COMPLAINT AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
RIGHTS You have the right to file a complaint if you feel you have a complaint relating to your employment and/or training and will not be penalized for filing a complaint. Your complaint must contain sufficient information for us to determine who is authorized to handle the complaint.
FILING A COMPLAINT To file a complaint, contact a local staff person and tell her/him that you want to file a complaint. Local staff will provide you with the necessary information and assistance to put your complaint in writing. Within 25 days of filing the complaint, a solution will be offered to resolve the matter. If you feel that your complaint is not resolved during this initial resolution effort, a hearing will be scheduled.
INFORMATION REGARDING HEARINGS A hearing will be provided within sixty (60) days of the receipt of a complaint, unless the complaint is resolved prior to the hearing date. The following information will be provided to you prior to the hearing date: The date of the notice, name of the complainant, and the name of the party against whom the grievance or complaint is filed; The date, time, and place of the hearing; A statement of the alleged violations; and The name, address, and telephone number of the contact person issuing the notice.
DECISION AND APPEAL PROCESS A hearing decision will be provided within 60 days of filing your complaint, unless the complaint is resolved without a hearing. If you are not satisfied with the final decision, or if a decision has not been reached within the 60 day timeframe, you may send a written and signed notice of appeal via e-mail to WCDDPolicy@esd.wa.gov or by mail at:
Workforce Career Development Division
Employment Security Department
PO Box 9046
Olympia, WA 98507-9046
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY IS THE LAW
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 recipient’s Equal Opportunity Officer (or the person whom the recipient has designated for this purpose); or
The Director, Civil Rights Center (CRC), U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N–4123, Washington, DC 20210 or
electronically as directed on the CRC Web site at www.dol.gov/crc.
If you file your complaint with the recipient, 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 recipient 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 recipient does give you a written Notice of Final Action on your complaint, but you are dissatisfied with the decision or resolution, you may file a complaint with CRC. You must file your CRC complaint within 30 days of the date on which you received the Notice of Final Action.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND NONDISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT PROCESS
If you have questions regarding discrimination complaint matters in which WorkSource or the Employment Security Department are a party, you may contact your local Equal Opportunity Officer. A complete list of officers is available at https://esd.wa.gov/newsroom/equal-opportunity.
If you wish to file or inquire about filing a discrimination complaint in which WorkSource or the Employment Security Department have not been a party, please contact:
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Seattle Office
800-669-4000 (toll-free)
Website: http://eeoc.gov/
and/or
The Washington State Human Rights Commission
800-233-3247 (toll-free)
Website: http://www.hum.wa.gov
WorkSource is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Language assistance services for limited English proficient individuals are available free of charge. Washington Relay Service 711.
Equal opportunity and nondiscrimination policies and resources are available at https://esd.wa.gov/newsroom/equal-opportunity