Employee Accommodations

Religious Accommodations

Portland State University acknowledges each individual’s right to make personal choices regarding the nature, if any, of their religious beliefs and practices and provide a pathway for religious accommodations that are reasonable and practicable.

Employees are entitled to accommodations for employee religious beliefs or practices, pursuant to PSU's Religious Accommodation Policy. Religious accommodations may include:

• Days off for religious holiday observance
• Breaks from work duties for religious observance, such as prayer or rituals
• Flexible scheduling
• Wearing head coverings
• Wearing certain hairstyles or facial hair
• Wearing certain garments

An employee and their supervisor may work collaboratively to determine a reasonable solution that meets the need of the employee, such as an employee asking for a day off work for religious observance. If the employee and the supervisor are not able to agree on an appropriate solution, or if the employee is requesting a permanent change in schedule, please contact the Leaves/Accommodations team in HR (leaves@pdx.edu) to engage in the interactive process and the Leaves/Accommodation specialist will help determine the reasonable accommodation.

Information on the dates of numerous religious holidays may be found on PSU’s academic calendar.

A request for an accommodation may be denied if it creates an undue hardship to PSU. An accommodation may cause undue hardship if it is costly, compromises workplace safety, decreases workplace efficiency, infringes on the rights of other employees, or requires other employees to do more than their share of potentially hazardous or burdensome work.

Confidentiality

By law, your medical information must be kept confidential and separate from your employee personnel file. PSU’s Human Resources maintains separate medical files for all employees.

When supervisors engage in the interactive process with HR and the employee, supervisors are not made aware of the nature of an employee’s disability. During the interactive process, supervisors are informed of what accommodations should be provided for the employee to perform the essential functions of their job. Information regarding your request for accommodation or the nature of your disability is not shared with your department or the university.

Supervisor Responsibilities

Contact the Accommodation Team in HR if:

• An employee tells you about a health problem that could impact their ability to perform their job but does not make a specific accommodation request.
• You have any questions about the accommodation being requested (such as regarding duration, scope, necessity, workplace impact, or the employee’s ability to perform the position’s essential functions even with accommodation).

Important Information:

• All responses to requests for accommodation must be documented, even if they are simple or temporary job or workspace modifications. Please contact the Leaves and Accommodations Team for assistance.
• If you receive documents containing medical information, immediately forward them on to the Accommodation Team. Do not keep medical records in departmental files.
• You should not ask the employee for personal medical information or about the disability itself; your focus should be on the workplace modification being requested.
• If an employee does choose to disclose such information, advise them that you will keep the information confidential, and redirect them to the Accommodation Team if they have questions about accommodation procedures or policies.

ADA and Accommodations Facts

Title 1 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. Briefly

Title 1 of the ADA

• Helps people with disabilities access the same employment opportunities and benefits available to people without disabilities.
• Applies to employers with 15 or more employees.
• Requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants or employees. A “reasonable accommodation” is a change that accommodates employees with disabilities so they can do the job without causing the employer “undue hardship” (too much difficulty or expense).
• Defines disability, establishes guidelines for the reasonable accommodation process, and addresses medical examinations and inquiries.
• Regulated and enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

What is a disability?

An individual with a disability is a person who:

• Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities;
• Has a record of such an impairment; or
• Is regarded as having such an impairment.

Under the ADAAA (ADA Amendments Act) Major life Activities now additionally includes Major Bodily Functions. In total a disability would be any impairment that substantially limits any of the following:

• 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, and working.
• Major Bodily Functions include, but are not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.

The term “substantially limits” should be construed broadly in favor of expansive coverage to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA. The primary focus of the ADA is on whether discrimination occurred, the determination of disability should not require extensive analysis.

A qualified employee or applicant with a disability is an individual who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job in question.

Please note that HR will never disclose - and a supervisor should never discuss or request - disability-specific medical information. The employee’s privacy will be maintained at all times. All medical certification and any determination of an underlying disability will be performed exclusively by HR.

What is a “Reasonable Accommodation?”

Reasonable accommodation may include, but is not limited to:

• Making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities. 
• Job restructuring, modifying work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position; 
• Acquiring or modifying equipment or devices, adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials, or policies, and providing qualified readers or interpreters.

An employer is required to make a reasonable accommodation to the known disability of a qualified applicant or employee if it would not impose an “undue hardship” on the operation of the employer’s business. Reasonable accommodations are adjustments or modifications provided by an employer to enable people with disabilities to enjoy equal employment opportunities. Accommodations vary depending upon the needs of the individual applicant or employee. Not all people with disabilities (or even all people with the same disability) will require the same accommodation.

For example:

• A deaf applicant may need a sign language interpreter during the job interview. 
• An employee with diabetes may need regularly scheduled breaks during the workday to eat properly and monitor blood sugar and insulin levels. 
• A blind employee may need someone to read information posted on a bulletin board. 
• An employee with cancer may need leave to have radiation or chemotherapy treatments.

An employer generally does not have to provide a reasonable accommodation unless an individual with a disability has asked for one. HR may ask for medical certification in instances where the disability is not readily apparent.

If an employer believes that a medical condition is causing a performance or conduct problem, it may ask the employee how to solve the problem and if the employee needs a reasonable accommodation.

What is the “Interactive Process”

Once a reasonable accommodation is requested, the employer and the individual should discuss the individual’s needs and identify the appropriate reasonable accommodation. This process is called the interactive process and it benefits from feedback from all parties involved. The goal of this process is define what would be a “reasonable” accommodation and work towards an agreement on the accommodations that will best assist the employee in completing their essential job functions.

Once consensus is reached an ADA Accommodation Plan is drafted and the accommodations in place are reviewed periodically for their effectiveness. It is important to note that ADA interactive process is fluid and can change as the employee’s or department’s needs change.

Where more than one accommodation would work, the employer may choose the one that is less costly or that is easier to provide.