Compliancewiththe

AmericanswithDisabili4esAct(ADA)

COMPLIANCE

EQUITY

INCLUSION

CULTURE

CLIMATE

AboutThisTraining

TheUniversityiscommiHedtoanenvironmentforourfaculty,staff,

students,pa4ents,andvisitorsthatiswelcoming,inclusiveandfree

fromdiscrimina4onandharassment.

Thistrainingprovidesinforma4onformanagersandsupervisors

regardingtheUniversity’semploymentobliga4ons,proceduresandpoliciesforourfacultyandstaffwithdisabili4es.

TheUniversity’snon-discrimina4onstatement,alongwithfederaland

statecivilrightslaws,providetheframeworkforthepoliciesand

proceduresyouwilllearnaboutinthistraining.

U-MNon-Discrimina4onStatement

TheUniversityofMichigan,asanequalopportunity/affirma4veac4on

employer,complieswithallapplicablefederalandstatelaws

regardingnondiscrimina4onandaffirma4veac4on.

TheUniversityofMichiganiscommiHedtoapolicyofequal

opportunityforallpersonsanddoesnotdiscriminateonthebasisof

race,color,na4onalorigin,age,maritalstatus,sex,sexualorienta4on,

genderiden4ty,genderexpression,disability,religion,height,weight,

orveteranstatusinemployment,educa4onalprogramsandac4vi4es,

andadmissions.

ThisTrainingWillCover

•  TheAmericanswithDisabili4esActAmended(ADAA)

•  TheDefini4onofDisability

•  TheAccommoda4onProcess

•  TheReassignmentAccommoda4onCommiHee(RAC)

•  ReassignmenttoaVacantPosi4on

•  Resources

TheADA

TheAmericanswithDisabili4esAct(ADA)isafederalcivilrightslaw

thatwasfirstpassedin1990andamendedin2008(ADAA).Itwas

designedtoremovebarrierswhichpreventqualifiedindividualswith

disabili4esfromenjoyingthesameopportuni4esthatareavailableto

personswithoutdisabili4es.

TheADAprovidesthatnoqualifiedindividualwithadisabilityshall,on

thebasisofdisability,beexcludedfrompar4cipa4oninorbedenied

thebenefitsoftheservices,programs,orac4vi4esoftheUniversity.

TheADAandUM

Specifically,theADAprohibitsdisabilitydiscrimina4onand

harassment,andrequiresreasonableaccommoda4on.

TheADAappliesto:

•  Faculty

•  Regularandtemporarystaff

•  Proba4onarystaff

•  Studentemployees

ADADefini4onofDisability

AccordingtotheADA,anindividualwithadisabilityisapersonwitha

physicalormentalimpairmentthatsubstan4allylimitsoneormore

majorlifeac4vi4es,or:

•  Hasarecordofsuchanimpairment;or

•  Isregardedashavingsuchanimpairment

TypesofDisabili4es

Somepeoplehaveadisabilitythatisobservableorapparent.An

exampleisapersonwhomayuseacaneorwheelchairformobility,or

apersonwhohasimpairedhearingandusesahearingaidorother

devicetoimprovetheirabilitytohear.

Otherpeoplemayhaveadisabilitythatisnotobviousorapparent.

Someexamplesofdisabili4esthatmaynotbeapparentareDiabetes,

SeizureDisorder,LearningDisability,MajorDepression,Cancer,or

Trauma4cBrainInjury.

ReasonableAccommoda4on

Manypeoplewithdisabili4esworkfortheUniversity.At4mes,some

aspectoftheirworkorenvironmentmayimpedeorinterferewith

theirabilitytoperformthejobbecauseoftheirdisability.

Intheseinstancesareasonableaccommoda4onmayremoveor

mi4gatethebarrier,therebyallowingthemtheopportunityto

performtheessen4alfunc4onsoftheirjob.

Essen4alFunc4ons

Essen4aljobfunc4onsareimportantasthesetasksarethefocusof

theaccommoda4onforanemployeewithadisability.

Amarginalfunc4onofthejob,onethatisnotperformedoeenand/orisnotcri4caltothereasonthejobexists,canbere-assignedto

anotheremployee.

Inallcases,theemployeewithadisabilitymustbeabletoperformthe

essen4alfunc4onsofthejob,withorwithoutanaccommoda4on.

Essen4alFunc4ons

Whenevalua4ngwhetherataskisessen4al,itisimportanttoconsider

thefollowing:

• ContentofthewriHenjobdescrip4on,includinganyphysicalskillsrequiredtoperformthejob(i.e.mustbeabletomoveandtransport

objectsweighingupto40#frequently;mustclimbladderstoinspect

ductwork;etc.)

• Theamountof4mespentperformingthejobfunc4on

• Theconsequenceofnotrequiringthepersontoperformthefunc4on

• Theworkexperienceofcurrentandpastincumbentsinthejob

ReasonableAccommoda4on

TheUniversitywillprovideareasonableaccommoda4ontoaqualified

employeewithaknowndisabilityunlesstheaccommoda4onwould

imposeanunduehardship.

ü  Theemployeemustbequalified.Thatis,theymusthavetheskills,

educa4on,andexperienceforthejob.

ü  Theemployeemustdisclosetheyhaveadisability.

ü  Theaccommoda4onmustbereasonableandnotimposeanundue

hardship.

TheRequestforanAccommoda4on

Thereisnospecificlanguagerequiredwhenanemployeeismakinga

requestforanaccommoda4on.Thatis,theemployeedoesnothave

tousetheword“accommoda4on”andtheydonothavetomakethe

requestinwri4ng.

Therequestforanaccommoda4onmaybeexpressedina

conversa4onwiththesupervisorintalkingaboutsomethingthathas

changedfortheemployee,orintalkingaboutwhattheymayneedto

beabletodotheirjob.

TheRequestforanAccommoda4on

Herearesomeexamplesofstatementsthatcanbearequestforan

accommoda4on:

-  “I’monanewmedica4onandhavingtroublegejngtoworkon

4me.”

-  “Ineedsome4meoffforsometreatmentthatmydoctoris

recommending.”

-  “IammakingmoreerrorsbecauseIamhavingtroubleseeingthe

dataonthemonitor.”

TheInterac4veProcess

Theserequestsandtheresul4ngconversa4onsbetweentheemployee

andthesupervisorstartsthe“interac4veprocess,”animportant

componentoftheaccommoda4onprocedure.

Theseinterac4onscanalsohelpiden4fybarrierstheemployeeis

experiencing.Abarrierissomefeatureoftheemployee’sjob(orthe

jobenvironment)thatmakesitdifficultforthepersonwithadisability

toperformtheirjobtasks.

Documenta4on

Iftheemployee’sdisabilityisobservable,andtheneedforthe

accommoda4onisevident,medicaldocumenta4onisnotneeded.

Ifthedisabilityisnotapparent,thesupervisorshouldrequest

documenta4onofthedisabilityinaleHerfromtheemployee’shealth

careprovider.Theinforma4onshouldincludethenatureofthe

employee’sdisability,theresul4ngrestric4onsorimpairment,and

mayincludesugges4onsforaccommoda4ons.

Ifanemployeedoesnotwanttoprovidethisdocumenta4ondirectly

totheirsupervisor,theymayprovidethisinforma4ontoHuman

ResourcesorWorkConnec4ons.

ReturnfromLeave

Manydepartmentsusetheuniversity’sIntegratedDisability

Managementprogram,WorkConnec4ons,whenanemployeehas

requestedamedicalleave.WorkConnec4onssecuresmedical

documenta4ontosupporttheleaveandinformsthedepartmentof

theemployee’sreturntoworkstatus.

WhenWorkConnec4onsinformsthedepartmentthattheemployee

hasbeenreleasedforreturntoworkwithrestric4onsineitherjob

tasksorworkhours,thatinforma4oncons4tutesarequestforan

accommoda4on.

FMLARequest

Insomecases,anemployeehasmadearequestundertheFamily

MedicalLeaveAct(FMLA)andhasprovidedthecompletedFMLAform

totheirsupervisor,HumanResources,orWorkConnec4ons.

FMLApaperworkmayrecommendtheneedforintermiHentabsences,

aleaveofabsence,achangeinworkschedule,orsomeother

modifica4ontotheemployee’swork.

Thisinforma4onmaycons4tutearequestforanaccommoda4onif

theemployee’sserioushealthcondi4onalsomeetstheADAdefini4on

ofdisability.

Confiden4ality

Anydisclosureanemployeemakesregardingadisability,includingany

medicaldocumenta4onregardingthedisability,mustbekept

confiden4al.Thisinforma4onmustbekeptinaconfiden4alfile

separatefromtheemployee’spersonnelfile.Thisincludesanynotesa

supervisormaymakeregardingtheirdiscussionswithanemployee

abouttheirdisabilityorneedforanaccommoda4on.

Somefacultyandstaffmaybecomfortableinsharinginforma4on

abouttheirdisabilitywiththeirco-workers;however,thatdoesnot

permitthesupervisorormanagertodiscusstheemployee’sdisability

oraccommoda4onswithstaff.

Confiden4ality

At4mes,supervisorsmayneedtodiscussanemployee’sneedforan

accommoda4onwithHumanResources,WorkConnec4ons,orthe

universityAmericanswithDisabili4esAct(ADA)Coordinator.

Whenthesestaffareconsultedregardinganemployee’sdisabilityor

needforanaccommoda4on,thesepar4esmustalsokeepthe

informa4onconfiden4al.

TheAccommoda4onProcess

Oncetherehasbeenarequestforanaccommoda4on,and

documenta4on(ifneeded)hasbeenobtained,thesupervisorshould

discusspossibleop4onswiththeemployee.

Ifthereismorethanoneop4ontoprovideanaccommoda4on,the

supervisorshouldconsidertheemployee’spreference.

However,theemployerhasthefinaldecisionregardingwhich

accommoda4onisprovidediftheavailableop4onsareequallybotheffec4ve.

WhatisReasonable?

Indeterminingwhetheranaccommoda4onisreasonablewelookat

whetherprovidingtheaccommoda4onwouldbean“unduehardship.”

Considera4onsinclude:

•  Thenatureandcostoftheaccommoda4on*

•  Thetypeofopera4on(administra4ve,pa4entcare,facili4es,research,

etc.)

•  Thestructureandfunc4onoftheworkthatneedstobeperformed

andthenumberofpeopleavailabletodothework

•  Theimpactoftheaccommoda4onontheopera4onofthedepartment

* Generallyspeaking,thecostofanaccommoda4onisnotanunduehardshipfortheUniversity

asmostaccommoda4onsareadministra4veand/ornotofsignificantcost.

TheAccommoda4on

Theaccommoda4onneedstobetailoredtoaddresstheworkplaceor

environmentalbarrier,thenatureoftheperson’sdisability,andthe

impactonthepersonwithinthecontextoftheessen4alfunc4onsof

theirjob.

Evalua4ngthenatureoftheperson’sdisability,theessen4alfunc4ons

oftheirjob,andtheappropriateaccommoda4onisverypersonand

factspecific.Accommoda4onsaredeterminedonacase-by-casebasis.

ExamplesofAccommoda4ons

Herearesometypesofaccommoda4ons:

•  Modify/provideequipmentorsoeware

•  Modifytheworkschedule/rota4on

•  Modifysupervisorymethods

•  Provideaccessiblematerials

•  Grantaleaveofabsence

•  Reassignmenttoavacantposi4on

ProvidingEquipment

asanAccommoda4on

Jessicaisaninsuranceverifica4onspecialist.Herjobrequiresthatshe

workthemajorityoftheday,exceptforbreaksandlunch,seatedat

herdeskusingthecomputerandphonetocompleteherjobtasks.She

hasachronicimpairmentandrecentlyhadbacksurgery.Withher

returntowork,itwasrecommendedshehaveamoresuppor4vechair

andanadjustableheightdeskasshewasrestrictedfromsijngfor

hoursata4me.Theequipmentprovidedhertheopportunitytowork

eithersijngorstandingwhileshecompletedherjobtasks.

ModifyingtheWorkSchedule

asanAccommoda4on

Bobisabudgetanalyst.Hehasbipolardisorderandtakesmedica4on

thataffectshisalertnessinthemorning.Althoughotherstaffinthe

unitstartworkat8am,Bobhasarrangedwithhismanagertostartat

8:30am.Bob’smanageralsochangedthe4meoftheweeklystaff

mee4ngtostartat9:00aminsteadof8amsothatBobwouldbeable

toaHend.FlexingBob’sscheduletoallowhimtoadjusttotheeffects

ofhismedica4oninthemorningisanexampleofanadministra4ve

accommoda4on.

ModifyingaSupervisoryPrac4ce

asanAccommoda4on

Davidisalong-termcustodianwithalearningdisabilitythataffectshis

abilitytocorrectlyreadandunderstandwriHendirec4ons.When

providedwriHeninstruc4onshealsobecomesanxiousandfrustrated.

Davidhasbeenaccommodatedformanyyearsbyprovidingfloor

mapsofthebuildingtowhichheisassigned.Roomsareshadedin

differentcolorsthatallowhimtoknowwhattasksarerequiredineach

roomonwhichdayoftheweek.Davidhasconsistentlyreceived

complimentsonhisworkfromsupervisorsandbuildingoccupants.

ReassignmentasanAccommoda4on

MaryhasbeenaNursingAssistantforsevenyears.Shehasmul4ple

sclerosisandnowhasproblemswithfa4gueandbalance.Thisaffects

herabilitytomaintainafull4meschedule.Heroccasionalproblems

withbalancehaverequiredthatotherstaffcompletesomeofher

pa4entassignments.Aeeracarefulreviewitwasdeterminedthat

Marycouldnolongerperformtheessen4alfunc4onsofherposi4on.

Shehadpastclericalexperience,knewmedicalterminology,andhad

strongcustomerserviceskills.MarywasreassignedtoavacantPa4ent

Assistantposi4onasshemettheminimalqualifica4onsforthe

posi4on.

MonitoringtheResult

Onceanaccommoda4onhasbeenprovideditisimportanttocheckin

withtheemployeetoseehowtheaccommoda4onisworkingfor

them.

Theemployeeshouldbeinvitedtolettheirsupervisorknowifthere

areanyproblemswiththeaccommoda4on.

Iftherewasachangeinperformance,aHendanceorbehaviorini4ally,

thesupervisorshouldcheckintoseeifthesehaveimprovedwiththe

provisionoftheaccommoda4on.

ModifyingtheAccommoda4on

Some4mestheeffectsofadisabilitychange,therearenewlimita4ons

asaresultofthedisability,ortheaccommoda4onisjustnotas

effec4veasan4cipated.

Inthesecasestheinterac4veprocessneedstobere-engagedto

determineifthereisaneffec4vereasonableaccommoda4onto

addresstheemployee’scurrentlimita4ons.

Reassignment

Insomeinstances,allreasonableaccommoda4onshavebeen

exhaustedandevenwithanaccommoda4on,theemployeeisunable

toperformtheiressen4aljobfunc4ons.

RememberMary,thecaseexamplefromearlierinthetraining?Her

situa4onisagoodexampleofthis.Ifyourecall,theaccommoda4on

providedwastoreassignhertoavacantposi4onforwhichshewas

qualified.

ReassignmentAccommoda4on

CommiHee(RAC)

TheUniversityestablishedtheReassignmentAccommoda4on

CommiHee(RAC)asamechanismtoreviewsitua4onswhena

departmentbelievestheyarenotabletoreasonablyaccommodate

oneoftheirfacultyorstaffwithadisabilityandreassignmenttoa

vacantposi4onneedstobeconsidered.

StandingmembersoftheRACaretheADACoordinator,theReturnto

WorkCoordinators,theLeadNurseCaseManagerfromWork

Connec4ons,andtheLongTermDisability(LTD)Manager.

TheRAC

ReferralstotheRACaremadeeitherbyWorkConnec4onsorHuman

Resources.

WorkConnec4onswillreferthosesitua4onswhen:

•  Anemployeehasareleaseforreturntoworkfromaleaveformedicalreasons

•  Therearepermanentrestric4onsthedepartmenthasstatedtheycannot

accommodate

HumanResourceswillreferthosecaseswhenanemployeeiss4llat

work,andbecauseoftheirdisabilityisnolongerabletoperformthe

essen4alfunc4onsoftheirjob,eitherwithorwithout

accommoda4on.

RACOutcomes

ThefollowingoutcomesmayresultfromaRACreview:

•  Thedepartmentmaybeadvisedtoimplementaccommoda4ons

thathadnotbeenconsideredpreviously.

•  TheRACagreesthehomedepartmentcannotreasonably

accommodatetheemployee:

•  TheemployeechoosestoworkwithaReturntoWorkCoordinator

forreassignmenttoavacantposi4onforwhichtheyarequalified.

•  Theemployeechoosesnottopursuejobplacementandremains

onaleaveand/ormayapplyforLongTermDisability(LTD)

UM’sADAObliga4on

TheUniversity’sresponsibilitytoprovideareasonableaccommoda4on

undertheADA’srequirementforreassignmentconcludeswhen:

•  Theemployeeisreassignedand,withorwithoutareasonable

accommoda4on,canperformtheessen4aljobfunc4onsofthenew

posi4on.

•  Theemployeerefusestoacceptreassignmentanddoesnotengage

intheinterac4veprocess.

•  Theemployeeisreassignedbutisnotsuccessfulforreasons

unrelatedtotheirdisabilityoraccommoda4ons.

Reassignment

Althoughthefocusofthetraininguptothispointhasbeenthe

accommoda4onofoneofyourstaff,transferringanemployeetoa

vacantposi4onasalastresortaccommoda4onalsohasimplica4ons

foryouasahiringsupervisor.

Theremaybeinstanceswhenyouareaskedtolookatvacant

posi4onsinyourareatoreassignoneofyourownstaffasan

accommoda4on.Asahiringsupervisor,theremayalsobe4meswhen

youareno4fiedthereisanemployeewhoisqualifiedforoneofyour

vacantposi4onsandtheyareeligibleforreassignmentasan

accommoda4on.

Reassignment

TheEqualEmploymentOpportunityCommission(EEOC)provides

guidancetoemployerswhenanemployeewithadisabilitycanno

longerperformtheirjobwithorwithoutanaccommoda4on:

Anemployermustreassignanemployeewho,becauseofadisability,cannolongerperformtheessen8alfunc8onsofhis/hercurrentposi8on,withorwithoutreasonableaccommoda8on,toavacantposi8onthatisequivalentintermsofpay,status,orotherrelevantfactors(e.g.,benefits,geographicalloca8on)iftheemployeeisqualifiedfortheposi8on.

Reassignment

Ifthereisnovacantequivalentposi8on,theemployermustreassigntheemployeetoavacantlowerlevelposi8onforwhichtheindividualisqualified.

Assumingthereismorethanonevacancyforwhichtheemployeeisqualified,theemployermustplacetheindividualintheposi8onthatcomesclosesttotheemployee’scurrentposi8onintermsofpay,status,etc.Ifitisunclearwhichposi8oncomesclosest,theemployershouldconsultwiththeemployeeabouthis/herpreferencebeforedeterminingtheposi8ontowhichtheemployeewillbereassigned.

Reassignment

TheEEOC’sguidanceisreflectedintheUniversity’sSPG201.84:EEOAffirma4veAc4onPolicyforIndividualswithDisabili4eshHp://spg.umich.edu/policy/201.84

Wheneverreassignmenttoavacantposi8onistheonlywayinwhichanemployeewithadisabilitycanbereasonablyaccommodated,theemployeewithadisabilityshallbetransferredintothatvacantposi5on.Transferwillbemadetoavacantposi8onthatisequivalentintermsofpayandotherrelevantfactorssuchasbenefits,status,orgeographicalloca8on.Iftherearenoequivalentvacantposi8onsavailabletheemployeemaybereassignedtoalowerlevelvacantposi8on.

Reassignment

TheUniversity’sRecruitmentandEmploymentprocess(SPG201.22)providesfora“bestqualified’standardforhiringexcept:

Insitua8onswheretransferofacurrentemployeewithadisabilityintoavacantposi8onforwhichtheyarequalifiedcons8tutesareasonableaccommoda8on,theemployeewithadisabilityshallbetransferredintothepostedposi5on.

IninstancesofreassignmentasareasonableaccommodaBon,hiringsupervisorscannotapplytheUniversity’spracBceofchoosingthe“bestqualified”applicant.TheemployeewithadisabilitymustbeacceptedfortheposiBoniftheymeettheminimalqualificaBonsfortheposiBon.

Summary

Insummary,theUniversityhasaresponsibilitytoprovideareasonable

accommoda4ontoaqualifiedfacultyorstaffwithadisability.

Areasonableaccommoda4onismeanttoremoveormi4gatebarriers,

therebyprovidinganopportunityfortheemployeetoperformtheessen4al

func4onsofthejob.

Accommoda4onsareachievedthroughtheinterac4veprocessbetweenthe

employeeandtheirsupervisor,andmayinvolveconsulta4onwithother

resources.

Insomeinstancestheaccommoda4onoflastresortwillbereassignmenttoa

vacantposi4on.Intheseinstances,theuniversitywillnotusethecriteriaof

“bestqualified”butinsteadmustusethe“qualified”standardfor

reassignmentintothevacantposi4on.

Resources

AlwaysfeelfreetocontacttheADACoordinatorintheOfficefor

Ins4tu4onalEquitywithanyques4onsyoumayhaveregardingthis

trainingorotherADAissues.

ADACoordinator

OfficeforIns4tu4onalEquity

2072Administra4veServicesBuilding

Phone:(734)763-0235

TTY:(734)647-1388

Email:ins4tu4onal.equity@umich.edu

hHp://hr.umich.edu/oie/ada/adafaq.html

Resources

UniversityHumanResources(UHR)

(734)763-1284

HealthSystemHumanResources(UMHSHR)

(734)647-1856

AcademicHumanResources(AHR)

(734)763-8938

DearbornCampusHumanResources

(313)593-5190

FlintCampusHumanResources

(810)762-3150

Resources

WorkConnec4ons

(734)615-0643

FacultyandStaffAssistanceProgram

(734)936-8660

UMHSEmployeeAssistanceProgram

(734)763-5409

MHealthyOccupa4onalTherapist

(734)763-0852

Resources

CampusDisabilityResourceDirectory

hHp://hr.umich.edu/oie/disability.html

JobAccommoda4onNetwork(JAN)

hHps://askjan.org/

MichiganRehabilita4onServices(MRS)

(734)677-1101

MichiganBureauofServicesforBlindPersons

(800)292-4200