Case: United States and Cedar Rapids Agreement

Not filed | No Court

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Case Summary

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 …

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)

People


Attorney for Plaintiff

Bond, Rebecca B. (District of Columbia)

Erickson, Jana L (District of Columbia)

Foran, Sheila (District of Columbia)

Gupta, Vanita (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Defendant

Cole, Matthew J (Iowa)

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

Docket

Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 1:47 p.m.

Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.

Case Details

State / Territory: Iowa

Case Type(s):

Disability Rights

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):

Jurisdiction-wide

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):

Out-of-court

Available Documents:

Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Mixed

Nature of Relief:

Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement

Source of Relief:

Settlement

Form of Settlement:

Private Settlement Agreement

Order Duration: 2015 - 2019

Content of Injunction:

Reasonable Accommodation

Provide antidiscrimination training

Reporting

Issues

General:

Access to public accommodations - governmental

Failure to train

Government services

Phone

TTY/Close Captioning/Videophone/etc.

Website

Disability and Disability Rights:

Reasonable Accommodations

Screen readers and similar accessibility devices

disability, unspecified

Hearing impairment

Mobility impairment

Visual impairment

Environmental Justice and Resources:

Effective Communication (ADA)

Discrimination-basis:

Disability (inc. reasonable accommodations)