The Maritime Administration Office of Civil Rights is responsible for ensuring recipients of federal financial assistance through the Maritime Administration comply with all nondiscrimination requirements. The office oversees the implementation of laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and age in the provision of services to the public. The office provides technical assistance and training and conducts complaint investigations, compliance reviews, and recipient program plan reviews to ensure recipients are in compliance with all civil rights requirements. 

File a Complaint 

If you believe you have been discriminated against by a recipient of Maritime Administration financial assistance, including but not limited to ports, small shipyards, or a State Maritime Academy, you may file an administrative complaint with the Maritime Administration Office of Civil Rights. MARAD processes complaints under the following federal laws:

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): prohibits discrimination based on disability. 
• Title VI: prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin, including a person’s limited English proficiency or English learner status.
• Title IX: prohibits discrimination based on sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity, by educational institutions. 
• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO): prohibits discrimination toward an employee or job applicant based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age or disability. MARAD investigates systemic charges of discrimination involving a recipient’s employment policies and practices. All individual complaints of discrimination must go to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Who May File a Complaint

Anyone may file a complaint. If you believe a recipient of Maritime Administration financial assistance has failed to comply with any of the above requirements, you may file an administrative complaint with the Maritime Administration Office of Civil Rights. Complaints should be filed within 180 days of the alleged violation.

What to Expect from MARAD’s Complaint Process

Title VI, EEO, and ADA Complaint Process:
MARAD strives to process complaints promptly. At the conclusion of our review of your allegations, you will receive an acknowledgement letter.  We do not represent individual complainants; our role is to ensure MARAD funding recipients are in compliance with Title VI, Title IX, EEO and ADA requirements. In the MARAD complaint investigation process, we analyze allegations for possible deficiencies by the MARAD recipient. If deficiencies are identified, we work with the MARAD recipient to correct the deficiencies within a predetermined time frame.

Title IX Complaint Process 
If your complaint concerns an allegation of sexual assault or sexual harassment (SASH), that requires immediate attention, you are encouraged, but not required, to submit a complaint to your school’s Title IX office. Complaints submitted after business hours or on federal holidays, may not be reviewed until the next business day.

MARAD does not directly investigate Title IX complaints alleging sexual harassment or assault (SASH). SASH complaints filed with MARAD will be forwarded to the appropriate State Maritime Academy (SMA), with the complainant’s consent, for investigation. Once the SMA has completed its investigation, MARAD will review the SMA’s findings and analyze them for possible deficiencies by the SMA. If deficiencies are identified, MARAD will work with the SMA to correct the deficiencies within a predetermined time frame. MARAD is not able to investigate anonymous complaints and may not be able to investigate a complaint if the complainant is unwilling to release their identify and their complaint to the SMA. 

How to File

Members of the public may file a complaint with MARAD’s Office of Civil Rights by emailing a completed copy of our electronic complaint form to civilrights.marad@dot.gov.  Please attach any documents that support your allegations, including any relevant correspondence with the MARAD recipient, documents, photos, etc.

Complaints may also be mailed to: 
US Department of Transportation
United States Maritime Administration 
Office of Civil Rights 
West Building, 2nd Floor MAR-130 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, 
SE Washington, DC 20590

If you have questions on how to prepare a complaint, please contact civilrights.marad@dot.gov.
 

Filing a Local Complaint

We encourage, but do not require, individuals to first file a complaint directly with their local recipient. This gives the recipient an opportunity to resolve the situation. MARAD recipients are required under the ADA, Title VI, Title IX, and EEO to have local complaint procedures.
 

US Department of Transportation
United States Maritime Administration 
Office of Civil Rights 
West Building, 2nd Floor MAR-130 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, 
SE Washington, DC 20590

If you have questions on how to prepare a complaint, please contact civilrights.marad@dot.gov.