This grievance procedure may be used by any member of the public claiming discrimination based on disability in the provision of services, programs, or benefits of the Trial Court. Members of the public who believe they have been denied reasonable accommodations may also utilize this procedure.
The grievance procedure is limited to review of alleged discrimination complaints and the denial of requests for reasonable accommodations by court employees but not orders issued by judges or clerk magistrates.
Neither the ADA Coordinator nor the OWRC Director can override a judicial ruling or court order issued by a judge or clerk magistrate. These accommodation requests involve a judicial balancing of the rights of the parties or the judge’s responsibility to manage the courtroom and the proceeding. Any disagreement with a judicial ruling or court order must be addressed through a Motion to Reconsider, or the appellate process.
Complaints by members of the public alleging discrimination based on disability should be filed within 30 days of the alleged discrimination.
Complaints are not required to be in writing. They may be submitted on the Grievance Form, which is available at each of the Trial Court’s Clerk's Offices, online at Court Grievance Procedure under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) | Mass.gov, or by requesting it from Cathlin.Corbitt@jud.state.ma.us. You may also call the ADA Coordinator at (617) 878-0411 to verbally submit a complaint.
The complaint should contain information about the Complainant such as name, address, phone number, and email address. The complaint should also contain a description of the issue, and the location, date, and time this issue occurred. It is very helpful if the complaint also contains information about the Trial Court employee(s) who may be involved in or was witness to the discrimination, if known.
A third party, such as a family member or an advocate of the court user, may file a complaint if they are aware of and believe that the individual has faced discrimination based on disability by the court. This third party may submit a complaint on behalf of the court user who has the disability.
Upon receiving a complaint, the ADA Coordinator or their designee, shall promptly investigate the complaint by interviewing appropriate court staff as well as the complainant to determine the facts and possible immediate resolutions.
Within 30 days of receiving the complaint, the ADA Coordinator or their designee will respond to the Complainant in their preferred method of communication, whenever possible. The response will include an explanation of the position of the Trial Court and potential options, if any, for a resolution of the complaint.
If the response by the ADA Coordinator or their designee does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the Complainant may appeal the decision within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response to the Director of Office of Workplace Rights & Compliance (OWRC). Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the Director, or their designee, may contact the Complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions, if any. Within 15 calendar days after such contact, the Director will respond in the Complainants preferred method of communication, where appropriate, stating the Trial Court's position and offering options, if any, for resolution of the complaint.
The decision of the OWRC Director, or their designee, shall be final for purposes of this Grievance Procedure.
The ADA Coordinator shall maintain all records related to an ADA complaint for three years.
The Trial Court has designated as their ADA Coordinator:
Cathlin Corbitt
Office of Workplace Rights and Compliance
Two Center Plaza
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 878-0263 or call MassRelay at 711
cathlin.corbitt@jud.state.ma.us