Official portal of the Government of Puerto Rico 
This page provides resources related to Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. Click on the functions above to learn more about Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
Puerto Rico Department of Housing, as a CDBG-DR Program grantee, is committed to ensuring that its programs affirmatively further access to fair housing and that its policies and procedures do not discriminate against individuals based on any protected class which would deny the opportunity to participate in, access, or benefit from the programs and activities carried out as part of the CDBG-DR Program.
“The Department of Housing is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability, birth, social origin or condition, political ideas or beliefs, or victims of domestic violence or any other federal, state or local protected class.”
Inquiries or discrimination complaints related to Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity for CDBG-DR Programs should be directed to the CDBG-DR Federal Compliance & Labor Standards (FCLS) Division of PRDOH at fairhousing@vivienda.pr.gov
Federal and Local Laws related to FHEO
No person shall be excluded from participation, denied program benefits, or subjected to discrimination under any program receiving federal funding on the basis of:
- Race,
- Color, or
- National Origin.
Establishes that a federal funds subrecipient found in violation of this Title may lose that funding.
To the greatest extent feasible, employment and other economic opportunities, should be directed to:
- Low and very low-income persons, and
- Business concerns which provide economic opportunities to low and very low-income persons.
https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/section3/section3
Prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing, and in other housing-related activities on the basis of:
- Race,
- Color,
- Religion,
- Sex,
- Familial Status
- National Origin, or
- Disability.
Requires HUD and its grantees to administer its programs in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing.
No otherwise qualified individual shall, solely, by reason of their disability, be:
- Excluded from participation in (including employment),
- Denied program benefits of, or
- Subjected to discrimination
under any program receiving federal funding assistance. Section 504 also contains accessibility requirements for housing and non-housing facilities, as well as for the provision of reasonable accommodations.
https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/disabilities/sect504faq
Title I: Prohibits private employers, state/local governments, employment agencies, and unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities; applies to employers with 15 or more employees.
Title II: Prohibits all public entities from, on the basis of disability, excluding participation in, or denying the benefits of its services, programs, and activities, or otherwise discriminating against persons with disabilities.
Title III: Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in places of public accommodation (publicly and privately owned); requires compliance with ADA Standards for new construction and alterations to places of public accommodation and commercial facilities.
For any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available under this Act, no person shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination based on:
- Race,
- Color,
- National Origin,
- Religion,
- Sex
- Age
- Disability
Charges HUD with enforcement related to discrimination covered by this Section.
Provides an exemption from the Fair Housing Act, as amended, for three types of housing that primarily serve “older persons” as defined at 42 U.S.C. § 3607(b) and requires appropriate policies, procedures, and occupancy verification in order to comply with the Act.
https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/fair_housing_act_housing_older_persons
No person shall be excluded from participation, denied program benefits, or subjected to discrimination on the basis of age.
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title42/chapter76&edition=prelim
Requires that certain federally funded buildings be designed, constructed, or altered in accordance with Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS). Standards that ensure accessibility for persons with physical disabilities.
https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2010-title42/USCODE-2010-title42-chap51-sec4151
Prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the sale, rental, leasing, or other disposition of residential property and related facilities owned, operated, or funded by HUD. Also applies to lending that relates to loans insured, guaranteed, or purchased by HUD.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1994-01-20/html/94-1532.htm
No person shall be discriminated against, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin in any phase of employment during the performance of federal or federally assisted construction contracts for contractors and subcontractors who perform in excess of $10,000 in federally funded contracts in a year. Also includes affirmative action requirements and prohibitions against certain adverse actions against applicants and employees by contractors.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ofccp/executive-order-11246/as-amended
Requires federal agencies to affirmatively further fair housing in their programs and activities and establishes that the Secretary of HUD will be responsible for coordinating the effort.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1994-01-20/html/94-1532.htm
Requires each federal agency to take steps to ensure that eligible persons with limited English proficiency are provided meaningful access to all federally assisted and federally conducted programs and activities.
Executive Order 12898 requires that each federal agency conduct its program, policies, and activities that substantially affect human health or the environment in a manner that does not exclude persons based on race, color, or national origin.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/WCPD-1994-02-14/pdf/WCPD-1994-02-14-Pg276.pdf
Prohibits discrimination by subrecipients and subrecipients of CDBG funds, as well as owners, operators, and managers of shelters and other buildings and facilities and providers of services funded in whole or in part by CDBG funds, against individuals based on gender identity
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2017-title24-vol1/pdf/CFR-2017-title24-vol1-sec5-107.pdf
This Act empowers the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to bring civil action in Federal court against private sector employers after the EEOC has investigated the charge, found “probable cause” of discrimination, and failed to obtain a conciliation agreement acceptable to the EEOC. It also brings Federal, State, and local governments under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
