City and County of Denver Grievance Procedure under The Americans with Disabilities Act
Basis:
This Grievance Procedure is established to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”) and the Americans with Disabilities Act as Amended of 2008 (“ADAAA”). In this procedure, reference to the ADA includes the provisions of the 2008 amendments.
In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the ADA, the City and County of Denver will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.
Purpose:
This procedure may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, programs, or activities by the City and County of Denver (“City”). This procedure is designed to provide a complainant with the opportunity to quickly and effectively resolve any issue(s) related to the City’s responsibilities under Title II of the ADA.
The City’s Human Resources Center oversees complaints of disability discrimination related to employment (covered under Title I of the ADA) with the City and County of Denver.
Grievable Offenses:
A grievable offense under this procedure includes, but is not limited to:
- Any alleged action, intentional or otherwise, by a City employee or contractor that prevents equal access to facilities, services, or programs/activities of the City and County of Denver;
- Failure of a City employee or contractor to provide reasonable accommodations, including appropriate auxiliary aids and services, upon receiving sufficient notice of an access-related need (unless doing so would fundamentally alter the nature of a City program or service or impose an undue financial or administrative burden);
- Any City owned and operated building or facility that does not comply with the applicable ADA Standards for Accessible Design (1991, 2010) and thereby prevents equal access to facilities, services, or programs/activities, including the failure of accessible design features (such as pressure plates, elevators, or accessible parking options) to function appropriately;
- Failure on the part of a City facility, service, or program/activity to provide equally effective communication to people with disabilities, given reasonable notice of the need to do so, including but not limited to qualified sign language interpreters, alternative format of forms, notices, etc.
Non-grievable Matters:
The following matters are not grievable under this procedure:
- Any of the offenses listed above, if occurring at facilities, services, or programs not owned or operated by the City;
- A grievance that has already been addressed, investigated, and/or resolved by this process (see appeal process).
- Any complaint related to employment with the City.
Procedure:
The complaint should be in writing and contain relevant information about the alleged discrimination such as name, address, phone number of complainant and location, date, description of the problem, and the desired remedy sought. An accessible form will be provided to complainants online that will assist with the collection of relevant information. Alternative means of filing complaints, such as personal interviews or email submission, will be made available for persons with disabilities upon request. If submitting a complaint through regular mail, email, or fax, submit to address below:
Title II ADA Coordinator
HRCP Disability Rights
201 W. Colfax Avenue, Dept 1102, Denver, CO 80202
DisabilityAccess@denvergov.org
Fax: (720) 913-8470
Upon receiving the complaint, HRCP Disability Rights will determine if it is grievable under this procedure. If non-grievable, complainant will be notified in writing and, if appropriate, provided with resources to address their concerns elsewhere.
If grievable, the Title II ADA Coordinator will respond to the complainant, acknowledging receipt of their complaint and requesting any additional information necessary for the investigation. The Coordinator will contact any parties named or implicated in the content of the complaint to gather additional information. Depending upon the nature of the complaint and parties involved, it may be more appropriately addressed at the level of a department or agency ADA Liaison. If so, the complainant will be informed in writing of the appropriate contact and referred.
After gathering sufficient evidence, the Coordinator, or designated ADA liaison, will respond in writing, in a format accessible to the complainant, explaining the position of the City and offering options for substantive resolution of the complaint.
Accommodations to this procedure may be requested by contacting the Title II ADA Coordinator.
Appeals:
If the resolution does not satisfy the complainant, the complainant may send a written appeal to:
Director, HRCP Disability Rights
201 W. Colfax Avenue, Dept 1102, Denver, CO 80202
DisabilityAccess@denvergov.org
Fax: (720) 913-8470
Appeals must be timely (generally, appeals should be received within 30 calendar days) and relevant to the grounds for appeal. The original decision of the ADA Coordinator will be presumed to have been decided reasonably and appropriately; an appeal must demonstrate substantive error in the original decision, or present new evidence previously unavailable during the original investigation that could substantially impact the resolution. If appeal is not timely and relevant, the original decision will stand.
Record Retention:
All written complaints received by the ADA Coordinator, appeals to the Director of HRCP Disability Rights, and responses from this Division will be retained by the City for three years.
Questions, Concerns, and/or Complaints, Non-Grievable:
Questions, concerns, and/or complaints related to employment with the City (covered under Title I of the ADA), should be directed to the Human Resources Center.