HR3015 - Reasonable Accommodations - Disability or Pregnancy

1. Institutional Regulations
   The College shall provide reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental disabilities of otherwise qualified applicants for employment or employees unless the accommodation would pose an undue hardship on program operations. The College shall provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees or applicants with known limitations due to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions as required by the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) unless the accommodation would pose an undue hardship on program operations.
2. Procedure
   1. Definitions of terms:
      1. Employee or Applicant with a Disability - A person who (1) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities; (2) has a record of such an impairment; or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment.
      2. Physical or Mental Impairment - Any physiological disorder, disfigurement, or anatomical loss or limitation or any mental or psychological disorder acquired as a result of illness, accident or birth.
      3. Major Life Activity - Caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, working, or, operation of a major function, including normal cell growth and function of the following systems: immune, digestive, bowel, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive. Disabilities controlled or compensated by medication, assistive devices, etc., are still considered disabilities, as are disabilities in remission.
      4. Otherwise Qualified Employee or Applicant with a Disability - A person who meets the qualification requirements contained in the official College job description for the job and who can, with reasonable accommodations, perform the essential functions of the job in question.
      5. Essential Job Functions - Those job responsibilities contained in the official College job description for the position which are determined to be critical to the basic function of the position and which cannot be eliminated. This shall include “regular, punctual attendance” for all jobs.
      6. Reasonable Accommodation - An adjustment to a work situation for the purpose of enabling a person with a disability, or known limitation for PWFA related accommodations, to perform an essential function(s) of a job and which does not present an undue hardship on the conduct of the College’s operations. Except for temporary accommodations made as a result of PWFA, an accommodation will not be considered reasonable if it involves modifying an essential job function. Reasonable accommodation examples might include:
         1. Environmental accommodations - such as improved lighting, ventilation, or temperature change
         2. Physical accommodations - such as use of adjustable tables, relocation of switches, use of interchangeable light or sound signal (for visually impaired or the deaf)
         3. Job restructuring - such as task modification, task elimination, task reassignments or recombination.
         4. Other - such as flexible hours, compressed workweeks, or aides
      7. Undue Hardship - An accommodation which would require significant difficulty or expense. Factors to be considered include (1) overall size of the College, including number of employees, number and type of facilities and size of budget, (2) type of operations, including composition and structure of the workforce and (3) the nature and the cost of the accommodation.
      8. Known Limitations - Physical or mental condition related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions that the employee or the employee’s representative has communicated to the employer, whether or not the condition meets the definition of disability under the ADA.
   2. Applicants and employees are responsible for making their disabilities known to the College if they wish to request a reasonable accommodation.
      1. Applicants should make their need for accommodation known to the supervisor before an employment offer is finalized.
      2. Employees should make their need for accommodation known to their supervisor as soon as they become aware of the need; the supervisor shall direct the employee to HR Benefits for guidance.
   3. Applicants and employees who wish to request accommodation shall be required to complete and submit a Request for Accommodation form (P-115).
      1. Forms may be obtained from HR Benefits; or, on the forms page on the DMACC website.
      2. Applicants and employees shall be required to submit professional evidence of the disabling condition to HR Benefits.
      3. Employees and applicants covered by the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) may communicate their accommodation needs to their supervisor without the P-115 form, however, the form is recommended in order to clearly communicate the known limitation and to better facilitate the interactive process.
   4. HR Benefits shall engage in an interactive process with the hiring authority and the applicant/employee to review the essential job functions and evaluate the reasonableness of the requested accommodation. The Benefits Specialist may contact the applicant or employee, the Disability Services Office (515) 964-6234, or any other professional resources to assist in the decision to approve or deny the request.
      1. The decision on an accommodation request due to disability shall be provided to the applicant or employee in writing by HR Benefits no more than 30 working days from the date of the receipt of the request and all supporting documentation. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, the decision may take longer than 30 working days.
      2. The decision on an accommodation request resulting from pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition shall be provided to the applicant or employee as quickly as possible after the request is received and any necessary documentation is provided.
      3. If a request is disapproved, the decision must be reviewed by the Affirmative Action Officer (Executive Director, Human Resources) before the applicant or employee is notified.
      4. If the applicant or employee believes that the accommodation decision constitutes a violation of College policy on EEO/AA, they may file a complaint through the College Discrimination Complaint Procedure. Complaint forms and instructions may be obtained from the DMACC Web site at https://internal.dmacc.edu/hr/forms/Faculty_Staff/p115.pdf, the Affirmative Action Officer, Human Resources, Campus Executive Deans’ offices, and Academic Deans’ offices.

Policy CC106 - Equal Education Opportunity  

Adopted: October 1, 2002
Reviewed: June 2024

Revised:
November 1, 2007

November 1, 2008

November 1, 2009

October 1, 2014

February 1, 2016

September 1, 2020

July 14, 2021

June 13, 2024

Related Form: Request for Accommodation form (P-115)