The City of Vestavia Hills does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability in employment practices or delivery of programs and services.
The City’s personnel policy governs employment-related complaints of civil rights discrimination. See below for procedures regarding claims of civil rights discrimination by beneficiaries of programs and services or claims of discrimination against persons with disabilities.
Claims
Grievances (complaints) for discrimination are to be filed by the affected individual or a representative of the individual. Complaints should be in writing with adequate contact information and include pertinent information needed for the City staff to review. Click to download the Discrimination Grievance Form. Additional pages may be submitted along with this form if needed.
Alternate means of filing a complaint are available upon request for persons with disabilities. For additional information or to request an alternate means of filing, contact City of Vestavia Hills Administration at 205.978.0100 or administration@vhal.org. Complaints should be made within 60 days of the alleged incident. The complainant should receive an acknowledgement within 15 days of the complaint and a response from a City of Vestavia Hills representative within 30 days following investigation. If the response does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant or his/her representative may appeal the decision within 21 calendar days after the date of the response.
ADA Compliance
The ADA prohibits discrimination based on an individual’s disabilities in hiring and employment, or access to programs, services and activities. The City of Vestavia Hills is committed to providing and promoting equal opportunities in all of its programs, services and activities and has adopted this policy to document its responsibilities and efforts to comply with Title II of the Americas with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), Section 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and revisions to those laws.
It is the aim of the City of Vestavia Hills that all of its citizens, both fully-abled and those with disabilities, may experience “A Life Above” which characterizes our community. The City will make reasonable accommodations in policies and practices to avoid discrimination based on disability, unless a fundamental alteration in its local government would result or it is found that measures to accommodate are technically infeasible or would create an undue burden on public resources.
It is the City’s practice in its notices of public meetings to encourage persons requiring special accommodations to contact a designated staff member for assistance. Persons needing accommodations to access the City’s services and programs are also encouraged to contact the City department providing the program or service to request assistance. If the contact is unknown, contact City Administration at 205.978.0100 or administration@vhal.org. City staff members should refer to the employee handbook or seek the direction of their supervisor or department head for guidance on responding to customers who request accommodations or who would like to file a grievance or comment.
The City of Vestavia Hills has an ADA Coordinator appointed by the City Manager. The ADA Coordinator’s role is to keep aware of ADA issues and advise the City Manager and City Council on any issues where the City is lacking compliance. Additionally, the ADA Coordinator will maintain the self-evaluation document and update it every four years to include any applicable complaints, public comments and responses. Any complaints or grievances from the procedure below will be initially reviewed by the ADA Coordinator and then delegated to the appropriate person for consideration. For more information or to contact the ADA Coordinator, call 205.978.0100 or email administration@vhal.org.
