Equal Employment Opportunity Plan - Title VI Policy Statement

The City of Sterling Heights reaffirms its policy to provide all individuals the opportunity to participate in federal financially assisted programs and services and adopts the following provision:

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, is the overarching civil rights law which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin, in any program, service or activity that receives federal assistance.  Specifically, Title VI assures that, “No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefit of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal assistance.”  

More information regarding Title VI compliance can be found in the City of Sterling Heights Title VI Plan. 

Assurances

Any federal financial assistance provided to the City of Sterling Heights is conditioned on providing assurances that services to be benefited by the funds will operate without discrimination. Such an assurance is a contractual obligation through which the City of Sterling Heights promises to comply with Title VI regulations and promises that it will take immediate and continuing steps to effectuate this compliance. Such assurances will also be a part of all contracts extending federal financial assistance through the City of Sterling Heights to its subrecipients.

Prohibited Discriminatory Practices

The City of Sterling Heights and its subrecipients of federal funds will not:

  1. Deny any individual any services, opportunity, or other benefit for which such individual is otherwise qualified
  2. Provide any individual with any service, or other benefit, which is inferior (in quantity or quality) to, or which is provided in a different manner from that which is provided to others
  3. Subject any individual to segregated or disparate treatment in any manner related to such individual's receipt of services or benefits
  4. Restrict an individual in any way in the enjoyment of services, facilities, or any other advantage, privilege, or other benefit provided to others
  5. Adopt or use methods of administration, which would limit participation by any group of recipients or subject any individual to discrimination
  6. Address any individual in a manner that denotes inferiority because of race, color, or national origin
  7. Permit discriminatory activity in a facility built in whole or in part with federal funds
  8. Deny any segment of the population the opportunity to participate in the operations of a planning or advisory body that is an integral part of a federally funded program
  9. Fail to provide service or information in a language other than English when significant numbers of potential or actual beneficiaries are of limited English speaking ability
  10. Subject an individual to discriminatory employment practices under any federally funded program whose object is to provide employment
  11. Locate a facility in any way that would limit or impede access to a federally funded service or benefit

If any individual believes that he/she or any other program beneficiaries have been subject to unequal treatment or discrimination in their receipt of benefits and/or services, or on the grounds of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age, he/she may exercise his/her rights to file a complaint with the Office of City Management. Every effort will be made to resolve complaints informally at the City and contractor level.

The Human Resources and Benefits Manager is responsible for initiating and monitoring Title VI activities, preparing required reports and other City responsibilities as requested by 23 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) 200 and 49 Code of Federal Regulation 21.

Limited English Proficiency (LEP)

On August 11, 2000, President William J. Clinton signed an executive order, Executive Order 13166: Improving Access to Service for Persons with Limited English Proficiency to clarify Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  The executive order established that individuals who do not speak English well and who have a limited ability to read, write and speak, or understand English are entitled to language assistance in order to meaningfully access programs and servies in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

The City of Sterling Heights provides basic language translation assistance during regular business hours. More information regarding LEP compliance, can be found in the City of Sterling Heights Limited English Proficiency Plan.

Employment 

It is the policy of the City of Sterling Heights not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, handicap, height, weight, or any other reason.