Civil Rights Enforcement
The United States Attorney’s Office (USAO), in coordination with the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is responsible for enforcing the federal civil rights laws in the District of Idaho. The federal civil rights laws enforced by the USAO include the following:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA)
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE)
Service Members Civil Relief Act (SCRA)
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (EEOA)
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act (USERRA)
Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA)
Immigration and Nationality Act (anti-discrimination provisions)
In addition, the USAO’s Criminal Division prosecutes violations of the criminal civil rights laws, including laws prohibiting hate crimes and the use of unreasonable force by those acting under color of law. Our office welcomes information from the public that brings to our attention possible violations of our nation's civil rights laws. At the same time, while the scope of our civil rights practice is broad, the authority of the United States Department of Justice to investigate and seek relief for individual complaining parties for alleged civil rights violations is limited. We may investigate and seek to remedy alleged discriminatory conduct only where and in the manner specifically authorized by law. Accordingly, the USAO has authority to investigate and seek to remedy patterns and practices of certain unlawful discriminatory conduct, but we generally do not have the authority to represent individuals in their pursuit of private civil rights claims. More frequently, the USAO handles individual civil rights cases only after they have been investigated and referred to us by another federal agency, such as the following:
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (for employment discrimination)
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (for housing discrimination)
United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (for discrimination in education)
United States Department of Labor (for violations of USERRA)
Office of Special Counsel (for immigration related unfair employment practices)
If you have information concerning a potential violation of the federal civil rights laws that you wish to bring to our attention, you may click on the following link and complete the Civil Rights Unit Complaint Form (English) - **PDF or Civil Rights Unit Complaint Form (Spanish) - **PDF and mail or fax it to the Civil Rights Coordinator in our Civil Division.
Civil Rights Coordinator, Civil Division
United States Attorney’s Office, District of Idaho
800 E Park Blvd., Suite 600
Boise, ID 83712
FAX: (208) 334-9375
** Download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader by Clicking Here.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a collaborative effort by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and communities to prevent and deter gun violence.
