The Connector

Federal and state law require complaints be filed within 180 calendar days of the alleged incident. The complaint should include the following items:

• The complaint shall be in writing and signed by the Complainant(s). In cases where the Complainant is unable or incapable of providing a written statement, a verbal complaint may be made. The Title VI Coordinator will interview the Complainant and, if necessary, assist the person in converting verbal complaints to writing. All complaints must, however, be signed by the Complainant or his/her representative.
• The complaint shall include the following as applicable: date of the alleged act of discrimination; the date when the Complainants became aware of the alleged act of discrimination; the date on which that conduct was discontinued; and/or the latest instance of conduct.
• The complaint shall present a detailed description of the issues, including names and job titles of those individuals perceived as parties in the complaint.

Upon receipt of the complaint, the Title VI Coordinator will determine its jurisdiction, acceptability, need for additional information and begin investigating the merit of the complaint.

The Complainant will be provided with a written acknowledgement that The City of Cincinnati has either accepted or rejected the complaint.

A complaint must meet the following criteria for acceptance:

• The complaint must be filed within 180 days of the alleged occurrence.
• The allegation must involve a covered basis such as race, color or national origin.
• The allegation must involve a City of Cincinnati service of a Federal-aid recipient, sub-recipient or contactor.

A complaint may be dismissed for the following reasons:

• The Complainant requests the withdrawal of the complaint.
• The Complainant fails to respond to repeated requests for additional information needed to process the complaint.
• The Complainant cannot be located after three attempts.

Once the City of Cincinnati’s Title VI Coordinator decides to accept the complaint for investigation, the Complainant will be notified in writing of such determination. The complaint will receive a case number and will then be logged in a database identifying: Complainant's name, basis, alleged harm, and the race, color and national origin of the Complainant.

Within 90 calendar days of the acceptance of the complaint, the City of Cincinnati’s Title VI Coordinator will prepare an investigative report. The report will include a narrative description of the incident, identification of persons interviewed, findings and recommendations for disposition.

The investigative report and its findings may be reviewed by the City’s Director of Streetcar Operations, and in some cases by the City of Cincinnati’s Legal Counsel. The report will be modified as needed.

The Title VI Coordinator will make a determination on the disposition of the complaint. Dispositions will be stated as follows:

• In the event the City of Cincinnati is in noncompliance with Title VI regulations, remedial actions will be listed.
• In the event City of Cincinnati is found to be in compliance, the reasons for this finding will be clearly described.

The notice of determination will be mailed to the Complainant. It will include information regarding appeal rights of Complainant and instructions for initiating such an appeal. Notices of appeals are as follows:

• The City of Cincinnati will reconsider this determination if new facts come to light.
• If Complainant is dissatisfied with the determination and/or resolution set forth by the City of Cincinnati, the same complaint may be submitted to the FTA for investigation. Complainant will be advised to contact the Federal Transit Administration, Office of Civil Rights, 200 W. Adams, Room 2410, Chicago, Illinois 60606, Telephone (312) 353-2789.

A copy of the complaint and the City of Cincinnati investigation report, compliance finding and final remedial action plan, if appropriate, will be issued to FTA within 120 days of the receipt of the complaint.