Department of Accounting and General Services

Notice
Accessibility Statement
Grievance Procedure

NOTICE UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

In accordance with the requirements of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”), the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.

Employment: Department of Accounting and General Services 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: Department of Accounting and General Services will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in Department of Accounting and General Services 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: Department of Accounting and General Services 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 Department of Accounting and General Services 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 Department of Accounting and General Services, should first contact the program or attached agency’s contact person listed on the public meeting notice or the office of Department of Accounting and General Services, ADA Coordinator: Miyoke Ng or Andrew Choy (alternate) by email at [email protected]. Advance requests are encouraged, but not required and requests made as early as possible have a greater likelihood of being fulfilled.

The ADA does not require the Department of Accounting and General Services 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 Department of Accounting and General Services is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to Department of Accounting and General Services, ADA Coordinator: Miyoke Ng or Andrew Choy (alternate) by email at [email protected].

Department of Accounting and General Services 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.

ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

If you use assistive technology and the format of any material on our website interferes with your ability to access the information, please email [email protected]. In your message, please indicate the nature of the accessibility problem, the preferred format in which to receive the requested material, the web address of the requested material, and your contact information so that we may best serve you.

Department of Accounting and General Services wishes to ensure access to e-government is available to all individuals.

In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to require Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Inaccessible technology interferes with an individual’s ability to obtain and use information quickly and easily. Section 508 was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology, to make available new opportunities for people with disabilities, and to encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals.

This standard was recently refreshed to include Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a globally recognized voluntary consensus standard for web content and information communication technology created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The WCAG 2.0 Level AA standard and the Web Accessibility Initiative Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite (WAI-ARIA) 1.0 techniques for web content, shall be used to measure accessibility and functionality of on-line content.  Systems and Procedures Office looks to this standard for reliable guidance on meeting accessibility commitments and compliance for portal architecture sites.

This site has been designed to be compatible with a wide variety of browsers, and with assistive technologies in mind. Our goal is to continue to work to make access available to all individuals. Improving access to citizens with disabilities is one of our top priorities, and any suggestions or comments are welcome.

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

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 the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS). The State’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 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 60 calendar days after the alleged violation to:
Miyoke Ng or Andrew Choy (alternate)
ADA Coordinator
P. O. Box 119, c/o DAGS Administrative Services Office, Honolulu HI 96810-0119

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, Miyoke Ng or Andrew Choy (alternate) or designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting, Miyoke Ng or Andrew Choy (alternate) or 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 the Department of Accounting and General Services and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint.

If the response by Miyoke Ng or Andrew Choy (alternate) or designee does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or his/her designee may appeal the decision within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response to the Department of Accounting and General Services, Business Management Officer or designee.

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the Department of Accounting and General Services, Business Management Officer or designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, the Department of Accounting and General Services, Business Management Officer or 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 Miyoke Ng or Andrew Choy (alternate) or designee, appeals to the Department of Accounting and General Services, Business Management Officer or designee, and responses from these two offices will be retained by the Department of Accounting and General Services for at least three years.