In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.
Employment: The MDA 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: The MDA 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 MDA'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 and Procedures: The MDA will make all reasonable modifications to its policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all MDA programs, services, and activities. For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in our offices, even where pets would generally be prohibited.
Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in any of our programs, services, or activities should contact our ADA Coordinator, Tony Becker, 651-201-6023, as soon as possible and preferably no later than 48 hours before a scheduled event.
The ADA does not require the MDA 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 the MDA is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to our ADA Coordinator, Tony Becker, 651-201-6023.
The MDA will not place a surcharge on 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.
Minnesota Department of Agriculture Grievance Procedure under the Americans with Disabilities Act
Our grievance procedure meets the requirements of the ADA. It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a grievance alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by the MDA. The State of Minnesota ADA Reasonable Accommodation policy governs employment-related complaints of disability discrimination.
The grievance should be explained in a written complaint 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 grievances, such as personal interviews or a recording of the complaint, will be made available for persons with disabilities upon request.
The written complaint (or alternate format) should be submitted by the complainant and/or his/her designee as soon as possible but no later than 60 calendar days after the alleged violation to:
Tony Becker
ADA Coordinator
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
625 Robert Street North
St. Paul, MN 55155
Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, the MDA ADA Coordinator or his/her designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and potential resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting, our ADA Coordinator or his/her 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 MDA's position regarding the complaint and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint.
If the response by the MDA ADA Coordinator or his/her 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 MDA Commissioner or his/her designee.
Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the MDA Commissioner or his/her designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, the MDA Commissioner or his/her 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 MDA ADA Coordinator or his/her designee, appeals to the MDA Commissioner or his/her designee, or responses from these two offices will be retained by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture for at least three years.
