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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 031-09 • RESOLUTION BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Rochester that the City adopt a personnel policy regarding the Americans With Disability Act Amendment Act. A copy of the amended policy is attached. PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE COMMON ' COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA, THIS DAY OF F�l.���}$.0 , 2009. ,�.t--��'�-�=cam:' --� .�'��--,?G ,—✓ G r � PRESIDENT OF SAID COMMON COUNCIL ATTEST: TY CLERK APPROVED THIS 22LA DAY OF �-fh*30 W , 2009. MAYOR OF SAID CITY (Seal of the City of Rochester, Minnesota) Res05\Adopt.PersPolicy.ADAAA CITY OF ROCHESTER ORGANIZATIONAL POLICY AMERICANS WITH DISABILITY ACT AMENDMENT ACT (ADAAA) • Policy It is the policy of the City of Rochester to comply with all Federal and State laws concerning the employment of persons with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 is a comprehensive statute designed to eliminate discrimination against disabled indi- viduals. The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) clarifies the ADA's definition of disability and strengthens the original intent of the ADA by clarifying past Supreme Court decisions. ADAAA requires employers to reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the City. This policy applies to all applicants for employment and existing employees. A. General 1. The City will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a known disability when such accommodation is necessary to enable them to perform the essential functions of their job providing it does not cause an undue hardship for the City. Many individuals with disabilities can apply for and perform the essential functions of their jobs without any reasonable accommodations. However, there are situations where a workplace barrier may interfere. 2. The Human Resources Department and the Department Head are responsible for the resolution of reasonable accommodation, safety, and undue hardship issues. 3. All employees are required to comply with safety standards. Applicants who pose a direct threat to the health and safety of other individuals in the workplace, which threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation, will not be hired. Current employees who pose a direct threat to the health and safety of the other individuals in the workplace will be placed on appropriate leave until an organizational decision has been made in regard to the employee's immediate employment situation. That determination will be based on factual, objective evidence. 4. For each position, the job description typically will identify essential job functions. If there are any questions regarding the job requirements/essential functions, they should be directed to the Department Head or the Human Resource Department. 5. An employee who believes they have been subject to discrimination, that a violation of this policy has occurred, or has witnessed inappropriate treatment of others, should immediately contact the Director of Human Resources. Any employee who is found to have engaged in a discriminatory act that violates any part of this policy is subject to discipline, up to and including termination. 6. All information obtained concerning the medical condition or history of an applicant or employee will be treated as confidential information, maintained in separate medical files, and disclosed as permitted by law. i CITY OF ROCHESTER ORGANIZATIONAL POLICY B. Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation . An employee with a disability is responsible for requesting an accommodation from the Human Resource Department or his/her supervisor, and providing medical documenta- tion regarding the disability when requested. Once medical documentation is received, the Human Resources Department and Department Head will work with the employee to identify possible reasonable accommodations and to assess the effectiveness of each in allowing the employee to perform the essential functions of the job. Criteria for solutions will be evaluated by equally balancing effective accommodations with consideration to- ward expense and impact on the rest of the organization. A request for reasonable accommodation may be denied if it would create an undue hardship for the City and/or department. C. Definitions As used in this policy, the following terms have the indicated meaning and will be ad- hered to in relation to the ADAAA policy. 1. "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 impair- ment, has a record of such impairment or is regarded as having such impairment is a "disabled individual." An impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active (this may include multiple sclerosis, lupus, epilepsy, or a seizure disorder). • 2. "Major life activity" includes caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working. It also in- cludes the operation of 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. A determination of whether an individual is substantially limited in a major life activity shall be made without regard to mitigating measures (e.g., medication, hearing aids, medical supplies, equipment, and other auxiliary aids or services). Mitigating meas- ures do not include eyeglasses and contact lenses used to correct vision problems. 3. "Regarded as" means having a disability if the employee establishes s/he has been subject to unlawful employment action because of an actual or perceived physical or mental impairment, regardless of whether or not the impairment limits or is perceived to limit a major life activity. This does not apply to persons with short-term impair- ments or impairments that are transitory (duration of less than six months). An em- ployee who falls under the "regarded as" provision will not be entitled to reasonable accommodation. 4. "Direct threat to safety" means a significant risk to the health or safety of others that . cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation. CITY OF ROCHESTER ORGANIZATIONAL POLICY 5. 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. 6. "Reasonable accommodation" are changes in the work environment that allow an in- dividual with a disability to benefit from equal employment opportunities. These mod- ifications may include making existing facilities readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devic- es, adjustment or modification of examinations, adjustment or modification of training materials, adjustment or modification of policies, and similar activities. Reasonable accommodation may also include changes to the job application process so a quali- fied applicant with a disability will receive equal consideration for the job opportunity. 7. "Undue hardship" means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense by the employer. Factors to be considered in determining an undue hardship include: a. the nature and cost of the accommodation; b. the overall financial resources of the facility at which the reasonable accommoda- tion is to be made; c. the number of individuals employed at that facility; d. the effect on expenses and resources or other impact upon that facility; e. the overall financial resources of the City; f. the operations of the particular facility as well as the entire City; and g. the relationship of the particular facility to the City. These are not all of the factors but merely examples. 8. "Essential job functions" refers to those activities of a job that are the core to perform- ing said job for which the job exists that cannot be modified. December 2008