Procedure:     Disabilities: Accommodating Employees
Department:    Human Resources
Contact:          Dennis Carr, 463-5583        carrd@lanecc.edu

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employment discrimination against persons with disabilities. This law does not establish quotas or require preferences favoring individuals with disabilities over those without disabilities.  It does, however, state that a disability can't be used to disqualify an otherwise qualified person  -- who can perform a job's essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation -- from the employment opportunities made available to other individuals without disabilities.  Managers are expected to comply with the provisions of this law in all areas of employment, including: 1. Recruitment and hiring;
     2. Compensation;
     3. Promotion and reclassification;
     4. Layoff, recall and termination;
     5. Job descriptions and assignments;
     6. Leaves of absence, sick leaves, etc.;
     7. Fringe benefits; and
     8. Training opportunities.

Questions about the definitions provided below, or about the application of this law to specific employment situations, should be referred to the director of Human Resources.

Definitions

Disability - 1. A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual.  2. A record of such an impairment.  3. Being regarded as having such an impairment.

Physical or mental impairment - 1. Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems:
neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genito-urinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin, and endocrine. 2. Any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities.

Major life activities - Functions such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working.

Qualified individual with a disability - An individual with a disability who satisfies the requisite skill, experience, education and other job-related requirements of the employment position such individual holds or desires, and who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of such position.

Essential functions - Job functions which are fundamental to a position and which an employee must be able to perform with or without reasonable accomodation.  A job function may be essential because:

1. It is the sole reason the position exists;
2. There are a limited number of employees, so the function cannot be assigned to someone else; or
3. It is a highly specialized function that the incumbent was hired to perform because of their specialized skills.

Reasonable accommodation - 1. Modifications or adjustments to a job application process that enable a qualified applicant with a disability to be considered for the position such qualified applicant desires.  2. Modifications or adjustments to the work environment, or to the manner or circumstances under which the position held or desired is customarily performed, that enable a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of that position.  3. Modifications or adjustments that enable a covered entity's employee with a disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as are enjoyed by its other similarly situated employees without disabilities.