EQUAL OPPORTUNITY IS THE LAW
It is against the law for the Georgia Department of Labor/Georgia
Mountains Workforce Investment Board to discriminate against any
individual in the United States on the basis of race, color, religion, sex,
national origin, age, disability, political affiliation or belief, and against
any beneficiary of programs financially assisted under Title I of the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), on the basis of the
beneficiary’s citizenship/status as a lawfully admitted immigrant
authorized to work in the United States, or his or her participation in any
WIA Title I-financially assisted program or activity.
COMPLAINTS OF DISCRIMINATION
If you think you have been subjected to discrimination under the WIA
program or activity, you may file a complaint within 180 days of the
alleged violation with:
Georgia Department of Labor
Georgia Mountains Workforce Investment Board(GMWIB)
Equal Opportunity Officer
2481 Hilton Drive, Suite 8
Gainesville, GA 30501
Georgia Department of Labor
Equal Opportunity Officer
148 Andrew Young International Blvd., NE
Atlanta, GA 30303-1751
Director of Civil Rights Center
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave., NW
Room N4123
Washington, DC 20210
If you elect to file your complaint with the GMWIB, you must wait either
until the GMWIB issues a written decision, or until 90 days have
passed (whichever is sooner), before filing with the Civil Rights Center
(see address above). If the GMWIB does not give you a written
decision within 90 days of the day on which you filed your complaint,
you do not have to wait for the GMWIB to issue that decision before
filing a complaint with the CRC. However, you must file your complaint
with CRC 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
GMWIB). If the GMWIB does give you a written decision on your
complaint, but you are not satisfied with the decision or resolution, you
may file a complaint with CRC. You must file your complaint within 30
days of the date on which you received a written decision.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and the Workforce
Investment Act of 1998, as amended, guarantee you the right to file a
complaint or alleged action in any area concerning discrimination as
stated above.
COMPLAINTS OF FRAUD OR ABUSE
In cases of suspected fraud, abuse, or other alleged criminal activity,
you should contact the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department
of Labor, at 1-800-347-3756. There is no charge for this call.
WIA GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
1. Complaints arising at the Workforce Development Area 2 level
must be in writing, using form DOL-4430, signed by the complainant,
dated within one-year of the alleged incident, and must include the
following information:
a. the full name, telephone number (if any) and address
b. the full name and address of the respondent
c. a clear and concise statement of facts
d. the type of relief requested.
A complaint will be considered to have been filed when the reviewing
authority receives from the complainant a written statement, including
information specified above, which contains sufficient facts and
arguments to evaluate the complaint.
2. Complaints must be submitted to the Compliance Monitor,
Georgia Mountains Workforce Investment Board, 2481 Hilton Drive,
Suite 8, Gainesville, GA 30501.
3. The Compliance Monitor shall inform the Director and shall
investigate the complaints and attempt to resolve the matter through
mediation within ten days of receipt of the complaint.
4. If the complaint cannot be resolved within ten days, a hearing shall
be conducted within sixty days of receipt of the complaint. When a
hearing is necessary, the complainant and the respondent will be
given reasonable notification by registered or certified mail of the
following information:
· A statement of the date, time and place of hearing;
· A statement of the authority and jurisdiction;
· A reference to the particular section of the Act involved;
· A notice to the parties of the specific charges involved;
· The right of both parties to be represented by legal counsel;
· The right of each party to present evidence;
· The right of each party to cross-examine.
5. A hearing can be rescheduled at the request of either party for just
cause.
6. The hearing shall be conducted by the Executive Committee of the
Georgia Mountains Workforce Investment Board. This committee may
designate staff and/or other parties to serve as the hearing officer.
However, no GMWIB or staff member who has been directly involved in
the events from which the complaint arose shall serve as a decision-
maker in such complaint. If the complaint is against the GMWIB itself,
an impartial person will be secured by the GMWIB to serve as the
hearing officer. Impartial hearing officers shall be chosen from
qualified individuals with expertise in the area from which the
complaint arises. When an impartial hearing officer is necessary, the
GMWIB Director will be notified to provide a qualified person. The right
to an impartial decision-maker shall not be abrogated by the Georgia
Mountains Workforce Investment Board or Workforce Development
Area 2.
7. The Executive Committee of the Georgia Mountains Workforce
Investment Board, or, its designee acting as a hearing officer, shall
have the authority to regulate the course of the hearing, set the time
and place for continued hearings, fix the time for filing briefs, and
dispose of motions.
8. A complete record of the hearing shall be made and maintained for
three years and include the following:
a. all pleadings, motions, and intermediate ruling;
b. detailed minutes or mechanical recording of the oral
testimony and all other evidence presented;
c. a statement of matters officially noted;
d. all staff memoranda or data submitted to the Georgia
Mountains Workforce Investment Board Executive
Committee or its designee in connection with their
consideration of the case;
e. findings of fact based on the evidence submitted at the
hearing;
f. notification of both parties of further appeal procedures, if
applicable; and
g. final decision of the hearing officer.
A written report of all complaints received within the Georgia Mountains
Workforce Investment Board office will be filed on-site by the tenth day
of the month following the report month. The report will include the
name of the complainant, the name and/or organization of the
respondent, the date the complaint was filed, nature of the complaint,
and the resolution of the complaint (if rendered). If no complaints are
received during a given month, no report is due. If there are status
updates to previous complaints, a report must be sent to the State by
the tenth day of the following month.
GOVERNOR’S REVIEW OF THE GRIEVANCE
The complainant shall be informed of the right to request a review of
his or her complaint by the Governor if: 1) the complainant does not
receive a decision at the Georgia Mountains Workforce Investment
Board level within sixty days of filing the complaint, or 2) the
complainant receives a decision unsatisfactory to him or her.
The request for review should be submitted to: Commissioner,
Georgia Department of Labor, Sussex Place, 148 Andrew Young
International Blvd., NE, Atlanta, GA 30503-1751. The request for
review of the complaint by the Governor must be filed within ten days of
receipt of the adverse decision or within fifteen days from the date on
which the complainant should have received a decision. The Governor
will conduct a review of the complaint and issue a decision within thirty
days from the date of receipt of the review request. The decision
rendered by the Governor will be final.
OTHER GRIEVANCES
1. Complaints arising from contracts or vendor agreements with
Georgia public schools such as those which pertain to disciplinary
actions of teachers or students, grading policy or teacher employment
contracts will be handled by the grievance procedure outlined in OCGA
20-2-1160, 20-2-109, 20-2-50. Grievance hearings held by public
school service providers should be consistent with State
policy/procedures and must be initiated within 30 days of filing of the
grievance and a decision rendered within 60 days of the filing date of
the grievance. Where grievances arise in the area’s outlined above,
the service provider will submit to the Georgia Mountains Workforce
Investment Board (GMWIB) within five (5) days, summaries or
checklists of Georgia Mountains Workforce Investment Area 2
complaints filed. Hearings held, decisions rendered and appeals filed
shall be provided to GMWIB within 10 days of the decision being
finalized.
If a complainant does not receive a decision within 60 days of filing the
complaint or receives an unsatisfactory decision, the complainant then
has the right to request a review by the Governor. The request for
review should be submitted to the State Superintendent of Schools,
Georgia Department of Education, 2066 Twin Towers East, Atlanta,
Georgia 30334. [NOTE: For the purpose of this section, the State
Superintendent of Schools or his/her designee acts as the Governor’s
authorized representative.]
Complaints which pertain to terms of the contract between the school
and the GMWIB, which may include curriculum and course content,
provision of teaching materials and equipment, eligibility, customer
selection, or other terms made part of the contract, should be handled
by the grievance procedure as presented in the WIA Grievance
Procedure section.
2. Complaints against the Georgia Department of Labor Career
Centers should be filed with the complaint specialist or Career Center
Manager in accordance with their policies and procedures.
3. Complaints alleging labor standards violations may be filed using
the established local and State Grievance Procedures or submitted to
a binding arbitration procedure, if a collective bargaining agreement
covering the parties to the grievance so provides.
4. Applicants, customers, service providers, bidders, WIA funded
staff or other interested parties alleging violations of the Acts,
regulations, subgrants, or other contracts under WIA (other than
discrimination complaints) shall utilize the WIA Grievance Procedures
in filing a complaint. Individuals shall be informed of this right by the
Georgia Department of Labor/Georgia Mountains Workforce
Investment Area 2 staff.
Customer Rights Under The Workforce Investment Act of 1998
