Reasonable Accommodations
Employees or applicants who need a workplace accommodation should begin by contacting: kennedyk@uncw.edu or 910.962.3006, Director of Benefits/ADA Coordinator. ADA accommodation requests may be made verbally or in writing. The ADA Coordinator will send an email providing the required accommodation request forms, supporting documentation from a verifying professional and consent form.
Depending on the request, medical documentation from a healthcare provider may be required to better understand functional limitations and accommodation needs.
- Employee submits supporting documentation describing how the condition impacts the ability to perform job functions
- ADA Coordinator reviews documentation (Accommodation Request and Verifying Professional forms) for completeness and relevance
- ADA Coordinator notifies the employee if additional information or clarification is needed
The interactive process is a collaborative dialogue between:
- The employee or applicant
- The supervisor or manager
- Human Resources
During the interactive process:
- Job duties and essential functions are reviewed
- Functional limitations are discussed
- Possible accommodation options are explored
- Effective and reasonable solutions are identified
- Consideration of operational impact
- ADA Coordinator determines whether the requested accommodation is reasonable and consistent with business necessity
- Employee and supervisor are notified of the approved accommodation
- If the original request is not feasible, alternative accommodation options are discussed
- Temporary or trial accommodations may be implemented when appropriate
- Final determination and any approved accommodation are documented
Accommodations may be re-evaluated if job duties change, the employee's condition changes, or the accommodation is no longer effective.
Employees requesting or receiving an accommodation are responsible for:
- Communicating the need for an accommodation as soon as reasonably possible
- Participating in the interactive process in good faith
- Providing requested documentation to the ADA Coordinator, when applicable
- Performing essential job functions, with or without accommodation
- Notifying the ADA Coordinator if an approved accommodation is no longer effective or if circumstances change
Employees are encouraged to contact the ADA Coordinator with any questions or concerns related to their accommodation.
Supervisors are responsible for supporting the accommodation process and should:
- Treat any accommodation request seriously – even if it’s informal
- Understand that requests do not have to use legal language like “ADA” or “reasonable accommodation”
- Refer accommodation requests to the ADA Coordinator promptly
- Participate as a partner in the interactive process as requested
- Collaborate with the ADA Coordinator to identify reasonable accommodation options using the Essential Job Function Analysis form provided by the ADA Coordinator
- Implement approved accommodations as directed
- Maintain confidentiality of all medical and accommodation-related information
- Ensure employees are able to perform the essential job functions with or without an accommodation
- Refrain from retaliating against employees for requesting or using an accommodaton
- Do Not Ask for Medical Details
Supervisors should not deny accommodation requests independently or request medical documentation directly from employees.
An employee or the employee's representative has made the employer aware of the limitation including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition by communicating with a supervisor, a manager, someone who has supervisory authority for the employee. Communication may be made orally, in writing, or by another effective means. Communication need not be in a specific format or use specific words to be considered.
A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities; a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment.
An employee with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment.
The fundamental job duties of the position, or the primary reasons the position exists, that an employee must be able to perform with or without a reasonable accommodation. The essential functions of a position should be included within the job description. The essential functions do not include marginal job functions of a position.
Includes any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement or anatomical loss affecting one or more body systems, such as neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genitourinary, immune, circulatory, hemic, lymphatic, skin and endocrine; or any mental or psychological disorder, such as an intellectual disability (formerly termed "mental retardation"), organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness and specific learning disabilities.
A means recommended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in which employees and employers work together in demonstrating a good faith effort to comply with the ADA, to streamline the accommodation process and to help ensure that effective accommodations are provided.
Physical or mental condition related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions that the employee or employee's representative has communicated to the employer, whether or not such condition meets the definition of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Refers to activities that an average person can perform with little or no difficulty. Major life activities include, but are not limited to: caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, sitting, reaching, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, interacting with others and working; and the operation of a major bodily function, including functions of the immune system, special sense organs and skin; normal cell growth; and digestive, genitourinary, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, cardiovascular, endocrine, hemic, lymphatic, musculoskeletal and reproductive functions. The operation of a major bodily function includes the operation of an individual organ within a body system.
A job function that would be considered a secondary job task. Although important and necessary to the position, a marginal job function could be reassigned to others and/or are performed a lesser percentage of time as compared to the essential functions. Marginal job functions would be non-critical tasks.
Pregnancy or childbirth refer to the pregnancy or childbirth of the specific employee in question and include, but are not limited to, current pregnancy, past pregnancy, potential or intended pregnancy, labor, and childbirth. Related medical conditions are medical conditions relating to the pregnancy or childbirth of the specific employee in question.
An individual 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. The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability against a qualified individual.
Employees (former employee when relevant) or applicants who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the position. An employee or applicant may be a qualified individual even if they cannot perform one or more essential function(s) of the job if the inability to perform the essential function(s) is "temporary," "in the near future," and "can be reasonably accommodated" for purposes of pregnancy or related conditions.
A modification or adjustment to a job, an employment practice, or the work environment that enables a qualified individual with a disability or qualified employee to enjoy equal employment opportunity. Reasonable accommodation is a key non-discrimination requirement of the ADA. A reasonable accommodation does not impose an undue hardship on the University or business unit.
An impairment is a disability if it substantially limits the ability of an individual to perform a major life activity as compared to most people in the general population; an impairment need not prevent, or significantly or severely restrict, the individual from performing a major life activity in order to be considered substantially limiting.
An action requiring significant difficulty or expense when considered in light of factors such as an employer's size, financial resources, and the nature and structure of its operation.