Applies to:	Original Policy Date:	Date of Last Review:	Approved by:
All Florida Tech Employees	December 1, 2017	June 2024	Dr. John Nicklow

Policy Owner: Office of Human Resources

Policy Purpose

This policy outlines Florida Tech’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in all aspects of employment.

Policy Scope

All Florida Tech Employees and applicants for employment while participating in the application process

Policy Statement

Florida Tech does not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities in employment practices and actions, including recruitment, the job application process, hiring, training, discharge, compensation, disciplinary actions, advancement, transfers and promotions, or any other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. As required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Florida Tech will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities. It is the policy of the university to comply with all federal, state, and local laws and guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) concerning the employment of persons with disabilities.

Procedures/Guidelines

Florida Tech will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability so that they can perform the essential functions of a job unless doing so causes a direct threat to these individuals or others in the workplace and the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation or if accommodation creates undue hardship to the university.

Requests for accommodation are to be submitted to the Office of Human Resources at hr@fit.edu. 

An employee or applicant who can be reasonably accommodated for the job in question, without undue hardship, will be given the same consideration for that position as any other employee or applicant.

All employees are required to comply with the university’s safety standards. Applicants who pose a direct threat to the health or safety of themselves or of other individuals in the workplace, when the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation, will not be hired. Current employees who pose a direct threat to the health or safety of themselves or of other individuals in the workplace will be placed on appropriate leave until an organizational decision has been made regarding the employee’s immediate employment situation.

Definitions

In the event of any conflict between the definitions in the ADA or other applicable law and definitions in this policy, the legal definitions will control.

• Disability: A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity of the individual, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.
• Major life activity: may include things such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating or working.
• Major bodily functions: may include but is not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.
• Substantially limiting: In accordance with the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), 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 to safety: A significant risk to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation.
• Qualified individual with a disability: An individual with a disability who meets legitimate skill, experience, education, or other requirements of an employment position that the individual holds or seeks, and who can perform the essential functions of the employment position with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Reasonable accommodation: Any change or adjustment to a job, the work environment, or the way things customarily are done that would allow an individual with a disability to apply for a job, perform the essential job functions, or enjoy equal access to benefits available to other individuals in the workplace, and to enjoy equal employment opportunities, provided that such changes do not impose an undue hardship, eliminate essential functions of the job or create a threat regarding safety. These include, but are not limited to, job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, equipment or furniture modifications, adjustment or modification of training materials, and adjustment or modification of policies.
• Undue hardship: An action requiring significant difficulty or expense by the employer. The factors to be considered in determining an undue hardship include: (1) the nature and cost of the accommodation; (2) the overall financial resources of the facility at which the reasonable accommodation is to be made; (3) the number of persons employed at that facility; (4) the effect on expenses and resources or other impact upon that facility; (5) the overall financial resources of the Company; (6) the overall number of employees and facilities; (7) the operations of the particular facility as well as the entire Company; and (8) the relationship of the particular facility to the Company. These are not all of the factors but merely examples.
• Essential job function: Those activities of a job that are the core to performing the job in question and cannot be modified.

Compliance Reference

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA)

Responsibilities

The Office of Human Resources is responsible for implementing this policy, including resolution of reasonable accommodation, safety, and undue hardship issues.

Enforcement

Employees found to violate this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.