The U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces several Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Education. It also has responsibilities under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 (prohibiting disability discrimination by public entities, whether or not they receive federal financial assistance).

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces various federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, or disability. Discrimination by employers with 15 or more employees is prohibited in all aspects of the hiring and employment process: job application, hiring, firing, promoting, training, wage earning, or any other terms, privileges, or conditions of employment.

The Rhode Island Commission on Human Rights  enforces various state laws prohibiting illegal discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, credit and delivery of services. The role of the Rhode Island Commission on Human Rights is to educate the public on discrimination laws/issues and to conduct objective investigations of charges filed.

The U.S. Department of Labor mission is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights. The Department is also responsible for enforcing some of our nation’s most comprehensive federal labor laws on record keeping, youth employment and special employment, family and medical leave, migrant workers, lie detector tests, worker protections in certain temporary worker programs, and the prevailing wages for government service and construction contracts.