POLICIES, PRACTICES & PROCEDURAL GUIDANCE

POLICY:

The County of Nassau is committed to complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including all the provisions of Title II of the ADA, which protects the rights of the disabled to access state and local government services, programs and activities. Specifically, the County is committed to the following policy:

No qualified disabled individual shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs or activities of Nassau County, or employment by Nassau County, or be subjected to discrimination by Nassau County in employment or in County public services, programs and/or activities including, but not limited to legislative meetings, informational materials, health and social services, employment, transportation, recreation and special events.

PURPOSE:

To ensure that all members of the public, including people with disabilities, are able to participate in and receive the benefits of Nassau County's services, programs and activities, including employment opportunities with Nassau County.

SCOPE:

All Nassau County Departments and Agencies

• Laws And Regulations
• Definitions
• County Programs, Services Or Activities
  • Introduction
  • Request And Resolution
  • Reconsideration Process
• Employment
  • Introduction
  • Request And Resolution Process
• Posting And Distribution Of Policy
• ADA Liaison List
• Forms
  • # 1 Policy Statement
  • # 2 Request for Accommodation Form
  • # 3 ADA Accessible Meetings Notice

• Americans  with Disabilities Act, Title II  (42 U.S.C. §12131 et seq.)
• Department of Justice Regulations implementing Title II of the ADA (28 CFR Part 35)
• Department of Justice Title II Technical Assistance Manual
• ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities (ADAAG) promulgated by the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board

County- County of Nassau

Disabled Individual - a person with a ''physical or mental impairment" that substantially limits a "major life activity", or "has a record of such impairment", or "is regarded as having such impairment". These definitional terms are further explained below.

• "Physical or mental impairment" - (i) Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: Neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genitourinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin, and endocrine; or (ii) Any mental or psychological disorder such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities.
•  "Major Life Activities" - include functions such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working.
• "Has a record of such an impairment" - has a history of, or has been misclassified as having, a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
• "Is regarded as having an impairment" - (i) Has a physical or mental impairment that does not substantially limit major life activities but that is treated by a public entity as constituting such a limitation; (ii) Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits major life activities only as a result of the attitudes of others toward such impairment; or (iii) Has no physical or mental impairments defined herein, but is treated as having such an impairment.

The following are not disabilities:

• Transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibition­ ism, voyeurism, gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments, or other sexual behavior disorders;
• 1Compulsive gambling, kleptomania, or pyromania; and
• Psychoactive substance use disorders resulting from current illegal use of drugs, provided, however, that a person may be protected under the ADA if he or she is no longer using drugs and is participating in or has successfully completed a supervised drug rehabilitation program; and, further, provided that, even current drug users have a right to access under the ADA to health services and services in connection with drug rehabilitation, but may be ejected from a rehabilitation program if they engage in illegal drug use while participating in the program

Qualified Disabled Individual - individual who:

• With respect to employment, meets the skill, experience, education and other job-related requirements of a position held or desired, even if he or she meets such requirements only with a "reasonable accommodation" for his or her disability; or
• With respect to County programs, services and activities, meets the essential eligibility requirements for the services, programs and/or activities offered by Nassau County, even if he or she meets such requirements only with a "reasonable accommodation" for his or her disability.

"Reasonable accommodation" means an adjustment to duties, performance methods, and/or service delivery to meet the individualized need of a qualified disabled individual. The provision of a reasonable accommodation in a specific situation removes barriers that prevent or limit the participation in employment, services, programs and/or activities. This may include:

• reasonable modification" to the County department's rules, policies or practices;
• removal of architectural, communication or transportation barriers; or

• provision of auxiliary aids and services, which includes
  1. Qualified interpreters, notetakers, transcription services, written materials, telephone handset amplifiers, assistive listening devices, assistive listening  systems, telephones compatible with hearing aids, closed caption decoders, open and closed captioning, telecommunications devices for deaf persons (TDD's), videotext displays, or other effective methods of making aurally delivered materials available to individuals with hearing impairments;
  2. Qualified readers, taped texts, audio recordings, Brailled materials, large print materials, or other effective methods of making visually delivered materials available to individuals with visual impairments;
  3. Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices; and
  4. Other similar services and actions.

Request Initiation

• In situations where a qualified disabled individual anticipates being unable to participate in a service, program and/or activity that is about to occur due to disability, oral requests may be made initially to permit prompt action.
• If the situation is not resolved following an oral request, a request should be filed in writing or, when necessary, in another format that accommodates the requester's disability. While written requests need not be on any specific form, request forms may be obtained from the Nassau County Office for the Physically Challenged (hereinafter referred to as "OPC").

To Whom Should The Request Be Addressed?

• Requests concerning access to County services, programs, and/or activities should be addressed to the ADA Liaison for the department responsible for the program, service or activity at issue. (A list of ADA Liaisons for all County departments is attached to this policy.)
• If the requester cannot identify or contact the appropriate department or the designated ADA Liaison for that department, he/she should contact:
  Nassau County Office for the Physically Challenged
  60 Charles Lindbergh Blvd.
  Uniondale, NY 11553
  (516) 227-8990 (Phone)
  (516) 227-8991 (Fax)
  Hearing Impaired call 711(National Relay Number)

 Included Information

All requests, in whatever form, should identify the following:

• Name, address and phone number of person filing request;
• Name, address and phone number of the qualified disabled individual needing the accommodation;
• The disability the person has that is preventing that individual from participating in the service program or activity. The County reserves the right to request medical verification of the disability, the functional limitations the disability causes and the need for the accommodation. If medical documentation is required, the person requesting the accommodation must sign a medical records release form.
• The service, program and/or activity which is not fully available or accessible;
• The manner in which the service, program or activity is not available or accessible;
• The reasonable accommodation being sought and/or the type of action believed to be necessary to make the service, program or activity available or accessible (Examples: removal of physical barriers, change in program policies or procedures, provision of auxiliary aides or services, discussion with County employees responsible for delivering services or other possible accommodations).
• Any witnesses to the incident or condition;
• Any time-sensitive deadlines should be noted.
• Investigations shall afford all interested persons and their representatives, if any, an opportunity to submit materials relevant to the request.

• If a request for an accommodation is occurring prior to the service, program and/or activity then the request should be made seven days prior to the need for the accommodation or as soon as the individual is made aware of the need for the accommodation.

• If a qualified disabled individual has been unable to participate in the service, program and/or activity, s/he should report the condition to the County so that the County can avoid any similar situation in the future.

The response must be reviewed and approved by the appropriate departmental Commissioner and/or Director, or his/her designee prior to the response being sent to the requestor.

• The departmental ADA Liaison will provide a response in writing to the requestor. Upon request, the response will be in an alternative format accessible to the requestor.

• A copy of the approved response should also be forwarded to the Director of the OPC to the appropriate departmental Commissioner and/or Director or his/her designee.

Reconsideration

The requestor can request reconsideration for the original request if he or she is dissatisfied with the County's response.

• The request for reconsideration should be addressed to the Director of the OPC, in writing. An alternative format accessible to the requestor may also be used.
• The requestor must seek reconsideration within ten (10) days of receipt of the County's response to the original request.
• The Director of the OPC will respond to any request for reconsideration within 15 business days of receiving the request. ·
• The response to the reconsideration request must be approved by the department Commissioner and/or Director, or by his/her designee.
• The response to any request for reconsideration shall be filed with the departmental Commissioner and/or Director or with his/her designee before it is sent to the requestor.
• If the request is approved, the department shall provide the accommodation without undue delay.

The ADA Liaison shall maintain a file relating to each request and the response thereto. Records will be maintained pursuant to the County retention policies.

Request Initiation

The procedures set forth m the Nassau County Equal Employment Policy should be followed by any qualified disabled individual who seeks a reasonable accommodation with respect to his or her employment or the employment application process or desires to complain that he or she has suffered harassment or discrimination in his or her employment or in the employment application process.

Nassau County Equal Employment Policy

• A copy of the Nassau County Equal Employment Policy may be obtained from the Departmental Equal Employment Officer and/or
• The Director of Equal Employment Opportunity.
  Nassau County Department of Human Resources
  One West Street
  Mineola, New York 11501
  (516) 571- 6176

Nassau County's ADA Notice

The Office of the Physically Challenged has developed an official County "ADA Notice" that states that:

• Disabled individuals who are qualified for a ·County service, program or activity shall not be denied access by reason of their disability; and
• The County has a procedure for disabled individuals to request an accommodation to enable access to County services, programs or activities and provides the contact number for the County Office for the Physically Challenged and for the pertinent department's ADA liaison.
• The Accessible Meetings Notice, which is appended hereto as Form #3, shall be included in all printed and/or other materials used to promote all services, programs and/or activities that the public is invited to attend.

Posting of County's ADA Notice

The official County ADA Notice shall be posted:

• On the County's web site;
• In any County office where the public comes for services, programs or activities;
  • Such notice should be placed centrally and conspicuously in any such office so that interested members of the public are readily able to find it and read it;
• At any other location under the jurisdiction of a County department or agency where the department or agency, in its sound discretion, has determined that having such notice would be beneficial; and
•  In all printed and/or other materials used to promote all services, programs and/or activities that the public 1s

Policy Copies Availability

A copy of this policy may be obtained from the pertinent department's ADA liaison and/or from the Office of the Physically Challenged, 60 Charles Lindbergh Blvd, Uniondale, New York 11553