Policy Text
Page 1 of 4 15/07 (REV 02/06)
Reasonable Accommodation Under ADA/FEHA
This Order outlines the policy and process for reasonable accom modations under the
Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA)/Fair Employment and Housi ng Act (FEHA).
I. Policy
The Sacramento County Sheriff’ s Department will ensure complian ce with all
ADA/FEHA laws to provide reaso nable accommodation for employees with
qualifying disabilities.
II. Authorities
A. The Rehabilitation Act o f 1973, Sections 503 and 504
B. The Civil Rights Act o f 1964, Titles VI and VII
C. The Americans with Di sabilities Act of 1990
D. The Fair Employment and Housing Act of 2001
E. Sacramento County Personnel Policies and Procedures H-3
Discrimination Complaints in County Employment
III. Definition of Disability Under ADA/FEHA
A. An employee is considered to have a disability if she/he has a physical or
mental impairment that limits one or more major life activities , has a record
of such impairment, or is regarded as having such impairment.
1. Major life acti vities include:
a. walking
b. seeing c. speaking d. hearing e. breathing f. learning g. performing manual tasks h. caring for oneself i. working.
Page 2 of 4 15/07 (REV 02/06)
IV. Reasonable Accommodations
A. An employer is required to p rovide a reasonable accommodatio n to a
qualified employee with a disabi lity unless the employer can sh ow that the
accommodation would be an undue har dship – more specifically, t hat it
would be significantly difficul t or would require a great expen se.
B. A qualified employ ee with a disability i s a person who meets legitimate
skill, experience, education, or other requirements of an emplo yment
position that she/he holds or see ks, and who can perform the “e ssential
functions” of the position wit h or without reasonable accommoda tion.
C. Reasonable accommodation is pro vided for a qualified employe e to
enable them to perform the job’s essential functions. A functi on can be
“essential” if, among other things , the position exists specifi cally to perform
that function.
D. Reasonable accommodation is a ny change or adjustment to a jo b or work
environment that permits a qualif ied employee with a disability to perform
the essential functions of a job.
1. Reasonable accommodations may i nclude, but are not limited t o:
a. assistive devices b. work schedule adjustment c. equipment purchase
d. facility or workspace changes
e. position reassignment when no other effective
accommodation is feasible
f. job restructuring that does not affect the essential functio ns
of the job class may also be a consideration.
V. Interactive Process
A. Employers are required to engage in an informal, flexible in teractive
process with qualified employees with disabilities in order to identify and
implement appropriate reasonable accommodations. The interacti ve
process is triggered either by a request for accommodation by a disabled
employee or by the employer’s recognition of the need for such an
accommodation. Below are the four steps an employer should fol low
when engaging in the interactive process:
1. Analyze the particular job in volved and determine its purpos e and
essential functions.
2. Consult with the employee to a scertain the precise job-relat ed
limitations imposed by his/her d isability and how those limitat ions
could be overcome with a reasonable accommodation.
Page 3 of 4 15/07 (REV 02/06) 3. Meet with the employee to i dentify potential accommodations and
assess the effectiveness each w ould have in enabling him/her to
perform the essential functions of the job.
4. Consider the preference of t he employee to be accommodated a nd
select and implement the accomm odation that is most appropriate
for both the employ ee and the employer.
VI. Request for Reasonable Accommodation
A. The employee requests a Reas onable Accommodation Request pac ket
from his/her supervisor, Sheriff’ s Department HR ADA/FEHA Coord inator,
or the County Disability Complianc e Office. The packet is also available
on the County Intranet at:
http://insidehra.saccounty.net/forms_and_charts.htm .
B. The employee completes and si gns the Request for Reasonable
Accommodation form and the Authoriz ation to Provide Medical Inf ormation
form and provides the completed Au thorization to his/her health care
provider. The employee’ s health care provi der completes and si gns the
Medical Verification for Reasona ble Accommodation form pertaini ng to the
following: 1. whether or not the patient has a physical or mental impairme nt and
if so the name and descripti on of the medical condition
2. duration of the impairment 3. whether or not the impairmen t limits one or m ore major life activities
and if so which is/are limited
4. specific job duty(ie s) the impairment makes difficult and ho w
5. date of last medical evaluation 6. scheduled treatment 7. recommendation for r easonable accommodation.
C. The employee submits all comp leted signed forms to the Sheri ff’s
Department HR ADA/FEHA Coordinator and/or t he County Disability
Compliance Office for review and certification. All paperwork and