Grievance Procedure
This Grievance Procedure
is established to meet the requirements
of the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (ADA).
It may be used by anyone who
wishes to file a complaint alleging
discrimination on the basis of
disability in the provision of
services, activities, programs
or benefits by the New Jersey
Department of Transportation
(NJDOT). The NJDOT'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 means for filing
complaints, such as personal
interviews or a tape recording
of the complaint will be made
available for persons with disabilities
upon request. The complaint should
be submitted by the grievant
and/or his/her designee as soon
as possible but no later than
30 days after the alleged violation.
- A grievance may be filed in
writing or orally, but should
contain the name and address
of the person filing it,
and briefly describe the
alleged violation. A form (pdf
38k) for this purpose
is available here or from
the designated ADA
Coordinator.
In cases of employment related
grievances, the procedures
established by the Department
of Personnel, N.J.A.C. 4A:7-1.1et
seq. will be followed where
applicable.
- A grievance should be filed
promptly within 30 days after
the grievant becomes aware
of the alleged violation.
(Processing of allegations
of discrimination which occurred
before this grievance procedure
was in place will be considered
on a case-by-case basis.)
- An investigation, if appropriate,
will follow the filing of
a grievance. The investigation
will be conducted by the
agency's designated ADA Coordinator.
The rules contemplate informal
but thorough investigations,
affording all interested
persons and their representatives,
if any, an opportunity to
submit evidence relevant
to a grievance.
- In most cases a written determination
as to the validity of the
grievance and a description
of the resolution, if any,
will be issued by the designated
decision maker and a copy
forwarded to the grievant
no later than 45 days after
its filing.
- The ADA Coordinator will maintain
the files and records of
the agency relating to the
grievances filed.
- The right of a person to a
prompt and equitable resolution
of the grievance filed hereunder
will not be impaired by the
person's pursuit of other
remedies such as the filing
of an ADA grievance with
the responsible Federal department
or agency or the New Jersey
Division on Civil Rights.
Use of this grievance procedure
is not a prerequisite to
the pursuit of other remedies.
- The rules will be construed
to protect the substantive
rights of interested persons,
to meet appropriate due process
standards and to assure that
the agency complies with
the ADA and implementing
Federal rules.
All inquiries regarding the agency's
compliance with the ADA and
the availability of accommodations
allowing a qualified individual
with a disability to receive
services or participate in
a program or activity provided
by the agency should be directed
to the designated Coordinator.
All grievances alleging that
the agency failed to comply
with or acted in a way prohibited
by the ADA should be directed
to the designated ADA Coordinator
identified in this section,
in accordance with the procedures
set forth in N.J.A.C. 16:1B-4.
A grievance alleging that the
agency failed to comply with
the ADA or acted in a way that
is prohibited by the ADA shall
be submitted either in writing
or orally to the designated
ADA Coordinator within 30 days
of the grievant becoming aware
of the alleged violation.
Upon receipt of a grievance,
the designated ADA Coordinator
will notify the grievant and
the initiation of an investigation
into the matter. The designated
ADA Coordinator will also indicated
a date by which it is expected
that the investigation will
be completed, which date shall
not be later than 45 days from
the date of the receipt of
the grievance unless a later
date is agreed to by the grievant.
Upon completion of the investigation,
the designated ADA Coordinator
shall prepare a report for
review by the designated decision
maker for the agency. The designated
decision maker shall render
a written decision within 45
days of receipt of the grievance,
if practicable or unless a
later date is agreed to by
the grievant, which decision shall
be transmitted to the grievant
and/or alternate contact person
if so designated by the grievant.
Recipients shall keep on file
for one year all complaints
of noncompliance received.
A record of all such complaints,
which may be in summary form,
shall be kept for five years.
(49 CFR 27.121(b)). The NJDOT
ADA/504 Coordinator is responsible
for complaint maintenance.
NJDOT prohibits retaliation for
filing a grievance, complaint
or participation in the process
and any allegations will be
promptly and fully investigated.
All complaints received are logged
onto the ADA Complaints Record
Check Sheet, which is maintained
by the ADA/504 Coordinator.
The check sheet is an ongoing
document used to track the
complaint process. When the
Coordinator receives a call
or complaint from an individual
or Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) the information is logged
onto a sheet with the following
information: Case Number, Complainant,
Respondent, Agency Filed With,
Date Filed, Bases, Date of
Report and Decision.
The Coordinator investigates
the complaint as per FHWA instruction
and ADA Guidelines. Once the
complaint is resolved a date
is entered. A hard copy of
the check sheet is stored in
the Coordinator's ADA file
cabinet.
To file a complaint with the
NJDOT Division of Civil Rights
and Affirmative Action, contact
the ADA/504
Coordinator.
To file a complaint with the
United States Department of
Transportation, please contact
them at the following address,
number and web site.
United States Department of Transportation,
FHWA
Office of Civil Rights
400 7th Street, SW, Room 4132
Washington, DC 20590
Phone: 202.366.0693
Fax: 202.366.1599
The file listed above is in
Portable Document Format (PDF).
You will need Adobe Acrobat
Reader to view the files, which
is available free from our state
Adobe Access page. |
