"Americans with Disabilities Act" Policy

 AUTHORITY:
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
(PL 101-336)
29 CFR Part 1630
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (PL 93-112)
45 CFR Part 84
RCW Chapter 49.60
WAC Title 162-22 and 365-35


PURPOSE:

This policy sets forth provisions for meeting reasonable accommodation requirements of state and federal law. This provides that persons with disabilities have the right to request and receive reasonable accommodation. This policy affects all employees and candidates for employment of Everett Community College.


DEFINITIONS:

A. "Individual with a Disability" refers to any person who:

B. “Reasonable accommodation” in college employment is reasonable modifications or adjustments to a job, work environment, policies, practices, and/or procedures that enable qualified individuals with a disability to enjoy equal employment.

C. “Undue hardship” is any excessively costly, extensive, substantial, or disruptive modification or one that would fundamentally alter the nature and operation of the institution or any of its programs or services or threaten the health and safety of the college community.

D. "Health Care Professional" means a person who has completed a course of study and is licensed to practice in a field of health care which includes the diagnoses and assessment of the particular disability or disabilities in question.

E. "Equal Employment Opportunity" means an opportunity to perform the essential job functions or to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as are available to a similarly-situated applicant or employee without a disability. A qualified individual with a disability with respect to employment is an individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job in question.

F. "Essential Functions" refers to the fundamental job duties of the position that the individual with the disability holds or desires. The term does not include the marginal functions of the position.

Obligations of the College to Employees:

Obligations of the Qualified Individual:

The college is obligated to provide reasonable accommodation to a qualified individual with a known disability. What is appropriate for the individual is a case-by-case determination. It is the obligation of the individual to seek reasonable accommodation. An individual who seeks accommodations under this policy is responsible for documenting the nature and extent of the disability. The College will work collaboratively with the individual in determining the appropriate accommodation.

To ensure that needed accommodations are provided in a timely manner, the individual shall:

1. Provide timely notice and documentation of the nature and extent of the disability, and the accommodations requests to the Vice President of Human Resources. For pre-employment services, requests for accommodations should be received ten working days prior to the date needed. Lack of advance notice may delay the availability of an accommodation.
2. Provide such additional documentation on the nature and extent of their disability as the college may require to determine appropriate accommodations. Such documentation may include, but is not limited to, identification of tests administered, test results, description of the covered disability, and recommended accommodations.
3. Promptly notify the Vice President of Human Resources of any problems encountered in receiving the agreed-upon accommodations.

Reasonable Accommodations in the Recruitment, Application, and Selection of Employees:

Reasonable accommodation must be provided in every stage of the recruitment, application and selection process to enable a qualified applicant with a disability to have an equal opportunity to be considered for a job.

1. Notification of the right to make an accommodation request and information on how to initiate such a request must be included with all announcements, bulletins and recruitment efforts.
2. Timeliness of response is essential in providing equal opportunity. Failure to provide accommodation in a timely manner shall be justification for extension of application and other deadlines.
3. Qualification standards, employment tests, or other selection criteria must not screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability unless they are job-related and necessary for the employer.
4. Employment tests must be used in the most effective manner to measure actual abilities. Tests must accurately reflect the skills, aptitude, or other factors being measured, and not the impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills of an employee or applicant with a disability (unless those are the skills the test is designed to measure).
5. Staff in the Human Resource Office are designated as contact persons for information about job openings and the application process. These staff members shall be given the training and authority necessary to initiate the College's process for the provision of the reasonable accommodations.

Reasonable Accommodation and the Essential Functions of the Job:

Determination of Essential Functions: Each position should be examined to determine its purpose and its essential functions. Appropriate times to examine a position include when the position is established, when it becomes vacant, and when the duties are changed. The following criteria should be considered in identifying the Essential Functions of a job:

1. Are employees in the position actually required to perform the function?
2. Would removing that function fundamentally change the job?
3. Was the position established to perform the function?
4. Are there a limited number of other employees available to perform the function, or among whom the function can be distributed?, and
5. Is the function highly specialized, and is the person in the position hired for special expertise or ability to perform it?

Upon receiving a reasonable accommodation request, the College shall consult with the individual with a disability to find out his or her specific physical or mental abilities and limitations as they relate to the essential job functions, identify the barriers to job performance and assess how an accommodation can overcome these barriers.

The College shall consult with the employee, and may consult with other knowledgeable sources, to identify potential accommodations and assess how effective each would be in enabling the individual to perform essential job functions.

If there are two or more effective accommodations that would allow the individual with a disability to perform essential job functions, after considering the preference of the individual with the disability, the employer may select the accommodation to be provided.

When an accommodation in an employee's present position is not reasonable, or would cause an undue hardship, the College shall attempt to accommodate the employee through reassignment to another vacant position, at the same pay range or lower, for which s/he is qualified, within the College. The College should also, within the practical limitations of its ability assist the employee in identifying and applying for vacant positions for which s/he is qualified, within other agencies/institutions. The employee is responsible for providing current information showing skills, abilities, training, and experience: identifying the types of jobs s/he is interested in and qualified for; applying for vacant positions; and advising the employer of any change of address. The College is responsible for informing the employee of these responsibilities.

Reasonable Accommodations and Equal Terms, Benefits, Privileges and Conditions of Employment:

1. Reasonable accommodation must be provided to enable an employee with a disability to enjoy terms, benefits, privileges and conditions of employment equal to those enjoyed by similarly situated non disabled employees.
2. The need to provide a reasonable accommodation must not be a factor in the selection of an employee for promotion, training, travel, participation in projects, committees, developmental work assignments or any opportunity which may have an impact on an employee's career development.
3. Reasonable accommodations must be provided to enable an employee with a disability the opportunity to enjoy all employer supported social or recreational activities.
4. Timelines for all activities and opportunities covered under this section shall allow adequate opportunity for arranging reasonable accommodations.
5. Information contained in communications regarding activities or opportunities covered under this section must be provided to an employee with a disability in a manner or format which is readily accessible to that employee; and employees must be notified about the employer's obligation to provide reasonable accommodations and instructed as to how to initiate a request.