Thurston County's ADA Notice
In accordance with the requirements of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA") and Washington Law Against Discrimination (“WLAD”), Thurston County will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.
Employment: Thurston County does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment practices and complies with all state and federal regulations under title I of the ADA and the WLAD.
Effective Communication: Thurston County will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in Thurston County 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: Thurston County 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 Thurston County offices, even where pets are generally prohibited. See
Thurston County Animal Policy.
Requests for Reasonable Accommodations: Thurston County will provide reasonable disability accommodations upon request. 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 Thurston County, should contact the
ADA Coordinator for the office or department they are working with as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event. When necessary, a person requesting a disability accommodation will be asked to engage in an interactive process to determine effective reasonable accommodations.
The ADA and WLAD do not require Thurston County to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, impose an undue financial or administrative burden, nor require the County to provide services for individuals with disabilities that are not typically provided for individuals without disabilities.
Thurston County 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.