Business and Administrative Services
ADA Compliance
421 Kerr Hall
UC Santa Cruz
1156 High Street
University of California
Santa Cruz, CA 95064-1077
Email: willats@ucsc.edu
Phone: (831) 459-3759

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ADA Grievance Procedure

Purpose:

UCSC policy prohibits discrimination against anyone wishing to participate in university programs on the basis of disability. Staff, faculty, students, and community members who believe they may have been illegally discriminated against are encouraged to bring their concerns to the appropriate ADA Compliance Officer, who can then investigate, attempt to resolve the complaint, and/or make recommendations for corrective action.

Scope:

Students alleging discrimination based on their disability should refer to the UCSC Student Grievance Procedures, which are available online in the UCSC Student Handbook. They may also contact the appropriate ADA Compliance Officer directly.

UCSC faculty and staff (and those applying for employment at UCSC ) alleging discrimination based on their disability should refer to the Complaint Investigation and Resolution Procedures section of the Equal Employment Opportunity-Affirmative Action website. There is a downloadable complaint form available there for employee use. They may also contact the appropriate ADA Compliance Officer directly.

Community members alleging discrimination based on their disability may use the procedures described below. These complaint procedures may be used by community members seeking either informal resolution or formal investigation of their complaint.

Community members may also contact the ADA Compliance Officer for Facilities, Transportation, and Computing Access directly to consult about concerns that they think may be related to disability-related discrimination or harassment. These consultations are confidential and aimed at clarifying issues and identifying appropriate actions and/or resources.

Using these complaint procedures does not preclude a community member's right to file a complaint with the appropriate external agency, or to work with an attorney to file a lawsuit.

Confidentiality:

ADA Compliance Officers maintain confidentiality with regard to complaints, consultations and mediations, notwithstanding the requirements of litigation, court proceedings, or campus officials with a business need to know. If the disclosure of information to another person is necessary to proceed with an investigation, the complainant will be advised first and consulted on whether and/or how to proceed.

Retaliation:

Retaliation against a person who files a complaint of discrimination or harassment, participates in an investigation of such a complaint, or opposes an unlawful employment practice is prohibited by Federal and State law and University policy. Anyone who believes she or he has been retaliated against for filing a complaint of discrimination or harassment is encouraged to report the retaliatory actions to the appropriate ADA Compliance Officer Complaint Procedures.

Complaints Received Directly from Complainants:

Students, staff, faculty, and community members with complaints about access to facilities, transportation, and computing access are encouraged to contact the ADA Compliance Officer for Facilities, Transportation, and Computing Access to arrange a confidential appointment to discuss their concern. At this initial consultation, the ADA Compliance Officer will explore the details of the complaint, including but not limited to who is alleged to have discriminated against the complainant, specific incidents, patterns of behavior, consequences of the alleged discrimination, and what remedies are being sought.

At the time of the initial consultation, the ADA Compliance Officer will determine if the complaint falls within the scope of responsibility of her office. If it does not, the complainant will be referred to the appropriate on-campus office (e.g. Equal Opportunity Employment-Affirmative Action office, Student Judicial Affairs, Ombudsman, etc.). Included in the referral will be information about any timeliness requirements for filing a complaint with that particular office.

If it is determined that the complaint is appropriate to be handled by the ADA Compliance Officer for Facilities, Transportation, and Computing Access, the investigator will outline the possible next steps or strategies. These might include further investigation into written records, policies or other documents; individual interviews with others involved or implicated in the complaint; further discussions with the complainant; facilitated discussions or mediation for the purpose of attempting to resolve the problem; and/or training and education.

The ADA Compliance Officer will attempt to complete their investigation of the complaint as quickly as possible, usually between 5 to 7 days, depending upon the complexity of the complaint. While there are no timeliness requirements attached to the filing of a complaint with the ADA Compliance Officer, complainants are encouraged to file their complaint as soon as possible after the alleged event(s) to allow resolution of the problem at the earliest stage possible.

The ADA Compliance Officer keeps confidential written records of all discussions and actions taken to resolve a complaint. Notwithstanding the requirements of litigation or court proceedings, access to this written information is limited to the ADA Compliance Officer and her designees, and may be reviewed upon request by the Assistant Chancellor. In addition, with prior approval by the complainant, written notes and records may be shared with others who have a need to know.

Complaints Received from External Agencies:

Complaints of discrimination from the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights or other external agencies shall be investigated by the appropriate ADA Compliance Officer. If the complaint is not initially received by the office of the Assistant Chancellor, the ADA Compliance Officer handling the complaint shall provide that office with a copy of the complaint. Investigation of these complaints shall be in accordance with the guidelines for response and timeliness established by the external agency. All written responses to complaints requested by external agencies shall be issued and approved by the office of the Chancellor.

Contact:

For a copy of these procedures in an alternate format, please contact the ADA Compliance Officer directly.

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