Human Resources Management Policy

Policy 24

NOTE: THIS POLICY, LIKE ALL OTHER MUSC HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES, IS NOT A CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS SUCH. THIS POLICY MAY BE CHANGED AT ANY TIME BY THE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

1. POLICY
   1. It is the policy of the Medical University to comply with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities with regard to conditions and privileges of employment and requires that reasonable accommodations be made for the known physical and/or mental limitations of the qualified but disabled person.
   2. A qualified individual with a disability is someone who, with or without a reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job the individual is seeking or now holds.
   3. The ADA protects an individual with a "physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities," anyone with a "record of such impairment" and "anyone regarded as having such an impairment." Therefore, the Act protects persons with obvious physical disabilities as well as persons with less obvious ones such as hearing impairments and learning disabilities (e.g. dyslexia).
   4. Reasonable accommodation is defined as a modification or adjustment to a job, the work environment or the way things are customarily done that will enable a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of the position and enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment. Possible accommodations include, raising the height of a desk, purchasing a special telephone or chair, offering a modified work schedule, assigning marginal duties to another employee or transferring an employee to a vacant position.
      
      
2. INFORMATION
   The following procedures will be used to request a reasonable accommodation.
   1. An individual who is requesting an accommodation should use the Application for Reasonable Accommodation Form to initiate a request. He or she must submit medical documentation of functional limitations with the request. The medical documentation can include recommendations for accommodating the functional limitations of the individual.
   2. The individual completes items 1 through 13 and then gives it to the supervisor/manager of the work area.
   3. The supervisor/manager completes items 14 through 17 after reviewing the reasonableness of the requested action and any alternative solutions. The requested accommodation may be such that resources from outside the department may be required. In such cases, the supervisor or the department head should coordinate the requirement with those whose support is necessary. The application will then be given to the department head for final disposition.
   4. The department head will review what has been proposed and determine if it is a reasonable accommodation or whether the proposal would create an undue hardship on the department. The department head may either accept, modify, or reject the accommodation that has been requested. After completing items 18 through 22, the department head will forward the form to the individual.
   5. The individual should complete items 23 through 25. If the individual disagrees with the solution that has been proposed, a written appeal can be sent to the Director, Department of Human Resources Management.
   6. When all action has been completed on a particular case, the application with attachments should be forwarded to the Director, Department of Human Resources Management.