5.4 Assurance Requirements

5.4.1 Assurance Requirements

Effective date: July 1, 2020

Each contract, agreement, or application for financial assistance under Title I of WIOA will include, in its entirety without changes, the following EO/nondiscrimination assurance language found at 29 CFR § 38.25(a)(1)(i) and (ii):

As a condition to the award of financial assistance from the Department of Labor under Title I of WIOA, the grant applicant assures that it has the ability to comply with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of the following laws and will remain in compliance for the duration of the award of federal financial assistance:

1. Section 188 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which prohibits discrimination against all individuals in the United States on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, transgender status, and gender identity), national origin (including limited English proficiency), age, disability, or political affiliation or belief, or against beneficiaries on the basis of either citizenship status or participation in any WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity;
2. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the bases of race, color and national origin;
3. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, which prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities;
4. The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of age; and
5. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs.

The grant applicant also assures that, as a recipient of WIOA Title I financial assistance, it will comply with 29 CFR part 38 and all other regulations implementing the laws listed above. This assurance applies to the grant applicant's operation of the WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity, and to all agreements the grant applicant makes to carry out the WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity. The grant applicant understands that the United States has the right to seek judicial enforcement of this assurance.

In lieu of including the assurances language in its entirety for smaller contracts or agreements (such as OJT contracts), the following reference to the language may be used: "The nondiscrimination assurances at 29 CFR Part 38.25 apply to this [contract/agreement/etc.]."¹

Every grant applicant and training provider seeking financial assistance under Title I of the WIOA must include in its application the written assurance of nondiscrimination as listed above. However, even when the assurance is not incorporated or referred in a document, it is considered incorporated by operation of law.².

When necessary, language regarding programmatic and architectural accessibility to accommodate individuals with disabilities is also included in contracts and agreements.³

• ¹ 29 CFR § 38.25(a)(2)
• ² 29 CFR § 38.25(a)(2)
• ³ See Subpart C of 29 CFR Part 32