Williams College adheres to a non-discrimination policy in compliance with state and federal laws, ensuring equal opportunities in employment regardless of various identities. The document outlines the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its amendments, focusing on defining disabilities, the obligation for reasonable accommodations, and the interactive process between employees and employers. It emphasizes confidentiality and legal guidelines for handling accommodation requests in the workplace.

1. Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity
Toya Camacho
AVP for Institutional Diversity and Equity
Title IX Coordinator/ADA Officer
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2. Non-Discrimination Policy
Williams College, in compliance with state and federal
law, does not discriminate in admission, employment,
or administration of its programs and activities on the
basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age,
disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender
identity or expression, ancestry, or military service.
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3. Session Objectives
At the end of the session, you will be able to:
• Identify the purpose of the ADA & the Americans with Disabilities Act
Amendments Act (ADAA);
• Define “disability”;
• Make reasonable accommodations; and
• Avoid discrimination based on disability.
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4. What is ADA?
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits
discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons with
disabilities in employment. The ADA was revised by the ADA
Amendments Act of 2008, which became effective on January 1,
2009.
Is enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC)
ADA applies to covered employers with 15 or more employees
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5. What is ADAA
The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA)-Law in
2009:
• An update to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Includes all the requirements, protections, and enforcement of the
initial ADA
• Raised the “bar” for an employer to use undue hardship as a means
for not providing a reasonable accommodation
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6. Eligible employees include:
• Qualified individuals with disabilities who can perform the job with or
without reasonable accommodation. A qualified individual is
someone who satisfies the prerequisites for the position and who can
perform the essential functions of the job at the time of employment
decision
• Part-time and full-time employees
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7. Defining Disability
The term “disability” means, with respect to an individual-
(A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or
more major life activities of such individual;
(B) a record of such an impairment; or
(C) being regarded as having such an impairment
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8. ADA Employment Prohibitions
Requires employers to provide qualified individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit
from the full range of employment-related opportunities available to non-disabled persons.
It prohibits discrimination in:
1. Job application procedures
2. Employment
3. Advancement
4. Employee compensation
5. Job assignment/classification
6. Job training
7. Other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment
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9. Major Life Activities
• Caring for oneself
• Performing manual tasks
• Seeing, hearing, eating, and sleeping
• Walking, standing, sitting, reaching, lifting, and bending
• Speaking, breathing, learning, and reading
• Concentrating, thinking, and communicating
• Interacting with others and working
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10. Major Life Activities (cont.)
Covered disability also applies to:
• The immune system, special sense organs, and skin
• Normal cell growth
• Digestive, neurological, and respiratory systems
• Circulatory and cardiovascular systems
• The operation of an individual organ within a body system (e.g.,
kidney, heart, and liver).
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11. Essential Functions
Essential job functions are important as these tasks are the focus of
the accommodation for an employee with a disability.
In all cases, the employee with a disability must be able to perform the
essential functions of the job, with or without an accommodation.
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12. Essential Functions (cont.)
When evaluating whether a task is essential, it is important to consider
the following:
• Content of the written job description, including any physical skills
required to perform the job (i.e. must be able to move and transport
objects weighing up to 40 frequently; must climb ladders to inspect
work; etc.)
• The amount of time spent performing the job function
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13. The Request for an Accommodation
• There is no specific language required when an employee is making a
request for an accommodation. That is, the employee does not have
to use the word “accommodation” and they do not have to make the
request in writing.
• The request for an accommodation may be expressed in a
conversation with the supervisor in talking about something that has
changed for the employee, or in talking about what they may need to
be able to do their job.
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14. The Request for an Accommodation
• Here are some examples of statements that can be a request for an
accommodation:
• “I’m on a new medication and having trouble getting to work on
time.”
• “I need time off for some treatment that my doctor is
recommending.”
• “I am making more errors because I am having trouble seeing the
data on the monitor.”
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15. ADA Scenario
A long-term employee starts having performance problems.
When her employer talks to her about the problems, she
responds that she is very stressed and is having difficulty
handling her job duties. The employer doesn’t know if this
is an accommodation request and is afraid to ask for
clarification for fear of violating the ADA’s rules about
making medical inquiries.
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16. ADA- Recommended Strategy
• If employee provides supervisor with information about physical or
mental health that could possibly be disability
• Supervisor should immediately contact ADA Officer
• ADA Officer will take it from there
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17. Reasonable Accommodation
• The College will provide a reasonable accommodation to a qualified
employee with a known disability unless the accommodation would
impose an undue hardship.
• The employee must be qualified. That is, they must have the skills,
education, and experience for the job.
• The employee must disclose they have a disability.
• The accommodation must be reasonable and not impose an undue
hardship.
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18. Examples of Accommodations
• Modifying the job application process
• Acquiring or modifying of equipment/devices
• Making facilities accessible
• Other similar accommodations
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19. Providing Equipment as an Accommodation
Jessica is an computer specialist. Her job requires that she work the
majority of the day, except for breaks and lunch, seated at
her desk using the computer and phone to complete her job tasks.
She has a chronic impairment and recently had back surgery. With her
return to work, it was recommended she have a more supportive chair
and an adjustable height desk as she was restricted from sitting for
hours at a time. The equipment provided her the opportunity to work
either sitting or standing while she completed her job tasks.
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20. What is Reasonable?
In determining whether an accommodation is reasonable we look at
whether providing the accommodation would be an “undue hardship.”
Considerations include:
The nature and cost of the accommodation*
The one that will fundamentally alter the nature of employment
The impact of the accommodation on the operation of the department
* Generally speaking, the cost of an accommodations on is not an undue hardship for the college as most
accommodations are administrative and/or not of significant cost.
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21. The Interactive Process
These requests and the resulting conversations between the employee
and the supervisor starts the “interactive process,” an important
component of the accommodation procedure.
These interactions can also help identify barriers the employee is
experiencing. A barrier is some feature of the employee’s job (or the
job environment) that makes it difficult for the person with a disability
to perform their job tasks.
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22. Confidentiality
Any disclosure an employee makes regarding a disability, including any
medical documentation regarding the disability, must be kept
confidential.
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23. What would you do?
You are conducting job interviews for the position of
administrative assistant. One of your applicants has a
hand disability due to an accident. You are not sure if
she can handle the computer work associated with the
job.
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24. What would you do (cont.)
Do you:
• Ask how she is able to type with her disability?
• Tell her she is not right for the job?
• Explain the duties of the job and ask if she can accomplish them?
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25. ADA Takeaways
• ADA protects qualified individuals with disabilities from employment
discrimination
• Accommodation requests can be verbal or written
• Do not ask the employee for medical information
• Consult with ADA Officer to start the interactive process
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