Eau Claire County, Wisconsin Circuit Court

The Justice Department announced that it has reached an agreement with Eau Claire County Circuit Court to resolve a complaint it received from the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association alleging that Eau Claire County Circuit Court failed to provide appropriate language assistance services to limited English proficient (LEP) court users. Specifically, the complaint alleged that the court required individuals seeking a divorce to attend the “Families in Transition” class, but the class was only available in English.

The Department began working with Eau Claire County Circuit Court in September 2017, when the complainant filed its complaint alleging that the barriers to divorce proceedings based on language proficiency violated the prohibition against national origin discrimination in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI).  Title VI requires recipients of federal financial assistance, such as courts, to provide meaningful language services to LEP individuals in all court proceedings and operations. 

The resolution agreement between the Department and Eau Claire County Circuit Court outlines actions that the court has begun to take to respond to concerns raised during the federal review and the efforts the court will continue to take to ensure the ongoing provision of comprehensive language assistance for the “Families in Transition” class.  The actions include, among other things, a translated notice of options available to all LEP court users required to attend the “Families in Transition” class, community engagement, and training for court staff who interact with LEP court users.   

Press Release: (English) (Spanish Español) (Hmong Hmoob)