Last Update: 7/01

PURPOSE:

This process is intended to establish a clear, orderly means of placing employees, or former employees with rights to return, in vacant positions when they are no longer able to perform the essential functions of a position or job class and other reasonable accommodations are not available.

REASONS FOR PROCESS:

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that an employee with a disability be provided necessary reasonable accommodations in order to perform essential functions of an assigned position.

One of the accommodations that must be considered is reassignment to a vacant position that the person can perform.

CREATION OF NEW POSITIONS:

The Americans with Disabilities Act does not require an employer to create a new position as an accommodation. An employer may voluntarily do so, and in accordance with merit system rules on filling the position, transfer, demote, or promote the individual into the position.

WHEN PROCESS APPLIES:

When the individual has a disability that meets Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

When other attempts at accommodation are documented as not possible or not reasonable, or this is identified as the most reasonable alternative.

When a vacancy is identified and the person meets the minimum qualifications and the other limits pertaining to contract and non-contract recall.

When the vacancy is one where contract transfers are cleared.

In the search for a vacant position you need to assure that the position is a clean vacancy. A "clean vacancy" is a permanent vacancy and occurs, before a new or temporary employee is hired, when all possible transfers have been allowed in seniority order and when the recall system has been utilized in accordance with the three collective bargaining agreements; AFSCME, IUP, and SPOC.

The following are three situations covered by this procedure:

1. General Accommodations

When an employee with a disability is being reassigned as an accommodation.

2. Workers' Compensation

When an employee returns to work from Workers' Compensation and requires reassignment as an accommodation.

3. Persons Returning to Work from Long Term Disability (LTD)

Persons returning to work from long term disability are now incorporated into the recall list with other persons. These individuals, as well as all other individuals on the recall list, must be interviewed to determine if they can perform the essential functions of the position to which they are being recalled. If these individuals cannot perform the essential functions of the position and a reasonable accommodation is not available, they will be returned to the recall list.

These individuals returning from long term disability should be offered the option of job counseling at DAS-HRE to assist them in choosing job classes they can perform that will offer chances for reemployment.

Following is a description of the process, using reassignment to a Vacant Position as a Reasonable Accommodation.

STEPS IN THE PROCESS (see flow chart):

1. Document that there are no other accommodations possible or reasonable or that this is the most reasonable alternative.

2. Review the employing unit for other vacant positions and determine if the individual can perform the duties of the position(s) with or without a reasonable accommodation.

a. Review other positions in the same class.

b. Review positions in other classes where the individual meets minimum qualifications.

c. Offer available position(s).

d. Determine if there is a need for accommodations and what a reasonable accommodation is, if required. (Use "Request for Reasonable Accommodation" form CFN 552-0574).

e. Offer the employee the option of proceeding to recall and using job counseling options available.

3. If no vacancies are available in the employing unit, and the employee does not choose recall, the employer must search the next larger reasonable administrative unit for a vacancy and proceed as provided for in (a) through (e) above.

4. If no vacancies are available in the next larger reasonable administrative unit, the remainder of the entire department must be searched as provided for in (a) through (e) above.

5. If no vacancies are available in the department, the individual will be placed on the recall list and job counseling options offered.

6. Placement on the recall list guarantees the individual placement in seniority order in one of the classes they choose if a vacancy not filled by union transfer occurs, provided the individual can perform the essential functions with or without a reasonable accommodation.