SEC. 91.8. RECORDED TELEPHONIC MESSAGES.

   All Departments with recorded telephonic messages about the Department’s operation or services shall maintain such messages in each language spoken by a Substantial Number of LEP Persons, or where applicable, a Concentrated Number of LEP Persons. Such Departments are encouraged to include in the telephonic messages information about business hours, office location(s), services offered and the means of accessing such services, and the availability of Language Access Services. The requirements of this Section 91.8 shall apply only to recordings prepared by a Department to provide general information to the public about the Department’s operations and services, and shall not apply to voicemail recordings on City employees’ telephone lines.

(Added as Sec. 91.7 by Ord. 126-01, File No. 010409, App. 6/15/2001; redesignated and amended by Ord. 27-15, File No. 141149, App. 3/12/2015, Eff. 4/11/2015; amended by Ord. 116-24, File No. 230868, App. 6/21/2024, Eff. 7/22/2024)

(Former Sec. 91.8 redesignated as Sec. 91.9 and amended by Ord. 27-15, File No. 141149, App. 3/12/2015, Eff. 4/11/2015)

SEC. 91.9. CRISIS SITUATIONS.

   (a)   All Departments involved in health-related emergencies, including but not limited to pandemics, refugee relief, disaster-related activities, and all other crisis situations shall work with OCEIA to include Language Access Services protocols in the Department’s Annual Compliance Report. During these events, all Departments involved shall prioritize Language Access Services and to the extent feasible ensure bilingual staff are present and available to assist LEP Persons with critical needs. If these situations require the posting of warning signs, the Department shall translate those signs in the required languages.

   (b)   By January 1, 2025, all Departments providing emergency response services, including but not limited to the Police Department, Fire Department, and Department of Emergency Management in the event of crisis situations and disaster-related activities, involving an immediate threat of serious harm, mass casualties, conditions of natural disaster, or conditions posing extreme peril to the safety of persons and property shall: (1) provide language access services related to the emergency in English and in all languages spoken jointly by 5% or more of the population that speaks English less than “very well”; (2) ensure that the quality of information translated and provided to individuals that speak English less than “very well” is as comprehensive, actionable, and timely as the information provided to LEP persons; and (3) endeavor to utilize community members with the cultural competencies and language skills necessary to effectively communicate with those that speak English less than “very well” using, whenever feasible, native speakers of the relevant languages who also speak English fluently. OCEIA shall reassess the data every five years to ensure that the language or languages in which the Departments provide information are consistent with the requirements of subsection (b)(1).

   (c)   Subject to the budgetary and fiscal provisions of the Charter, OCEIA shall develop strategies for Departments to use in deploying rapid response Language Access Services to advise First Responders serving the public in crisis situations as listed in Section 91.9. OCEIA shall collaborate with Departments to ensure a community-focused approach is incorporated in the operation of rapid response Language Access Services.

(Added as Sec. 91.8 by Ord. 202-09, File No. 090461, App. 8/28/2009; redesignated and amended by Ord. 27-15, File No. 141149, App. 3/12/2015, Eff. 4/11/2015; amended by Ord. 116-24, File No. 230868, App. 6/21/2024, Eff. 7/22/2024)

(Former Sec. 91.9 redesignated as 91.10 and amended by Ord. 27-15, File No. 141149, App. 3/12/2015, Eff. 4/11/2015)

SEC. 91.10. COMPLAINT PROCEDURE.

   (a)   Complaint Process. OCEIA shall be responsible for accepting, investigating, and resolving complaints from persons alleging violations of this Chapter 91. A person alleging that a Department violated a provision of this Chapter may submit a complaint to OCEIA by either: (1) completing and submitting a complaint form; (2) calling OCEIA and speaking with an employee who will document the complaint; or (3) designating another person or entity to lodge the complaint on their behalf. Within five days of receiving the complaint, OCEIA shall notify the Department and commence an investigation. OCEIA shall resolve all complaints within 30 days of their receipt unless OCEIA finds good cause to extend the time for resolving the complaint. OCEIA shall prepare a summary report of its investigation that will include findings and recommendations to address the issues raised in the complaint, including what action, if any, was undertaken by the Department in response to the complaint to ensure the Department’s compliance with this Chapter 91 and whether a Department cooperated or failed to cooperate with OCEIA’s investigation..1

   (b)   Department and City Board, City Commission, and Advisory Body’s Complaint Procedure. If a Department, a City Board, a City Commission, or an Advisory Body receives a complaint from an individual, it shall immediately forward a copy of the complaint to OCEIA. In addition, City Boards, City Commissions, and Advisory Bodies, shall cooperate in good faith with OCEIA in resolving the complaint within the applicable time frame.

   (c)   Annual Tracking of Complaints and Summary Reports. Annually OCEIA shall track the number of complaints received and summary reports in progress and completed. OCEIA shall maintain copies of all complaints and summary reports for a period of not less than five years.

   (d)   Quarterly Reports. On a quarterly basis, OCEIA shall submit a written report to the Board of Supervisors and Commission containing the following information: (1) the number of complaints filed during that quarter, including an analysis of individual cases with departmental trends; (2) the number of complaints filed for the year-to-date; (3) a comparison of those numbers with the filings for the previous year; (4) a brief description of the nature of each complaint filed, including the Department named in the complaint, the,1 and (5) OCEIA’s summary report of its investigation with findings and recommendations..1

(Added as Sec. 91.8 by Ord. 126-01, File No. 010409, App. 6/15/2001; redesignated as Sec. 91.9 and amended by Ord. 202-09, File No. 090461, App. 8/28/2009; redesignated and amended by Ord. 27-15, File No. 141149, App. 3/12/2015, Eff. 4/11/2015; amended by Ord. 116-24, File No. 230868, App. 6/21/2024, Eff. 7/22/2024)

(Former Sec. 91.10 redesignated as Sec. 91.11 and amended by Ord. 27-15, File No. 141149, App. 3/12/2015, Eff. 4/11/2015; amended by Ord. 116-24, File No. 230868, App. 6/21/2024, Eff. 7/22/2024)

CODIFICATION NOTE

1.   So in Ord. 116-24.

SEC. 91.11. ANNUAL COMPLIANCE REPORT.

   Using information collected during the preceding fiscal year beginning July 1 and ending June 30, each Department shall draft an Annual Compliance Report including the following information:

   (a)   A description of the Department’s language access policy;

   (b)   The language services offered by the Department;

   (c)   The number and percentage of people who are LEP Persons who use the Department’s services Citywide;

   (d)   A roster of bilingual employees, their titles, office locations, the language(s) other than English that they speak; excluding those bilingual employees who are self-designated as competent in a second language other than English;

   (e)   The name and contact information of the Department’s language access coordinator;

   (f)   A description of any use of telephone-based interpretation services, including the number of times telephone-based interpretation services were used, the language(s) for which they were used, and the number of times bilingual employees provided in-person interpretation services;

   (g)   An explanatory assessment of the procedures used to facilitate communication with LEP Persons, which shall include, but is not limited to, an evaluation of the following (1) the content of recorded telephonic messages provided to the public and the language of the message; (2) telephone requests for translation or interpretation services; (3) in-person requests for translation or interpretation services; and (4) public notices of the availability of translation or interpretation services upon request;

   (h)   Ongoing employee development and training strategy to maintain well trained bilingual employees and general staff. Employee development and training strategy should include a description of quality control protocols for bilingual employees; and a description of language service protocols for LEP Persons in crisis situations as outlined in Section 91.9;

   (i)   If the Department determines that additional bilingual employees are needed to meet the requirements of Section 91.4, the Department must provide a description of its plan for meeting those requirements;

   (j)   The name, title, and language(s) other than English spoken, if any, by the staff member designated with responsibility for ensuring the accuracy and appropriateness of Language Access Services for each language in which services must be provided under this Chapter 91;

   (k)   A list of the Department’s written materials that have been translated under this Chapter 91, the language(s) into which they have been translated, and the persons who have reviewed the translated material for accuracy and appropriateness;

   (l)   The Department’s written policies on providing services to LEP Persons;

   (m)   A list of goals for the upcoming year and, for all Annual Compliance Reports except the first, an assessment of the Department’s success at meeting last year’s goals;

   (n)   Annual expenditures from the previous fiscal year for services that are related to language access, including:

      (1)   Compensatory pay for bilingual employees who perform bilingual services, excluding regular annual salary expenditures;

      (2)   Telephonic interpretation services provided by City vendors;

      (3)   Document translation services provided by City vendors;

      (4)   On-site language interpretation services provided by City vendors;

      (5)   The Department’s budget 1 Language Access Services and projected budget to support progressive implementation of the Department’s Annual Compliance Report;

   (o)   A summary of changes between the Department’s previous Annual Compliance Report submittal and the current submittal, including but not limited to: (1) an explanation of strategies and procedures that have improved the Department’s Language Access Services from the previous year; and (2) an explanation of strategies and procedures that did not improve the Department’s language services and proposed solutions to achieve the overall goal of this Language Access Ordinance; and

   (p)   Any other information OCEIA deems appropriate for the implementation of this Chapter 91.

(Added as Sec. 91.9 by Ord. 126-01, File No. 010409, App. 6/15/2001; redesignated as Sec. 91.10 and amended by Ord. 202-09, File No. 090461, App. 8/28/2009; redesignated and amended by Ord. 27-15, File No. 141149, App. 3/12/2015, Eff. 4/11/2015)

(Former Sec. 91.11 redesignated as Sec. 91.12 and amended by Ord. 27-15, File No. 141149, App. 3/12/2015, Eff. 4/11/2015; amended by Ord. 116-24, File No. 230868, App. 6/21/2024, Eff. 7/22/2024)

CODIFICATION NOTE

1.   So in Ord. 116-24.

SEC. 91.12. ANNUAL COMPLIANCE REPORTS SUBMITTALS, LANGUAGE ACCESS ORDINANCE SUMMARY REPORT, AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EMERGING LANGUAGE POPULATIONS.

   (a)   Annual Compliance Reports Submittals. All Departments shall submit their Annual Compliance Report on October 1 of each year to OCEIA.

   (b)   Language Access Ordinance Summary Report. On February 1 of each year, OCEIA shall submit to the Mayor, the Board of Supervisors, and the Commission a Language Access Ordinance Summary Report which compiles and summarizes all departmental Annual Compliance Reports. OCEIA shall also include in the Language Access Ordinance Summary Report a current determination of: (1) the total number of LEP Persons in the City; (2) the number of LEP Persons in the City delineated according to language spoken; (3) the number of LEP Persons for each District delineated according to language spoken; (4) the number of complaints received; (5) the number of complaints investigated; and (6) the number of investigative summary reports. OCEIA shall translate in the required languages the key findings and recommendations of the Language Access Ordinance Summary Report within 30 days after its completion.

   (c)   OCEIA may include in the Language Access Ordinance Summary Report recommended changes to all departmental Annual Compliance Reports, including changes to language access policies in order to meet the needs of Emerging Language Populations.

(Added as Sec. 91.11 by Ord. 202-09, File No. 090461, App. 8/28/2009; redesignated and amended by Ord. 27-15, File No. 141149, App. 3/12/2015, Eff. 4/11/2015; amended by Ord. 116-24, File No. 230868, App. 6/21/2024, Eff. 7/22/2024)

(Former Sec. 91.12 redesignated as 91.13 by Ord. 27-15, File No. 141149, App. 3/12/2015, Eff. 4/11/2015)

SEC. 91.13. RECRUITMENT.

   It shall be the policy of the City to publicize job openings for Departments’ Public Contact Positions in an inclusive and appropriate manner including, but not limited to, in ethnic, and1  and non-English language media, and in multiple languages.

(Added as Sec. 91.10 by Ord. 126-01, File No. 010409, App. 6/15/2001; redesignated as Sec. 91.12 by Ord. 202-09, File No. 090461, App. 8/28/2009; redesignated by Ord. 27-15, File No. 141149, App. 3/12/2015, Eff. 4/11/2015)

(Former Sec. 91.13 redesignated as Sec. 91.15 and amended by Ord. 27-15, File No. 141149, App. 3/12/2015, Eff. 4/11/2015; amended by Ord. 116-24, File No. 230868, App. 6/21/2024, Eff. 7/22/2024)

CODIFICATION NOTE

1.   So in Ord. 116-24.

SEC. 91.14. DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBILITIES.

   In addition to the duties and responsibilities provided elsewhere in this Chapter 91, Departments shall:

   (a)   Provide Language Access Services in the required languages or languages spoken by a Substantial Number of LEP Persons that provides vital information to the public about the Department’s services or programs;

   (b)   Maintain data based on the Language Access Services provided to the public;

   (c)   Upon request, provide Language Access Services in languages not covered by the required languages that provide vital information to the public about the Department’s services or programs. The Department shall acknowledge the request within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. Departments shall make good faith efforts to translate the requested materials within a reasonable amount of time and provide the requester with a due date.

   (d)   Inform LEP Persons who seek services, in their native tongue, of their right to request Language Access Services and their right to file a complaint;

   e1    Create a process where all persons may provide feedback on the Department’s Language Access Services;

   (f)   Use OCEIA’s standardized vocabulary list;

   (g)   Prominently post in main entrance or reception areas the availability of Language Access Services and OCEIA’s know-your-rights brochure translated in the required languages;

   (h)   Create and maintain a language access policy and review it annually;

   (b)1   Create and maintain a language access policy and review it annually;

   (i)   Designate a language access coordinator who is responsible for managing the Department’s Language Access Services;

   (j)   Use a community-focused approach to language access services to ensure that residents receive information about City programs and services, including public service announcements;

   (k)   Upon request, translate the investigative summary report;

   (l)   Budget and plan for the Department’s delivery of Language Access Services; and

   (m)   Use good faith efforts to comply with the provisions of this Chapter 91 1 OCEIA’s recommendations and directives. Departments shall prioritize Language Access Services 1 Over time, Departments shall fully comply with the provisions of this Chapter 91 .

(Added by Ord. 27-15, File No. 141149, App. 3/12/2015, Eff. 4/11/2015)

(Former Sec. 91.14 redesignated as Sec. 91.16 and amended by Ord. 27-15, File No. 141149, App. 3/12/2015, Eff. 4/11/2015; amended by Ord. 116-24, File No. 230868, App. 6/21/2024, Eff. 7/22/2024)

CODIFICATION NOTE

1.   So in Ord. 116-24.