Under the regulations, the interactive process obligation is triggered by knowledge of the need for an accommodation. Gain the intel you need now to successfully anticipate and navigate employment laws, stay compliant and mitigate legal risks. Setting expectations at the beginning of the process could help reduce employees' apprehension and cut down on unnecessary phone calls and e-mails. As stated by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Taylor v. ", Often, employers cause a breakdown in the interactive process because they're just not trying hard enough. Reasonable accommodation can include, but is not limited to, the following: Employees with disabilities may have separate rights to unpaid leave under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act or the California Family Rights Act. ADA regulations provide that in order to determine an appropriate reasonable accommodation, it may be necessary for the employer to initiate an informal, interactive process with the individual with a disability in need of the accommodation. 29 C.F.R. However, when an accommodation is not obvious, an appropriate accommodation is best determined through a flexible, interactive process. Notice of a disability alone is not enough to trigger the obligation to initiate the interactive process. This is particularly true if the employer has no indication the disability is impacting the employees ability to perform his or her essential job functions. The Interactive Process is the way in which employees, supervisors, and their departments arrive at a reasonable accommodation. Friends, family, and health professionals can request accommodations on an employees behalf. As a part of this update, disability program managers have to touch base with the Job Accommodation Network when seeking accommodation ideas. "Written follow-up in both directions that confirms what the discussion has been. o @ The interactive process often begins when the employee makes an accommodation request. Read more Uncertainty from the start. However, they may be a useful tool for both employers and employees. For example, if an employee with a non-visible disability indicates she is having trouble completing her work tasks because of her disability, the employer does not have enough information to provide effective accommodations. Your Accommodation Request Was Denied. The most important way to monitor accommodations is to encourage ongoing communication. Employee Handbook Examples You Should Steal From - Workest When an employee becomes unable to perform the essential, assigned duties of the currently-held position as a result of a covered disability, the Berkeley campus is committed to providing services to assist the employee. If it is decided that a proposed accommodation is unreasonable or presents an undue hardship, the Department should re-initiate the Interactive Process with the employee to try and arrive at a mutually agreeable alternative to the originally proposed accommodation. The hospital offered the employee three options: (i) transfer to a mutually agreeable position; (ii) apply for temporary disability benefits; or (iii) resign. 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." n\3C[% Use JAN as needed we are free, and an outside resource. Members may download one copy of our sample forms and templates for your personal use within your organization. The EEOC recommends that you analyze the job, its purpose, and its essential functions. This includes with or without reasonable accommodation. The assistant wanted the employee to sign a blanket medical release. Any extension of this agreement beyond this will be decided on a case-by-case basis and will be dependent upon additional information from your doctor and upon the needs of the department at that time. 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. Adobe PDF viewer is required for some of these documents. An employer's duty to initiate the 'interactive process' without a 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. Select Accept to consent or Reject to decline non-essential cookies for this use. So it's important to note that your employee's request doesn't have to be in writing. Employee Signature:__________________________________Date:____________ Supervisor Signature:__________________________________Date:____________ # % & = > ? It may also come as a result of administering FMLA leave or a workers compensation claim. <> Employees last name], We have received your medical release from your doctor, [name] dated [date]. Make copies of both forms and file in Employee Step 3: Determine if the Accommodation Requested is If the need to accommodate is obvious, an employer cannot simply wait for an employee to expressly request an accommodation. The same day, the plaintiff left work early, resulting in the company's issuance of a final written warning. [SHRM members-only toolkit:Accommodating Employees' Disabilities], In holding that the ADA discrimination and FMLA retaliation claims could not proceed to trial, the court noted the company's legitimate basis for its termination decisionnamely, excessive absenteeism and the well-established principle that "an employee's failure to show up for work is a legitimate reason for firing her." ADA Best Practices For Employers Engaging in an Interactive Process Interactive Process - Freeman Rehabilitation Services 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. Reasonable Accommodation | CRD - California If there is more than one option, the employer should consider the preference of the employee. Take the employee's expressed preferences into consideration. Necessary information may include documentation of the disability and need for accommodation. So its important to note that your employees request doesnt have to be in writing. It is understood that any problems that may arise during this transitional work period should be discussed openly and supportively. No Upcoming Events for Interactive Process. The following persons will be present at this meeting: [names of meeting participants]. 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. Asking for all medical records will rarely, if ever, meet this test. 2 0 obj Topics covered: Talent acquisition, diversity and inclusivity in hiring, employer branding, performance evaluations and more. According to the EEOC, the interactive process is not always required under the ADA. @ A B U V n o z { Shortly thereafter, the company terminated the plaintiff's employment after she failed to report to work due to child care issues. On Feb. 24, 2015, the company issued the plaintiff a written warning as a result of poor attendance unrelated to FMLA-approved absences and advised that failure to improve her attendance would result in disciplinary action. How to Create a Robust Reasonable Accommodation Process - SHRM The Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) fosters community and engagement for staff, develops programs and experiences for employees to increase their racial literacy and cultural fluency, and is committed to creating a community where all employees can be their authentic selves at work everyday. Navigating the New EU Unitary Patent, EEOC targeting discriminatory use of artificial intelligence, Court upholds firing of marijuana cardholders discharged after positive weed test, Deadline nears for complying with PUMP Acts expanded protections for nursing mothers in the workplace. 9o!S&GdpGm!xXrpyMjmuQw) 4=+Ah}S:2u process will be maintained in your medical file, which is separate from your personnel file. Phrases like reasonable accommodation, Americans with Disabilities Act, or disability aren't necessary. Assuming you return the requested information within the time frame noted above, we have scheduled an interactive meeting with you on [time] at [location]. If on account of disability an employee continues not to perform the essential functions of the job, either because s/he refuses to utilize offered accommodations or because even reasonable accommodations do not enable him/her to perform the essential functions of the job, the employee may be eligible for medical separation. <> An employee submitted an accommodation request for an ergonomic chair due to a back injury. That way, no one is surprised when the accommodation is revisited down the road. The company did not receive information in response to this request. Topics covered: Culture, executive buy-in, discrimination, training, equal pay, and more. There areperksto creating a company culture that welcomes employees with disabilities. If there is any question concerning the nature of the limitation or appropriateness of an accommodation being considered, the supervisor should consult with the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor in University Health Services. As part of this assessment process, the ADA requires that an employer engage in a timely, good-faith and meaningful interactive discussion with the employee. Fram said he sees the same problem. This tech company uses their own platform to house their employee handbook, which they call an "employee manual.". Also, employers "should not be getting periodic updates when the initial documentation states that the condition is not going to change. The supervisor should consult with the employee to find out his or her specific physical or mental abilities and limitations as they relate to the essential job functions, and to discuss the employees preferences with regard to accommodations. A lot of times we can find an accommodation., Fram agreed: When you get into anyof this, call JAN, he advised. However, in keeping with the spirit of the interactive process, an employee who is struggling to adequately perform should be asked if there is any type of assistance that might enable the employee to better perform his/her job functions and, along with other material describing employee support resources, the employee should be given information about campus policies/procedures applicable to employees with disabilities. Whether sending an email or letter, add a professional greeting that includes the person's name. endstream endobj 185 0 obj <>/Metadata 16 0 R/Pages 182 0 R/StructTreeRoot 32 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 186 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Parent 182 0 R/Resources<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 187 0 obj <>stream If more accommodation ideas are needed, the employer can ask the employees medical provider for ideas in some cases medical professionals are able to suggest effective accommodations. Federal Appeals Court Emphasizes Importance of Interactive Process in That there was followup, but that it stayed away from medical details. 0 The employer must also offer to initiate an interactive process when the employer becomes aware of the possible need for an accommodation. A Department should consider the factors listed in Section III. "You rarely see an employee who knows about the ADA and asks for a reasonable accommodation," he told HR Dive;"You need to start the process even if they havent used any magic words. Another EEOC recommendation is to consider the employees preference. Please purchase a SHRM membership before saving bookmarks. After the full implementation of an accommodation, she follows-up with the employee in six weeks to ask if it is working. ", Loy agreed that training for front-line supervisors is crucial: Not on the entire ADA," however:"focus on how to recognize when an employee is making an accommodation request.". The DFEH has created a sample Request for Reasonable Accommodation package to assist employers and employees in engaging in the interactive process. It also designated the majority of the plaintiff's leave previously taken in January and February 2015 as non-FMLA-qualified leave. (For example, "I'm getting headaches from the glare from my computer screen. Titled " The Zappos Culture Book ," this handbook highlights the company's dedication to workplace culture. The interactive process can begin when the employee makes the request. Employees Responsibilities: Work within the written medical limitations Provide medical updates of functional limitations If taken off work by your doctor, notify supervisor and [name], ACCES Specialist. Failure to engage in the interactive process does not, in and of itself, result in liability under the ADA. Before meeting with the employee, review the employee's current job description and any available $('.container-footer').first().hide(); Topics covered: HR management, compensation & benefits, development, HR tech, recruiting and much more. A federal agency recently updated its accommodation policy. Company Email Notifying of a Process Change | Edit & Forward {CL~j%"rx6M\dcxb9GG.bUxG++%[cO#wL42x%~Dzd@?qbFa9MKL]i@&K4KI11 3|&Sm(JX-:$|6e}J +qfR@I^t+QDUB>;&Z7t. wy}v%,V(f8T8b@c9\8u8K C17+Y:AB9*8r3wBA=kXP2c#:y]fJupQ0@@/I(-qRC> .1FENSSbi/8fkc//`Ny!6rO"Rd0Z7jN)43/WU!HN(tj&]l If the accommodation is a reassignment, then the employee may need time to acclimate to the new job. Areasonable job accommodationmay include: Heres an example of a reasonable job accommodation: A cleaning crew works in an office building. 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. PDF The FEHA/ADA Interactive Process - Freeman Rehabilitation Services Because accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis, these examples may not be effective for every workplace but give you an idea about the types of accommodations that are possible. } Finally, the employee says, "I'm really having trouble getting out of bed in the morning. The employer must also offer to initiate an interactive process when the employer becomes aware of the possible need for an accommodation.