The Disability Resource Center explores accommodations on an individualized basis using an interactive process. If, after working with the DRC, an employee believes that they have not received timely disability-related reasonable accommodations, the employee may follow the steps outlined in the Accommodation Complaint Process.
Accommodation Complaint Process
Step 1:
The employee should contact their DRC UReturn Access Consultant as soon as possible. In consultation with the UReturn Associate Director, the DRC Access Consultant will determine whether to address the concerns through further engagement in the interactive accommodation process. In making this determination, the DRC Access Consultant may gather additional information from the employee and consult with the employee’s supervisor or other department administrators.
If the DRC Access Consultant determines that further engagement in the interactive process is appropriate, the Access Consultant will facilitate that process.
The employee’s department will assess whether the accommodation the employee seeks is reasonable or whether there is an equally effective alternative accommodation. If the employee’s department determines that the accommodation request is unreasonable, they will provide a written rationale to the Access Consultant and the employee.
Step 2:
If the employee disagrees with a denial of an accommodation request in Step 1, the employee may request a review by the DRC Director, who serves as the University’s Deputy ADA Coordinator for Accommodations and Grievances. The Deputy ADA Coordinator will conduct an inquiry into the employee’s concern. This inquiry will generally include a case review and consultation with the employee, DRC staff, the employee’s supervisor, and/or others as needed.
In some cases, based on the information gathered in their inquiry, the Deputy ADA Coordinator will ask the DRC Access Consultant to facilitate further engagement in the interactive process. In other cases, the Deputy ADA Coordinator will assess whether the accommodation requested by the employee, or an equally effective alternate accommodation, should be implemented. For more information about the factors that the University considers when determining whether to implement a requested accommodation for disability, please review these Frequently Asked Questions.
The Deputy ADA Coordinator will communicate their assessment in writing to the employee and an appropriate leader in the employee’s unit. The Deputy ADA Coordinator may also make written recommendations to the employee’s department. The Deputy ADA Coordinator will strive to complete a review within 30 days. If this is not possible, the Deputy ADA Coordinator will communicate with the employee about an adjusted time frame.
Grievance Process
If an employee disagrees with the determination of the Deputy ADA Coordinator after completing the Accommodation Complaint Process described above, the employee may contact the University’s Equal Opportunity and Title IX Office (EOT) to request initiation of a formal grievance process. In a formal grievance process, EOT conducts an investigation and determines whether the University’s discrimination policy was violated. An employee must proceed through the Accommodation Complaint Process before they can initiate a formal grievance process under the discrimination policy.
External Agency Options
Employees may also file complaints of disability discrimination with the State of Minnesota’s Department of Human Rights and/or the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).