Notice Under the Americans with Disabilities Act

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), Martin County Board of County Commissioners will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.

Employment: Martin County Board of County Commissioners 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: Martin County Board of County Commissioners will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in Martin County Board of County Commissioners programs, services, and activities, including qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.

Modifications to Policies and Procedures: Martin County Board of County Commissioners 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 welcomed in Martin County Board of County Commissioners 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 Martin County Board of County Commissioners, should contact the office of Human Resources and Risk Management ADA Coordinator as soon as possible but no later than forty-eight (48) hours before the scheduled event.

ADA Coordinator
Phone: (772) 320-3131
Email: Accessibility@martin.fl.us

The ADA does not require the Martin County Board of County Commissioners 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 Martin County Board of County Commissioners is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to the ADA Coordinator.

Martin County Board of County Commissioners 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 persons who use wheelchairs.

Accommodations

Any person with a disability who is applying for employment, a current employee, or an individual wanting to participate in a County sponsored program or activity, or their representative, may make a request for reasonable accommodation via our Reasonable Accommodation Request Form. Please submit the completed form to the Martin County ADA Coordinator:

Phone: (772) 320-3131
TTY: (800) 955-8770
Email: Accessibility@martin.fl.us

Mail: Martin County Government
Attn: ADA Coordinator
2401 SE Monterey Road
Stuart, Florida, 34996

General comments or feedback: Martin County welcomes comments or suggestions on how to improve our accessibility for users with disabilities. Please submit any general feedback via our online Accessibility Feedback Form.

Grievances

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 services, activities, programs, or benefits by Martin County Board of County Commissioners. Martin County Board of County Commissioners Personnel Policy governs employment-related complaints of disability discrimination.

Many disability-related concerns can be resolved internally without resorting to lengthy and costly grievance procedures. Before filing your complaint, contact the County’s ADA Coordinator to discuss your concerns. The ADA Coordinator can look into the issue and try to come up with an acceptable resolution to the situation.

Filing an ADA Grievance

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 sixty (60) calendar days after the alleged violation to:

Mail: Martin County Government:
Attn: ADA Coordinator
2401 SE Monterey Road
Stuart, Florida, 34996

Phone: (772) 320-3131
TTY: (800) 955-8770
Email: Accessibility@martin.fl.us

Resolving a Complaint

Within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of the complaint, the ADA Coordinator or their designee will contact the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Upon review of the complaint of accessibility, a face-to-face meeting will take place if unable to resolve accessibility via email or phone. Within ten (10) calendar days after discussion with complainant, the ADA Coordinator or their 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 Martin County Board of County Commissioners and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint.

If the response by the ADA Coordinator or their designee does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or his/her designee may appeal the decision within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of the response to the County Administrator or their designee.

Within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the County Administrator or their designee will contact the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Upon review of the complaint of accessibility, a face-to-face meeting will take place if unable to resolve accessibility via email or phone. Within ten (10) calendar days after discussion of the appeal with the complainant, the County Administrator or their designee will respond in writing, and, where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, with a final resolution of the complaint.

Records of Complaints

All written complaints received by the ADA Coordinator or their designee, appeals to the County Administrator or their designee, and responses from these two offices will be retained by Martin County Board of County Commissioners for at least three (3) years.