Major life activities include, but may not be limited to, walking, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, seeing, hearing, caring for oneself, and performing manual tasks.  Major life activities also include major bodily functions. 42 U.S.C. 126 §12102(2)

The interactive process is a collaborative effort between the employee and the Office of Human Resources (OHR) to discuss the need for a reasonable accommodation as well as identify effective accommodation solutions. OHR also discusses the essential functions of the job performed by the employee to get a better understanding of whether and how a requested accommodation can be made.

A reasonable accommodation is specific to the employee’s documented disability and the essential functions of the employee’s current job description. A reasonable accommodation is determined on a case-by-case basis and secured through the interactive process.

The ADA provides examples of reasonable accommodations that include, but may not be limited to, making existing facilities readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, to job restructuring, modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, provision of qualified readers or interpreters. 42 U.S.C. 126 §12111(9)

A work modification is a temporary modification requested by an employee. The work modification can be to employee’s work schedule, shift, environment, for example, afforded to an employee by the employee’s manager. The employee’s request may be due to a documented school closure, a documented medical issue that does not meet the definition of disability, or for other reasons. 

A reasonable accommodation is specific to the employee’s documented disability and the essential functions of the employee’s current job description. A reasonable accommodation is determined on a case-by-case basis and secured through the interactive process. 

Sometimes an applicant or an employee may ask for an accommodation that is not reasonable or necessary, that poses an undue hardship requiring significant difficulty or expense on the institution. In order to determine whether an accommodation would impose an undue hardship, the institution will consider the nature and cost of the accommodation and other consideration factors prescribed under the ADA.

The elimination of one or more essential functions of an employee’s job description is not a reasonable accommodation.

University Procedure 6153 describes five types of leave time: vacation, administrative leave, compensatory leave, donated leave, jury duty. An employee who takes any of the five leave types described in the Procedure 6153 would not be working. Reasonable accommodations are provided to assist a qualified employee with a disability in performing the essential functions of the job held.

Additionally, an employee may take family leave under the New Jersey Family Medical Leave Act (N.J.S.A. 34:11B-1, et seq.) to care for a child or other family member.