Employment Service Complaint System Part I: The Basics

Agenda  Background  Definitions and types of complaints  Initial Complaint Filing Process  Receiving Complaints  Complaint Form  Publicly Posted Information

Establishment of the Complaint System  Civil rights violations of migrant and seasonal farmworkers (MSFWs) in state employment service offices  Lawsuit filed by NAACP with U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.  Judge Charles Richey signed court order, which established:  Federal regulations governing federal and state Employment Service system  Monitor Advocate system  Employment Service complaint system

What is a Complaint? An allegation or a representation made or referred to a state or local career center of a violation of Employment Service (ES) regulations and/or other federal, state, or local employment related law.

Confidentiality  The identity of the complainant(s) and any person(s) who furnish information relating to, or assisting in, an investigation of a complaint shall be kept confidential to the maximum extent possible, consistent with applicable law and a fair determination of the complaint.

Types of Complaints  Employment Service-Related  Non-Employment Service-Related  Not Applicable to ES Complaint System

Employment Service-Related Complaints  Alleged violation occurred within the last 12 months  Agency related  Career center violates ES regulations through action or omission

Employment Service-Related Complaints  Employer related  About the specific job to which the complainant was referred by the ES system (career center or via Employ Florida Marketplace)  Employer violates  Terms and conditions of the job order, or  Employment-related laws

Employment Service-Related Complaints  Violation of ES regulation by career center staff  Violation of the terms and conditions of a job order by an employer  Alleged discrimination by an employer  Violation of employment-related law by employer  Involves employer/state agency in another state  Involves another career center or more than one center statewide

ES-Related Complaint Examples  Violation of terms and conditions of job order  Worker referred by career center on job order that states pay is $9.00/hour; employer paid worker $8.00/hr.  Violation of employment-related law  Worker referred by career center, not paid for all hours worked

ES-Related Complaint Examples  Career center staff refuses to provide migrant farmworker with job referral to non-agricultural job  Qualified female customer is referred by the career center to job for an auto mechanic; employer wants to hire a male  A customer files a complaint against an employer in Michigan  Customer files complaint in Miami career center against employer in Orlando to which he was referred by career center in Kissimmee

Non-Employment Service-Related Complaints  Alleges violations of employment-related federal, state, or local laws  Not related to services provided through the career center  Violations of laws enforced by Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), or other federal or state enforcement agencies

Non-ES-Related Complaint Examples  A seasonal farmworker, who was referred to the job by a friend, files a complaint because the employer has pesticides sprayed in a field where workers are present  An employee who applied for a job on the company’s website complains the employer is not paying minimum wage

Not Applicable to Employment Service Complaint System  Complaints that relate to Reemployment Assistance (RA), Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), etc.  Instruct the customer to follow the program’s respective grievance procedures

Complaints Alleging Unlawful Discrimination  The procedures for handling allegations of discrimination received by career center staff are set forth in 20 CFR (b)(1) and 29 CFR The Equal Opportunity (EO) Officer for the RWB and the DEO Office for Civil Rights (OCR) have authority to process complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, martial status, citizenship, status of a WIOA participant, and political affiliation.

Complaint Filing Process

Receiving Complaints  There must be trained Complaint Specialist in each career center and satellite office  Backup Complaint Specialist recommended  Complaints may be received in person, by signed letter, or via  Do not instruct customer to contact another agency prior to determining if complaint is ES-related or complainant is MSFW

Complaints Filed In Person  Explain the ES complaint system  Determine type of complaint  ES-Related, Non-ES-Related, Not Applicable  Complete the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Form 8429, if appropriate

Complaints Received by Mail  Determine if allegations of discrimination have been reported  Forward to EO Officer or DEO/OCR  Log complaint  Signed letter with sufficient information  Complainant’s name and contact info, respondent’s name and contact info, description of complaint, information to determine the type of complaint and other processing information  Letter should be treated like a properly completed ETA Form 8429  Notification of receipt letter should be mailed

Complaints Received by Mail  Letters without sufficient information require a request for additional information sent to the complainant in writing  40 working day response period for MSFWs  20 working day response period for non-MSFWs  Letter signed by an attorney representing the complainant serves as a valid complaint  Letter should be treated like a properly completed ETA Form 8429, provided it contains all required elements necessary to conduct an investigation  Correspondence/communication should be directed to the attorney

Complaints Received by  ETA Form 8429 should be ed with a request to complete Part I  Signed form should be ed, faxed, sent by mail, or brought in-person to the career center  If the contains allegations of discrimination, it should also be forwarded to the EO Officer or DEO/OCR

ETA Form 8429

Required Signage

For More Information Marisela Garcia Senior Monitor Advocate/ DEO Complaint Specialist (850) Eduardo Torres Assistant Monitor Advocate (850) Bureau of One-Stop and Program Support Division of Workforce Services Florida Department of Economic Opportunity