Banning Municipal Code Ch. 2.56 Grievance Procedure for Violations of Americans with Disabilities Act

It is the intent of the city to comply with all relevant and applicable provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act ("ADA"); in particular Section 35.107 of the Department of Justice implementing regulations requiring a formal grievance procedure. Furthermore, it is the intent of the city council that such formal grievance procedure shall act as an affirmative tool to encourage disabled persons to identify their issues and concerns in order that the city can more effectively address those architectural, communication and/or transportation barriers which may have had the effect of unfairly discriminating against disabled persons in the city's services, programs and activities; and to empower such individuals with information and means to productively integrate themselves in the community.

(Code 1965, § 2-111.)

The city will not discriminate against any qualified employee with respect to any terms, privileges or conditions of employment because of a person's physical or mental disability. The city will also make reasonable accommodation wherever necessary for all employees or applicants with disabilities, provided that the individual is otherwise qualified to safely perform the duties and assignments connected with the job and provided that any accommodations made do not require significant difficulty or expense.

(Code 1965, § 2-112.)

The city intends to comply with respect to all personnel and employment practices, including the hiring, upgrading, transfer, recruitment or recruitment through advertising, layoff or termination, compensation of any kind, selection for training, educational programs, as well as city-sponsored recreational and social activities, if any. The city intends to insure that all personnel procedures with respect to job applicants and employees with disabilities are nondiscriminatory when job qualifications are assessed. All employment and advancement decisions will be based solely upon the objective determination of each candidate's job qualifications. Some examples of actions which will be taken by the city to ensure the nondiscriminatory nature of personnel practices are accommodating disabled individuals in the testing procedure and medical exam process.

(Code 1965, § 2-113.)

There is created and established an ADA compliance committee composed of representatives from elected officials, the disabled community, business and/or nonprofit sectors, education and the health and medical professions. The committee will be appointed by the city council.

(Code 1965, § 2-114.)

A. All complaints regarding access or alleged discrimination shall be submitted to the individual designated by the city manager as the ADA coordinator for the city.

B. All complaints shall be filed in writing, contain the name and address of the person filing the complaint, and a brief description of the alleged violation of the regulations.

C. A complaint shall be filed with sixty days after the complainant becomes aware of the alleged violation.

D. An investigation, as may be appropriate, shall follow the filing of the complaint. The investigation shall be conducted by the individual designated by the city manager as the ADA coordinator for the city. These rules contemplate informal but thorough investigations, affording all interested persons and their representatives, if any, an opportunity to submit evidence relevant to a complaint.

E. A written determination as to the validity of the complaint and a description of the resolution, if any, shall be issued by the ADA coordinator and a copy forwarded to the complainant no later than fifteen working days after it is submitted.

F. If the complaint cannot be resolved by the ADA coordinator to the complainant's satisfaction, the complainant can request a reconsideration of the case in instances where he or she is dissatisfied with the resolution. The request for reconsideration must be made within five working days after the resolution by the ADA coordinator is issued. Such request for reconsideration shall be submitted to the ADA compliance committee, which will conduct a noticed public hearing upon the issues. The committee will issue a written decision within thirty days.

G. If the complaint cannot be resolved by the ADA compliance committee, the matter will be heard by the city council, provided that within five days of the date from the decision of the ADA compliance committee, the complainant makes a written request therefor to the city clerk. The item will then be scheduled on a city council agenda not later than thirty days from the date of the request. An open, public meeting will precede the vote by the city council. A determination must be made within thirty days of the hearing and the decision of the city council is final.

H. A record of action taken on each request or complaint must be maintained as part of the records or minutes at each level of the grievance process, which records will be transcripted and maintained for a period of three years.

I. A complaining individual's right to prompt and equitable resolution of the complaint shall not be impaired by his or her pursuit of other remedies, such as the filing of a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice or any other appropriate federal agency. The use of this grievance procedure is not a prerequisite to the pursuit of other remedies.

J. These rules shall be construed to protect the substantive rights of interested persons to meet appropriate due process standards and to assure that the city complies with the ADA and implementing regulations.

(Code 1965, § 2-115.)