Purpose

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the ADAAA (The ADA Amendments Act) requires employers to reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities. It is the policy of LifeROOTS Inc. (LifeROOTS) to comply with all Federal and state laws concerning the employment of persons with disabilities.  LifeROOTS particularly encourages applications submitted by individuals with disabilities in the fulfillment of its mission.

It is LifeROOTS’ policy not to discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities in regard to application procedures, hiring, advancement, discharge, compensation, training, or other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.

LifeROOTS will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a temporary or long-term disability so that they can perform the essential functions of a job as well as provide accessibility which affects those employed, those seeking employment, persons served, or visitors to the LifeROOTS facilities.  An individual who can be reasonably accommodated for a job, without undue hardship, will be given the same consideration for that position as any other applicant.

All employees are required to comply with safety standards. Applicants who pose a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals in the workplace, which threat cannot be (improved) eliminated by reasonable accommodation, may not be hired. Current employees who pose a direct threat to the health or safety of the other individuals in the workplace will be placed on appropriate leave or reassigned until an organizational decision has been made in regard to the employee’s immediate employment situation.

Employer’s RESPONSIBILITY

The authority and management of this Policy & Procedure resides with the Board of Directors and the President.  The Director of Human Resources and the Director of Community Services are responsible for specific accessibility policies with approval of the President.  The federal law does not preempt state laws that are more stringent, so department managers will be responsible for verifying compliance with state and local requirements and staying current with any changing provisions.

It is the responsibility of the Director of Human Resources and management of LifeROOTS to ensure this Policy and Procedure is being followed.  Any changes or exceptions are to be made known to the Director of Human Resources, and where applicable, the President of LifeROOTS immediately.

LifeROOTS reserves the right to change this policy at any time and for any reason.  Any changes must be made in writing and signed by the President of LifeROOTS.

Reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job or work environment that permits a qualified applicant or employee with a disability to participate in the job application process, to perform the essential functions of a job, or to enjoy benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by employees without disabilities. For example, reasonable accommodation may include:

• acquiring or modifying equipment or devices,
• job restructuring,
• part-time or modified work schedules,
• reassignment to a vacant position,
• adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials or policies,
• providing readers and interpreters, and
• Making the workplace readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.

Reasonable accommodation also must be made to enable an individual with a disability to participate in the application process, and to enjoy benefits and privileges of employment equal to those available to other employees.

It is a violation of the ADA to fail to provide reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of a qualified individual with a disability, unless to do so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of your business. Undue hardship means that the accommodation would require significant difficulty or expense.

Employee Responsibilities

An employer does not have to provide a reasonable accommodation that would cause an "undue hardship" to the employer. Generalized conclusions will not suffice to support a claim of undue hardship. Instead, undue hardship must be based on an individualized assessment of current circumstances that show that a specific reasonable accommodation would cause significant difficulty or expense.⁽¹¹³⁾ A determination of undue hardship should be based on several factors, including:

• the nature and cost of the accommodation needed;
• the overall financial resources of the facility making the reasonable accommodation; the number of persons employed at this facility; the effect on expenses and resources of the facility;
• the overall financial resources, size, number of employees, and type and location of facilities of the employer (if the facility involved in the reasonable accommodation is part of a larger entity);
• the type of operation of the employer, including the structure and functions of the workforce, the geographic separateness, and the administrative or fiscal relationship of the facility involved in making the accommodation to the employer;
• the impact of the accommodation on the operation of the facility.⁽¹¹⁴⁾

When submitting an accommodation request under ADA, it may be necessary to provide medical certification from a medical provider.

SCOPE OF POLICY

This policy affects those employed and those seeking employment at LifeROOTS facilities.

DEFINITIONS

• “Disability” refers to a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual.  An individual, who has such impairment, or is regarded as an “individual with a disability”.

• “Major Life Activities” — include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, working, and the operation of a major bodily function. (“Major Bodily Functions” including but not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.)

• “Direct threat to safety” means a significant risk to the health or safety of others that cannot be (improved) eliminated by reasonable accommodation.

• A “qualified individual with a disability” means an individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that the individual holds or has applied for.

• “Reasonable accommodation” means making existing facilities readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities:  examples include but are not limited to job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, adjustment or modification of examinations, adjustment or modification of training materials, adjustment or modification of policies, and similar activities.

• “Undue hardship” means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense by the employer. The factors to be considered in determining an undue hardship include: (1) the nature and cost of the accommodation; (2) the overall financial resources of the facility at the time when the reasonable accommodation is required; (3) the number of persons employed at that facility; (4) the impact of the related expenses and resources on the overall operations of the facility; (5) the overall financial resources of LifeROOTS; (6) the overall number of employees and facilities; and (7) the operations of LifeROOTS. These are not all of the factors but merely examples.

• “Essential job functions” refers to those activities of a job that are core to performing said job for which the job exists that cannot be modified.

EMPLOYEMENT & ACCOMODATION PROCEDURES

The law prohibits LifeROOTS from discriminating against a "qualified person with a disability" in hiring, promoting or other decisions affecting employment. However, this does not require the company to give special preference to persons with disabilities over other individuals.  The purpose of the Act is to remove barriers to employment for disabled persons based on prejudice or lack of understanding.  It does not require that LifeROOTS hire or promote a disabled person in preference to a better qualified person who is not disabled.

The employee is expected to inform LifeROOTS of his or her needs in order to make an accommodation. 

Individuals needing accommodations shall make the request in writing to the Human Resources Department.

Individuals needing accommodations shall provide any medical information necessary for evaluation of the individual’s request to the Human Resources Director.

The Human Resources Director shall consider and evaluate the request on it own merits as it pertains to the specific job, other related jobs, the impact on the business unit, the qualifications of the particular employee and the specific accommodation requested.

The Human Resources Director may consult with the employee regarding the employee’s condition, limitations and requested accommodation.

The Human Resources Director, respective department director/manager and the employee may also discuss alternative forms of accommodations to determine a reasonable accommodation.

If initial discussions fail to identify the proper accommodation, the following four informal steps may be followed:

1. Identify skill and potential barriers to performance. The process begins with identifying barriers that make if difficult for a disabled employee to perform the job.  This assessment should include identifying essential and nonessential elements of the job.  If nonessential elements pose a serious problem, it may be wise to reassign other employees or eliminate them, rather than try to accommodate.  Identify, with the employee's help, the particular limitations being faced, and identify aspects of the work environment that are causing these limitations.

2. Identify possible accommodations. Look to a number of sources to identify all possible accommodations that will help solve the limitation.  Possible sources, in addition to the employee, include: New Mexico Department of Rehabilitation Services, New Mexico Workforce Connection; and other companies, especially in the same industry as ours.

3. Assess reasonableness of each accommodation. Assess the accommodation in terms of its effectiveness and the extent to which it achieves equal opportunity.  Consider the reliability of the accommodation and whether it can be provided in a timely manner.  The accommodation should provide a meaningful employment opportunity, (i.e. allow the individual to attain the same performance level as a non-disabled individual with similar skills and abilities).

4. Choose from among reasonable accommodations. LifeROOTS is only obligated to make a reasonable accommodation.  A disabled person in not entitled to the exact accommodation he or she prefers.  If a suitable alternative offered is reasonable, LifeROOTS has met its obligation under the Act.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Federal law provides that any medical information obtained concerning an individual’s impairment is confidential and cannot be disclosed except to the employee’s direct supervisor, manager or director in connection with work restrictions or a necessary accommodation, to first aid or safety personnel or to Human Resources personnel.

Coworkers of a disabled employee who is receiving a form of reasonable accommodation may only be told that a particular job modification has been made in order to comply with federal law, which prohibits LifeROOTS from making any further disclosure.

REFERENCES

• Americans with Disabilities Act - The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law that prohibits discrimination in access to services and employment against persons who are disabled. The ADA, Public Law 101-336, was enacted on July 26, 1990. 

• The ADA has varying implementation and effective dates for different sections.

The ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA, Public Law 110-325), signed into law on September 25, 2008, effective January 1, 2009.

RELATED POLICY

HR-010 Non-Discrimination Policy

HR-023 Equal Employment Opportunity Policy