U.S.

Department of Justice

Civil Rights Division

Coordination and Review Section

P.O. BOX 66118

Washington, D.C. 20035-6118

JAN 27 1995

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RE: Complaint Number XX (formerly XX )

Dear XX :

This letter constitutes the Department of Justice's Letter

of Findings concerning the complaint you filed against the
Secretary of Administration, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. You
alleged that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's decision to
require State retirees to enroll in Medicare Part B constituted
discrimination against retirees with disabilities, including
yourself.

This office enforces Title II of the Americans With

Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which prohibits discrimination on
the basis of disability in the programs, services and activities
of State and local governments. Section 35.130(a) of the
Department of Justice's regulation implementing Title II provides
that no qualified individual with a disability shall, on the
basis of disability, be excluded from participation in or be
denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a
public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any public
entity.

We have completed our investigation of your complaint and

determined that the Commonwealth's decision affected all eligible
State retirees, regardless of whether they had disabilities.
Interviews with the staff of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
established that approximately 40,000 State retirees were
eligible for Medicare in 1992. The Commonwealth required all
eligible retired employees to participate in Medicare Part B,
whether they were on regular or disability retirement. As noted
in these interviews, and in correspondence sent to you by the

01-00258

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Commonwealth explaining its decision, the criterion for

eligibility was not disability, but rather one's eligibility for
Medicare. The decision affected all individuals who were State
retirees, without regard to disability, and equally affected
those on regular and disability retirement. For these reasons,
we do not find this decision to be discriminatory on the basis of
disability and have determined that the Commonwealth is not in
violation of Title II with respect to the issues you have raised.

This concludes the Department of Justice's investigation of

your complaint and we are closing this case as of the date of
this letter. If you are dissatisfied with our determination, you
may file a complaint presenting your allegations of discrimina-
tion in an appropriate United States District Court under Title
II of the ADA.

You should be aware that no one may intimidate, threaten,

coerce, or engage in other discriminatory treatment against
anyone because he or she has either taken action or participated
in an action to secure rights protected by the ADA. Any
individual alleging such harassment or intimidation may file a
complaint with the Department of Justice. We would investigate
such a complaint if the situation warrants.

Under the Freedom of information Act, it may be necessary

to release this document and related correspondence and records
upon request. In the event that we receive such a request, we
will seek to protect, to the extent provided by law, personal
information which, if released, could constitute an unwarranted
invasion of privacy.

If you have any questions concerning this letter, please

call Mr. Thomas Esbrook at (202) 307-2940 (Voice) or (202)
307-2678 (TDD) (these are not toll-free numbers). In any
correspondence with the Department of Justice regarding this
matter, please reference the complaint number cited above.

Sincerely,

Merrily A. Friedlander
Acting Chief
Coordination and Review Section
Civil Rights Division

cc: Joseph L. Zazyczny

Secretary of Administration
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

William H. Hicks
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