Employment

The Forest Preserve District 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 Forest Preserve District 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 Forest Preserve District'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 Forest Preserve District 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. For example, individuals with service animals are welcome in the Forest Preserve District's offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.

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 Forest Preserve District should contact ADA Programs and Activities Coordinator, Katie Schweiger, as soon as possible but not later than 2 weeks before the scheduled event. Third party services are subject to availability.

The ADA does not require the Forest Preserve District 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 Forest Preserve District is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to ADA Compliance and Grievance Coordinator, Christina Watson.

The Forest Preserve District 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 ADA of 1990. 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 Forest Preserve District. The employee policy manual 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 of 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 not later than 60 calendar days after the alleged violation to ADA Compliance and Grievance Coordinator, Christina Watson.

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, Christina Watson or her designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting,  Christina Watson or her designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, such as large print, braille or audiotape. The response will explain the position of the Forest Preserve District and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint.

If the response by Christina Watson or her designee does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or his/her designee may appeal the decision within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response to the executive director or his/her designee.

Within 15 calendar days of receipt of the appeal, the executive director or his/her designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, the executive director or his/her 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 Christina Watson or her designee, appeals to the executive director or his/her designee, and responses from these two offices will be retained by the Forest Preserve District for at least three years.