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This settlement agreement arose from an investigation of the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa by the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa. The federal government conducted a review of Cedar Rapids’ compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. That investigation resulted in a settlement, which was finalized on September 1, 2015. Because the settlement is the only public document related to this investigation, this Clearinghouse entry is limited to the information it contains.
The federal investigators found that people with disabilities were excluded from many of Cedar Rapids’ city services due to their disabilities, in violation of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. The city and the federal government then entered into this settlement agreement, which was enforceable in federal court. In the agreement, Cedar Rapids agreed take a number of actions to comply with the ADA. The city promised to publish notice of the settlement, appoint an ADA coordinator, hire an independent licensed architect specializing in accessibility, publicize its ADA grievance procedure, interpreters and translators and ensure that its 911 system was accessible for TTY users, train its police department to interact with people with disabilities, and update its sidewalks, city website, and any changes to its facilities to be accessible. This city also agreed to provide written reports to the federal government for the pendency of the agreement and train all public facing city employees on how to interact with people with disabilities at least once a year. The agreement was set to terminate four years after its effective date.
As more than four years have passed since September 2015 and there does not appear to have been any further public action in the case, it now almost certainly closed.
Summary Authors
Jonah Hudson-Erdman (7/19/2021)
Bond, Rebecca B. (District of Columbia)
Erickson, Jana L (District of Columbia)
Foran, Sheila (District of Columbia)
Gupta, Vanita (District of Columbia)
Cole, Matthew J (Iowa)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 1:47 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Iowa
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Closing Date: Sept. 1, 2019
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
the United States (DOJ Civil Rights Division & Northern District of Iowa USAO)
Plaintiff Type(s):
U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
City of Cedar Rapids (Cedar Rapids, Linn), City
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111 et seq.
Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act), 29 U.S.C. § 701
Special Case Type(s):
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Mixed
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Order Duration: 2015 - 2019
Content of Injunction:
Provide antidiscrimination training
Issues
General:
Access to public accommodations - governmental
TTY/Close Captioning/Videophone/etc.
Disability and Disability Rights:
Screen readers and similar accessibility devices
Environmental Justice and Resources:
Discrimination-basis: