All employers, including Monroe One BOCES, are working on practical ways to keep employees working and safe during this pandemic. Some employees, who have one or more medical conditions, may request a change at work for a reason related to the COVID-19 pandemic and that begins the interactive process managed by the HR and in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The process involves recognizing the request, gathering information from health care providers and supervisors, identifying the disability (defined as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity or a history of substantial limiting impairment”) and deciding on the reasonable accommodation(s) that work for both the department and the employee.

1. Accommodation Request

Employees who would like to request a work accommodation should email the HR Office: Ann Thaney at ann_thaney@boces.monroe.edu.  The email should include what is being requested and why. If you have a medical note from your health care provider, the employee may attach that document.

2. Gathering Information

The HR Accommodations Team that processes these requests will need to know what limitations are interfering with the employee’s job performance and what tasks are at issue.

The employee will be sent two documents in HR’s email response—the COVID Related Accommodations Request Instructions and their Job Description.  Two more documents—the Authorization for Release of Medical Information Form (HIPAA) for COVID-19 Accommodations and the COVID Related Accommodations Request Information Form will be sent to the employee through Frontline Central. Frontline email notifications will be sent to the employee’s BOCES’ email with links to those two forms. The employee will need to start the forms, fill out some information and submit the forms.  To retrieve the submitted forms, the employee will go to My Form> Completed Forms and click on View Form. They will be able to print the forms or save and email them to their health care provider.

In summary, the employee will need to send three forms to their health care provider (they keep the instructions):

• Job Description—
  Your health care provider will need to know the nature of your work and your essential job duties.
  
  
• Authorization for Release of Medical Information Form (HIPAA) for COVID-19 Accommodations—
  This form is allowing a BOCES representative to reach out the health care provider if additional information is needed. This form is to be kept on file by your provider.
  
  
• COVID Related Accommodations Request Information Form—
  This form should be completed in its entirety by the health care provider AND returned to HR.  The form needs to explain the individual’s underlying impairment and indicate the duration that the accommodation is needed.
  
  Employees have the option of using the Confidential Medical Document Upload Form under My Forms > Forms I Can Start in Frontline to upload the completed form and keep the information protected.
  
  

When the completed COVID Related Accommodations Request Information Form is received in HR, the HR Accommodations Team will meet and review the information.  The employee’s supervisor will be emailed questions specific to the employee’s office and/or work area, building and office occupancy, student case load, typical interactions with co-workers, etc.

3. Exploring Accommodations Options

Once the supervisor replies and all the information has been gathered, the HR Accommodations Team will meet once again to discuss the employee’s disability- limitations that is causing a problem. If the employee has suggested accommodations, those will be considered along with suggestions from the health care provider and supervisor.

A determination will be made on the reasonable accommodations that the department can make and that decision that will be based on an individual assessment, using reasonable medical judgment and with the provider’s information, about this employee’s disability and not the disability in general.  Other considerations include the severity of the pandemic in the Monroe County area, the likelihood that the employee will be exposed to the virus in their specific work area and the various safety measures that Monroe One has put in place for COVID -19 protection.  The team references guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Monroe County’s Department of Health and the New York State guidelines.

If workplace changes need to be made as the suggested accommodation-such as schedule changes, installation of a protective barrier, teleworking, and rearrangement of furniture- the supervisor will be involved in the process to ensure the accommodation does not cause an undue hardship for the department.

The determination is sent to the employee and their supervisor and if needed, the accommodation is implemented.

4. Continuing the Interactive Process after the Determination

In the event that there is not an agreement between the employer and the employee after the initial determination, the conversation may still advance to consider additional potential accommodations or leave options.  The additional actions that may be taken at this step in the interactive process can include one or several of the following:

• HR’s request for additional medical documentation
  
  
• the employee’ request for additional potential accommodations,
  
  
• review of the information and additional medical guidance from our consulting physician,
  
  
• discussion of the leave of absence options
  
  
  

• Installation of a barrier for protection, such as a Plexiglass screen or partition
  
  
• Rearrangement of office furniture
  
  
• Redirecting ventilation in an office
  
  
• Work schedule changes to have the employee work off hours when there are less individuals in the workplace or part time work
  
  
• Providing additional personal protective equipment (PPE)
  
  
• Allowing remote working
  
  
• Reallocating marginal job functions that the employee is unable to perform
  
  

Requesting a leave of absence is another accommodation that the employee can consider if there is no other acceptable reasonable accommodation for their disability.

• If the individual does not have an impairment and is only seeking to avoid the risk of exposure to COVID-19, then this is not an ADA issue. 
  
  

• The ADA does not require that an employer accommodate an employee without a disability based on the disability-related needs of a family member or other person with whom they are associated.
  
  
  

Contact Ann Thaney, Benefits Supervisor, at 585-249-7035 or ann_thaney@boces.monroe.edu.