• Requesting an Accommodation

    On average, it takes 30 days to complete a request. Here is a series of steps to guide an individual with a disability through the process of requesting an accommodation.

     

    1. It is the responsibility of the employee to request an accommodation. You can submit a Request for Reasonable Accommodation :   HERE
    2. Once you submit a Reasonable Accommodation Request Form, someone from the Benefits Office will give you a call to discuss the nature of the disability and the effect on the job. 
    3. You may be asked to complete a Medical Release Form so the Benefits Office can gather additional information from your medical provider. (may be optional depending on the accommodation request).
    1. The GCS Benefits Department will begin assessing the request to determine whether it is reasonable.
    2. The GCS Benefits Department will meet with the employee's supervisor to let the supervisor know about the employee's request and to discuss the ability to implement the requested accommodation. The benefits department will not share specific information about the disability itself – only necessary information about the accommodation and any associated functional limitations of the employee.
    3. Following approval, the Benefits Office will communicate with the employee who requested the accommodation and the supervisor outlining the request, the accommodations that have been approved, and when it will take effect.
    4. If the request is not approved, the Benefits Department will continue to engage in the interactive process with the employee and supervisor to determine any other reasonable accommodations that may be provided to the employee.

    A disability is:

    A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual; a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment.

    Who may be able to receive a reasonable accommodations?

    A qualified individual with a disability is an employee or applicant for employment who can perform the job's essential functions with or without a reasonable accommodation provided by GCS. The essential functions of the job are the major duties of that job or the primary reason the job exists.

     An accommodation does not necessarily have to be exactly what the employee requested or had in mind as long as the accommodation offered is a reasonable alternative. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, to be "otherwise qualified" for one's position, an employee must be able to perform their essential job functions with or without an accommodation. If, through the interactive process, it is determined that no reasonable accommodations are available, the employee may no longer be otherwise qualified for the position.

    Reasonable accommodations are: 

    Changes to a task, a way of doing things, or the individual's workplace that makes it possible for a qualified individual with a disability (as described above) to carry out the essential functions of the job. Here is a snapshot of some types of reasonable accommodations that may be available:

      • making the existing workplace accessible
      • restructuring the employee's job
      • modifying the employee's work schedule
      • reassigning the employee to a vacant position
      • buying equipment or devices
      • allowing leave as an accommodation