Equity and Inclusion

Civil Rights - Title VI Notice of Rights

The RTA operates its programs and services without regard to race, color or national origin in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Any person who believes he or she has been subjected to an unlawful discriminatory practice under Title VI may file a complaint with the RTA. To request additional information about RTA’s Title VI obligations, and the procedures to file a complaint, contact (504) 248-3900, or email civilrights@rtaforward.org.

A complaint may also be filed directly with the Federal Transit Administration’s Office of Civil Rights, Attention: Title VI Programs Coordinator, East Building, 5^th Floor-TCR, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590.

If information is needed in another language, contact (504) 248-3900.

View Our Title VI Policy

View policy here.

How to File a Complaint

Any person who believes he/she has been aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory practice on the basis of race, color, or national origin by RTA may file a complaint by completing and submitting RTA Title VI Complaint form. Any such complaint must be in writing and filed with RTA within 180 days following the date of the alleged discriminatory action.

The completed form must be returned via mail or email.

Email to:
Adonis C. Exposé
aexpose@rtaforward.org

Mail to:
RTA Office of Civil Rights,
Title VI Coordinator
2817 Canal Street
New Orleans, LA 70119

How Complaints Will Be Processed

RTA will process all completed complaint forms in accordance with the following procedures:

A completed complaint will be reviewed by RTA staff trained to recognize, investigate and respond to Title VI complaints. The complaint first will be reviewed to confirm that a discriminatory action in violation of Title VI has been alleged. The complainant will receive an acknowledgement letter informing her/him whether the complaint will be investigated by RTA.
If applicable, an investigation of the allegations in the complaint will be conducted and generally completed within 90 days of receipt. If more information is needed to resolve the case, RTA may contact the complainant. If further information is requested by RTA from the complainant, the complainant shall respond with the necessary information within ten (10) days with the information to the investigator assigned to the case unless additional time is requested. RTA may administratively close the case if the requested additional information is not timely provided or if the if the complainant advises that he or she no longer wishes to pursue the complaint.
After an investigation is complete, RTA will issue a letter to the complainant summarizing the results of the investigation, stating the findings and advising of any action to be taken as a result of the investigation. If a complainant disagrees with this determination, he/she may request reconsideration by submitting a request in writing to the RTA CEO within seven (7) days after the date of the initial RTA determination letter, stating with specificity the basis for the reconsideration. The CEO will notify the complainant of his decision either to accept or reject the request for reconsideration within 10 days. In cases where reconsideration is granted, the CEO will issue a final determination letter to the complainant upon completion of his review of the matter.