Addressing Civil Rights Issues

GAO and USDA's Inspector General have reported many times on USDA's difficulties in addressing long-standing civil rights issues. USDA has paid almost $1 billion to minority farmers as a result of one class action lawsuit; the court found that USDA had discriminated against African-American farmers for years. Other class action lawsuits are pending. Our work has shown the following:

• Protecting civil rights is a major management challenge at USDA and difficulties in resolving discrimination complaints persist, particularly the timely processing of discrimination complaints.

  Highlights of GAO-09-62 (PDF)

• USDA published three annual reports on minority farmers' participation in farm programs, as required by law. However, USDA considers much of its data to be unreliable because they are based on employees' visual observations about participants' race and ethnicity that may not be correct.

  Highlights of GAO-09-62 (PDF)

• USDA's strategic planning does not address key steps needed to ensure USDA provides fair and equitable services to all customers and upholds the civil rights of its employees.

  Highlights of GAO-09-62 (PDF)

^ Back to topWhat Needs to Be Done

To improve USDA efforts to address civil rights issues and the participation of minority farmers and ranchers in USDA programs, we recommend that USDA

• Prepare and implement an improvement plan for resolving discrimination complaints;
• Develop and implement a plan to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of customer and employee complaint data;
• Obtain an independent legal examination of a sample of prior decisions;
• Obtain approval to collect demographic data for reliable reporting on race and ethnicity;
• Develop a strategic plan for civil rights at USDA; and
• Explore the potential for an ombudsman office

We also suggest that Congress consider making the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights subject to a statutory performance agreement and establishing an oversight board.

Highlights of GAO-09-62 (PDF)

^ Back to topKey Reports

U.S. Department of Agriculture

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Beginning Farmers

Pigford Settlement

More Reports