Disability Accommodations Process

Disability Accommodations Process for Employees

Whitman’s disability accommodation process is designed to be an interactive process in which the Office of Human Resources engages with an employee with a medical impairment or disability to collaboratively explore reasonable accommodations. While an employee’s medical impairment or disability will be held confidential, the supervisor is involved when it comes to considering and implementing accommodations. 

How to Request an Accommodation(s)

If you believe a medical condition is impacting your ability to do the essential functions of your job, you should begin the accommodation request process by discussing your needs with your supervisor and then contacting the Office of Human Resources. If you rather not disclose the medical need for accommodation to your supervisor, you can reach out directly to the Office of Human Resources.

The Office of Human Resources will have a conversation with you to understand what your needs are in order to effectively perform the essential functions of your position. As part of the accommodation process, it is likely that you will need to provide a statement from your medical provider that describes the nature of the relevant medical impairment for which you seek assistance, the duration of the impairment, if and how you are restricted in your ability to perform any essential functions of your job, and what accommodations they believe would enable you to perform the essential functions of your job. The Office of Human Resources will provide you with a letter to share with your medical provider that details necessary information and your position description so that your medical provider understands your job duties. 

Upon receiving medical documentation, the Office of Human Resources will work with you and your supervisor to explore reasonable accommodations. A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a job, the work environment, or the hiring process that enables you to effectively perform the essential functions of your job or fully engage in the hiring process. Reasonable accommodations may include physical changes to your workspace, the use of assistive technologies - such as accessible software and screen readers -  making materials available in Braille or large print, using closed captioning at meetings and events, etc. The Office of Human Resources will work with you and your supervisor to consider accommodations that are reasonable in nature, assist you in performing the essential functions of your job, and support the needs of your department and the college.

The Office of Human Resources will respond to your accommodation request as quickly as possible, but response time may be impacted by how quickly we receive requested documentation and the complexity of the accommodation(s) needed. Once the accommodation has been determined, the Office of Human Resources will notify you in writing and will work with your supervisor to assist them in implementing the accommodations.

The Office of Human Resources will work with you to develop a follow up check in plan to determine if the accommodations that have been implemented are effective. If you have requested and received an accommodation for an ongoing medical impairment or disability, the Office of Human Resources will periodically review the status of your accommodation. This review may include a request for updated medical documentation to verify the implemented accommodation is still warranted and to also assess the effectiveness of the previously implemented accommodation.

If an employee disagrees with the decisions made about their accommodations, or feels that they have been denied access to the College’s programs or activities because of a disability, they should engage with the Office of Human Resources. If resolution is not achieved through that initial step, then the Director of Equity and Compliance/Title IX Coordinator should be contacted. Depending on the nature of the allegation, the Director of Equity and Compliance /Title IX Coordinator may collaborate with the Office of Human Resources to determine an appropriate resolution. If differences cannot be resolved at the institutional level, the employee may contact the Department of Justice, or the Washington State Human Rights Commission.

Supervisor’s Role

Supervisors play an important role in the accommodation process as you are often the first person an employee notifies that they are in need of an accommodation. While you are not expected to know everything about the process, you are expected to recognize when an employee is putting you on notice for need of an accommodation and know how to respond. You should listen attentively, ask how you can be helpful, and help connect the employee to Human Resources. You should not ask questions about their medical impairment or disability.

If an accommodation(s) has been put in place, check in regularly with your employee to ask if the accommodation(s) is meeting their needs. If not, reach back out to the Office of Human Resources for assistance in continuing the interactive process.

Disability Accommodations for Whitman College Job Applicants

Information about requesting accommodations in the job application and hiring process.