Hawaii State Department of Education
Responsibilities and Procedures for Addressing Requests for Reasonable Accommodations Due to a Disability
For Employees and Applicants
Department of Education State of Hawaii
To All Department of Education Employees and Applicants
This
brochure provides information concerning your rights and responsibilities under the Department
of Education's Requests for Reasonable Accommodations due to a Disability from Disabled Employees
and Job Applicants.
The DOE is an equal opportunity employer committed to a workplace that practices respect, celebrates diversity, and is free of any form of illegal discrimination.
Should you have any questions, or for further assistance, please contact the DOE's Civil Rights Compliance Office ("CRCO")..
Responsibilities
of the Department of Education
The Department of Education (“DOE”) shall provide reasonable accommodation(s) to an otherwise qualified applicant or employee with a disability, who makes a request for reasonable accommodation, and who if eligible for such accommodation under the DOE’s guidelines should receive such accommodations, unless to do so would impose an undue hardship or fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the work.
This policy applies to all employment practices and actions, which include but are not limited to: recruitment, examination and testing, hiring, training, disciplinary action, rate of pay and other forms of compensation, advancement, reclassification, transfer, reallocation, promotion, demotion, benefits, and any other terms and conditions of employment.
The obligation to provide reasonable accommodation is a form of non-discrimination. All state, complex, and school level administrators of the DOE are responsible for implementing reasonable accommodations approved by the CRCO, and ensuring equal opportunities for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities.
Terms
Defined
The following are terms that will be used throughout the brochure:
- “Reasonable accommodation” means any change to the work environment or the
way things are usually done that
allows an individual with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities.
- “Undue hardship” means significant difficulty or expense on the resources and
circumstances of the DOE in
relation to the cost or difficulty of providing a specific accommodation, but also if unduly
extensive, substantial,
disruptive, or fundamentally alters the nature or operation of the business.
- “Qualified individual” means a person with a disability who, with or without
a reasonable accommodation, can perform the
essential functions of the job in question and must have the skill, experience, and education
required for the position.
- “Individual with a disability” means an individual who has a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits one or more
of the person’s major life activities, has a record of such impairment, or is regarded
as having such impairment. Major life
activities may include hearing, seeing, speaking, breathing, performing manual tasks, walking,
caring for oneself, learning, or
working as compared to the average person in the general population.
- “Essential job functions” means tasks that are fundamental and necessary for the position, and do not include incidental duties and must be performed with or without an accommodation (this may include the time spent on a task or duty). The DOE has the right to determine essential job functions.
Procedure
for Requesting Reasonable Accommodations
- An individual, or individual’s representative who is requesting the reasonable accommodation,
must inform the
DOE of the need for an adjustment or change at work or application process. Two forms must
be submitted
directly to the Civil Rights Compliance Office (“CRCO”). The two forms are:
- Request for Accommodation Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (Form RA-1)
- Authorization for Release of Medical Information for Disability Accommodations (Form
RA-3)
Assistance with completing the form is available upon request.
- Request for Accommodation Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (Form RA-1)
- The CRCO will inform the employee’s or applicant’s worksite administrator
of the request and also determine whether the
person requesting the accommodation is an otherwise qualified individual with a disability.
The CRCO will obtain relevant
medical information concerning the requester’s physical and/or mental disability in
order to make a determination. The
determination shall be final.
- If the employee or applicant is a “qualified individual with a disability,” the CRCO will initiate communication between the employee or applicant and immediate supervisor to discuss reasonable accommodations. Any accommodations agreed upon will be put in writing. If the employee or applicant does not qualify as an “individual with a disability” and/or a “qualified individual” the administrator is not obligated to provide reasonable accommodations. The administrator may provide some form of assistance, but it shall not be called a reasonable accommodation for ADA purposes.
What kind of reasonable accommodations can be provided?
Examples of reasonable accommodations include but are not limited to: job restructuring; parking; modified work schedules; modification or purchase of equipment; and modifications of examinations and training materials or policies.
Where else can a discrimination complaint be filed?
Discrimination complaints may be filed with the CRCO. Complaints need to be filed within 300 days from the last alleged date of discrimination. Please provide all relevant documentation and/or information with your complaint. A complaint form can be downloaded from the DOE’s website or you may call the CRCO for a copy.
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HTML version of: Pamphlet RS 10-1527
(Revision of RS 08-1803) • JULY 2010
Office of the Superintendent
Department of Education
State of Hawaii
© Hawaii State Department of Education, P.O. Box 2360, Honolulu, HI 96804; Physical address: 1390 Miller St, Honolulu, HI 96813; phone: 808-586-3230; fax: 808-586-3234. All rights reserved. For problems/questions concerning this web site, please email the webmaster. Links to other web sites should not be considered an endorsement. DOE is not responsible for the content of external web sites.