certain grievance procedure under a covered collective bargaining agreement, then those procedures should be followed for the handling of JTPA complaints under this section. (c) An employer grievance system shall provide for, upon request by the complainant, a review of an employer's decision by the SDA, or the SSG and the recipient if necessary, in accordance with §§627.501 and 627.502 of this part.
Title 20: Employees' Benefits
PART 627—GENERAL PROVISIONS GOVERNING PROGRAMS UNDER TITLES I, II, AND III OF THE ACT
Subpart E—Grievances Procedures at the State and Local Level
§ 627.500 Scope and purpose.
§ 627.501 State grievance and hearing procedures for noncriminal complaints at the recipient level.
§ 627.502 Grievance and hearing procedures for noncriminal complaints at the SDA and SSG levels.
§ 627.503 Recipient-level review.
§ 627.504 Noncriminal grievance procedure at employer level.
