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SECTION 1.
PURPOSE.
This Order
establishes Department of Commerce (the "Department") policy
for providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with
disabilities who are employees or applicants for employment. It also
designates responsibilities and describes procedures for submitting and
responding to requests for reasonable accommodation.
SECTION 2.
AUTHORITY.
The
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, requires Federal agencies to
provide reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with
disabilities. 29 U.S.C. Section 791 eq seq.; 29 CFR Part 1614; see also
29 CFR Part 1630.
SECTION 3.
POLICY.
The Department
shall provide reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental
limitations of qualified applicants and employees with disabilities,
unless the Department can demonstrate that a particular accommodation
would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its program.
SECTION 4.
DEFINITIONS.
.01 A reasonable
accommodation is an adjustment to job requirements or to the work
environment that assists an employee with a disability in performing
the essential duties of his or her position, or a qualified applicant
with a disability during the recruitment and selection process.
Reasonable accommodation may include, but is not limited to:
a. making facilities readily accessible to, and usable by, people with
disabilities;
b. job restructuring;
c. part time or modified work schedules;
d. acquiring or modifying equipment or devices;
e. appropriate adjustment or modification of examinations and training
materials; and
f. providing readers, interpreters and other auxiliary aids.
.02 Reassignment as it relates to reasonable accommodation is the
transfer of a nonprobationary employee, who becomes unable to perform
the essential functions of a position even with reasonable
accommodation, to another funded vacant position located in the same
commuting area, at the same grade or level, the essential functions the
employee would be able to perform with reasonable accommodation if
necessary, unless it would impose an undue hardship on the agency.
.03 A qualified individual with a disability is one who:
a. has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one
or more major life activities; or
b. has a record of such impairment; or is regarded as having such
impairment; and
c. with respect to employment, i.e., is an employee or an applicant for
employment, who can perform the essential functions of the position in
question, with or without reasonable accommodation, without endangering
the health and safety of the individual or others, and who, depending
on the type of appointing authority being used meets the:
1. experience and/or education requirements of the position (which may
include passing a written test); or
2. criteria for appointment under one of the special appointing
authorities for people with disabilities.
.04 Major life activities include functions such as caring for one's
self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking,
breathing, learning and working.
.05 A deciding official is a supervisor, manager, principal or
servicing human resource manager who has the authority to determine
whether a requested accommodation will be provided.
.06 A requestor is a qualified applicant or employee with a disability
who requests reasonable accommodation.
.07 Undue hardship is significant difficulty or expense incurred should
a particular accommodation be provided. The criteria to be considered
in determining undue hardship include the:
a. nature and cost of the accommodation needed;
b. overall size of the organizational unit with respect to the number
of employees, number and type of facilities and size of budget; and
c. type of operation, including composition and structure of the work
force.
SECTION 5.
RESPONSIBILITIES.
.01 The Chief
Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration shall:
a. Approve policies, directives and other materials outlining the
Department's reasonable accommodation responsibilities; and
b. Fulfill, on behalf of the Secretary, the Secretary's
responsibilities as head of an operating unit, i.e., the Office of the
Secretary. These duties are outlined in paragraph .02 below.
.02 Heads of operating units shall:
a. Foster an environment that supports reasonable accommodation;
b. Provide funds for reasonable accommodation; and
c. Ensure compliance with provisions of this Order.
.03 The Director for Civil Rights shall:
a. Develop and issue Department policy and procedures for reasonable
accommodation;
b. Advise Department officials regarding laws, regulations and
Department policies pertaining to reasonable accommodation;
c. Consult with appropriate Human Resources Management and General
Counsel representatives on providing reasonable accommodation and
making undue hardship determinations;
d. Conduct periodic reviews of operating unit programs to ensure
compliance with applicable laws, regulations and Departmental policy;
and
e. Process EEO complaints filed under Section 7. of this Order.
.04 Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Officers shall:
a. Ensure that managers, supervisors and human resources managers understand
the law and regulations regarding reasonable accommodation and advise
them on:
1. reasonable accommodation issues;
2. the appropriateness of a request as determined by whether it relates
to the work to be performed and/or the work place environment; whether
the accommodation is used primarily at work, and is not primarily for
personal use;
3. alternate methods of accommodations that would effectively meet the
need; and
4. undue hardship.
b. Coordinate management and employee training on reasonable
accommodation issues with human resources managers, as appropriate for
each operating unit.
c. Consult with the Departmental Office of Civil Rights, appropriate
Human Resources Management and General Counsel representatives on
reasonable accommodation issues and undue hardship determinations.
.05 Immediate supervisors shall:
a. Acknowledge and respond immediately in writing to both oral and
written accommodation requests;
b. Request medical documentation to support the accommodation request,
as needed;
c. Share medical documentation only with individuals involved in
responding to accommodation requests who have a valid need to know.
This information is to be retained in a confidential manner:
1. until a decision is made on the accommodation request; and
2. for a reasonable period after the decision is made if:
(a) the request for the accommodation is denied; or
(b) the requestor indicates that the accommodation provided does not
satisfy the need;
d. Determine if the:
1. requestor is a qualified individual with a disability as defined in
paragraph 4.03 above; and
2. request is a reasonable accommodation as defined in paragraph 4.01
above;
e. Consult with the requestor regarding the kind of accommodation
needed and determining an effective method of accommodation to address
the need;
f. Determine if he or she has the authority to make a decision
regarding the accommodation request; and refer the request to a
higher-level official if the supervisor is not authorized to make the
decision; and
g. Address the agency responsibility to accommodate known physical and
mental disabilities by discussing the possible need of an accommodation
with a qualified individual with a disability when it is observed that
a disability may be limiting an employee's ability to perform the job
at a fully successful level, or could otherwise improve a fully
successful employee's job performance or an applicant's ability to
participate in the selection process.
h. Seek guidance from and consult with the bureau EEO Officer on
reasonable accommodation issues, and before determining that an undue
hardship would occur if an accommodation were provided.
.06 Deciding Officials shall:
a. Respond promptly to accommodation requests referred by immediate
supervisors or human resources managers;
b. Take necessary actions to ensure that accommodation requests are
addressed promptly so as not to impede the employee's ability to
perform the job or the applicant's ability to participate in the
selection process;
c. Keep requestors, and immediate supervisors or human resources
managers, as appropriate, apprised of progress in responding to
accommodation requests;
d. Seek guidance from and consult with EEO Officers on reasonable
accommodation issues and undue hardship determinations;
e. Monitor the processing of requests until decisions are made, and
communicate these decisions in writing to requestors;
f. Provide written decisions on accommodation requests. When a request
is denied, the decision must include an explanation for the denial.
g. Make every effort to reassign nonprobationary employees with
disabilities who, with or without reasonable accommodation, are unable
to perform the essential functions of their current position. As part
of the affirmative action obligation, when a nonprobationary employee
is unable to perform the essential functions of the position even with
reasonable accommodation, an agency is required to reassign such
qualified, nonprobationary employees with disabilities to funded vacant
available positions within the same commuting area that are serviced by
the same authority, unless it would impose an undue hardship on the
agency.
h. Provide appropriate training on reasonable accommodation for
subordinate managers, supervisors and other employees.
.07 Human Resources Managers shall:
a. Ensure that all vacancy announcements:
1. Inform qualified individuals with disabilities that reasonable
accommodations may be requested; and
2. Provide instructions for making such requests;
b. Identify opportunities to provide training on reasonable
accommodation; and
c. Discharge responsibilities of managers and supervisors, as they
apply to qualified applicants, listed in subparagraph 5.05.
.08 Employees with disabilities who desire accommodations shall:
a. Request an accommodation from the immediate supervisor;
b. Provide medical documentation of the disabling condition, if
requested;
c. Provide a description of the accommodation requested, if known, and
an explanation of how it would enable the employee to perform the job;
d. Acknowledge and respond to the immediate supervisor's offer to
provide an accommodation when the employee has not requested an
accommodation; and
e. Have the option to accept or reject an accommodation initiated by
the immediate supervisor to improve the employee's job performance.
However, an employee's decision to reject the accommodation could
jeopardize the employee's employment status if (s)he is performing
below a fully successful level, or if the disability is contributing to
employee misconduct.
.09 Applicants with disabilities who desire accommodations shall:
a. Request an accommodation from servicing human resources managers;
b. Provide medical documentation of the disabling condition, if
requested;
c. Provide a description of the accommodation requested, if known, and
an explanation of how it would assist the applicant in the selection
process;
d. Acknowledge and respond to a human resources manager's offer to
provide an accommodation when the applicant has not requested
accommodation; and
e. Have the option to accept or reject an accommodation initiated by a
human resources management officer to improve the applicant's
performance during the application process.
However, the applicant's decision to reject the accommodation may
jeopardize competitiveness for the position in question should (s)he
fail to successfully complete the application process.
SECTION 6.
PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION.
.01 Requests for
reasonable accommodation may be submitted orally, but written requests
are encouraged.
a. Employees with disabilities must submit requests to the immediate
supervisor.
b. Qualified applicants with disabilities must submit requests to the
servicing personnel office at a reasonable time prior to the occasion
for which the accommodation is needed.
.02 Qualified individuals with disabilities must provide the following
information:
a. if an employee, their name, daytime telephone number, position title
and organization name;
b. if an applicant, their name, daytime telephone number, and home
address;
c. a description of the disabling condition by an appropriate medical
professional;
d. a description of the accommodation requested, if known, and an
explanation of how it would enable an employee in performing the job,
or how it would assist an applicant in the selection process; and
e. date of the request and signature of the requestor.
SECTION 7.
COMPLIANCE.
Two procedures
are available to individuals who are dissatisfied with an Agency's
response to a request for accommodation, and who wish to seek redress:
a. To file an EEO complaint, employees and applicants for employment
must contact an EEO Counselor within 45 days after receiving a response
to the request.
b. To file a grievance, employees and applicants for employment must
contact the servicing human resources office promptly after receiving
the decision, to find out the applicable procedures and time limits for
filing a grievance under a negotiated grievance procedure or the
administrative grievance system, as appropriate.
SECTION 8.
OTHER REFERENCES.
Department
Administrative Orders 209-8, "Access for People with Disabilities
to Meetings and Other Group Events;" 215-4, "Affirmative
Action Plans, Programs and Related Activities;" 215-9,
"Filing Discrimination Complaints;" and 202-705,
"Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)."
SECTION 9.
ASSISTANCE.
Questions
concerning this Order should be addressed to the Departmental Office of
Civil Rights. This document will be made available in alternate format
upon request by calling (202) 482-5691 (V/TDD/TTY).
_________(Signed)_______________
Director for Civil Rights
Approved:
____________(signed)__________________
Chief Financial Officer and Assistant
Secretary for Administration
Office of Primary Interest
Office of Civil Rights
Index Changes
Add
Accommodation for Disabilities in Employment, Reasonable 215-10
Reasonable Accommodation for Disabilities in Employment 215-10
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