Notice & Grievance Procedure under the Americans with Disabilities Act Havre de GraceCommunityNotice & Grievance Procedure under the Americans with Disabilities Act Notice under the Americans with Disabilities Act In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”), the City of Havre de Grace will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities. Employment: The City of Havre de Grace does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment practices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Title I of the ADA. Effective Communication: The City of Havre de Grace will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in the City of Havre de Grace’s programs, services, and activities, including qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments. Modifications to Policies and Procedures: The City of Havre de Grace will make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all of its programs, services, and activities. Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a program, service, or activity of the City of Havre de Grace, should contact the office of James Reynolds, 410-939-1800 ext. 1139, jamesr@havredegracemd.com as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event. The ADA does not require the City of Havre de Grace to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden. Complaints that a program, service, or activity of the City of Havre de Grace is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to James Reynolds, 410-939-1800 ext. 1139, jamesr@havredegracemd.com. The City of Havre de Grace will not place a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individuals with disabilities to cover the cost of providing auxiliary aids/services or reasonable modifications of policy, such as retrieving items from locations that are open to the public but are not accessible to persons who use wheelchairs. Grievance Procedure under the Americans with Disabilities Act This Grievance Procedure is established to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”). It may be used by anyone (including a parent or guardian) who has been aggrieved and wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of such person’s disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by the City of Havre de Grace. The City of Havre de Grace’s Personnel Policy governs employment-related complaints of disability discrimination. The complaint should be in writing and contain information about the alleged discrimination such as name, address, phone number of complainant and location, date, and description of the problem. Alternative methods of filing complaints, such as personal interviews or a tape recording of the complaint, will be facilitated by the administration for persons with disabilities upon specific request. The complaint should be submitted by the grievant and/or his/her designee/parent or guardian as soon as possible but no later than 60 calendar days after the alleged violation to: James Reynolds ADA Coordinator and Human Resources Manager 711 Pennington Avenue Havre de Grace, MD 21078 Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, James Reynolds or his designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting, James Reynolds or his designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, such as large print, Braille, or audio tape. The response will explain the position of the City of Havre de Grace and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint. If the response by James Reynolds or his designee does not resolve the issue to the satisfaction of the complainant, then the complainant and/or his/her designee, parent or guardian may appeal the decision within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response to the Director of Administration, Dr. Chris Ricci or his designee. Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the Director of Administration, Dr. Chris Ricci or his designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, the Director of Administration, Dr. Chris Ricci or his designee will respond in writing, and, where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, with a final resolution of the complaint. All written complaints received by James Reynolds or his designee, appeals to the Director of Administration, Dr. Chris Ricci, or his designee, and responses from these two offices will be retained by the City of Havre de Grace for at least three years. Once the matter has been finally resolved by the Director of Administration or his designee, and if the complainant is still not satisfied with the resolution of the matter, the complainant may exercise any applicable appeal or review process provided under Maryland law.
