Section 150.10  Purpose

 

a)         The purpose of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority's grievance procedure for discrimination complaints is to establish a formalized method whereby discrimination complaints by qualified individuals with disabilities can be detected at the beginning stages, investigated, and, hopefully, resolved.

 

b)         To that end, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (Authority) shall respond to complaints of discrimination by qualified individuals with disabilities.  The Authority's Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Officer shall be responsible for the investigation of complaints, documentation of facts, and presentation of findings, and for advising management regarding recommendations to resolve the dispute.

 

c)         It is the intention of the Authority to foster open communication with all individuals requesting readily accessible programs, services and activities. The Authority requires that each program, service and activity offered, when viewed in its entirety, be readily accessible to and usable by qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages Authority supervisors of agency programs, services and activities to respond to requests for reasonable accommodations before they become discrimination complaints.

 

d)         The use of this grievance procedure for discrimination complaints does not preclude the right of a member of the public to file a charge directly with the Illinois Department of Human Rights or the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  The filing of any complaint of alleged discrimination may not be used as a basis for future retaliation adversely affecting the rights of any member of the public.

 

Section 150.20  Procedures

 

a)         General.

 

1)         The Authority shall, upon being informed of an individual's desire to file a formal discrimination complaint, instruct the individual how to obtain a copy of this Procedure and a form prescribed by the Authority and shall, upon request, assist the individual in the completion of the form.

 

2)         Discrimination complaints shall be made on the discrimination complaint form and shall be used to clearly record the date, nature, and other information pertinent to the complaint of alleged discrimination.  The discrimination complaint form shall be submitted, in a timely manner, to:

 

Authority EEO Officer

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority

Suite 1016, 120 South Riverside Plaza

Chicago, Illinois 60606.

 

3)         The discrimination complaint form must be completed in full to receive proper consideration by the Authority's EEO Officer.

 

b)         Timeliness.

Unless there are extenuating circumstances, all complaints must be received by the Authority's EEO Officer in writing within 180 days after the date of the last incident of alleged discrimination.  Time limits established in this procedure may be extend by mutual agreement in writing, signed by the complainant and the Executive Director of the Authority.

 

c)         Screening.

When a completed discrimination complaint form is received in a timely fashion, the Authority's EEO Officer will proceed to investigate the alleged discrimination, with the result and recommendation of finding due within ten (10) working days.  When applicable, the complainant's immediate supervisor will be contacted for relevant information.  All concerned parties will be contacted and requested to avail themselves to a fact-finding conference.

 

d)         Withdrawal of the Complaint.

The complaint, or part of the complaint allegation, may be withdrawn by the complainant during the investigation of the complaint upon receipt by the Authority's EEO Officer of a written request for withdrawal.

 

e)         Dismissal of the Complaint.

If, after an analysis of the merits of the complaint by the Authority's EEO Officer, there is a lack of substantial evidence to believe that discrimination has occurred, the Authority's EEO Officer shall document the efforts to investigate the complaint and forward the documentation to the Executive Director for final review pursuant to Section 150.40.

 

Section 150.30  Investigation Findings

 

At the conclusion of the investigation, if there exits reasonable cause to believe that discrimination may have occurred, the Authority's EEO Officer shall submit a written notice to the complainant with the findings and recommendations to resolve the complaint.  If the complaint cannot be statisfactorily resolved at this level within five (5) working days, the Authority's EEO Officer shall document the efforts made to resolve the complaint and shall provide a written explanation of the reasons why the complaint was not able to be resolved.

 

Section 150.40  Final Level

 

a)         The investigation findings, conciliation efforts, and proposed settlement shall be forwarded by the EEO Officer to the Executive Director of the Authority (or in case the Executive Director is unavailable, to the Associate Director, as designated by the Executive Director) for final review, approval or other determination.  The Executive Director (or Associate Director) may conduct interviews and seek relevant advice and information with respect to the complaint.  The complainant shall be afforded an opportunity to appear before the Executive Director (or Associate Director) and shall have a right to appoint a representative to appear on the complainant's behalf.

 

b)         The Executive Director (or Associate Director) shall provide in writing to the complainant and the Authority's EEO Officer the official position of the agency and the reasons for that position within five (5) working days after the receipt of the EEO Officer's written report.  The Executive Director's (or Associate Director's) decision shall be the final decision of the Authority.

 

Section 150.50  Accessibility

 

All stages of this Procedure shall be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities consistent with federal and State laws and regulations.

 

Section 150.60  Case-by-Case Resolution

 

Each grievance involves a unique set of factors that includes, but is not limited to:  the specific nature of the disability, the essential eligibility requirements, the benefits to be derived, the nature of the service, program or activity at issue, the health and safety of others, and whether an accommodation would constitute a fundamental alteration to the program, service or activity or undue hardship on the Department.  Accordingly, termination of a grievance at any level, whether through the granting of relief or otherwise, shall not constitute a precedent on which any other complainants should rely.