Final Letter Report on the Compliance of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection with Local Law 65 of 2015 Regarding Translation of the Business Owner’s Bill of Rights as It Relates to Agency Inspections

Executive Summary

This Final Letter Report concerns the New York City Comptroller’s audit of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP’s) compliance with Local Law 65 of 2015, which governs the translation of the Business Owner’s Bill of Rights as it relates to inspections by New York City agencies. The objective of this audit was to determine whether DEP is complying with Local Law 65, which is intended to make City agencies’ business-inspection protocols and interactions accessible to immigrants and non-English speakers. Our audit of DEP is one in a series of audits we are conducting of the City’s compliance with Local Law 65.

New York City, with a population of more than 8.5 million people, is home to one of the most diverse populations in the world, with more than 3.2 million foreign-born residents from more than 200 countries. According to the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP), nearly one-half of all New Yorkers speak a language other than English at home, and almost 25 percent of City residents age five and over, or 1.8 million persons, are not proficient in English. For individuals with limited English proficiency, interacting with City government can often be a challenge.

Accordingly, in 2015, the City Council enacted and Mayor de Blasio signed Local Law 65 of 2015, amending Section 15 of the City Charter to require (1) translation of the Business Owner’s Bill of Rights, a “plain language” document developed by the Mayor’s Office of Operations delineating standards of service for City inspections; and (2) training, also developed by the Mayor’s Office of Operations, in specific protocols for City inspectors to follow during their interactions with non-English speakers during agency inspections. Local Law 65 explicitly applies to six City inspectional agencies, including DEP, and provides for translation services in “at least” the six languages most commonly spoken by limited English proficient individuals as determined by DCP, based on census data (LEP languages).

Thereafter, with the City’s enactment of Local Law 30 of 2017, as of July 1, 2017 through the present, all City agencies that provide direct public services or emergency services, including DEP, must develop and implement language access plans, in consultation with the Mayor’s Office of Language Access Services’ Coordinator and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. The plans must include translation and interpretation services in the top 10 LEP languages—the 6 designated by DCP and 4 others determined by the Mayor’s Office of the Language Access Services Coordinator, based on language access data collected by the City Department of Education.   DEP’s Language Access Plan accordingly adopts Local Law 30’s 10-LEP language standard for purposes of both its business-inspection activities subject to Local Law 65 and the various other services it provides directly to the public.

Audit Findings and Conclusions

Our audit found that DEP was partially compliant with Local Law 65 and Local Law 30. While DEP had posted the Business Owner’s Bill of Rights at its borough offices and provided training for its inspectors on language access policies and procedures, the Business Owner’s Bill of Rights was only available in English and was not available on DEP’s website. For full compliance, DEP will need to translate the document into the 10 LEP languages as required by Local Law 65 and Local Law 30 and make it available on DEP’s website. Our findings are further detailed below.

Our review of DEP’s Language Access Plan dated 2018, which, as required by Local Law 30 of 2017, documents DEP’s steps to provide services to the LEP populations it serves, found that DEP had made continuous efforts to provide meaningful language access during inspections for LEP customers. Its Language Access Plan describes the steps that DEP had taken to provide its services to the LEP population.

Audit Recommendations

The audit recommends that DEP translate the Business Owner’s Bill of Rights into the top 10 LEP languages to be in full compliance with Local Law 65 and Local Law 30 and ensure it effectively meets the needs of business owners with limited English proficiency when interacting with City inspectors.

In addition, DEP should post the Business Owner’s Bill of Rights in English and the top 10 LEP languages to its website and provide links to the websites of other appropriate agencies, such as the Mayor’s Office of Operations or the New York City Department of Small Business Services, where the Business Owner’s Bill of Rights can be found in English and the top 10 LEP languages.

Agency Response

In its response, DEP agreed with the audit’s findings and recommendations, stating, “DEP has added a link to the Mayor’s Office of Operations site (the agency responsible for this document) that contains the Business Owner’s Bill of Rights in English as well as translations. In addition, DEP is printing all available translated copies of the Business Owner’s Bill of Rights and will have them available at each of its offices that serve the public. Also, DEP will continue to comply with Local Law 65 to effectively meet the needs of New Yorkers with limited English proficiency when accessing DEP’s services.”