§ 15.1 Purpose and application of part.

(a) The purpose of the regulations in this part is to effectuate the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (hereinafter referred to as the "Act") to the end that no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity of an applicant or recipient receiving Federal financial

assistance from the Department of Agriculture or any Agency thereof.

(b) The regulations in this part apply to any program or activity of an applicant or recipient for which Federal financial assistance is authorized under a law administered by the Department including, but not limited to, the Federal financial assistance listed in the apendix to this part. They apply to money paid, property transferred, or other Federal financial assistance extended to an applicant or recipient for its program or activity after the effective date of these regulations pursuant to an application approved or statutory or other provision made therefor prior to such effective date. The regulations in this part do not apply to (1) any Federal financial assistance by way of insurance or guaranty contract, (2) money paid, property transferred, or other assistance extended prior to the effective date of the regulations in this part, (3) any assistance to an applicant or recipient who is an ultimate beneficiary under any such program, or (4) except as provided in § 15.3(c), any employment practice of any employer, employment agency or labor organization. The fact that a specific kind of Federal financial assistance is not listed in the appendix, shall not mean, if Title VI of the Act is otherwise applicable, that such Federal financial assistance is not covered. Other Federal financial assistance under statutes now in force or hereinafter enacted may be added to this list by notice approved and issued by the Secretary and published in the FEDERAL REGIS

TER.

[29 FR 16274, Dec. 4, 1964, as amended at 38 FR 17925, July 5, 1973]

§ 15.2 Definitions.

(a) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture, and includes each of its operating agencies and other organizational units.

(b) "Agency" means any service, bureau, agency, office, administration, instrumentality of or corporation within the U.S. Department of Agriculture extending Federal financial assistance to any program or activity, or any officer or employee of the Department to whom the Secretary delegates

authority to carry out any of the functions or responsibilities of an agency under this part.

(c) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture or any officer or employee of the Department to whom the Secretary has heretofore delegated, or to whom the Secretary may hereafter delegate, the authority to act in his stead under the regulations in this part.

(d) "Hearing Officer" means a hearing examiner appointed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 3105, and designated to hold hearings under the regulations in this part or any person authorized to hold a hearing and make a final decision under the regulations in this part.

(e) "Recipient" means any State, political subdivision of any State, or instrumentality of any State or political subdivision, any public or private agency, institution, or organization, or other entity or any individual in any State, to whom Federal financial assistance is extended, directly or through another recipient, for any program, including any successor, assignee, or transferee thereof, but such term does not include any utimate beneficiary under any such program.

(f) "Primary recipient" includes any recipient which is authorized or required to extend Federal financial assistance to another recipient for the purpose of carrying out a program.

(g) "Federal financial assistance" or "financial assistance" includes (1) grants and loans of Federal funds, (2) the grant or donation of Federal property and interests in property, (3) the detail of Federal personnel, (4) the sale and lease of, and the permission to use (on other than a casual or transient basis), Federal property or any interest in such property or the furnishing of services without consideration or at a nominal consideration, or at a consideration which is reduced for the purpose of assisting the recipient, or in recognition of the public interest to be served by such sale, lease or furnishing of services to the recipient, and (5) any Federal agreement, arrangement, or other contract which has as one of its purposes the provision of assistance.

(h) "Grant, loan or contract" includes any grant, loan agreement or

commitment to loan, contract or agreement to provide financial assistance or any other arrangement between the Department or any Agency and a recipient of financial assistance.

(i) "United States" means the States of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Wake Island, the Canal Zone, and the territories and possessions of the United States, and the term "State" means any one of the foregoing.

(j) "Applicant" means one who submits an application, request, or plan required to be approved by an Agency, or by a primary recipient, as a condition to eligibility for Federal financial assistance, and "application" means such an application, request, or plan.

(k) "Program" includes any program, project, or activity for the provision of services, financial aid, or other benefits to individuals (whether provided through employees of the recipient of Federal financial assistance or provided by others through contracts or other arrangements with the recipient, and including work opportunities and cash or loan or other assistance to individuals), for for the provision of facilities for furnishing services, financial aid or other benefits to individuals. The services, financial aid, or other benefits provided under a program receiving Federal financial assistance shall be deemed to include any services, financial aid, or other benefits provided with the aid of Federal financial assistance or with the aid of any non-Federal funds, property, or other resources required to be expended or made available for the program to meet matching requirements or other conditions which must be met in order to receive the Federal financial assistance, and to include any services, financial aid, or other benefits provided in or through a facility provided with the aid of Federal financial assistance or such non-Federal resources.

(1) "Facility" includes all or any portion of structures, equipment, or other real or personal property or interests therein, and the provision of facilities includes the construction, expansion, renovation, remodeling, alteration or acquisition of facilities.

[29 FR 16274, Dec. 4, 1964, as amended at 36 FR 3411, Feb. 24, 1971; 38 FR 17925, July 5, 1973]

§ 15.3 Discrimination prohibited.

(a) General. No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity of the applicant or recipient to which these regulations apply. These regulations apply, but are not restricted, to unequal treatment in priority, quality, quantity, methods or charges for service, use, occupancy or benefit, participation in the service or benefit available, or in the use, occupancy or benefit of any structure, facility, or improvement.

(b) Specific discriminatory actions prohibited. (1) A recipient under any program to which the regulations in this part apply may not, directly or through contractual or other arrangements on the ground of race, color, or national origin:

(i) Deny an individual any service, financial aid, or other benefit provided under the program;

(ii) Provide any service, financial aid, or other benefit, to an individual which is different, or is provided in a different manner, from that provided to others under the program;

(iii) Subject an individual to segregation or separate treatment in any matter related to his receipt of any service, financial aid, or other benefit under the program;

(iv) Restrict an indiviual in any way in the enjoyment of any advantage or privilege, enjoyed by others receiving any service, financial aid, or other benefit under the program;

(v) Treat an individual differently from others in determining whether he satisfies any admission, enrollment, quota, eligibility, membership or other requirement or condition which individuals must meet in order to be provided any service, financial aid, or other benefit provided under the program;

(vi) Deny an individual an opportunity to participate in the program through the provisions of services or otherwise or afford him an opportuni

ty to do so which is different from that afforded others under the program (including the opportunity to participate in the program as an employee but only to the extent set forth in paragraph (c) of this section).

(vii) Deny a person the opportunity to participate as a member of a planning or advisory body which is an integral part of the program.

(2) A recipient, in determining the types of services, financial aid, or other benefits, or facilities which will be provided under any such program, or the class of individuals to whom, or the situations in which, such services, financial aid, other benefits, or facilities will be provided under any such program or the class of individuals to be afforded an opportunity to participate in any such program, may not, directly or through contractual or other arrangements, utilize criteria or methods of administration which have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination because of their race, color, or national origin, or have the effect of defeating or substantially impairing accomplishment of the objectives of the program as respects individuals of a particular race, color, or national origin.

(3) In determining the site or location of facilities, an applicant or recipient may not make selections with the purpose or effect of excluding individuals from, denying them the benefits of, or subjecting them to discrimination under any of its activities or programs to which the regulations in this part apply, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin; or with the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing the accomplishment of the objectives of the Act and the regulations in this part.

(4) As used in this section, the services, financial aid, or other benefit provided under a program or activity of an applicant or recipient receiving Federal financial assistance shall be deemed to include any and all services, financial aid, or other benefit provided in or through a facility provided or improved in whole or part with the aid of Federal financial assistance.

(5) The enumeration of specific forms of prohibited discrimination in these regulations does not limit the

applicability of the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section.

(6)(i) In administering a program regarding which the recipient has previously discriminated against persons on the ground of race, color, or national origin, the recipient must take affirmative action to overcome the effects of prior discrimination.

(ii) Even in the absence of such prior discrimination, a recipient in administering a program may take affirmative action to overcome the effects of conditions which resulted in limiting participation by persons of a particular race, color or national origin.

(c) Employment practices. Where a primary objective of the Federal financial assistance to a program to which the regulations in this part apply is to provide employment, a recipient may not, directly or through contractual or other arrangements, subject an individual to discrimination on the ground of race, color, or national origin in its employment practices under the program including recruitment or recruitment advertising, employment, layoff or termination, upgrading, demotion, or transfer, rates of pay or other forms of compensation, and use of facilities. This paragraph applies to programs where a primary objective of the Federal financial assistance is (1) to reduce unemployment, (2) to assist individuals in meeting expenses incident to the commencement or continuation of their education or training, or (3) to provide work experience which contributes to education or training. Where a primary objective of the Federal financial assistance is not to provide employment, but discrimination on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in the employment practices of the recipient or other persons subject to the regulations in this part, tends, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, to exclude individuals from participation in, to deny them the benefits of, or to subject them to discrimination under any program or activity of the applicant or recipient to which these regulations apply, the foregoing provisions of this § 15.3(c) shall apply to the employment practices of the recipient or other persons subject to these regulations, to the

extent necessary to assure equality of opportunity to, and nondiscriminatory treatment of, beneficiaries. The requirements applicable to construction employment under any program or activity of the applicant or recipient shall be those specified in or pursuant to Part III of Executive Order 11246 or any Executive order which supersedes it.

(d) Examples. In order that all parties may have a clear understanding of the applicablity of the regulations in this part to their activities, there are listed in this section programs and activities together with illustrations, by way of example only, of types of activity covered by the regulations in this part. These illustrations and examples, however, are not intended to be all inclusive. The fact that a particular program is not listed does not, of course, indicate that it is not covered by the regulations in this part. Moreover, the examples set forth with respect to any particular listed program are not limited to that program alone and the prohibited actions described may also be prohibited in other programs or activities whether or not listed below.

(1) Cooperative agricultural extension program. (i) Discrimination in making available or in the manner of making available instructions, demonstrations, information, and publications offered by or through the Cooperative Extension Service;

(ii) Discrimination in the use in any program or activity of the Cooperative Extension Service of any facility, including offices, training facilities, lecture halls, or other structures or improvements; or

(iii) Discrimination in training activities, admission to or participation in fairs, competitions, field days, and encampments, conducted or sponsored by, or in which the Cooperative Extension Service participates.

(2) Rural electrification and rural telephone programs. (i) Refusal or failure by a borrower to accept applications for membership or applications to purchase shares of stock, or discrimination by a borrower in the terms and conditions of membership or stock ownership, where such membership or stock ownership is a condition prerequisite to the furnishing of electric or

telephone service by the borrower, or to the receipt of any benefits or advantages related to such service;

(ii) Refusal or failure by a borrower to extend, or discrimination by a borrower in the extension of, electric or telephone service to unserved persons;

(iii) Denial by a borrower to any person of the benefits of improvement, expansion or upgrading, or discrimination by a borrower among consumers or subscribers in improving, expanding or upgrading, of electric or telephone service;

(iv) Discrimination by a borrower in respect of rates, or terms or conditions of, service among consumers or subscribers;

(v) Exclusion by a borrower of any member or stockholder, if the borrower is a cooperative or mutual type of corporation, from participation in any meeting of members or stockholders of the borrower, discrimination among its members or stockholders in respect of the exercise of any of their rights as members or stockholders, or in the manner of the exercise of such rights;

or

(vi) Exclusion by a borrower of any consumer or subscriber from, denial by a borrower to any consumer or subscriber of the use of, or discrimination by a borrower against any consumer or subscriber in his use of, any of the borrower's facilities.

(3) Direct distribution program. (i) Exclusion of an otherwise eligible recipient agency (school, summer camp for children, institution, welfare agency or disaster organization) or person from participation in the direct distribution program.

(ii) Discrimination in the allocation of food to eligible persons.

(iii) Discrimination in the manner in which or the place or times at which foods donated under the program are distributed by recipient agencies to eligible persons.

(iv) Segregation of persons served in different meal periods or by different seating or serving or different food or different size portions by recipient agencies serving prepared meals containing donated foods.

(4) National school lunch program. (i) Discrimination by a State agency in the selection of schools to participate