Meeting_Body
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 16, 2017
Subject
SUBJECT: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CIVIL RIGHTS INVESTIGATION
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE status report on the resolution of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) civil rights investigation.
Issue
ISSUE
On January 12, 2017 Metro received a notice from USDOT in Washington advising that they had accepted a formal civil rights complaint against Metro. The complaint from the Labor Community Strategy Center (LCSC) alleged that Metro was discriminating on the basis of race with regard to its policies and practices of fare enforcement, citations and arrests on public transportation in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
USDOT conducted a thorough investigation of the allegations including a site visit to Los Angeles. Hundreds of pages of documentation were provided to the USDOT review team. The visit included observations of fare collection and compliance checks, and a review of Metro policies and practices. On October 23, 2017 Metro was informed that USDOT will administratively close the complaint without any findings and enter into a one year agreement to provide technical assistance with regard to fare collection and fare compliance and related public outreach.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
As a recipient of Federal financial assistance, Metro is required to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI specifically prohibits disparate impacts, which are defined as discriminatory impacts based on color, race or national origin resulting from policies or actions which appear to be facially color, race or national origin neutral. As a result of a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2001, a private party such as the LCSC no longer has a right of private action to file a lawsuit against a public agency under the disparate impact (section 602) regulations of Title VI of...
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