2014 DOT Civil Rights Virtual Symposium

February 4th

10:00am – 11:00am EST
Understanding and Abiding by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Anna Medina, Department of Justice

This session will include an explanation of the protections of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance, the individuals who are covered by these protections, the entities that must follow this law, and how Title VI is enforced.

11:30am – 12:30pm EST
Project Management for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and On-the-Job Training Supportive Services

• Dave Tovar, Federal Highway Administration, Texas, Department of Transportation
• Martha Kenley, Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation

In this webinar, participants learn the fundamentals of project management, including scope definition, work planning, project control, and resource, change and risk management. The webinar’s techniques can be applied to managing On-the-Job Training Supportive Services and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Supportive Services Programs. This webinar includes best practices and tools in which participants can apply to the completion of their supportive service projects. The webinar familiarizes participants with project planning and execution processes and provides an understanding of the key success factors for managing a project.

1:00pm – 2:00pm EST
Transgender Cultural Competency

• Veronica Pickell, Federal Aviation Commission

This session will seek to raise awareness and understanding of the issues facing transgender people in both employment and access to services. Transgender equality is seen as the newest area of equality and organizations will benefit from increased understanding not only of their legal commitments but how to effectively engage with transgender people as staff, stakeholders and service users. Techniques and methods for effectively combatting transphobia will also be discussed.

3:00pm – 4:00pm EST
Environmental Justice: Equitable, Sustainable and Accessible Development

• Matthew Tejada, Environmental Protection Agency
• Vernice Miller-Travis, Activist
• Carlton Eley, Environmental Protection Agency
• Candace Groudine, Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation

This panel will discuss:
Equitable Development: Building Great Communities through Collaborative Problem Solving Practitioners who work in the realm of the built environment are successfully giving sustainability a push and demonstrating that the objectives of economic development, environmental protection, and meeting the needs of underserved populations are not mutually exclusive. Participants will learn how communities are encouraging fairness in planning and development practice to ensure everyone has a safe and healthy environment in which to live, work, and play. Equitable Development: How Embracing Accessibility Results in Significant Sustainability Gains A progressive environmental justice agenda requires a strong economic platform, and both are supported by a commitment to accessibility. Implications that universal accessibility has for a municipality’s ability to foster smart growth, and, what equitable development means in the context of FHWA’s responsibility to ensure that facilities in the public rights-of-way are accessible to persons with disabilities, will be discussed.

February 5th

10:00am – 11:00am EST
Accessibility in Transportation: Updates to ADA

• John Day, Federal Transit Administration, Department of Transportation
• Livaughn Chapman, Office of the General Counsel, Department of Transportation
• Calvin Gibson, Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
• Wilber Burnham, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation

The panel will address recent incidents in which lack of accessibility resulted in failed compliance reviews and/or successful lawsuits. Panelists will describe potential solutions to common accessibility failures and address how audience members can proactively prevent violation of the accessibility standards required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, and the Air Carrier Access Act.

11:30am – 12:30pm EST
Understanding the DBE Uniform Certification Program
Leonardo San Roman, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, Department of Transportation

Each state has its own Unified Certification Program (UCP), which is administered by their Department of Transportation. The purpose of the UCP is to provide "one-stop shopping" for applicants to apply for DBE certification, such that an applicant is required to apply only once for a DBE certification and it will be honored by all agencies that are recipients of Federal DOT funding in the state. This session is intended as an overview of the objectives of the program and best practices for implementation.

1:00pm – 2:00pm EST
Macro and Micro-Inequities

• Bruce Stewart, Office of Personnel Management

Microinequity refers to the ways in which individuals are “singled out, or overlooked, ignored, or otherwise discounted” based on an unchangeable characteristic such as race or gender. A microinequity generally takes the form of a gesture, different kind of language, treatment, or even tone of voice. It is suggested that the perceptions that cause the manifestation of microinequities are deeply rooted and unconscious. The cumulative effect of microinequities can impair a person’s performance in the workplace or classroom, damage self-esteem, and may eventually lead to that person’s withdrawal from the situation. In this session we will review microinequities and discuss practical tools and techniques to prevent or limit their manifestation.

3:00pm – 4:00pm EST

• Using Analysis and Analytics to Remove Barriers and Create Opportunities in the Workplace
• Ray Parr, Office of Personnel Management

Participants will learn how to more effectively and accurately extract all information from internal, external, historical and experimental data and learn how to gain directional insights through advanced statistics. As a participant you will learn how to “make data tell a story” and draw the right conclusions as it applies to equal employment opportunity barrier elimination.

February 6th

10:00am – 11:00am EST

• Legal Update: Recent Decisions and their Impact on Employer Responsibilities Under Title VII
• Corbett Anderson, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• Ernest Haffner, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

An overview of recent EEOC court case decisions with updates to laws, guidance and rule-making that impact administration of civil rights in the federal sector.

11:30am – 12:30pm EST
Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination affecting Limited English Proficiency Persons

• Michael Mulé, Department of Justice

The purpose of this session is to clarify the responsibilities of recipients of federal financial assistance from the Department of Transportation, and assist them in fulfilling their responsibilities to limited English proficient (LEP) persons pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and implementing regulations. The policy guidance reiterates the longstanding position that, in order to avoid discrimination against LEP persons on the grounds of national origin, recipients must take reasonable steps to ensure that such persons have meaningful access to the programs, services, and information those recipients provide.

1:00pm – 2:00pm EST
Ensuring Equity and Nondiscrimination in Regional Planning

• Guillermo Mayer, Public Advocates, Inc.
• Alex Karner, Arizona State University

Metropolitan Planning Organizations play a critical role in ensuring that disadvantaged populations have access to opportunity and are protected from discrimination in transportation decision-making. To ensure compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice, many regional agencies perform equity analyses of their long-range transportation plans. This session will examine the limitations of common methodologies used to identify benefits and burdens, as well as recommendations to improve equity assessments. The presenters will also discuss other strategies MPOs can take to address social equity proactively by examining the lessons learned from the 6 Wins Network’s community campaign to influence the long-range plan adopted in the San Francisco Bay Area.

3:00pm – 4:00pm EST
Introduction to the ACS Language Data Map

• Kurt J. Bauman, Census Bureau, Department of Commerce

As the U.S. Census Bureau continues to collect demographic and other data on the U.S. population on a continuous basis (rather than only once every 10 years) through the American Community Survey, there is now much more current data on English language proficiency available to assist policymakers, administrators and planners with assessing the needs for LEP/Language Access Plan (LAP) intervention and implementation. This session will introduce participants to the ACS Language Map and discuss ways the aggregated data can be used to further the mission of civil rights administration in Federal programs.