In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the county of Cape May will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in county services, programs or activities.

Employment

The county 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 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Effective Communication

The county will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in the county’s 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 & Procedures

The county will make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all county programs, services and activities. For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in county 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 county program, service or activity, should contact the Deputy Clerk of the Board, 609-465-1065, as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.

The ADA does not require the county 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 county program service or activity is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to:
Deputy Clerk of the Board
4 Moore Road
Cape May County Court House, NJ 08210
Email
Phone: 609-465-1065

The county 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.

Grievance Procedure Under the ADA

This Grievance Procedure is established to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. 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 the county of Cape May, New Jersey (the county). The county’s Personnel Policy governs employment-related complaints of disability discrimination.

The complaint should be in writing and contain information about the alleged discrimination such as the name, address, phone number of the 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 180 calendar days after the alleged violation to:
Deputy Clerk of the Board
4 Moore Road
Cape May Court House, NJ 08210
Email
Phone: 609-465-1065

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, the Deputy Clerk of the Board or designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting, the Deputy Clerk of the Board or designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in format accessible to the complainant, such as large print, Braille or audio tape. The response will explain the position of the county and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint.

If the response by the Deputy Clerk of the Board or designee does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or his/her designee may appeal the decision with 15 calendar days after receipt of the response to the Director of the county Board of County Commissioners or his designee.

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the Director of the county Board of County Commissioners or his designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, the Director of the county Board of County Commissioners or his designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, with a final resolution of the complaint.

All written complaints received by the Deputy Clerk of the Board or designee, appeals to the Director of the county Board of County Commissioners or his designee and responses from these 2 offices will be retained by the county for a lease 3 years.

Website Accessibility Policy

The county of Cape May's Website Accessibility Policy shall be in accord with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, 29 USC 794d.

The county of Cape May endeavors to provide individuals with disabilities access to and the use of information and data that is comparable to that information provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities.

Cape May County Engineer

“As part of a U.S. Justice Department settlement agreement concerning ADA compliance issues, Cape May County is seeking input from persons with disabilities regarding the accessibility of its sidewalks, including for example, requests to add curb cuts or curb ramps at particular locations. While the county is seeking input for those locations under county jurisdiction; any curb cut or curb ramp requests will be reviewed and forwarded to the appropriate agency having ownership of the location. Please submit curb cut or curb ramp requests by telephone at 609-465-1035, fax to 609-465-1418, email, or by mail to the:
Cape May County Engineer’s Office
4 Moore Road, DN-402
Cape May Court House, NJ 08210