Reasonable Accommodation/Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy

The Americans with Disabilities Act, also known as ADA, and other federal, state, and local laws provide an opportunity for greater economic security for a significant number of citizens by providing orderly processes for achieving and maintaining employment. Beyond any legal requirement, the University strives to demonstrate its commitment to this concept by requiring the removal of unnecessary and artificial barriers to employee selection and work access and by maintaining an orderly and structured process for working with employees in an interactive process to make reasonable accommodations that allow an otherwise qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of a job assignment. It is the policy of the University to provide reasonable accommodations in employment to qualified individuals with disabilities unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the University's business or would change the essential functions of the position. Retaliation against an individual with a disability for using this policy is prohibited. 

In general, it is the responsibility of an applicant or employee with a disability to inform the University's Office of Human Resources that a need for an accommodation exists or that some adjustment or change is needed to perform the essential functions of a job because of limitations caused by a disability. A reasonable accommodation refers to change or adjustment in the job or the work environment that allows a qualified employee with a disability to perform the essential functions of his or her job. While it has been our experience that supervisors and employees often informally work through issues surrounding limitations caused by a disability, this process has been developed to provide a formal process through which the employee can notify the Office of Human Resources for assistance. (For additional information, see Policy 4.5.19)