Discrimination, Title VI and Your Rights

Explanation of discrimination, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and your protection under the law.

Overview

The City of St. Louis recognizes that Title VI compliance is a key obligation of the City in its programs. The Civil Rights Enforcement Agency (CREA) is committed to comply with City of St. Louis Ordinance 67119, as amended, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, to assure nondiscrimination compliance on the grounds of race, sex, color, national origin (including limited English proficiency), disability, sex, age, sexual orientation/gender identity for access to services and programs offered by the City of St Louis. No person shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefit of or subjected to discrimination under the City of St. Louis program and/or service.

 Discrimination is when:

  • You are treated differently from others in a similar situation due to being the member of a protected class (see list below)
  • Your request for a reasonable accommodation due to a disability is refused without a valid reason
  • You are retaliated against for standing up for your rights
  • You have been retaliated against for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in an investigation, or opposing an unlawful practice prohibited by a federal, state, or local law.

Federal and State of Missouri laws outlaw discrimination based on one or more of the following protected classes:

  • Race
  • Color
  • National Origin
  • Disability
  • Sex
  • Religion
  • Familial Status (children under 18)
  • Age (in Employment)

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Title VI prohibits against the exclusion from participation in, denial of benefits of and discrimination under federally assisted programs on grounds of race, color or national origin. If you believe you have been subject to discrimination and/or denied benefits of a City of St Louis program you may file a complaint with CREA.

The City has a Title VI program in place. This plan implements the prohibitions in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on discrimination. The 2014 Title VI plan provides:

It is the policy of the City of St. Louis to assure full compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. As such, no person shall, on the basis of race, color, sex or national origin be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any Federal Aid Highway program or other activity for which the City of St. Louis received Federal financial assistance.

The City includes nondiscrimination requirements across its activities and CREA assists in the investigation of such discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations.

Discrimination Related City Ordinances

  • Ordinance No. 67119 outlaws discrimination in:
    • Provision of Housing or Realty
    • Employment
    • Public Accommodations.
  • Ordinance 68715 outlaws discrimination against anyone based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
  • Ordinance 69953 outlaws discrimination against anyone based on their legal source of income, which includes Section 8.
  • Ordinance 70390 outlaws discrimination based on their nuisance calls for service, if such calls are the result of alleged domestic violence or stalking.
  • Ordinance 71074 prohibits employers in the City from basing job hiring and promotion decisions on an applicant’s criminal history. Learn more about the "Ban the Box" ordinance.

What to Do

If you feel you have been discriminated against, begin by:

Reporting Discrimination in employment, housing or public accommodation.

Additional Resources

Or a complainant may file their discrimination complaint directly with a Federal Agency through the following:

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