Below are answers to common questions from employees. If you don’t see your question here, please email the ADA/504 Coordinator at adacoordinator@scu.edu.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law enacted in 1990 and amended in 2008 that makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment against qualified individuals with disabilities. An individual meets the ADA definition of a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities and/or limits a major bodily function. Major life activities include such things as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking or learning. In addition to those who may have observable disabilities, the definition includes those with a range of non-observable disabilities.
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act is a state law that prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of disability and a number of other protected characteristics. The FEHA requires employers to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process with employees to determine reasonable accommodations. While many of its provisions are similar to those in the ADA, the FEHA contains additional protections for employees. For example, an individual meets the FEHA definition of a disability if they have a physical or mental disability that limits a major life activity, even if the disability may not “substantially” limit the activity as is required under the ADA.
SCU provides reasonable accommodations for employees with qualifying disabilities under the ADA, the FEHA, as well as other applicable federal or state laws and regulations. Employees who are interested may email hraccommodations@scu.edu to request a meeting with the HR ADA team to discuss their specific needs and requested accommodations.
A reasonable accommodation is any modification or adjustment to a job or the work environment that will enable an employee with a disability the opportunity to perform all essential job functions. Reasonable accommodation also includes adjustments to assure that an individual with a disability has rights and privileges in employment equal to those of employees without disabilities. SCU is not required to make an accommodation if, after review and consideration, it would impose an undue hardship and/or operational burden on the institution.
The HR ADA team at SCU, in compliance with the ADA and the FEHA, engages in an interactive process with individuals that helps identify functional limitations specific to the workplace which may impact the employee’s ability to perform the essential functions of their job. This process involves, at a minimum, the HR ADA professional leading the interactive process, the employee, and the employee’s supervisor (or, in the case of faculty, the Dean or Dean’s designee). On a case-by-case basis, other individuals may be asked to provide input. In most cases, information from the employee’s qualified provider will be reviewed. The process is ongoing and results in a formal determination by SCU regarding workplace accommodation(s) that becomes the Accommodation Plan. Effective interactive processes support open dialogue and seek to proactively resolve accommodation concerns as they might arise. Learn more about the interactive process.
If an employee’s disability is not obvious, an employer can ask for medical documentation from a healthcare provider sufficient to confirm the disability and/or condition as well as the need for an accommodation. SCU strongly recommends that all accommodation requests be formalized to ensure a consistent application and approach to accommodations as well as to foster equitable access and inclusiveness for the campus community.
In fact, there are no “informal” accommodations. For some needs like an accessible mouse or other common office supplies, a work adjustment may occur as would occur with any other employee.
Yes. The University provides reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees in a manner consistent with the ADA and the FEHA. Individuals are encouraged to contact the ADA/504 Coordinator (adacoordinator@scu.edu), the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX (titleixadmin@scu.edu), or Human Resources (hrservicedesk@scu.edu) if they have questions about pregnancy-related accommodations.
Start by contacting the University personnel who approved your accommodation in Human Resources. Most concerns can be resolved through discussion within the interactive process at this level.If your concern is not resolved after working with Human Resources, you may initiate a formal grievance through the steps outlined in the Employee Grievance Procedures.
Employees who believe they have been discriminated against, harassed, or retaliated against because of their disability should contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX, which is the University office designated to oversee the response to and investigation of such claims.
The ADA Office strives to create an inclusive and accessible environment for individuals with disabilities. Reports of general accessibility concerns should be made via the Report a Barrier Form.