Reasonable Accommodations in Employment
Appalachian State University is committed to equal opportunity in all aspects of employment for qualified employees (EPS, SHRA, Faculty, etc.) with disabilities. Employees who need reasonable workplace accommodations on the basis of a disability in order to complete the essential functions of their job or have access to the benefits of employment must complete the request process outlined below.
Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination in employment and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for “qualified employees with disabilities.” Accommodations do not remove functions that are essential to a job but rather provide an equal opportunity for an employee to complete them.
ADA Request Process
Request and documentation: Employees should identify employment-related barriers and complete an Employee Accommodation Request. For employees with temporary injuries or conditions, please review the available guidance on navigating campus and the workplace.
The employee will be contacted to discuss the request for accommodations and the potential need for disability documentation.
Documentation needs for employees are determined on an individualized basis and communicated directly to the employee once the ADA/504 Coordinator or designee has reviewed the requested accommodations. Documentation must establish the employee has a disability as defined by disability law, identify employment-related barriers, and explain specific limitations on essential job functions. For assistance with animal accommodations within University Housing, additional requirements are needed. For more information about medical documentation, please review documentation guidelines.
Interactive process: The ADA/504 Coordinator, or designee, will engage in an interactive process with the employee and the supervisor to determine eligibility, essential job functions, and necessary reasonable accommodations.
Implementation: Upon completion of the interactive process, the ADA/504 Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that approved accommodations are understood and implemented in a timely manner.
Timing: Employees are encouraged to begin this process as early as possible to ensure the timely provision of accommodations. Once the request form and sufficient documentation are received, every effort will be made to determine appropriate accommodations within 15 business days of submission.
Reasonable Accommodations
Employees are responsible for making requests for accommodations to EO. Reasonable workplace accommodations may include, but are not limited to:
- Making existing facilities readily accessible and usable by persons with disabilities;
- Job restructuring, modifying work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position; or
- Acquiring or modifying equipment, devices or auxiliary aids.
The University is not obligated and does not provide personal use items/devices needed in accomplishing daily activities (e.g., eyeglasses, hearing aids, wheelchairs).
Essential Job Functions
Essential job functions are the fundamental duties of a position and should be included in the job description. All other duties are considered secondary, non-critical, marginal job functions, or non-essential job functions. Reasonable accommodations in employment are designed to provide equal access to essential job functions, not to marginal non-essential job functions.
To determine essential job functions, a job analysis should focus on the purpose of the position and the significance of the duties in achieving the purpose. Factors to be considered when determining if duties are essential include, but are not limited to:
- Does the position exist to perform the function?
- Are there a limited number of other employees available to perform the function? Or among whom the function can be distributed to?
- Is the function highly specialized? Was the person hired in this position for their special expertise or ability to perform it?
- Was the function included in the job advertisement or job description?
- How much time is spent performing the function?
- What are the consequences of not requiring the employee in this job to perform the function?