Discrimination prohibited.
5 C.F.R. § 900.404
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) General. A person in the United States shall not, on the ground of race, color, or national origin be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under, a program to which this subpart applies.
(b) Specific discriminatory actions prohibited. (1) A recipient under a program to which this subpart applies may not, directly or through contractual or other arrangements, on the ground of race, color, or national origin—
(i) Deny a person a service, financial aid, or other benefit provided under the program;
(ii) Provide a service, financial aid, or other benefit to a person which is different, or is provided in a different manner, from that provided to others under the program;
(iii) Subject a person to segregation or separate treatment in any matter related to his receipt of a service, financial aid, or other benefit under the program;
(iv) Restrict a person in any way in the enjoyment of an advantage or privilege enjoyed by others receiving a service, financial aid, or other benefit under the program;
(v) Treat a person differently from others in determining whether he satisfies an admission, enrollment, quota, eligibility, membership, or other requirement or condition which persons must meet in order to be provided a service, financial aid, or other benefit provided under the program; or
(vi) Deny a person an opportunity to participate in the program through the provision of services or otherwise or afford him an opportunity to do so which is different from that afforded others under the program.
(2) A recipient, in determining the types of services, financial aid, or other benefits, or facilities which will be provided under a program or the class of persons to whom, or the situations in which, the services, financial aid, other benefits, or facilities will be provided under a program, or the class of persons to be afforded an opportunity to participate in a program, may not, directly or through contractual or other arrangements, utilize criteria or methods of administration which have the effect of subjecting persons to discrimination because of their race, color, or national origin, or have the effect of defeating or substantially impairing accomplishment of the objectives of the program with respect to individuals of a particular race, color, or national origin.
(3) As used in this section, the services, financial aid, or other benefits provided under a program receiving Federal financial assistance include a service, financial aid, or other benefit provided in or through a facility provided with the aid of Federal financial assistance.
(4) The enumeration of specific forms of prohibited discrimination in this paragraph does not limit the generality of the prohibition in paragraph (a) of this section.
(5) Examples demonstrating the application of the provisions of this section to certain programs receiving Federal financial assistance from OPM are contained in appendix C of this subpart.
(6) (i) In administering a program regarding which the recipient had previously discriminated against persons on the ground of race, color, or national origin, the recipient shall take affirmative action to overcome the effects of prior discrimination.
(ii) Even in the absence of prior discrimination a recipient in administering a program shall take affirmative action as required by OPM to overcome the effect of conditions which resulted in limiting participation by persons of a particular race, color, or national origin.
(iii) Any affirmative action under this paragraph shall be consistent with the principles stated in the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970, 84 Stat. 1909.
(c) Employment practices. (1) When a primary objective of a program of Federal financial assistance to which this subpart applies is to provide employment, a recipient or other party subject to this subpart shall not, directly or through contractual or other arrangements, subject a person to discrimination on the ground of race, color, or national origin in its employment practices under the program (including recruitment or recruitment advertising, hiring, firing, upgrading, promotion, demotion, transfer, layoff, termination, rates of pay, or other forms of compensation or benefits, selection for training or apprenticeship, use of facilities, and treatment of employees). A recipient shall take affirmative action to insure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to race, color, or national origin. The requirements applicable to construction employment under a program are those specified in or pursuant to Part III of Executive Order 11246 or any Executive order which supersedes it.
(2) Federal financial assistance to programs under laws funded or administered by OPM which have as a primary objective the providing of employment include those set forth in appendix B to this subpart.
(3) In regard to Federal financial assistance which does not have providing employment as a primary objective, the provisions of paragraph (c)(1) of this section apply to the employment practices of the recipient if discrimination on the ground of race, color, or national origin in the employment practices tends, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, to exclude persons from participation in, to deny them the benefits of, or to subject them to discrimination under, the program receiving Federal financial assistance. The provisions of paragraph (c)(1) of this section apply to the extent necessary to assure equality of opportunity to and nondiscriminatory treatment of beneficiaries.
(d) In determining the site or location of facilities, a recipient or applicant may not make selections with the purpose or effect of excluding individuals from, denying them the benefits of, or subjecting them to discrimination under, a program to which this subpart applies, on the ground of race, color, or national origin; or with the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing the accomplishments of the objectives of title VI or this subpart.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-5.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026