Dear Members of the National Coalition for Language Access (NCFLA),
At our June NCFLA Meeting, Commissioner Glenn D. Magpantay of the United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) presented on the Commission’s report, “Language Access for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency.” You can access the press release, report and fact sheet on our website at https://ncfla.org/whats-new/
In his remarks, Commissioner Magpantay reminded the Coalition of the USCCR’s role in investigating Civil Rights issues. Having issued its unanimous, bipartisan report, the Commission now has the legal authority to investigate specific incidents relevant to the subject matter of the report – that is, incidents where language access was denied or where language access programs have been weakened or dismantled. The Commission will investigate claims with strict confidentiality and refer verified infractions to the U.S. Department of Justice. Under federal law (42 U.S.C. § 1975a(e)(2)), the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is explicitly granted the statutory authority to issue subpoenas for witness testimony and document production to support its national fact-finding investigations.
Commissioner Magpantay asked that we get the word out to our networks regarding the report, and the Commission’s role in investigating allegations of language access violations. Please find below a communication template that you can use as a starting point to share on social media or via email. The link to the Reporting Form is https://forms.cloud.microsoft/
Communications Template:
As an independent federal agency, the United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) has the power to receive and investigate allegations where healthcare facilities or government programs fail to provide necessary interpreters or translated materials, or are weakening or completely dismantling language access programs.
The Commission handles all reports with strict confidentiality, investigates the claims, and refers verified civil rights violations directly to the U.S. Department of Justice for further action.
Please share this message with your own networks today so we can ensure our community members know their rights and how to get help.
If you or someone you know has witnessed or experienced a denial of required language assistance, you can file a report to USCCR using the Language Access Barriers Reporting form.