28 C.F.R. Subpart C—Guidelines for Determining Discriminatory Practices
Title 28 - Judicial Administration
(a) No qualified handicapped person, shall, on the basis of handicap, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives or benefits from federal financial assistance. (b)(1) A recipient, in providing any aid, benefit, or service, may not, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, on the basis of handicap: (i) Deny a qualified handicapped person the opportunity to participate in or benefit from the aid, benefit, or service; (ii) Afford a qualified handicapped person an opportunity to participate in or benefit from the aid, benefit, or service that is not equal to that afforded others; (iii) Provide a qualified handicapped person with an aid, benefit, or service that is not as effective in affording equal opportunity to obtain the same result, to gain the same benefit, or to reach the same level of achievement as that provided to others; (iv) Provide different or separate aid, benefits, or services to handicapped persons or to any class of handicapped persons than is provided to others unless such action is necessary to provide qualified handicapped persons with aid, benefits, or services that are as effective as those provided to others; (v) Aid or perpetuate discrimination against a qualified handicapped person by providing significant assistance to an agency, organization, or person that discriminates on the basis of handicap in providing any aid, benefit, or service to beneficiaries of the recipient's program; (vi) Deny a qualified handicapped person the opportunity to participate as a member of planning or advisory boards; or (vii) Otherwise limit a qualified handicapped person in the enjoyment of any right, privilege, advantage, or opportunity enjoyed by others receiving the aid, benefit, or service. (2) A recipient may not deny a qualified handicapped person the opportunity to participate in programs or activities that are not separate or different, despite the existence of permissibly separate or different programs or activities. (3) A recipient may not, directly or through contractual or other arrangements, utilize criteria or methods of administration: (i) That have the effect of subjecting qualified handicapped persons to discrimination on the basis of handicap, (ii) That have the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing accomplishment of the objectives of the recipient's program with respect to handicapped persons, or (iii) That perpetuate the discrimination of another recipient if both recipients are subject to common administrative control or are agencies of the same state. (4) A recipient may not, in determining the site or location of a facility, make selections: (i) That have the effect of excluding handicapped persons from, denying them the benefits of, or otherwise subjecting them to discrimination under any program or activity that receives or benefits from federal financial assistance or (ii) That have the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing the accomplishment of the objectives of the program or activity with respect to handicapped persons. (c) The exclusion of nonhandicapped persons from the benefits of a program limited by federal statute or executive order to handicapped persons or the exclusion of a specific class of handicapped persons from a program limited by federal statute or executive order to a different class of handicapped persons is not prohibited by this part. (d) Recipients shall administer programs and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified handicapped persons. (e) Recipients shall take appropriate steps to ensure that communications with their applicants, employees, and beneficiaries are available to persons with impaired vision and hearing.
Title 28: Judicial Administration
PART 41—IMPLEMENTATION OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 12250, NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAP IN FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS
Subpart C—Guidelines for Determining Discriminatory Practices
General
§ 41.51 General prohibitions against discrimination.
Employment
§ 41.52 General prohibitions against employment discrimination.
(a) No qualified handicapped person shall, on the basis of handicap, be subjected to discrimination in employment under any program or activity that receives or benefits from federal financial assistance.
(b) A recipient shall make all decisions concerning employment under any program or activity to which this part applies in a manner which ensures that discrimination on the basis of handicap does not occur and may not limit, segregate, or classify applicants or employees in any way that adversely affects their opportunities or status because of handicap.
(c) The prohibition against discrimination in employment applies to the following activities:
(1) Recruitment, advertising, and the processing of applications for employment;
(2) Hiring, upgrading, promotion, award of tenure, demotion, transfer, layoff, termination, right of return from layoff, and rehiring;
(3) Rates of pay or any other form of compensation and changes in compensation;
(4) Job assignments, job classifications, organizational structures, position descriptions, lines of progression, and seniority lists;
(5) Leaves of absence, sick leave, or any other leave;
(6) Fringe benefits available by virtue of employment, whether or not administered by the recipient;
(7) Selection and financial support for training, including apprenticeship, professional meetings, conferences, and other related activities, and selection for leaves of absence to pursue training;
(8) Employer sponsored activities, including social or recreational programs; and
(9) Any other term, condition, or privilege of employment.
(d) A recipient may not participate in a contractual or other relationship that has the effect of subjecting qualified handicapped applicants or employees to discrimination prohibited by this subpart. The relationships referred to in this paragraph include relationships with employment and referral agencies, with labor unions, with organizations providing or administering fringe benefits to employees of the recipient, and with organizations providing training and apprenticeship programs.
§ 41.53 Reasonable accommodation.
A recipient shall make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified handicapped applicant or employee unless the recipient can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its program.
§ 41.54 Employment criteria.
A recipient may not use employment tests or criteria that discriminate against handicapped persons and shall ensure that employment tests are adapted for use by persons who have handicaps that impair sensory, manual, or speaking skills.
§ 41.55 Preemployment inquiries.
A recipient may not conduct a preemployment medical examination or make a preemployment inquiry as to whether an applicant is a handicapped person or as to the nature or severity of a handicap except under the circumstances described in 28 CFR 42.513.
[43 FR 2132, Jan. 13, 1978. Redesignated and amended at 46 FR 40686, 40687, Aug. 11, 1981]
Program Accessibility
§ 41.56 General requirement concerning program accessibility.
No qualified handicapped person shall, because a recipient's facilities are inaccessible to or unusable by handicapped persons, be denied the benefits of, be excluded from participation in, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives or benefits from federal financial assistance.
§ 41.57 Existing facilities.
(a) A recipient shall operate each program or activity so that the program or activity, when viewed in its entirety, is readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons. This paragraph does not necessarily require a recipient to make each of its existing facilities or every part of an existing facility accessible to and usable by handicapped persons.
(b) Where structural changes are necessary to make programs or activities in existing facilities accessible, such changes shall be made as soon as practicable, but in no event later than three years after the effective date of the agency regulation: Provided, That, if the program is a particular mode of transportation (e.g., a subway system) that can be made accessible only through extraordinarily expensive structural changes to, or replacement of, existing facilities and if other accessible modes of transportation are available, the federal agency responsible for enforcing section 504 with respect to that program may extend this period of time, but only for a reasonable and definite period, such period to be set forth in the agency's regulation.
(c) In the event that structural changes to facilities are necessary to meet the requirement of paragraph (a) of this section, a recipient shall develop, within a definite period to be established in each agency's regulation, a transition plan setting forth the steps necessary to complete such changes. The plan shall be developed with the assistance of interested persons, including handicapped persons or organizations representing handicapped persons.
[43 FR 2132, Jan. 13, 1978. Redesignated and amended at 46 FR 40686, 40687, Aug. 11, 1981]
Effective Date Note: At Order No. 1301–88, 53 FR 37754, Sept. 28, 1988, the application of §41.57(b) to public housing timeframes was suspended.
§ 41.58 New construction.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, new facilities shall be designed and constructed to be readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons. Alterations to existing facilities shall, to the maximum extent feasible, be designed and constructed to be readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons.
(b) The Department of Transportation may defer the effective date for requiring all new buses to be accessible if it concludes on the basis of its section 504 rulemaking process that it is not feasible to require compliance on the effective date of its regulation: Provided, That comparable, accessible services are available to handicapped persons in the interim and that the date is not deferred later than October 1, 1979.
Appendix A to Part 41—Leadership and Coordination of Nondiscrimination Laws
Executive Order 12250, Nov. 2, 1980
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, including section 602 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d–1), section 902 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1682), and section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, and in order to provide, under the leadership of the Attorney General, for the consistent and effective implementation of various laws prohibiting discriminatory practices in Federal programs and programs receiving Federal financial assistance, it is hereby ordered as follows:
1–1. Delegation of Function.
1–101. The function vested in the President by section 602 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d–1), relating to the approval of rules, regulations, and orders of general applicability, is hereby delegated to the Attorney General.
1–102. The function vested in the President by section 902 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1682), relating to the approval of rules, regulations, and orders of general applicability, is hereby delegated to the Attorney General.
1–2. Coordination of Nondiscrimination Provisions.
1–201. The Attorney General shall coordinate the implementation and enforcement by Executive agencies of various nondiscrimination provisions of the following laws:
(a) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.).
(b) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.).
(c) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794).
(d) Any other provision of Federal statutory law which provides, in whole or in part, that no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, national origin, handicap, religion, or sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
1–202. In furtherance of the Attorney General's responsibility for the coordination of the implementation and enforcement of the nondiscrimination provisions of laws covered by this Order, the Attorney General shall review the existing and proposed rules, regulations, and orders of general applicability of the Executive agencies in order to identify those which are inadequate, unclear or unnecessarily inconsistent.
1–203. The Attorney General shall develop standards and procedures for taking enforcement actions and for conducting investigations and compliance reviews.
1–204. The Attorney General shall issue guidelines for establishing reasonable time limits on efforts to secure voluntary compliance, on the initiation of sanctions, and for referral to the Department of Justice for enforcement where there is noncompliance.
1–205. The Attorney General shall establish and implement a schedule for the review of the agencies' regulations which implement the various nondiscrimination laws covered by this Order.
1–206. The Attorney General shall establish guidelines and standards for the development of consistent and effective recordkeeping and reporting requirements by Executive agencies; for the sharing and exchange by agencies of compliance records, findings, and supporting documentation; for the development of comprehensive employee training programs; for the development of effective information programs; and for the development of cooperative programs with State and local agencies, including sharing of information, deferring of enforcement activities, and providing technical assistance.
1–207. The Attorney General shall initiate cooperative programs between and among agencies, including the development of sample memoranda of understanding, designed to improve the coordination of the laws covered by this Order.
1–3. Implementation by the Attorney General.
1–301. In consultation with the affected agencies, the Attorney General shall promptly prepare a plan for the implementation of this Order. This plan shall be submitted to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
1–302. The Attorney General shall periodically evaluate the implementation of the nondiscrimination provisions of the laws covered by this Order, and advise the heads of the agencies concerned on the results of such evaluations as to recommendations for needed improvement in implementation or enforcement.
1–303. The Attorney General shall carry out his functions under this Order, including the issuance of such regulations as he deems necessary, in consultation with affected agencies.
1–304. The Attorney General shall annually report to the President through the Director of the Office of Management and Budget on the progress in achieving the purposes of this Order. This report shall include any recommendations for changes in the implementation or enforcement of the nondiscrimination provisions of the laws covered by this Order.
1–305. The Attorney General shall chair the Interagency Coordinating Council established by section 507 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794c).
1–4. Agency Implementation.
1–401. Each Executive agency shall cooperate with the Attorney General in the performance of the Attorney General's functions under this Order and shall, unless prohibited by law, furnish such reports and information as the Attorney General may request.
1–402. Each Executive agency responsible for implementing a nondiscrimination provision of a law covered by this Order shall issue appropriate implementing directives (whether in the nature of regulations or policy guidance). To the extent permitted by law, they shall be consistent with the requirements prescribed by the Attorney General pursuant to this Order and shall be subject to the approval of the Attorney General, who may require that some or all of them be submitted for approval before taking effect.
1–403. Within 60 days after a date set by the Attorney General, Executive agencies shall submit to the Attorney General their plans for implementing their responsibilities under this Order.
1–5. General Provisions.
1–501. Executive Order No. 11764 is revoked. The present regulations of the Attorney General relating to the coordination of enforcement of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 shall continue in effect until revoked or modified (28 CFR 42.401 to 42.415).
1–502. Executive Order No. 11914 is revoked. The present regulations of the Secretary of Health and Human Services relating to the coordination of the implementation of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, shall be deemed to have been issued by the Attorney General pursuant to this Order and shall continue in effect until revoked or modified by the Attorney General.
1–503. Nothing in this Order shall vest the Attorney General with the authority to coordinate the implementation and enforcement by Executive agencies of statutory provisions relating to equal employment.
1–504. Existing agency regulations implementing the nondiscrimination provisions of laws covered by this Order shall continue in effect until revoked or modified.
The White House,
November 2, 1980.
[47 FR 32421, July 27, 1982]
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