Appalachian State Universityis committed to adhering to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Title I of the ADA requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide qualified individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from the full range of employment-related opportunities available to employees.
Hiring
The ADA applies to all aspect of employment, including job advertisements, job applications, job interviews and post-offer medical examinations. The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in recruitment, hiring, promotions, training, pay, social activities, and other privileges of employment. The law restricts questions that can be asked about an applicant's disability before a job offer is made.
Typically, an employer may ask about a disability only after making a job offer, and only if the same question is asked of all new hires. An employer may require a medical examination after making a job offer if the same medical examination is required of other applicants offered the same type of job.
Disability Disclosures
An employer may know that an applicant has a disability because it is obvious or the applicant voluntarily reveals the existence of one. If an applicant or employee indicates that accommodation will be necessary in order to perform essential functions of the job, then the employer may ask what accommodation is needed. An applicant or employee with a disability must be able to perform all of the essential functions of the job, even with reasonable accommodations.
Essential Job Functions
Essential job functions are the fundamental duties of a position and should be included in the job description. All other duties are considered secondary, non-critical, marginal job functions, or non-essential job functions. Reasonable accommodations in employment are designed to provide equal access to essential job functions, not to marginal non-essential job functions.
To determine essential job functions, a job analysis should focus on the purpose of the position and the significance of the duties in achieving the purpose. Factors to be considered when determining if duties are essential include, but are not limited to:
- Does the position exist to perform the function?
- Are there a limited number of other employees available to perform the function? Or among whom the function can be distributed to?
- Is the function highly specialized? Was the person hired in this position for their special expertise or ability to perform it?
- Was the function included in the job advertisement or job description?
- How much time is spent performing the function?
- What are the consequences of not requiring the employee in this job to perform the function?
Reasonable Accommodations in Employment
The ADA requires that employers make reasonable accommodations for a known disability of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability, unless doing so would change or lower the essential functions of the position or result in an undue hardship.
Reasonable accommodations include any change or modification in the work environment that enables a qualified individual with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities and/or perform the essential functions of a position. Reasonable accommodations are provided to ensure individuals with disabilities have equal access and are based on the current impact and functional limitations caused by a disability.
Reasonable accommodations may include, but are not limited to:
- Making existing facilities readily accessible and usable by persons with disabilities;
- Job restructuring, modifying work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position; or
- Acquiring or modifying equipment, devices or auxiliary aids.
The University is not obligated and does not provide personal use items/devices needed in accomplishing daily activities (e.g., eyeglasses, hearing aids, wheelchairs).