In September, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) joined forces with seven other government agencies to make a significant and long-awaited clarification. For the first time in written form, these agencies affirmed that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act extends its protection to encompass certain forms of discrimination, including antisemitism, Islamophobia, and related forms of bias, within federally funded programs and activities. The White House issued a press release, citing this announcement as part of President Biden’s National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.

To tackle antisemitism, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has proactively issued a bulletin outlining how civil rights laws can safeguard individuals from discrimination based on their actual or perceived ethnicity or ancestry. This important bulletin is the latest demonstration of HHS’s dedication to advancing the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, a crucial initiative of the Biden-Harris Administration.

OCR enforces federal civil rights laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination rooted in race, color, or national origin in any program or activity that receives federal financial assistance from the Department. This includes entities like hospitals or clinics that receive such funding.  Moreover, Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also plays a pivotal role by prohibiting discrimination on multiple grounds, including race, color, and national origin, within covered health programs and activities. These laws, contingent upon individual circumstances, can extend protection to those who are or are perceived to be of various religions, such as Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, or another faith if the discrimination stems from their ancestry or ethnic attributes.

Read the full HHS release here.