ADA Procedures and Guidelines: Employment, Educational Services, Campus Physical Access and Public Access to Campus Events

Purpose

California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) is committed to providing a diverse and supportive academic environment for all students, employees and campus visitors. Pursuant California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Title VI and VII, Civil Rights Acts of 1964, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Government Code Section 12920 et seq., the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA); the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008, 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., and Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. Section 701 et seq. and CSU Executive Order 1111, it is CSUSB’s policy to ensure that individuals with disabilities have equal access and the opportunity to participate in CSUSB activities and programs as it relates to the areas of employment, educational services and campus physical access.

Terms Used in This Policy

As defined under the ADAA the following definitions apply to this guide:

Disability: A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of the individual, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.

Major life activities: Term includes caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working.

Major bodily functions: Term includes physical or mental impairment such as any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement or anatomical loss affecting one or more body systems, such as neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genitourinary, immune, circulatory, hemic, lymphatic, skin and endocrine. Also covered are any mental or psychological disorders, such as intellectual disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness and specific learning disabilities.

Substantially limiting: In accordance with the ADAAA final regulations, the determination of whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity requires an individualized assessment, and an impairment that is episodic or in remission may also meet the definition of disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active. Some examples of these types of impairments may include epilepsy, hypertension, asthma, diabetes, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. An impairment, such as cancer that is in remission

but that may possibly return in a substantially limiting form, is also considered a disability under EEOC final ADAAA regulations.

Direct threat: A significant risk to the health, safety or well-being of individuals with disabilities or others when this risk cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation.

Qualified Person with A Disability: An individual with a disability who is qualified to participate in any given CSUSB program or activity.

1. With respect to enrollment, a qualified person with a disability must satisfy the academic standards required for admission and meet the academic requirements established for any given coarse, degree, or certificate program. 
2. With respect to employment, training, work assignments, and promotion, a qualified individual with a disability must be able to perform the essential functions of the job. 
3. Visitors with disabilities must be accommodated when they come to the campus to interview for a job or to participate in campus sponsored activities and programs including Extension University, sports, recreation, and cultural events. 

Reasonable accommodation: Includes any changes to the work environment and may include making existing facilities readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, telecommuting, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials or policies, the provision of qualified readers or interpreters, and other similar accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

Undue hardship: An action requiring significant difficulty or expense by the employer. In determining whether an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on a covered entity, factors to be considered include:

• • The nature and cost of the accommodation.
  • The overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in the provision of the reasonable accommodation, the number of persons employed at such facility, the effect on expenses and resources, or the impact of such accommodation on the operation of the facility.
  • The overall financial resources of the employer; the size, number, type and location of facilities.
  • The type of operations of the company, including the composition, structure and functions of the workforce; administrative or fiscal relationship of the particular facility involved in making the accommodation to the employer.

Essential functions of the job: Term refers to those job activities that are determined by the employer to be essential or core to performing the job; these functions cannot be modified.

The examples provided in the above terms are not meant to be all-inclusive and should not be construed as such. These are not the only conditions that are considered to be disabilities, impairments or reasonable accommodations covered by the ADA/ADAAA policy.

Employment applicants and current employees are encouraged to contact Human Resources with any questions and/or requests for accommodation(s).

ADA Management Group

The specific management roles and responsibilities for compliance to ADA requirements are distributed to the following offices and management personnel who comprise the ADA Management Group:

Employment

•  Alex Najera
  • Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Co-Chief Diversity Officer
  • Human Resources (HR)

Campus Physical Access

• Jennifer Sorenson
  • Associate Vice President of Facilities Planning & Management
  • Facilities Planning & Management
  • Oversight: Campus Accessibility Advisory Board (CAAB)

Educational Services

• Marcelle Daniels
  • Director of Services to Students with Disabilities
  • Oversight: Campus Accessibility Advisory Board (CAAB)
  • Students with Disabilities

The ADA management group will meet, as needed to review the campus ADA program and matters related to ADA. Meetings of a priority nature will be arranged, as necessary, to discuss specific items that require a more urgent approach.

On June 30 of each year, the ADA Management Group will review the prior twelve months of ADA activity and prepare a report outlining what ADA related activities have occurred at CSUSB. Each area represented in the ADA Management Group will maintain records of ADA activity that may contribute to the overall campus report. The report will be distributed to the Vice President for Administration and Finance for presentation to the President and Vice Presidents of CSUSB.

Employment

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) are federal laws that require employers with 15 or more employees to not discriminate against applicants and individuals with disabilities. Additionally, the act prescribes that CSUSB is required to provide reasonable accommodations, when needed, to applicants and employees who are qualified for a job, with or without reasonable accommodations, so that they may perform the essential job duties of the position.

It is CSUSB policy to comply with all federal and state laws concerning the employment of persons with disabilities and to act in accordance with regulations and guidance from the California State University System and applicable state and federal agencies. Furthermore, it is CSUSB policy not to discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities regarding application procedures, hiring, advancement, discharge, compensation, training or other terms, conditions and privileges of employment.

CSUSB’s Human Resources department will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability so that they can perform the essential functions of a job unless doing so causes the following:

• Causes a direct threat to these individuals or others in the workplace and the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation
• If the accommodation creates an undue hardship to CSUSB

Current employees who pose a direct threat to the health or safety of themselves or other individuals in the workplace will be placed on leave until an organizational decision has been made regarding  the employee’s immediate employment situation.

Contact Information:

Human Resources

Phone: 909-537-5183

Email: hrdept@csusb.edu

Website: https://www.csusb.edu/human-resources

Campus Physical Access

The Department of Facilities Planning and Management is responsible for maintaining buildings and grounds of the University.  The responsibilities include:

• Maintaining the campus barrier removal plan, assessing the physical barriers on campus and prioritizing the removal of these barriers as funding allows.  This may include:
  • Repair or replacement of building components not meeting current ADA standards
  • Ensuring prompt repair of automatic doors and other assistive devices to maintain accessibility
  • Maintaining accessible paths of travel throughout the campus

• Ensuring that new construction is designed and constructed in compliance with the accessibility standards described within the California Building Standards Code (Code) and the federal ADA guidelines.
  • All major capital project designs are reviewed by Department of State Architect (DSA) to ensure accessibility code compliance.
  • Major capital projects are reviewed by a Certified Access Specialist (CASp), and findings are resolved prior to project close out and filing of the Notice of Completion (for each respective project).
• Prioritizing minor capital project budgets such that 20% of available funds are spent on ADA projects.
• Ensuring that accessible furnishings are available in lecture halls, laboratories, and classrooms for students with disabilities in accordance with the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities requests.

Review of furniture layouts for office and classroom furniture purchases to ensure accessibility code compliance.

Educational Services

The Office of Services to Students with Disabilities plays an integral part in ADA compliance at California State University, San Bernardino to ensure that the campus environment provides both physical and programmatic access to individuals with disabilities. To this end, the office is responsible for the following commitments:

• The SSD Director or designee will regularly attend scheduled meetings of the Campus Accessibility Advisory Board (CAAB).
• The Director or designee will provide input to identify existing barriers or necessary accommodations on campus. This will be accomplished by gathering input from students, staff, faculty and visitors.
• The Director or designee will provide necessary input to determine reasonable solutions to identified barriers, both temporary and permanent.
• The Director or designee will provide information necessary to prioritize resolution to barriers.
• The Director or designee will develop and maintain a mechanism to communicate this information to the campus community.

Campus Accessibility Advisory Board (CAAB)

An additional role for ADA interface is vested in the CAAB to the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities. This committee meets to review items of interest and concerns that may arise from the campus community. 

The ADA provides an array of regulations and standards for organizations. These are interpreted as requirements to which organizations must comply. In a practical sense, beyond the minimum requirements established by ADA, are desirable environmental conditions and individual expectations. These latter two levels are commonly the ones that come under some type of review by either the Advisory Committee or the ADA Management Group.

Whether or not a specific item within the realm of ADA arises with the Advisory Committee, is directly presented to the Management Group, or arrives at a specific office, the process will consist of the following approach:

• Identification of the interest, problem or concern.
• An analysis of the factors involved, including cost and funding sources. * refers to:
• A review of the alternatives possible, including cost.
• A response to the originator of the item.
• Implementation of the solution.
• Closure of the process.

* Funding for individual applicant and employee ADA reasonable accommodation is addressed in the University budget policy.

CSUSB students are encouraged to contact SSD with questions and/or requests for accommodation(s).

Contact Information:

Services to Student with Disabilities

Phone: 909-537-5238

Email: ssd@csusb.edu

Website: https://www.csusb.edu/ssd

Public Access to Campus Events

It is the policy CSUSB that all campus events opened to the public are accessible to attendees with disabilities, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and equivalent state laws. Members of the general public with disabilities who need accommodations to access CSUSB sponsored events shall request an accommodation through the campus organization sponsoring the event at least seven (7) days prior to the event, unless specified differently in the announcement.

All event announcements must include a contact for requesting accommodations. CSUSB will process requests for accommodation and, where appropriate, provide reasonable accommodations in a prompt, fair, and efficient manner.

Definition

Public events are events that are open to community members who are not students or employees of the campus. Such events include, but are not limited to, theatre and music performances, gallery exhibits, seminars and colloquiums, graduation ceremonies, and athletic events.

Dissemination

Materials announcing public events should state that the event is accessible, and that special accommodations may be made for people with disabilities. Announcements of public events should include a statement similar to this (when appropriate):

“Individuals needing accommodations for disability access should contact us at (phone number) at least (number of days) before the event.”

Funding

The sponsor of the event is responsible for receiving requests for access accommodations, and for arranging for funding of disability accommodations. Advice and assistance may be requested through CAAB and/or the ADA Management Group.

Other Complaints

This policy also does not prohibit a timely filing of an ADA or discrimination complaint with the appropriate external governmental agency (EEOC, DFEH, etc.). If efforts to provide reasonable accommodations are not successful, then individuals should be informed of their right to file a grievance under applicable CSUSB policies and procedures or to file discrimination complaints with the cognizant state or federal agencies, including United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. 

Retaliation

Retaliation against an event participant for filing a disability accommodation request, or for filing a complaint or an appeal with the DHR & Compliance Officer, is prohibited.