| Reasonable
Accommodation
for Individuals with Covered Disabilities

It is the policy of Monroe Community College to provide reasonable
accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance
with the regulations established by the Americans With Disabilities
Act of 1990. Accommodations that do not cause "undue hardship"
to the College will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities
who are currently employed or seeking employment.
Definitions:
Reasonable accommodation is the adaptation of a program,
facility or workplace that allows an individual with a disability to
perform a job or participate in the program or service. Accommodations
include, but are not limited to:
- Any modification or adjustment to the employment process that enables
a qualified individual with a disability to be considered for the
position he/she desires; or
- Any modification or adjustment to the work environment, or to the
manner or circumstances under which the duties of a position are customarily
performed that enables a qualified individual with a disability to
perform the essential functions of the job; or
- Any modifications or adjustments that enable an employee with a
disability to have the equivalent benefits and privileges of employment
that similarly situated employees without disabilities enjoy, and
- The making of existing facilities used by employees readily accessible
to and usable by individuals with disabilities.
Auxiliary aids are considered reasonable accommodations
under the law. These include, but are not limited to:
- qualified interpreters or other methods of making aurally delivered
materials available to individuals with hearing impairments.
- qualified readers, taped texts, or other methods of making visually
delivered materials available to individuals with visual impairments.
- acquisition or modification of equipment or devices; and
- other services and actions.
Undue hardship is considered any action that requires
significant difficulty or expense for the employer.
Determining factors of undue hardship include, but are not limited
to:
- nature and cost of the accommodation;
- overall financial resources of the facility or facilities; number
of persons employed; effect on expenses and resources, or impact of
accommodation on the operation of the facility.
- overall financial resources of the entity and the size of the business
and its location;
- type of operation or the operations of the covered entity including
composition, structure and functions of workforce, geographic separateness,
administrative or fiscal relationship of the facility or facilities
to the covered entity.
All attempts, successful or unsuccessful, to provide reasonable accommodation
to the applicants or employees with disabilities will be documented
and filed in the office of the Director of Human Resources.
The procedure to be followed in determining need and providing reasonable
accommodation(s) for applicants or employees includes the following
steps:
- Consult with the disabled individual to determine what reasonable
accommodation might be effective in providing equal access in applying
for a job, performing essential job functions, or enjoying equal benefits
and privileges of employment.
- If the appropriate accommodation selected is without undue hardship,
can be implemented without difficulty, and is at little or no cost
to the institution, it should be provided as soon as practicable.
- If an individual with a disability does not know what is an appropriate
reasonable accommodation, or if the individual's functional limitations
are unclear, or if the College and the employee or applicant disagree
on the reasonable accommodation necessary to be effective, then an
informal interactive communication process with the employee or applicant
should begin to identify which accommodation may be appropriate. The
following steps are recommended:
- Identify the essential functions of the position.
- Discuss which essential functions are limited because of the
disability.
- Identify the barriers to performance of the essential function
of the job.
- Discuss potential accommodations and assess their effectiveness
in enabling the individual to perform the essential functions
of the job. If alternatives cannot be identified, outside agencies
should be contacted for assistance.
- Select the accommodation that best serves the needs of the
College and the individual. If several alternative accommodations
would provide an equal employment opportunity, consider the preference
of the individual. If more than one accommodation alternatives
exist, and if the individual prefers to provide his or her own
accommodation, the individual may be allowed to do so. (The College
may, with input from the employee, select an appropriate but less
expensive alternative.)
- If providing a particular accommodation would create an undue
hardship, the College will provide the individual with an opportunity
to pay for or provide the accommodation for him/herself, or provide
that part of the accommodation, which constitutes the undue hardship.
- Reassignment to a position consistent with present pay and
status will be attempted, providing the individual is qualified
for the assigned position, and that such a position is or will
be available within a reasonable time period. If no such equivalent
position exists, the College may reassign the person to a position
at a lower classification and at a reduced salary. Other positions
will not be created, and other employees will not be removed from
their position in order to provide reasonable accommodation. An
individual with a disability will not be promoted in order to
make such an accommodation.
Reasonable accommodation will be provided to the individual with a
qualified disability when funding is available from another source,
i.e., a state vocational rehabilitation agency, or when federal, state
or local tax credits are available to offset the cost of the accommodation.
When outside funding exists that offsets the cost, the College will
provide the reasonable accommodation regardless of whether or not the
College has initiated the process to obtain the available funding.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Questions and Inquiries
Key to ADA questioning is to stop, think, or ask someone if you are
not sure!
CAN BE ASKED:
- Questions about physical conditions that are not disabilities.
(i.e., "Do you have 20/20 corrected vision? This job requires
an employee to prepare reports containing technical/detailed information
in a tight timeframe. Can you perform this function with/without a
reasonable accommodation?
- Volunteered information on a disability is all right if it is in
response to a question.
- Can you perform the essential functions of the job with or without
a reasonable accommodation?
- The job requires that you transport 20lb bags of books from the
loading dock down three flights of stairs and up one flight of stairs
between 3:00 P.M. & 4:00 P.M. Can you perform this essential function
with or without a reasonable accommodation?
- How did you break your arm?
- An applicant with a disability may be asked to demonstrate job
tasks if all applicants are asked to do the same. An accommodation
must be provided if requested, or the applicant may describe how the
task would be performed.
- Employer may ask if accommodations are needed during the hiring
process. Employer may require confirmation of disability.
- Can you meet the attendance requirement of the job? Or, How many
days of leave did you take last year?
- Did you have any unauthorized absence on your last job?
- How many Mondays and Fridays other than vacation were you absent
last year?
- Do you use illegal drugs? Or, Have you used illegal drugs in the
last two years?
- BE CAREFUL OF ANY AND ALL LEGAL DRUG QUESTIONS.
- Do you have or intend to get the appropriate certificate or license
required for this position? Why do you not have this license?
- Have you ever been arrested for DWI? (May ask about arrest and
correction records under Title VII.)
CANNOT BE ASKED:
- Questions which illicit information about disability - (i.e., Do
you ever get ill from stress or do you have symptoms of stress?)
- Volunteered information may not be pursued by employers and volunteered
information may not be used in making employment decisions.
- Inquiries may not be made at the pre-offer stage which would screen
out or automatically bar a person from employment . (i.e., Asking
an interstate truck driver about epilepsy.)
- Phrasing of questions - i.e., Do you have a disability that would
prevent you from performing the essential functions of a job with
or without a reasonable accommodations?
- How long will it be before your arm can be fully used?
- Can you perform major life activities? (i.e., hearing, standing,
walking, learning, etc.).
- Do not ask questions which delve into the nature of the disability.
- At the pre-offer stage, questions relating to specific reasonable
accommodations in this job? If information is volunteered, it may
not be used.
- How many sick days did you use last year? Have you ever filed for
Workers' Compensation or been injured on the job?
- What was the reason for your unauthorized absence?
- How often would you be required to leave on account of your disability,
illness or treatment?
- Are you addicted to illegal drugs? Have you been through drug rehab?
How much cocaine/alcohol are/were you using? What was/is the nature
of your addiction?
- Results of a medical examination or test at the pre-offer stage
of employment may not be used in making an employment decision.
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