Request conciliation on disability equality

If you experience impairments or disadvantages in your daily life at the hands of federal authorities, for example due to a lack of accessibility, you can call on the conciliation body.
Accessibility means, for example, that you can use buildings, means of transport or information processing systems without major difficulties and without outside assistance. If you experience impairments in your daily life at federal public offices because accessibility has not been sufficiently developed, you can turn to the conciliation board under the Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities Act.
The conciliation board mediates in disputes on the subject of accessibility between persons with disabilities and federal public agencies.
The conciliation board is independent. The mediators are responsible for conducting the proceedings in an impartial and fair manner. The mediators and the employees of the office are bound to secrecy.

If you are represented by someone else in the conciliation proceedings, you need a power of attorney (PDF; 60 KB, 1 page).

• Forms: Request to initiate conciliation proceedings (PDF; 960 KB, 4 pages)
• Online procedure possible: yes
• Written form required: no
• Personal appearance required: no

• You have a disability.
• You have been discriminated against by a federal public body because of this - for example, because barriers were not sufficiently removed.

• § 16 Disability Equality Act (BGG)
• Disability Equality Conciliation Ordinance (BGleisV)
  

To initiate conciliation proceedings, you must submit an application. The application form is also available in plain language. Your application must state the following things:

• the facts of the case (the situation in which you experienced an impairment),
• the objective you wish to achieve through the conciliation procedure,
• your name and address, and
• the name and address of the federal public agency.

You may submit the request online, by mail, in German Sign Language through the SQAT service, or in person by appointment.

If you are submitting the application online:

• Complete all fields on the online form and follow the instructions.
• The conciliation service will then contact you.

If you are submitting the request by mail:

• Download and print the application.
• Complete the application, attach the requested documents, and mail or email it to the conciliation service.

You can also send your application to the conciliation board by e-mail or submit an application in German Sign Language via the SQAT service.

• You click on the SQAT symbol on the website of the BGG conciliation board. Then you record a video in German Sign Language. This is converted into a mail by a service provider.
• The answer of the conciliation board will also be converted into a sign language video.

You can make the request orally directly on site at the conciliation board:

• Go to the conciliation office by appointment and say that you want to file a conciliation request.
• The on-site staff will then initiate the conciliation process for you.

Here's how the conciliation process works:

• After you submit the request, the staff member will review your request and also write to the public agency.
• You will then receive a reply from the public body and can respond to this.
• The conciliator will propose a reply which you can send to the public body.
• Sometimes you may also be invited to a conciliation meeting.
• If you have reached an agreement, the conciliation procedure is over.
• If you cannot come to an agreement, you will receive a letter saying that the conciliation procedure was not successful.

If there is already a time limit for appeals that has been interrupted by the conciliation process, you must file the conciliation request within the time limit for appeals.

• First notification of receipt: 2 days
• Completion of the conciliation procedure: 3 months

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Further information on the conciliation body can be found on the website of the Federal Equal Opportunities Commissioner