How to Use the Office for Civil Rights

The mission of the Office of Civil Rights is eliminate discrimination. There are thirteen divisions within the Office of Civil Rights, and each one covers a specific area. You can access them through a website

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Decide which of your constitutionally protected civil rights were violated. Laws have been established to prohibit discrimination in education, employment, credit, housing, public accommodations and facilities, voting and federally funded programs.
2. Decide which division of the Office of Civil Rights is handles the type of violation you want to report. There are thirteen different divisions established to provide information and handle complaints related to discrimination.
3. File a complaint. Information about how to file a civil rights complaint is on the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division website. This site provides examples of the violation of 12 different categories of Civil Rights and gives instructions as to how to file a complaint within each category.

Tips & Warnings

• The mission of the Office of Civil Rights is to eliminate discrimination. There are different divisions within the Office of Civil Rights that focus on different areas of Civil Rights Law such as Human Health Service, Education, Transportation and Justice Programs to name a few. All of the divisions are separate, though their goal remains the same. To utilize what the Office of Civil Rights has to offer, know the area you are interested in (education, housing, health services, employment).