4.9 Grievance of Discrimination on the Basis of Disability

An individual who believes they have experienced discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 188 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), or the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) is entitled to due process and may file a grievance.

An individual who believes they have experienced discrimination on the basis of their disability may seek informal resolution by contacting the Assistant Director of Field Services, or their designee, or the Equal Opportunity Office of the Department, as soon as possible to explain the concern and propose a solution. Informal review shall be conducted in a timely manner that shall not delay a formal grievance. If the informal review does not resolve the issue(s), and the formal grievance has not already been filed, the individual may seek resolution through the formal grievance procedures.

An individual, or their authorized representative, may initiate a formal grievance in lieu of seeking an informal resolution or if the informal resolution process did not satisfactorily resolve the concern.

A written complaint shall be considered when submitted to the State Equal Opportunity Officer of the Department within 180 days of the alleged violation or incident. The complaint shall include the name, address, and telephone number of the person filing the complaint; a description of the incident or alleged offense with as much information as possible; the date and location of the incident or alleged offense; and a proposed agency response that would resolve the issue(s) to the satisfaction of the complainant. 

Within 30 calendar days of receipt of the complaint, the State Equal Opportunity Officer shall conduct an investigation of the circumstances involved. At the conclusion of the investigation, the State Equal Opportunity Officer shall respond in writing, or as appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, explaining the position of the Department.

An individual who believes they’ve been discriminated against may also file a discrimination complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division (CCRD) within 60 days of the alleged discrimination. Additional information and instructions are available at: www.colorado.gov/dora/civil-rights.

If the individual files a complaint with the State Equal Opportunity Officer, the complainant must wait until the State Equal Opportunity Officer issues a written Notice of Final Action, or until 90 days have passed (whichever is sooner), before filing with the United States Department of Labor’s Civil Rights Center (CRC). If the State Equal Opportunity Officer does not provide the complainant written Notice of Final Action within 90 days of the date the complaint was filed, the individual may file a complaint with CRC before receiving that Notice. A complaint directly to CRC must be filed within 120 days of the day the individual filed a complaint with the State Equal Opportunity Officer. If the Equal Opportunity Office does give written Notice of Final Action on the complaint, but the individual is dissatisfied with the decision or resolution, the individual may file a complaint with CRC. The complaint must be filed within 30 days of the date on which the individual received the Notice of Final Action.