HomeMy Public PortalAbout101.4 - Executive Offices - General - Americans With Disabilities ActCity of Orlando
Executive Offices Section 101.4
Policies and Procedures Manual Page 1
101.4 SUBJECT: AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
:1 OBJECTIVE:
Define disability and establish a reporting and investigation procedure for complaints of
discrimination made by disabled City employees, as well as complaints from disabled citizens.
:2 AUTHORITY:
This procedure amended by City Council May 13, 2019, Item A-5.
:3 DIRECTION:
Chief Administrative Officer, Department Directors, Office Heads, Division Managers
:4 METHOD OF OPERATION:
A. Definitions
The following words, for the purpose of this policy and procedure, shall mean:
City is the City of Orlando Government.
Employee is any person who is employed by the City of Orlando.
Disability means having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits
one or more of the major life activities of such individuals, having a record of
such impairment or being regarded as having such impairment.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is Federal legislation which prohibits
discrimination against persons with disabilities.
Americans with Disabilities Act Official is an employee designated by the Chief
Administrative Officer (CAO) to coordinate the City's efforts to comply with the
ADA. The Director of Human Resources is the ADA official.
Qualified means an employee who meets all of the posted requirements and is
able to perform all of the essential functions of the position with or without
reasonable accommodations.
B. Policy
The City shall not discriminate against a qualified individual because of the disability of
such individual in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or
discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms,
conditions and privileges of employment.
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The City shall not discriminate against any qualified individual with a disability
on the basis of disability nor shall it unlawfully exclude such an individual from
participation in or deny the individual the benefits of the services, programs or
activities of the City.
Persons with non-obvious disabilities have an obligation to inform the City about
the existence of the disability in a timely manner if reasonable accommodations
are needed.
The ADA Official shall be responsible for the following:
1. Investigation of any complaint alleging non-compliance with the
ADA by the City or its employees;
2. Coordination of the City's efforts to comply with and carry out its
responsibilities under the ADA;
3. On or before January 26, 1993, completion of a written self-
evaluation of the City's current services, policies and practices and
the effects thereof with respect to the requirements of the ADA,
and on or before July 26, 1993, preparation of a barrier removal
transition plan;
4. Provision of opportunities for interested persons including
individuals with disabilities to participate in the self-evaluation
process; and
5. Recommendation to the CAO and other appropriate City officials
which physical barrier accommodations are readily achievable.
C. Employment Procedures
1. The City of Orlando values the talents and abilities of those qualified
individuals having a disability and supports their employment within the
City work force. Recruitment and Employment processing is conducted in
accordance with Policy and Procedure 808.2 with reasonable
accommodations provided for testing and job placement.
2. Procedures for continued employment of individuals who become disabled
while employed by the City are provided in paragraph D. Reasonable
efforts will be taken to continue employment in the spirit of the ADA for
those qualified employees when a position is available.
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D. Reporting/Managing Employees With Potential Disabilities
1. If the employee is unable to perform the essential functions of his/her
current position, due to permanent restrictions from a disability, and if
within the employee’s Department, no reasonable accommodation can be
made which would allow the employee to perform the essential functions
of his/her current position, and no open position for which the emplo yee is
qualified is available, the department will refer the employee to Human
Resources for a City wide job search.
Human Resources shall search all position openings for which the
employee may be qualified. If the employee is qualified for any op en
position, which is an equivalent or lesser pay grade he/she shall be offered
that position. If there is a vacancy that the employee qualifies for that
would be considered a promotion, the employee must apply and compete
through the normal City application process.
2. If the disability stemmed from an on-the-job injury or job-related illness
and no open City position is available when the employee reached either
MMI (maximum medical improvement) or the 180-day threshold as
provided in Policy and Procedure 808.50, the employee shall be terminated.
3. If the disability is not job-related and no open City position is available
under the conditions stated in #1 for which the employee is qualified, the
employee shall be terminated upon the completion of all eligible leaves, or
the 180 day threshold as provided in Policy and Procedure 808.15 and/or
808.25.
4. Any employee terminated pursuant to this Policy & Procedure shall be
eligible for rehire.
5. An employee who becomes disabled for any reason has an affirmative
obligation to perform and/or aid his/her own job search.
E. Public Meetings, Events, and Programs
Every effort will be made to schedule meetings and other events open to the public
at locations accessible to persons with disabilities.
Public meeting notices should contain the following notation:
City of Orlando
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Policies and Procedures Manual Page 4
"Persons who need an accommodation to attend or participate in this
(program, meeting, or event) should contact (person or office) at (phone
number) by (date) in order to request such assistance."
The deadline set for notification should not exceed 24 hours unless a greater period
of time is necessary to accomplish a specific accommodation.
When an accommodation is requested in order to allow a person with a disability
to attend or participate in a meeting or program, every effort will be made to meet
this request unless the requested accommodation would fundamentally alter the
nature of the program or would involve undue financial or administrative burden.
Accommodations that should be provided whenever possible include: moving the
meeting or event to an accessible location; providing assisted listening devices or
other auxiliary aids; providing materials/information in alternative formats;
providing a qualified sign-language interpreter.
Any questions about the required provision of accommodations should be directed
to the City's ADA Official or the Office of Legal Affairs.
F. Provision of General Services (Permits, information, etc.)
Services provided by the City must be made accessible to persons with disabilities
whenever feasible. Such services, whenever feasible, must be either: 1) provided
in an accessible location; or 2) provided to persons with mobility impairments in a
location accessible to them.
On-line services or programs must be accessible in accordance with current
industry standards or offered in an alternative accessible manner.
Accommodations must be made in order to provide effective communication with
persons who are hearing impaired. The type of accommodation required will
depend on the importance and complexity of the particular process. For most
permitting and informational services, an exchange of written communications will
often be sufficient. If written communications are not effective, efforts should be
made to obtain the assistance of a sign language interpreter. A list of City
employees who have this skill is available in Human Resources .
At formal hearings and board meetings affecting the rights of an individual with a
hearing impairment, appropriate communication assistance must be provided. If
necessary, the services of a qualified sign language interpreter will be provided at
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City expense. The City's ADA Official should be contacted as far in advance as
possible to arrange this service.
G. Fire or Medical Emergency Service
In fire or medical emergency situations, every effort should be made to
accommodate the special needs of persons with disabilities, to the extent that time
and safety permits. Persons with disabilities should be treated with dignity and
respect, but safety concerns must be given primary consideration. Communications
with persons who are hearing impaired should be made in the quickest effective
means possible.
If the services of a sign language interpreter are needed, and when time permits,
Fire Communications should be contacted to obtain the names of City employees
who possess this skill.
H. Complaint Procedures
1. Any City employee who believes that he or she has been subjected to
discrimination on the basis of a disability and is not able to resolve the
matter through the appropriate grievance system should report the conduct
to the ADA Official.
2. The City considers discrimination against the disabled to be a serious
offense. Depending on the circumstances of the incident, discipline up to
and including termination may be imposed on any employee who, in the
course of that charge, intentionally discriminates against an individual
because of his/her disability.
3. This procedure is in no way intended to prevent an aggrieved employee
from pursuing his or her claim of discrimination through other local, state
or federal agencies.
4. The City's ADA Official will also accept and respond to complaints from
disabled citizens alleging violations of the ADA by the City or its
employees.
:5 FORMS:
None.
:6 COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES:
City of Orlando
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None.
:7 REFERENCE:
Titles I, II and III of the ADA. Procedure adopted by City Council January 27, 1992, Item 5/GG;
amended August 31, 1992, Item 4J; amended March 22, 1999, Item.7 -AA; amended July 28,
2003, Item A4; amended May 13, 2019, Item A5.
:8 EFFECTIVE DATE:
This procedure effective May 13, 2019.