The discrimination alleged by the complainants centers on the means by which the WAGES—Florida’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families–funded welfare program—communicates with its constituency in languages other than English.  Such communication, the Florida groups contend, is accomplished "on an ad hoc basis, or not at all."  As a consequence, LEP individuals have been afforded unequal access to the program, amounting to discrimination based on national origin in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.  The Florida advocates further allege that WAGES has:

• failed to make available bilingual workers, free interpreter services, and written translations of program materials;

• denied LEP individuals equal access to computerized, audio, visual, and telephonic information and services;

• failed to furnish its offices with language appropriate signs; and

• failed to identify all non-English languages spoken by applicants and failed to inform LEP individuals of their right to receive translated information and interpreter services.

The Florida action marks the second time in the past half year that a civil rights complaint has been filed with the HHS OCR against a state agency charging discrimination based on insufficient provision of linguistically appropriate services to LEP persons.  In December 1999, a consortium of civil rights and legal services agencies in Los Angeles filed a similar complaint against the L.A. County Dept. of Public Social Services (DPSS).  In that action, the DPSS was charged with failing to adequately provide services in languages other than English and Spanish (see "Los Angeles County Discriminates against Limited English-Speaking Welfare Recipients, Civil Rights Complaint Alleges," California Update, Dec. 29, 1999, p. 1).

On Oct. 21, 1999, just two months before the L.A. advocates filed their claim, the HHS OCR issued a letter of findings concluding that offices of New York City’s Human Resources Administration in Suffolk and Nassau Counties discriminated against LEP Medicaid and TANF recipients, also for failing to provide linguistically appropriate services (see "HHS Office of Civil Rights Issues Letter of Findings Regarding N.Y. City’s Failure to Provide Adequate Language Assistance," Immigrants’ Rights Update, Dec. 28, 1999, p. 9).  As part of its findings, the HHS OCR required the New York agencies to develop and implement, by late November 1999, a comprehensive corrective plan to bring them into compliance with Title VI requirements.