[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Amsterdam
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-4-2015 by Res. No. 15/16-93]
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (the Act), as
amended, prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs
and activities conducted by HUD or that receive financial assistance
from HUD. This includes the New York State Community Development Block
Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program funded by HUD, administered
by the Governor's Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR), and under
which the City of Amsterdam has received financial assistance. The
Act specifically provides that no qualified individual shall, solely
by reason of his or her handicap, be excluded from program participation,
including employment, be denied program benefits or be subjected to
discrimination. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
established provisions for assuring equality of opportunity, full
participation, independent living, and self-sufficiency of disabled
persons relative to employment, benefits and services, accommodations,
commercial facilities, and multifamily housing.
Part 8 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations (24 CFR)
requires the adoption and notice/publication of ADA grievance procedures
for municipalities with 15 or more employees, Section 8.53 and 8.54
respectively. Therefore, be it known that it is the policy of the
City of Amsterdam not to discriminate on the basis of disability.
Toward that end, the City of Amsterdam has adopted by resolution and
internal grievance procedure providing for prompt and equitable resolution
of complaints alleging any action prohibited by Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) of the United States Department
of Health and Human Services regulations implementing the Act. The
subject law and implementation regulations may be examined in the
Employee Relations Office. The Employee Relations Officer for the
City of Amsterdam has been designated to coordinate the efforts of
the City of Amsterdam with respect to Section 504 compliance. The
Employee Relations Officer is located at 61 Church Street, Amsterdam,
NY 12010 and can be reached at (518) 841-4308. This information can
also be accessed on the Internet at the following address: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?scr=/program,_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/
disabilities/section504.
A.
Any
person who believes he or she has been subjected to discrimination
on the basis of disability may file a grievance under the procedure
adopted by the City of Amsterdam outlined below:
(1)
Grievances must be submitted to the Section 504 Coordinator within
60 days of the date of the person filing the grievance becomes aware
of the alleged discriminatory action.
(2)
A complaint must be in writing containing the name and address of
the person filing it. The complaint must state the problem or action
alleged to be discriminatory and the remedy or relief sought.
(3)
The Section 504 Coordinator (or her/his designee) shall conduct an
investigation of the complaint. This investigation may be informal,
but it must be thorough, affording all interested persons an opportunity
to submit evidence relevant to the complaint. The Section 504 Coordinator
will maintain the files and records for the City of Amsterdam relating
to such grievance.
(4)
The 504 Coordinator will issue a written decision on the grievance
no later than 30 days after its filing.
(5)
The person filing the grievance may appeal the decision of the Section
504 Coordinator by writing to the City of Amsterdam within 15 days
of receiving the Section 504 Coordinator's decision. The City
of Amsterdam shall issue a written decision in response to the appeal
no later than 30 days after its filing.
(6)
The availability and use of this grievance procedure does not prevent
a person from filing a complaint of discrimination on the basis of
disability with the United States Department of Health and Human Services,
Office for Civil Rights.
B.
The
City of Amsterdam will make appropriate arrangements to ensure that
disabled persons are provided accommodations, if needed, to participate
in this grievance process. Such arrangements may include, but are
not limited to, providing interpreters for the deaf, providing taped
cassettes of material for the blind or assuring barrier-free location
for the proceedings. The Section 504 Coordinator will be responsible
for such arrangements.
C.
It
is against the law for the City of Amsterdam to retaliate against
anyone who files a grievance or cooperates in the investigation of
a grievance.
[Adopted 11-4-2015 by Res. No. 15/16-94]
The City of Amsterdam has adopted the following affirmative
action plan to meet the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) requirements
of Executive Order 11246 and the program policies of the New York
State Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)
Program. Executive Order 11246 prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors
from engaging in workplace employment discrimination on the basis
of age, race, color, religion, gender, creed, national origin, physical
or mental disability, material status, veteran status, disabled veteran
status, or status as a member of any other protected group or activity.
A.
The
City of Amsterdam is committed to equal employment opportunity and
as part of its Affirmative Action Plan shall:
(1)
Recruit, hire, upgrade, train and promote in all job classifications,
without regard to age, race, color, religion, gender, creed, national
origin, physical or mental disability, marital status, veteran status,
disabled veteran status, or status as a member of any other protected
group or activity;
(2)
Base employment decisions on the principles of equal employment opportunity,
and with the intent to further the City of Amsterdam's commitment
to affirmative action;
(3)
Ensure that all terms and conditions of employment such as compensation,
benefits, layoff, return from layoff, training, educational tuition
assistance, and social and recreation programs, shall be administered
without regard to age, race, color, religion, gender, creed, national
origin, physical or mental disability, marital status, veteran status,
disabled veteran status, or status as a member of any other protected
group or activity;
(4)
Ensure that promotion decisions will be made in accordance with the
principles of affirmative action by imposing only valid requirements
for promotion opportunities;
(5)
Take action to prevent harassment or intimidation of all employees,
particularly those encompassed by the City of Amsterdam affirmative
action efforts.
