Filing a Civil Rights Complaint

If you believe that you have been discriminated against because of your race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, or religion in programs or activities that HHS directly operates or to which HHS provides federal financial assistance, you may file a complaint with OCR. If you believe that you have been discriminated against because of your disability by a State or local government health care or social services agency, you may also file a complaint with the OCR.

Federal antidiscrimination laws apply to programs or initiatives that may involve discriminatory practices, including those labeled as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ("DEI") programs. Entities that receive federal funds, like all other entities subject to federal antidiscrimination laws, must ensure that their programs and activities comply with federal law and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, religion, or other protected characteristics – no matter the program’s labels, objectives, or intentions. This includes the use of those characteristics or proxies for those characteristics as a selection criterion for employment, contracting, program participation, resource allocation, or similar activities, opportunities, or benefits.

You may file a complaint for yourself or for someone else.

Do you have a complaint about housing, law enforcement, labor, education or employment discrimination? OCR does not generally investigate these types of complaints. Find other Federal civil rights agencies that can help you.