Anti-Discrimination Education for Adults Learning English

The U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) funds grants to conduct public education programs about the rights afforded potential victims of employment discrimination and the responsibilities of employers under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. §1324b. Programs funded by the OSC grant program are required to design and implement public education campaigns to address immigration related unfair employment discrimination by educating workers, employers, and the general public about the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.

The New York City Commission on Human Rights will partner with the New York Immigration Coalition, an association of 175 community organizations, in a public campaign to educate immigrant workers, employers, and those preparing for work about anti-discrimination provisions and worker protections of the INA. The partnership will develop a beginning level content-based curriculum to complement the existing The Right To Work, Understanding Immigrant Employment Rights curriculum for intermediate and advanced level students. A beginning level class will reach an additional group of potential victims of employment discrimination from the over two million New Yorkers who are limited English proficient. The campaign will also pilot these ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) beginning level adult education classes on 14 campuses in the New York City University system (CUNY), and other institutions offering adult literacy classes. The campaign will also train ESOL teachers to use the materials in their classes and make the student workbook and lesson plans available online for widespread use. The Literacy Assistance Center and CUNY's Adult Literacy Program will serve as literacy consultants to the curriculum and cosponsor in-service trainings for ESOL teachers. The partnership will also conduct a workshop for employers and employment agencies, training for immigration attorneys, and many additional community-based worker presentations.

CA/NCF