14 | HR Connection
Are You Okay?
Understanding the Districts Rights and Responsibilities Regarding Employee Fitness for Duty and Reasonable Accommodations
Shellie Hoffman Crow, Associate Attorney
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chool district employees play a crucial role in facilitating the education and development of students, so it is important to ensure their fitness for the job, while making reasonable attempts to make accommodations for eligible employees. Guidance on employees with disabilities comes from federal law and court decisions, as well as the Equal Employment Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Labor. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies protections to a “qualified individual” with a “disability.” Under the ADA, a “qualified individual” is one who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the position that the individual holds or seeks employment in, and meets the legitimate skill, experience, education, or other requirements of the position they hold or seek. The Act defines an individual as having a disability when the person has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, or a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. According to the ADA, the question of whether an individual’s impairment is a
disability should not demand extensive analysis, and the definition of disability should be construed broadly. Major life activities are those activities that are important to most people’s daily lives including, but not limited to caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, breathing, working, hearing , seeing, speaking, eating, reading, concentrating, sleeping, thinking, communicating, standing, lifting, and bending. An impairment that constitutes a disability may be any physiological disorder, or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the body systems (e.g. neurological, reproductive, digestive, skin) or any mental or psychological disorder. A mental impairment is defined under the ADA as any mental or psychological disorder, such as an intellectual disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities. Common examples include major depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders (which include panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder), schizophrenia, and personality disorders. Additionally, an impairment that is “episodic” or “in remission” qualifies as a disability if it would substantially limit the major life activity when active.
An employee may also have a disability under the ADA if they have a record of an impairment (i.e., such as being in recovery from a physical or mental illness) or are regarded as having an impairment. Impairment can also be substantially limiting because of medication taken or due to mitigating measures used for the impairment. Examples of medication or mitigating measures include the use of a prosthesis, high medication levels impacting memory and motor function, as well secondary effects of a particular medication. With the exception of glasses and contacts, the employer should assesses the level of “substantial limitation”, while disregarding the positive effects of mitigating measure. For example, rather than focusing on how the employee can hear with a hearing aid, the employer should ask how the employee would hear without a hearing aid. Once it is determined that an employee has a disability, the employee may require certain accommodations in order to effectively perform the essential functions of his or her job. Determining the necessary and appropriate accommodations must be accomplished through an interactive process. The federal regulations provide that the interactive process is meant to identify the employee’s functional limitations and the potential reasonable accommodation or accommodations that may be needed (29 CFR 1630.2(o) and 1630.9). The three areas where reasonable accommodations may be implemented are: 1. Changes to the job application process; 2. Modifications to the work environment – including how the job is performed – so that a qualified individual with a disability can perform the essential functions of the position; and 3. Changes so that the employee with a disability can enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment.
