Requesting Employee Accommodations
The employee or applicant should make a request for accommodations by following the process outlined below. If an employee or applicant makes a reasonable accommodation request to someone other than the Director of Disability Services, these individuals should forward the request (whether it was made in writing or verbally) immediately to the DSO.
The directions below can also be downloaded at the following link as an accessible PDF: Employee Accommodation Procedures.
1. Download, complete and submit the Employee Reasonable Accommodation Request Form. Please contact the DSO at 610-683-4108 if you have any difficulty accessing this form.
2. Submit current documentation of the disability. Individuals who have disabilities that are readily observable may not require extensive documentation to validate the need for accommodations. However, individuals with hidden disabilities, such as health impairments may require more comprehensive documentation to determine appropriate and reasonable accommodations.
The documentation must be presented on letterhead and include the name, title, professional credentials, and signature of the healthcare professional or evaluator and submit to the DSO via fax: 610- 683-1520, email: dso@kutztown.edu, or mail to: DSO, 215 Stratton Admin. Ctr., Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA 19530.
Documentation needs to include:
- A statement of the diagnosis and a description of the nature of the disability.
- A description of the current impact of the disability on the individual's level of functioning.
- A rationale connecting the disability to the requested accommodations.
3. Schedule an appointment to meet with the Director of Disability Services to begin an interactive discussion regarding the request for accommodations. During this meeting, the Director of Disability Services will gather information to determine if the impairment is a disability under the Rehabilitation Act/ADA/ADAAA and discuss what would be an effective accommodation(s).
All Reasonable Accommodation Request Forms and related documentation will be kept on file by the Director of Disability Services for a period of at least seven (7) years.
4. The Director of Disability Services will forward the request to the Director of Human Resources who is responsible for responding to the request. The DSO will disclose information regarding the nature of the disability and functional limitations as necessary to make an appropriate determination on the reasonable accommodation request. The information disclosed will be no more than is necessary to process the request.
The Human Resources Office will work closely with the requester’s supervisor, manager, chair and/or Dean to gather the relevant information necessary to respond to the request and to assess whether a particular accommodation will be effective.
The Director of Human Resources or their designee (requestor’s supervisor, manager, chair and/or Dean) may convene a meeting to continue the interactive process to discuss the requested accommodation and/or alternative accommodations that may be effective in meeting the requester’s needs.
The Director of Human Resources or their designee will initiate the Resolution/Confirmation Form and ensure that the requestor and the Director of Disability Services receive a copy of the completed form.