When a person has been identified as a qualified disabled person and has asked for or has the obvious need for a work accommodation to allow them to do the essential functions of their job, reasonable accommodations are identified and implemented through an interactive process between the Office of People and Culture, the employee with a disability who is seeking accommodation, and the employee’s supervisor.
A supervisor who becomes aware that an employee is a qualified disabled person and has encountered, or is likely to encounter disability-related barriers begins a dialogue with the individual to determine what accommodation, if any, would allow the person to do the essential functions of their job. Depending upon the potential accommodations requested, the supervisor may reach out to the Office of People and Culture and others throughout the university system to explore the requested accommodation and optional accommodations if necessary. Simple accommodations such as reducing the amount of light in a classroom due to long term sensitivity to light (as an example) could be provided by the supervisor without assistance from the Office of People and Culture such as through keeping the blinds down during class. More complicated accommodations may require assistance and collaboration and analysis between the supervisor, employee, safey, and the Office of People and Culture.
Any time any accommodation is made for a qualified disabled person, the supervisor is responsible to communicate the final agreement regarding accommodation to the employee and must also communicate the accommodation and circumstances to the Office of People and Culture so they can document the discussions and agreement for accommodation. The discussion and information should be submitted to the Office of People and Culture in writing (via email) and is then inserted in the employee’s personnel file in a separate health section to ensure it is separated from other general employment documents and documentation.
Employees do not need to specifically request an accommodation if the need for accommodation is obvious. An example would be if someone is in a wheelchair on a long term basis and must access an area of the campus that is not wheelchair accessible. A Supervisor should proactively explore accessibility options with the employee. When the need for an accommodation is not obvious, the employee must bring up and begin a dialouge to determine if they are a qualified disabled person and what accommodation, if any, would allow them to do the essential functions of their job. Supervisors and other staff do not need to be mind readers, but do need to be vigilant when there is an obvious disability present which could create a sitution where the employee is a qualified disabled person.
The following process is generally followed:
- Employee seeking accommodation should let their direct supervisor know what disability they suffer from, whehter it is likely to last more than 6 months, how it impacts their ability to do the essential functions of their job and what accommodation, if any, would allow them to do the essential functions of their job.
- The supervisor will evaluate and / or bring the issue to the Office of People and Culture to discuss whether the provisions of the ADA apply, how they apply and how to work with the employee if accommodations are a consideration.
- The supervisor should document ALL interactive discussions with the employee even if requests for accommodations change and evolve. A complete history of discussions, evaluations, interactions, counter offers, etc. must be made. This documentation can be directed by the Office of People and Culture, but is the ultimate responsibility of the supervisor since they work with the employee and any accommodations that are made.
- As part of the accommodation process, generally, the employee will need to provide medical documentation of their disability or medical condition in order to initiate an accommodations request.
- The Office of People and Culture, the employee seeking accommodation, and their supervisor will engage in an interactive process to identify the specific disability-related barriers that the individual has encountered, or is likely to encounter, and discuss accommodations that may assist in eliminating or minimizing those barriers.
- Upon determining reasonable accommodations, the supervisor and OPC jointly work together to implement identified accommodations for the employee.
Reevaluate Necessity of Accommodations
If the person continues to be a qualified disabled person and requires continuing accommodation, the Office of People and Culture may send the employee a letter each year, reviewing the accommodations that have been made and asking whether the accommodation is still needed. If an accommodation is still needed, the employee will be responsible to provide updated medical information.*
*NOTE: This will only be done when and if the initial documentation indicated that the disability was temporary.