[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
East Goshen 10-16-1984 by Ord. No. 71. Amendments noted where applicable.]
It shall be unlawful to exclude an otherwise qualified handicapped individual,
solely by reason of his or her handicap, from the participation in or the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity
within the Township of East Goshen, Chester County, Pennsylvania, receiving
federal financial assistance.
An internal grievance procedure is hereby and herein established to resolve in a prompt and equitable manner any complaint alleging an action or activity prohibited by § 26-1 and by the Office of Revenue Sharing's (ORS) regulations [31 CFR 51.55(d)(2)] implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. § 794).
Complaints should be addressed to the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors,
East Goshen Township, 1580 Paoli Pike, West Chester, PA 19380, telephone:
(215) 692-7171, who has been designated to coordinate Section 504 compliance
efforts.
A complaint should be filed, in writing or verbally, containing the
name and address of the person filing it and briefly describing the alleged
violation of the regulations.
A complaint should be filed within 30 days after the complainant becomes
aware of the alleged violation. (Processing of allegations of discrimination
occurring before this grievance procedure was in place will be considered
on a case-by-case basis.)
An investigation, as may be appropriate, shall follow a filing of a
complaint. The investigation will be conducted by the Chairman of the Board
of Supervisors of East Goshen Township. 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. Under 31
CFR 51.55(d)(2), the Township of East Goshen need not process complaints from
applicants for employment or from applicants for admission to post-secondary
educational institutions.
A written determination as to the validity of the complaint and description
of resolution, if any, shall be issued by the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors
and a copy forwarded to the complainant no later than 30 days after its filing.
The Section 504 coordinator shall maintain the files and records of
the Township of East Goshen relating to the complaints filed.
The complainant can request a reconsideration of the case in instances
where he or she is dissatisfied with the resolution. The request for reconsideration
should be made within 30 days to the Secretary of the Board of Supervisors
of East Goshen Township, and all requests for reconsideration shall be considered
and decided by the full Board of Supervisors.
The right of a person to a prompt and equitable resolution of the complaint
filed hereunder shall not be impaired by the person's pursuit of other remedies
such as the filing of a Section 504 complaint with the Office of Revenue Sharing,
United States Department of the Treasury. Utilization of this grievance procedure
is not a prerequisite to the pursuit of other remedies.
These rules shall be construed to protect the substantive rights of
interested persons, to meet appropriate due process standards and to assure
that the Township of East Goshen complies with Section 504 and the ORS regulations.
