Office of Civil Rights
The Office of Civil Rights investigates complaints of discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, and disability.
The Office receives complaints of discrimination that occur in employment, places of public accommodation, educational institutions, and real estate transactions, as well as pattern or practice issues involving law enforcement agencies.
In order to submit a discrimination complaint related to these areas, you may submit to the following. (After submitting your complaint, the program will return you to the homepage.) You will receive a confirmation letter in the mail at the address you provide in the complaint form.
All complaints must be verified by signature and supported by a declaration in writing under penalty of perjury.
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU SIGN YOUR COMPLAINT
For faster processing, please use this Online OCR Complaint Form:
You may also submit a paper complaint form via email or mail:
OCR Complaint Form - Discrimination
(employment, places of public accommodation, educational institutions)
OCR Complaint Form - Law Enforcement Agency Misconduct
For complaints involving discrimination in housing, you may visit the Virginia Fair Housing Office at https://www.dpor.virginia.gov/FairHousing/ or call 804.367.8530.
Voting Rights Notice
The Office of Civil Rights is also responsible for reviewing requests submitted by governing bodies for “certifications of no objection” to changes in certain covered practices affecting voting under the Virginia Voting Rights Act. Va. Code § 24.2-125 et seq.
Localities are responsible for submitting a request for certification of no objection to the Office of Civil Rights in a timely manner. This is required for any local, state, or federal election affected by one of the "covered practices” of Section 24.2-129 of the Rights of Voters Act. The statute allows 60 days for a request to be deemed to have no objection (see Va. Code § 24.2-129(D)) but that time is tolled when the Office requests additional information from a locality. After receiving a letter of no objection or the lapse of 60 days without a request for information, localities must also reserve time to implement proposed changes and submit them to the Election Board for review. In view of these time constraints, localities should allow as much time as possible for processing.
You may contact the Voting Rights section by e-mail at
Links:
2021 EEOC-OCR Work-Sharing Agreement
2022 EEOC-OCR Work-Sharing Agreement
OCR Virginia Human Rights Poster - (en Español)
OCR Disability Discrimination Information Sheet - Effective July 1, 2021
OCR Disability Discrimination Information Sheet - (en Español)
OCR Pregnancy Discrimination Information Sheet - Effective July 1, 2020
OCR Pregnancy Discrimination Information Sheet - (en Español)
Links: State & Federal Laws
Va. Human Rights Act §2.2-3900 - §2.2-3909
Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended (ADA)
Links: State, Federal, & Local Agencies
Contact us:
Office of Civil Rights
Office of the Attorney General of Virginia
202 North Ninth Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: (804) 225-2292
Fax: (804) 225-3294
Email: