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 Darlington will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.

Employment: The City of Darlington 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 Darlington 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 Darlington’s programs, services, and activities, including large print documents, readers, and other ways of making information and communication accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.

Modifications to Policies and Procedures: The City of Darlington 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 City of Darlington 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 City of Darlington, should contact the ADA Coordinator as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.

The ADA does not require the City of Darlington 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 Darlington is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to Sheila Marie J, ADA Coordinator, at 843.398.4029.

The City of Darlington 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 person who use wheelchairs.

GRIEVENACE PROCEDURES 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 who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of service, activities, programs, or benefits by the City of Darlington. The City of Darlington’s Employee Handbook 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 no later than 180 calendar days after the alleged violation to:

Sheila Marie J, ADA Coordinator
400 Pearl St
Darlington, SC 29532
Email: smarie@cityofdarlington.com
Telephone: 843.398.4000 x105

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, the ADA Coordinator or designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting, the ADA Coordinator or 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 Darlington and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint.

If the response by the ADA Coordinator or 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 City of Darlington City Manager.

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, the City Manager or designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting,

The ADA Coordinator or designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, with a final resolution of the complaint.

If the complainant determines the response by the ADA Coordinator or her designee does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or his/her designee may submit their complaint to the US Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section – 1425 NYAV, Washington, DC, 20530.

All written complaints received by the ADA Coordinator or designee, appeals to the City Manager or designee, and responses from these two offices will be retained by the City of Darlington for at least the number of years required by the State of South Carolina.

You may access a Discrimination Complaint form here.