V. If an Employee Declines an Offer of Accommodation, Procedure 36: Classification of Positions, Procedure 60: Layoff and Reduction in Time from Professional and Support Staff Career Positions, Procedure 84: Accommodations for Nursing Mothers, Reasonable Accommodation and the Interactive Process, Family and Medical Leaves of Absence (FMLA/CFRA/PDL), Berkeley Campus Policy/Procedure for Medical Separation, Procedure 84: Accommodations for Nursing Mothers. This includes with or without reasonable accommodation. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act requires employers of five or more employees to provide reasonable accommodation for individuals with a physical or mental disability to apply for jobs and to perform the essential functions of their jobs unless it would cause an undue hardship. The person writing the email should make sure that the change in process is communicated clearly. Select Accept to consent or Reject to decline non-essential cookies for this use. The DFEH has created a sample Request for Reasonable Accommodation package to assist employers and employees in engaging in the interactive process. x[OF0Ic{|Y"vB!8$m38t =saOE9/t4d/_u0[,_K1KY3u\p,Q";[N>p '$tB/`;I=`O@b6` {vxsA *;AXN0(/:!Npt"qD?6:u>O3G?Fu0nI hDD1qpa o=^,LT7&Q8`!m+@Y.M7o"ACP9gC0+y=8A+uvoE %}IZ"EwV@_[PZmm[8>^||'=biB@^ru.@{&a[J{h%dyplpy5g}c!@75e! Once again, the company agreed and allowed her to work from home from March 2014 until December 2014. Notice of a disability alone is not enough to trigger the obligation to initiate the interactive process. Trautman v. Time Warner Cable Texas LLC, 5th Cir., No. The Interactive Process is the way in which employees, supervisors, and their departments arrive at a reasonable accommodation. Gain the intel you need now to successfully anticipate and navigate employment laws, stay compliant and mitigate legal risks. You dont want the front-line supervisor feeling like he needs to answer this question,"Schwarz said, and "it's not realistic that every manager/supervisor will become an expert in the interactive process. var currentLocation = getCookie("SHRM_Core_CurrentUser_LocationID"); After this, one person was assigned responsibility for making sure an accommodation request is processed so the request is not lost on someones desk. Once youve identified an accommodation request, its best to take action immediately. h\ CJ Dont assume that thecosts of providing the accommodationwill be too expensive. A Transfer Search is a process that may be available to employees who cannot perform the essential functions of their own position for an extended period of time, but are able to work in other jobs. $("span.current-site").html("SHRM MENA "); A Department should consider the factors listed in Section III. | 2 p.m. And if still more ideas are needed, then the employer should consult with outside resources such as JAN, vocational rehabilitation, rehabilitation engineers, and disability-related organizations. Topics covered: National employment laws, harassment, accommodations, training, and more. For example, if an employee needs an accessible parking space, coworkers need to know only that this person has a specific space not why. + : UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO EMBED Word.Picture.6 SANTA BARBARA ( SANTA CRUZ BERKELEY ( DAVIS ( IRVINE ( LOS ANGELES ( MERCED ( RIVERSIDE ( SAN DIEGO ( SAN FRANCISCO Reasonable Accommodation Agreement Date: Dear [Mr./Ms. The EEOCs Enforcement Guidance: Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the Americans with Disabilities Act provides that as a general rule, the individual with a disability who has the most knowledge about the need for reasonable accommodation must inform the employer than an accommodation is needed. The request can be made verbally or in writing. var temp_style = document.createElement('style'); ", "Clarity is important," he said, "and getting things in writing adds to clarity. &. You can begin providing accommodations during the construction of a ramp if there are inaccessible areas. The interactive process often begins when the employee makes an accommodation request. You have successfully saved this page as a bookmark. And while it's not a per se requirement, the law favors an "interactive process" for determining whether an effective accommodation is available. Your Accommodation Request Was Denied. The ability of employers and their managerial staff to recognize requests is important. A lot of times we can find an accommodation., Fram agreed: When you get into anyof this, call JAN, he advised. Please note that all such forms and policies should be reviewed by your legal . Your Employee & Labor Relations team now supports both represented and non-represented employees. Remember when consulting with outside resources, employers must comply with the confidentiality rules of the ADA. Learn more about your compensation, benefits and everything that goes into a Total Rewards package. 1. Then select the most appropriate accommodation for you and your employee. The same day, the plaintiff left work early, resulting in the company's issuance of a final written warning. In some cases, the employees disability and need for accommodation are obvious and no additional information is needed. endobj +R^_C%342hE0qmQSK[ x Topics covered: Pay & bonuses, salary history, pay transparency, raises, total rewards, and more. Keep up with the story. Notify supervisor if unable to report to work for any reason Supervisors Responsibilities: Ensure that employee is not directed to perform tasks that exceed restrictions recommended by treating physician. endstream endobj 188 0 obj <>stream However, they may be a useful tool for both employers and employees. (4) Consider the preference of the individual to be accommodated and select and implement the accommodation that is most appropriate for both the employee and the employer. As a result, the company approved the plaintiff's use of one hour of FMLA leave per week for a period of six months. Think of theinteractive processas collaborating with your employees to develop accommodations. 200 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<5D6158DB4243BF4189442C3921752F86>]/Index[184 39]/Info 183 0 R/Length 86/Prev 194116/Root 185 0 R/Size 223/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream stream Here at UC Berkeley, we value your growth and development throughout your career journey. 222 0 obj <>stream "Often the request doesn't come until, for example, theres a performance management action thats going on." <>/Metadata 73 0 R/ViewerPreferences 74 0 R>> The EEOC (Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship (EEOC Guidance)provides the following examples: Example A: An employee tells her supervisor, "I'm having trouble getting to work at my scheduled starting time because of medical treatments I'm undergoing." Employers must initiate an "interactive process" when an applicant or employee requests reasonable accommodations. If the employee requests a type of assistance the supervisor may simply provide it (without any reference to whether the request is disability-related), or the supervisor may ask if the assistance is being requested as an accommodation to a disability (and if the response is affirmative, proceed under campus procedures for accommodating employees with disabilities). Accommodations Beyond Job Performance = Compliance and Inclusion, Changing a Supervisor as an Accommodation under the ADA, Cognitive Impairment and the Interactive Process, Good Deeds Not Punished: Dispelling the Idea of Precedent Setting and the ADA, Out with the Old, In with the NewSupervisor, Providing Temporary Accommodation Solutions, Recognizing an Accommodation Request Under the ADA. Fh^F`h Accommodation and Compliance: Interactive Process, EEOC (Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship (EEOC Guidance), JAN's Effective Accommodation Practice Series: Interactive Process and Service Providers, Employers' Practical Guide to Reasonable Accommodation Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Employers' Practical Guide: Reasonable Accommodation During the Hiring Process, Addressing Requests for Sit/Stand Workstations, Best Practices for Addressing Requests for Ergonomic Chairs, Making a Statement About Reasonable Accommodation and Equal Opportunity, Providing Temporary or Trial Accommodation Solutions, Recertifying the Ongoing Need for Accommodation, Using Third-Party Vendors to Process Accommodation Requests. Please note that all such forms and policies should be reviewed by your legal counsel for compliance with applicable law, and should be modified to suit your organizations culture, industry, and practices. The assistant wanted the employee to sign a blanket medical release. Also, employers "should not be getting periodic updates when the initial documentation states that the condition is not going to change. This button displays the currently selected search type. Some companies choose to assess employees by grading their performance in certain areas on a scale of one to 10. 2023 Once an accommodation request has been received, the employer should gather whatever information is necessary to process the request. Notice may come from the employee directly, or from the employees family members, friends, health professionals or other representatives. Example:Your employee tells you theyre having issues getting to work on time because of a medical treatment they are receiving. Its a good idea to touch base with your employee on how things are going. The purpose of an accommodation is to enable the employee to perform the essential functions of the job. Don't hide your interactive process requirement, rather publicize it. III. hbbd```b``:"kd6di`f0^ X|9$x hH : After six months, she hadnt heard anything. endstream endobj startxref ", "If youre trying to determine whether an accommodation will work, good documentation and particularly a good and accurate job description"are key, said Sencenbaugh. Other resources, such as the Job Accommodations Network (JAN), or your employee's medical provider, can give suggestions. Topics covered: Employee learning, training, onboarding, mentoring, career development and more. Ultimately, she refused this proposal and instead sought intermittent FMLA leave that would allow her to leave at 2 p.m., and she immediately adjusted her schedule accordingly. For example, if an employee who uses a wheelchair requests that his desk be placed on blocks to elevate the desktop above the arms of the wheelchair and the employer complies, an appropriate accommodation has been requested, identified, and provided without the need for a formal process. Featuring Executive Search, our new arm of recruiting just for our clients at UC Berkeley. As stated by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Taylor v. <> "Employers need only enough to show (1) that theres a disability, and (2) the employee needs an accommodation." Need help with a specific HR issue like coronavirus or FLSA? A request for assistance or indication by the employee that some corrective measure may need to be taken can be made verbally and casually, as well as formally. When a request is made, employers should first look for a quick, simple and easy solution,Fram said. Please confirm that you want to proceed with deleting bookmark. The interactive process can begin when the employee makes the request. This tech company uses their own platform to house their employee handbook, which they call an "employee manual.". No Past Recorded Modules for Interactive Process. Interactive Process Freeman Rehabilitation Services Debbie Freeman P.O. However, the employer gets to choose among effective options and can choose, for example, the lowest cost accommodation. Please log in as a SHRM member before saving bookmarks. Step 3: Get Job Descriptions in Order The sample Options Letter may be modified by an appointing power Our focus on the People & Organization Development Team is to ensure that we are giving you the growth and development opportunities at the #1 public university in the world. (Supervisors should stay out of medical details as much as possible, Fram said.). Once the employer has notice of a disability and the need for an accommodation, the ADA requires (1) direct communication between the employer and employee to explore in good faith the possible accommodations; (2) consideration of the employees request; and (3) offering an accommodation that is reasonable and effective.. document.head.append(temp_style); You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Initially, the plaintiff's FMLA paperwork indicated that she required the ability to leave early when she experienced her traffic-related anxiety "flare-ups." If there is more than one option, the employer should consider the preference of the employee. For example, if an employee has a couple of doctors appointments during the next few weeks and needs to come in a little late, let the person do it. After complaining to her supervisor, the supervisor talked with HR. Be open to doing things a different way. Therefore, any time an employee indicates that he/she is having a problem and the problem is related to a medical condition, the employer should consider whether the employee is making a request for accommodation under the ADA. Others take a more qualitative approach that involves writing a free-form paragraph summarizing the employee's strengths and weaknesses. 0 "Thats what courts will look at: [whether there was] a thorough, fair effort to communicate and find an accommodation. Make use of words in such a way that . Second, the employer must also have notice of the employees desire to obtain some type of accommodation. After exhausting her FMLA leave in March 2014, she asked to work from home due to difficulties transitioning her child to bottle feeding. hb```TB ea8 ,2^2o-r `{ iP~ |qW |t3utWD1$1}I? Notice of an employees desire for an accommodation can take a variety of forms, including notice that the employee wants to remain employed (in some capacity). Shortly thereafter, the plaintiff asked her supervisor for a temporary modification to her work schedule that would allow her to leave the office early to avoid panic attacks brought on by stress associated with heavy traffic. % Additionally, don't use negative words as they have a bad impact. when deciding on whether a suggested accommodation is unreasonable or presents an undue hardship. After Completing FMLA, The Employer Uses The Interactive Process And Lawfully Terminated Its Employee The crossroad between the protections of the FMLA and the ADA is somewhat difficult to navigate. z0#D0v[{qL*Aoco; tY-bGG[!8^N^1swy QZU^BL@z6xWbt aQ"(4^+(4`V@91&jE,_C5lRqk_h:f.tlZr.9gO(t"w#\O #*^]]7j]" :It)Rf!n', If the accommodation involves an outside service, someone needs to make sure the service is provided promptly and effectively. If an accommodation is not considered reasonable, refer to Sections IV and V below. Never assume an employee is disabled. I ^ b h ) , z |n`n h\ B*OJ QJ ^J ph hn B*OJ QJ ^J ph h\ >*B*OJ QJ ^J ph $h\ h\ >*B*OJ QJ ^J ph $h\ hn >*B*OJ QJ ^J ph hn 56OJ QJ \]^J hn hn B*OJ QJ ^J ph h}R OJ QJ ^J hn OJ QJ ^J hn B*OJ QJ ^J ph hn OJ QJ ^J %6 7 C g S T 0 hFj! In June 2013, the plaintiff made an accommodation request under the ADA to lie down while at work due to dizzy spells related to her pregnancy. The Central Services teams provide critical HR-related services to nearly all of the Berkeley campus, including records management and visa documentation. {CL~j%"rx6M\dcxb9GG.bUxG++%[cO#wL42x%~Dzd@?qbFa9MKL]i@&K4KI11 3|&Sm(JX-:$|6e}J +qfR@I^t+QDUB>;&Z7t. Assuming you return the requested information within the time frame noted above, we have scheduled an interactive meeting with you on [time] at [location]. These ideas, along with any ideas from the employee and employees medical provider, must be documented. But the FMLA doesnt provide paid leave, and employers say it can be difficult to administer. Remember to only ask for the necessary medical information. In order for the practitioner to provide a knowledgeable recommendation, the job description with the essential assigned duties annotated and a PEM form for the job should be provided to the employee to give to her/his practitioner. e e e e e y y y 8 y * F f* h* h* h* h* h* h* - / SHRM Employment Law & Compliance Conference, ADAs Interactive Process Is a Two-Way Street, New OSHA Guidance Clarifies Return-to-Work Expectations, Trump Suspends New H-1B Visas Through 2020, Faking COVID-19 Illness Can Have Serious Consequences, White House Takes Action Against Migrant Child Labor, EEOC Lawsuit Highlights Cancer Discrimination in the Workplace. The following persons will be present at this meeting: [names of meeting participants]. First, the employer must have notice that the employee has a disability. Notice provided to supervisors or managers will be imputed to the employer.