COVID-19-Related Accommodation Requests

OVERVIEW

In addition to the direct infliction of illness, hospitalization and even death, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a large volume of new requests for accommodation in the workplace, as employees face widespread fears of contagious viral infection and potential adverse reactions to newly developed vaccines. 

In the early days of the pandemic, while most work in the District was being performed remotely, issues of unavailable child care, heightened susceptibility to severe COVID illness, medically vulnerable family members, and the like, were less prevalent. 

Now, as the District prepares for a return to increasingly in-person services, more employees are expected to request some form of accommodation related to the pandemic. 

GENERAL ACCOMMODATIONS VERSUS THE INTERACTIVE PROCESS

Formal requests for accommodation are traditionally coordinated by District Risk Management (link here), through the interactive process of disability accommodation. 

It is important, then, to distinguish between accommodation requests that are based on medical limitations specific to an employee (i.e. physical or mental disabilities), and those that are otherwise related to general conditions of the pandemic (e.g. unavailbility of child care, etc.) 

The former are handled through the interactive process linked to above, while the latter will need to be resolved within a department as part of their regular management of working conditions. 

INITIATING A FORMAL INTERACTIVE PROCESS

If a supervisor or other manager determines that an employee may be suffering from a medical limitation which prevents them from performing an essential function in their job (e.g. a medically documented inability to work on-site at a college), they should have the following forms completed by their employee and their employee's medical provider: 

1.  Employee Request for Accommodation
2.  Medical Verifcation form

The completed forms can be sent directly to the Director of Risk Management (Jerry Johnson, jjohnson@4cd.edu)

And while the employee is compiling those baseline application materials, their direct supervisor should schedule a consultation appointment with Risk Management (link here) to discuss the process and address any outstanding questions or concerns.