Equal Employment Opportunity Office

A reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job or worksite made to enable a job applicant or employee with a disability participate in the job application process, perform the essential functions of a job, or enjoy benefits and privileges of employment enjoyed by all other employees. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to job applicants and employees with disabilities.

Under the DHRD Reasonable Accommodation Policy, once a job applicant or employee requests a reasonable accommodation, State Executive Branch departments are required to engage in an interactive discussion process with the goal of identifying effective reasonable accommodations. Some examples of reasonable accommodations include:

• Changing an interview room to the ground floor or a building with an elevator for a job applicant who uses a wheelchair
• Providing an employee with assistive technology or equipment, such as a screen reader
• Modifying an employee’s schedule by permitting them to start and end work earlier, provided the program’s operations are not disrupted and the employee works their required number of hours
• Providing training materials in an alternative format, such as printed slides with enlarged text