Americans with Disabilities Act

Diverse group of workers with seven standing and one seated in a wheelchair

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates that effective reasonable accommodations be provided to qualified persons with disabilities, as defined by law, to ensure benefits and privileges of employment are applied to everyone.

Disability Accommodation Request Form

To help us determine whether your medical condition constitutes a disability as defined by the ADA and, if so, whether reasonable workplace accommodations can be provided, the Disability Accommodation Request Form is to be completed by you and your physician.

Disability Accommodation Request Form (PDF)

Please keep a copy of this completed form for your records and submit the signed original form to [email protected]

Response Time

You should receive notification of the Office of Equity and Employee Relations findings and recommendations within 30 days upon receipt of the completed request.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a reasonable accommodation?

Reasonable accommodations are changes made to a job or the workplace to enable an employee or job applicant to successfully perform the position's basic duties and/or protect his or her health. A reasonable accommodation does not change the essential functions of the job. Whether a particular accommodation request is reasonable depends upon the situation and the type of job. The accommodation cannot be extremely costly or disruptive for the employer.

2. What is the definition of a qualified individual with a disability?
  1. A person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities;
  2. A person who has a record of such an impairment; or
  3. A person who is regarded as having such an impairment.

Major Life activities include, but are not limited to, functions such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working.

3. What are essential job functions?

Those job duties that are so fundamental to the position that one cannot do the job without performing the duties. A function can be essential if, among other things: the position exists specifically for the performance of that function; there are a limited number of other individuals who could perform the function; or the function is specialized and the individual is hired based on his or her ability to perform the function. The determination of the essential functions of a position must be done on a case-by-case basis so that the determination reflects not simply the components of a generic position description, but the job as it is actually performed.

4. What does the term "undue hardship" mean?

Undue hardship means that a specific accommodation would require significant difficulty or expense. Undue hardship is always determined on a case-by-case basis, considering factors that include the nature and cost of the accommodation requested and the impact of the accommodation on the operations of the division.

5. Will I be considered for reassignment?

Reassignment is a "last resort" form of reasonable accommodation that, absent undue hardship, is provided to employees who, because of a disability, can no longer perform the essential functions of their jobs, with or without reasonable accommodation.In addition, an employer is not required to create a new job or to "bump" another employee from a job in order to provide a reasonable accommodation; nor is an employer required to promote an individual with a disability to make such an accommodation. If reassignment is the accommodation, the employee will be given a "reasonable amount of time" in which to seek alternate employment with the division. Reassignments are made only to funded vacant positions and only to employees who are qualified for the new position.