The purpose of this part is to implement Executive Order 12250, which requires the Department of Justice to coordinate the implementation of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

This part applies to each Federal department and agency that is empowered to extend Federal financial assistance.

As used in this regulation, the term:

(a) Executive Order means Executive Order 12250, titled “Leadership and Coordination of Nondiscrimination Laws,” issued November 2, 1980.

(b) Section 504 means section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Public Law 93-112, as amended by the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1974, Public Law 93-516, 29 U.S.C. 794.

(c) Agency means a Federal department or agency that is empowered to extend financial assistance.

(d) Recipient means any State or its political subdivision, any instrumentality of a State or its political subdivision, any public or private agency, institution, organization, or other entity, or any person to which Federal financial assistance is extended directly or through another recipient, including any successor, assignee, or transferee of a recipient, but excluding the ultimate beneficiary of the assistance.

(e) Federal financial assistance means any grant, loan, contract (other than a procurement contract or a contract of insurance or guaranty), or any other arrangement by which the agency provides or otherwise makes available assistance in the form of:

(1) Funds;

(2) Services of Federal personnel; or

(3) Real and personal property or any interest in or use of such property, including:

(i) Transfers or leases of such property for less than fair market value or for reduced consideration; and

(ii) Proceeds from a subsequent transfer or lease of such property if the Federal share of its fair market value is not returned to the Federal Government.

(f) Facility means all or any portion of buildings, structures, equipment, roads, walks, parking lots, or other real or personal property or interest in such property.

(a) Each agency shall issue, after notice and opportunity for comment, a regulation to implement section 504 with respect to the programs and activities to which it provides assistance. The regulation shall be consistent with this part.

(b) Each agency shall issue a notice of proposed rulemaking no later than 90 days after the effective date of this part. Each agency shall issue a final regulation no later than 135 days after the end of the period for comment on its proposed regulation: Provided, That the agency shall submit its proposed final regulation to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, for review at least 45 days before it is to be issued.

(c) Each such agency regulation shall:

(1) Define appropriate terms, consistent with the definitions set forth in § 41.3 and with the standards for determining who are handicapped persons set forth in subpart B of this part; and

(2) Prohibit discriminatory practices against qualified handicapped persons in employment and in the provision of aid, benefits, or services, consistent with the guidelines set forth in subpart C of this part.

(a) Each agency shall establish a system for the enforcement of section 504 and its implementing regulation with respect to the programs and activities to which it provides assistance. The system shall include:

(1) The enforcement and hearing procedures that the agency has adopted for the enforcement of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and

(2) A requirement that recipients sign assurances of compliance with section 504.

(b) Each agency regulation shall also include requirements that recipients:

(1) Notify employees and beneficiaries of their rights under section 504,

(2) Conduct a self-evaluation of their compliance with section 504, with the assistance of interested persons, including handicapped persons or organizations representing handicapped persons, and

(3) Otherwise consult with interested persons, including handicapped persons or organizations representing handicapped persons, in achieving compliance with section 504.

(a) Where each of a substantial number of recipients is receiving assistance for similar or related purposes from two or more agencies or where two or more agencies cooperate in administering assistance for a given class of recipients, the agencies shall:

(1) Coordinate compliance with section 504, and

(2) Designate one of the agencies as the primary agency for section 504 compliance purposes.

(b) Any agency conducting a compliance review or investigating a compliant of an alleged section 504 violation shall notify any other affected agency upon discovery of its jurisdiction and shall inform it of the findings made. Reviews or investigations may be made on a joint basis.

(a) Agencies shall consult with the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board in developing requirements for the accessibility of new facilities and alterations, as required in § 41.58, and shall coordinate with the Board in enforcing such requirements with respect to facilities that are subject to section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, as well as to section 504.

(b) Agencies shall coordinate with the Department of Labor in enforcing requirements concerning employment discrimination with respect to recipients that are also federal contractors subject to section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.