®ffice
of
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17,
2011
MEMORANDUM FOR:
FROM:
HEADS OF FEDERAL AGENCIES, GENERAL COUNSELS,
AND CIVIL RIGHTS HEADS
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
C'
.
..>l
'~7~
SUBJECT:
Federal Government
's
Renewed Commitment to Lang
ua
ge Access
Obligations Under Executive Order 13166
Exec
uti
ve Order 13
166
1
was issued
in
August
of2000
and this memorandum reaffirms
it
s mandate. The Executive Order has two primary
pat1
S. First,
it
directs each federal agency
to
develop and implement a system by which limited English proficient (LEP) persons can
meaningfully access
th
e agency
's
service
s.
Second, it directs each agency providing federal
financial assistance to issue guidance
to
recipients
of
such assistance on their legal obligations
to
take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access for LEP persons under the national orig
in
nondiscrimination provisions
of
Title
VI
of
the Civil Rights Act
of
1964, and implementing
regulations.
Whether
in
an emergency or
in
the course
of
routine
bu
siness matter
s,
the success
of
governme
nt
e
ff0l1
s to effectively communicate with me
mb
ers
of
the public depends on the
widespread and nondiscriminatOlY availability
of
accurate, timely, and vital information. Events
such as the HIN I influenza pandemic, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Gul
fo
il
spill, and the
20 I 0 Decennial Census
hi
g
hli
g
ht
the need for federal agencies to ensure language access both
in
th
eir own activities, as we
ll
as
in
those
of
th
e
re
cipients
of
federal
fin
ancial assistance.
Despite the
le
gal and public service obligations that compel federal agencies and
re
cipients
to
ensure language access, a 2006 language access survey
of
the federal government
revealed significant variations in the extent to which federal agencies are aware
of
, and
in
compliance with, principles
of
lang
ua
ge access. This conclusion is buttressed by an April 20 I 0
Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on language access at federal agencies. That
report offers concrete suggestion
s,
some
of
which are incorporated in
thi
s memorandum, for
improving our efforts to comply with Exec
uti
ve Order 13
166
. Further, federal interagency
language access conferences held over the
la
st few years reveal that, while the federal
government as a whole has taken commendable strides
to
wa
rd
providing language access in
I
65
Fed. Reg. 50,
121
(A
u
g.
16, 2000).
Memorandum fro m the
At
torney General
Page 2
SUBJECT: Federal Government
's
Renewed Commitment to Language Access
Obligations Under Executive Order 13166
ce
rt
a
in
areas, the implementation of comprehensive language access programs rema
in
s uneven
throughout the federal government and among recipients
of
federal financial assistance,
especia
ll
y
in
the face
of
limited resources and personnel.
In an effort to secure the federal government
's
fu
ll
comp
li
ance with Executive Order
13166, and und
er
the Department
of
Justice
's
(
DOJ'
s) coordina
ti
on authority conferred by
Executive Order 12250, I request that your agency jo
in
DOJ
in
recommitting to the
implementa
ti
on
of
Executi ve Order 13166 by undertaking the following action items:
(I)
Establish a Language Access Working Group that reflects your agency
's
or
ganiza
ti
ona
l structure and is responsible for implementing the federa
ll
y conducted
and federa
ll
y assisted provisions
of
the Executive Order.
(2) Evaluate and/or update your current response to LEP needs b
y,
among other things,
conducting an
in
ventory
of
languages most
fr
equently encountered,
id
enti
fy
ing the
primary channels
of
contact with LEP
comm
unity members (whether telephonic,
in
pers
on
, correspondence, web-based, etc.), and review
in
g agen
cy
programs and
activities
fo
r language accessibility.
(3) Estab
li
sh a sched
ul
e to periodically evaluate and update federal agency LEP
services and LEP policies, plans, and protocols. As an initial step, within six
months after the date
of
this memorandum, submit updated LEP plans and an
anticipated time frame for periodic reevaluation
of
LEP plans and related
documents to the Federal Coordina
ti
on and Compliance Section (previously named
the Coord
in
ation and Revi
ew
Section)
of
DOJ'
s Civ
il
Rights
Di
vision.
(4) Ensure that agency st
aff
can competen
tl
y identify LEP contact situa
ti
ons and take
the necessary steps to prov
id
e meaningful access.
(5) Notify the public, through mechanisms that will reach the LEP communities you
serve, of your LEP policies, plans, and
pr
ocedures, and LEP access-related
develo
pm
ents. Prov
id
e a link to materials posted on your websi
te
to the Federal
Coordination and Compliance Section so that
it
can be posted on LEP.gov.
(6
) When cons
id
ering hiring criteria, assess the extent to which non-Eng
li
sh language
proficiency would be necessary for particular positions or to fulfill your agen
cy's
mi
SS
IOn.
(7) For written translations, collaborate with other agencies to share resources, improve
efficien
cy
, standardize federal terminology, and streamline processes for obtaining
community feedback on the accuracy and quality of professional transla
ti
ons
intended for mass
di
stributio
n.
(8
) For agencies providing fede
ral
financial assistance, draft recipient guidanc
e.
Note
that such assistance is broadly defined to
in
clude not o
nl
y
fi
nancial grants, but
al
so
equipment, property, rental below
fa
ir market va
lu
e, training, and other forms
of
assistance. Agencies that have not already done so shou
ld
issue recipient gu
id
ance
on
comp
li
ance with language access obl iga
ti
ons, a
nd
submit that g
ui
dance to the
Federal Coordination and Compliance Sec
ti
on
of
DOJ's
Civ
il
Rights
Di
vision
within six months after the date
of
this memorandum. Agencies that have
determined that they do not provide feder
al
financial assistance a
nd
, therefore, do
Memorandum from the Attorney Gener
al
Page 3
SUBJECT: Federal Governme
nt'
s Renewed Commitment to Language Access
Ob
li
ga
ti
ons Under Executive Order 13166
not need to issue recipient guidance, should include a statement
of
this
determination when transmitting the federally conducted language access plan.
2
Federal funding agencies should also regularly revi
ew
recipient compliance, and
provide vigorous technical assistance and e
nf
orceme
nt
action in appropriate cases.
DOJ' s Civ
il
Rights Division,
in
cooperation with the Federa
ll
y Conducted Committee
of
the
In
teragency Working Group on Limited English Proficiency, will undertake periodic
mo
ni
tor
in
g
of
these ac
ti
on items through follow-up language access surveys
of
the type
distributed in 2006. Agencies should expect the
fi
rst
of
these follow-up s
ur
veys in 20
II.
For your convenience, the addendum to this memorandum contains a variety
of
u
se
ful
inf
o
rm
a
ti
on, in
cl
uding links to resources and further guidance on some
of
the action items
outlined above. Should you require further technical assistance or s
up
port in implementing
th
e
goals
of
Executive Order 13166, please do not hesi
ta
te to contact Ch
ri
st
ine Stoneman, Special
Legal Counsel, or Bharathi Venkatraman, Attorney, at the Federal Coordination and Compliance
Section, at (202) 307-2222. Thank you
fo
r your continued commitment to ensuring that federal
resources and services are ava
il
a
bl
e and accessible to the LEP community and the public as a
whol
e.
2
Age
n
cies
disput
in
g
cove
r
age
und
er
th
e
Ex
ec
uti
ve
Order
's
pro
vis
ion
rela
tin
g to federally
conducted
prog
rams
and
activities sho
uld
file wi
th
th
e De
partm
e
nt
a
report
in
di
cat
in
g the basis
for
disp
utin
g coverage, t
he
numb
er
of
contacts
they have had w
ith
LEP
in
div
idual
s,
the
fr
e
qu
ency
of
s
lich
cont
act
s,
and
th
e nature
an
d i
mportan
ce
of
slIc
h co
nt
acts.
Th
e repo
rt
s
ho
uld
ca
pt
ure
phone con
tac
t
s,
in
per
son co
nt
ac
t
s,
cor
respo
nd
e
nce
,
and
allY
o
ther
i
nt
er
a
ct
ion
s w
ith
LEP
i
ndi
v
idual
s (
in
c
ludin
g via agency websites).
Fi
na
ll
y.
th
e report
sho
uld
desc
rib
e the
sta
n
da
rd
s
suc
h
age
ncies
are
us
ing
to
dete
rmin
e
LEP
sta
tu
s.
SUPPLEMENT
TO
THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL'S MEMORANDUM
TO FEDERAL AGENCIES ON EXECUTIVE ORDER 13166 COMPLIANCE
SPECIFICS OF IMPLEMENTATION
FOR
THE
ACTION ITEMS·
( 1) Action Item : Each agency should estab
li
sh a Language Access Working Group
that re
fl
ects its orga
ni
zational structure and is responsible for implementing the
federally conducted and federally assisted provisions
of
the Executive Order.
Specifics: The Working Group should be chaired by an LEP Coordinator who
reports to a designee
of
the Secretary (or to a designee
of
a Secretary-level official
in
charge
of
the agency). The Working Group sh
ou
ld
be comprised
of
individuals
from multiple components or operational subdivisions
of
the agency, and should
include members from field offices, as appropriate. Members
of
the Working
Group should be responsible for
id
entifying barriers to language access,
consulting with stakeholders, formulating strategies and responses to overcome
the barriers to meaningful language access, ensuring consisten
cy
within the
agency on
it
s federally assisted enforcement activitie
s.
They also should be
accountable for implementation.
Staff
should also be apprised
of
the
agency's
Language Access Working Group and its mission.
(2)
Act
ion Item: Each agency should evaluate and/or update
it
s current response to
LEP needs b
y,
among other things, conducting an inventory
of
languages most
frequently encountered,
id
enti
fY
in
g the primary channels
of
contact with
LE
P
community members (whether telephonic, in person, correspondence, web-based,
etc.
),
and revi
ew
ing agency programs and activities for language accessibility.
Specifics: Agencies may need to update program operations, services provided,
outreach ac
ti
vities, and other mission-specific activities to reflect current language
needs. Further, each agency should ensure that its in-house and contract language
services, directory
of
translated d
oc
uments, signs, and web-based services meet
current language needs.
(3) Action Item: Each agency should establish a schedule to periodically evaluate and
update agency LEP services and LEP policies, plans, and protocols. As an initial
step, updated LEP plans and an an
ti
c
ip
ated time frame for pe
ri
o
di
c reeva
lu
ation
ofLE
P plans and related documents should be submitted within s
ix
months after
the date
of
this memorandum
to
the Federal Coordination and Comp
li
ance
Section
of
the Department
of
Justice
's
(DOl's)
Civil Rights
Di
vision.
Specifics: Requested information can be sent to the Federal Coordina
ti
on and
Compliance Section at 950 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW
(NW Bldg), Washington,
D.C. 20530, Atten
ti
on:
Ch
ri
stine Stoneman and Bharat
hi
Venkatraman. You
may also ema
il
information to christi
ll
e.stoneman
(al
usdoj.gov or
bharathi .a. venkatraman
(al
usdoj .QOV. Note that an agen
cy's
contemplated
schedule shou
ld
not serve to bar the agency from conducting more frequent
inventories/reinventories
of
languages encountered to ensure that agency services
are meeting current language needs and demands.
(4) Action Ite
m:
Agencies should ensure that staff can competently identify LEP
contact situations and take the necessary steps to provide meanin
gf
ul
access.
Specifics: Agency staff should be able to, among other task
s,
identify LEP
contact situations, determine primary language
ofLEP
individuals, and
effectively utilize available options to assist
in
interpersonal, electroni
c,
print, and
other methods
of
communication between the agency and LEP individual
s.
(5) Action Item: Agencies should notify the public, through mechanisms that w
ill
reach the LEP communities it serve
s,
of
its LEP policies and LEP access-related
developments.
Specifics: Examples
of
methods for publicizing LEP access information includ
e,
but are not limited to, posting on agency websites, issuing print and broadcast
notification
s,
providing relevant infomlation at "town hall" sty
le
me
etings, and
issuing press releases. Agencies should consult with
th
eir information t
ec
hnology
specialists, civil rights personnel, and public affairs perso
nn
el
to
develop a multi-
pronged strategy
to
achieve maximum and effective notification
to
LEP
communities.
(6) Action Item: When considering hiring criteria, agencies should assess the extent
to which non-English language proficiency would be necessary for pa
rti
c
ul
ar
positions or to fulfill
an
agency's
mi
ssion.
Specifics: Determine whether the agency would benefit from including non-
English language skills and competence thresholds
in
certain
job
vacancy
announcements and position descriptions.
(7)
Actioll Item: For written translation
s,
collaborate with other agencies
to
share
resources, improve efficiency, standardize federal terminology, and streamline
processes for obtaining community feedback on the accuracy and quality
of
professional translations intended for
ma
ss distribution.
Specifics: Agencies should actively participate
in
the Interagency Working
Group
's
efforts to develop collaborations and clearinghouse options
to
produce
hi
gh quality and effective translation
s.
While improv
in
g
ef
fi
ciency is a priority,
ensuring
th
e quality
of
translations is equally,
ifnot
more, important. As such,
agencies should avoid pursuing free translations from community group
s.
Rather,
community input can serve
to
ensure that professional translations meet
community needs and are appropriate
to
the audience.
2
(8) Action Item: For agencies providing federal financial assistance, draft recipient
guidance.
Specifics: Agencies should refer
to
the
DO]
Recipient Guidance document and
LEP.gov, both
of
which are referenced in the Resources section below, for
templates. Agencies should submit
th
eir recipient guidance documents for review
and approval to the Federal Coordination and Compliance Section
of
DOl'
s Civil
Rights Division, at 950 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW
(NW Bldg), Wash
in
gton, D.C.
20530, Attention: Christine Stoneman and Bharathi Venkatraman. You may also
email agency recipient guidance to ch
ri
stine.stoneman@usdoj .gov or
bharathi .a.
ve
nkatraman@usdoj.gov.
RESOURCES:
Executive Order 13166:
http://www
.j
usti
ceo
gOY
/ crt/corlPu bs/ eo I ep.
pd
f
DOJ LEP Guidance:
http:
//
www.
ju
s
ti
ce.gov/crt/cor/lep/DOJFinLEPFRJunI82002.php
Website
of
the Federal Interagency Working Gro
up
on LEP:
http://www
.l
ep.gov
Top Tips from responses to the 2006 language access survey
of
federal agencies:
http:
//
www
.l
ep.gov/resources/2008 _Con ference _ Materials/TopTips.
pdf
The 2006 Language Access Survey:
http://www.lep.gov/resources/2008_Con ference _Materials/FedLangAccessS urvey. pd f
GSA Language Services Schedule:
http://www.gsa.gov/portal/contentlI04610
I Speak Language Identification flashcard
s:
http:
//
www. lep.gov/ISpeakCard
s2
004.pdf
LEP rights brochure:
http://www.lep.gov/resources/lep_aug2005.p
df
3
