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Disability Law and National Service Programs

It is essential for national service programs to acquire a basic knowledge of the state and

national laws affecting the inclusion of people with disabilities. This chapter provides an

overview of the important laws that promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in the

United States. How these laws may affect the operation of your program depends upon your

funding sources, your organization’s purpose and activities, and a number of other

individualized factors.

*Please note: the guidance provided in this chapter is for information purposes only

and should not be taken as legal advice. Legal issues are best addressed with an

attorney familiar with disability law.

Table of Contents

Important Disability Laws........................................................................................................ 2

Providing Reasonable Accommodations ................................................................................ 3

The Michigan Community Service Commission Reasonable Accommodation Funding

Process................................................................................................................................... 7

Michigan Community Service Commission Request for Reasonable Accommodation Funds 9

Michigan’s Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act & The Michigan Civil Rights Commission

and Department of Civil Rights ............................................................................................. 11

A Guide to Disability Rights Laws ......................................................................................... 12

Michigan Department of Civil Rights (Bill of Rights).............................................................. 12

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Important Disability Laws

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehab Act) prohibits discrimination against

people with disabilities under any program or activity receiving Federal financial

assistance, or under any program conducted by any Executive agency or by the United

States Postal Service. The Rehab Act is often credited as a major factor that set the

Disability Rights movement in motion in the United States.

As recipients of Federal funding, ALL national service programs and activities are prohibited

from discriminating against people with disabilities.

To view the complete text of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 please visit the

web site of the U.S. Department of Labor www.dol.gov/oasam/regs/statutes/sec504.htm

The Americans With Disabilities Act

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in 1990 to provide a clear and

comprehensive national mandate to end discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

The ADA prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities

in employment, State and local government services, public accommodations, commercial

facilities, and transportation. It also mandates the establishment of TDD/telephone relay

services. To view the complete text of the ADA along with the changes made by the ADA

Amendment Act of 2008 please visit the Department of Justice ADA website:

http://www.ada.gov/pubs/ada.htm

The Michigan Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act

The Michigan Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act was enacted in 1976 and prohibits

discrimination against Michigan citizens with disabilities in the areas of employment, public

accommodation, public service, education, and housing.

Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act: Act 220 of 1976

An Act to define the civil rights of persons with disabilities; to prohibit discriminatory practices,

policies, and customs in the exercise of those rights; to prescribe penalties and to provide

remedies; and to provide for the promulgation of rules. To view the full text of the civil rights

Act please visit the following website:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/act-220-of-1976_8771_7.pdf

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Providing Reasonable Accommodations

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in 1990 to provide a clear and

comprehensive national mandate to end discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

The law works to ensure that people with disabilities are given equal access to employment,

public services, public accommodations, and telecommunication.

As a national service program, one of the important steps in fulfilling your inclusion

commitment is being ready to provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and

participants with disabilities. The information below focuses on what you need to know about

providing reasonable accommodations.

Basic ADA Terminology

A qualified applicant or participant with a disability means an individual who satisfies the

requisite skills, experience, education, and other service-related requirements of the position

and can perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable

accommodation.

Essential functions are those duties that are so fundamental to the position that the

individual holds or desires that he or she cannot do the job without performing them.

A reasonable accommodation is any change in the work environment or in the way things

are customarily done that enables a qualified individual with a disability to enjoy equal service

opportunities. Reasonable accommodations allow qualified individuals to have rights and

privileges equal to those of participants without disabilities.

The ADA does not require programs to provide accommodations that pose an undue

hardship. An undue hardship is defined as a reasonable accommodation that causes

significant difficulty or expense. However, it is important to remember that most

accommodations are not expensive nor do they involve a great deal of effort to implement.

Requirements for Making Reasonable Accommodations

National service programs and activities must be accessible to people with disabilities and

the grantee must provide reasonable accommodations to the known disabilities of qualified

service providers and applicants. All selections and project assignments must be made

without regard to the need to provide reasonable accommodation.

In keeping with and supporting the spirit of the ADA, accommodations should be made

without regard to coverage under the ADA when it is reasonable to do so. The Corporation

for National and Community Service and the MCSC are committed to making service

opportunities available to people with disabilities. This is the primary goal to keep in mind

when making decisions about providing accommodations. The need for and appropriateness

of any type of accommodation must be made on a case-by-case basis. Each individual,

regardless of disability, will have unique abilities and needs.

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Reasonable Accommodations May Include:

• Providing print materials in alternate formats (large print, Braille, etc.)

• Flexible work/service schedules

• Rearranging an office environment

• Restructuring the position duties

• Modifying equipment or devices

• Purchasing and installing new equipment or devices

• Providing qualified readers and interpreters

• Appropriate modification of the application and examination procedures and training

materials

Reasonable Accommodations Do Not Include:

• Eliminating a primary position responsibility

• Lowering production standards that are applied to all service members

• Providing personal use items, such as prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs, eyeglasses, or

hearing aids

Funding for Reasonable Accommodations

For cases where a reasonable accommodation would prove to be an undue hardship for a

program, limited funding is available through the MCSC to provide accommodations for

service applicants, AmeriCorps*State and National Direct members, Senior Corps

volunteers, and Learn and Serve program participants. Programs should seek alternative

funding or cost-sharing resources whenever possible. All national service programs must

provide reasonable accommodations where required by law regardless of their eligibility for

MCSC or outside funding.

The Reasonable Accommodation Process

The reasonable accommodation process must be confidential; no information is to be

communicated to anyone who is not directly involved. Records pertaining to a disclosed

disability, related medical information, and the reasonable accommodations made for that

disability must be kept separate from the participant’s regular file.

Disclosure of a disability is at the sole discretion of the participant. If the participant with a

disability is willing to discuss his/her disability, they can be a valuable resource for educating

fellow participants. However, they are under no obligation to do so.

The issue of confidentiality is particularly important when handling questions by other

program participants or staff. While they may question accommodations received by another

participant, program directors and other supervisory personnel are prohibited from discussing

any information that addresses the accommodated individual’s disability or need for

reasonable accommodation. The best way to prevent conflicts around the issue of

reasonable accommodation is to provide disability awareness training and to educate all

participants as to your organization’s responsibility to hold all personnel matters confidential.

As part of that training, participants should be informed that reasonable accommodations are

available to any qualifying participant.

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Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation

As noted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, individuals may request an

accommodation at any time. Before an accommodation can be made, however, the

individual must disclose to his/her Program Director or Site Supervisor that a disability exists

and that an accommodation is needed. It is up to each individual to decide whether, when,

how, and to whom he or she will self-disclose a disability. By stating, either verbally or in

writing, that a disability exists, a person with a disability is then afforded and entitled to all the

protections and provisions of the ADA. Disability related information provided in writing is, by

law, kept confidential and separate from other personnel documents and may only be shared

with others on a need-to-know basis.

Since the law prohibits asking if or assuming that a person has a disability, no matter how

obvious a disability may appear, documentation of and accommodations for a disability

cannot be provided until self-disclosure has occurred. If the individual does not self-disclose,

he or she is not protected by the ADA and accommodations cannot be provided. The MCSC

encourages national service participants to request reasonable accommodations when

needed because of a disability to ensure full participation in all aspects of serving in a

national service program.

Often an accommodation can be accomplished on site by a site supervisor or other staff

member. In these cases it is not necessary to involve others in this process. Many

accommodations can be made with little or no cost.

Reasonable Documentation

When the disability and/or need for accommodation is not obvious, the site supervisor or

program director may ask an individual for reasonable documentation about his/her disability

and functional limitations. Reasonable documentation means that the program or service

site may require only the documentation that is needed to establish that a person has an

ADA-covered disability and the disability necessitates a reasonable accommodation.

Participants are not required to repeatedly provide medical information about an ongoing

condition.

The Interactive Accommodation Process

One of the best resources for determining the appropriate accommodation can be the

individual with the disability. However, it is important to be aware that people have varying

levels of experience and success with requesting and receiving accommodations. It is

important that the process remain as positive, open, and interactive as possible.

Once an accommodation has been requested, the participant or applicant and the program

director or site supervisor should engage in an informal process to clarify the individual’s

needs and possible accommodations. The nature of this discussion will vary. In some

instances both the disability and the type of accommodation required will be obvious. In other

situations, the program director or site supervisor may need to ask questions concerning the

nature of the disability and the individual’s functional limitations in order to identify an effective

accommodation. While the individual with a disability does not have to be able to specify the

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precise accommodation, he or she does need to describe the problems posed by the service

site barrier.

Providing the Reasonable Accommodation

As long as it is effective, the program may choose the accommodation that is easiest to

provide, is least expensive, or is otherwise less burdensome. While the preference of the

individual with a disability should be given primary consideration, the program is not obligated

to provide the preferred accommodation. The participant has the right to refuse the offered

accommodation, but if they do so and cannot perform the essential functions of their position,

they may not be covered under the ADA.

Reasonable accommodations should be provided without delay. In most cases, participants

serve for a limited amount of time and delays in implementing accommodations could keep

the participant from having a successful service experience.

Reasonable Accommodation as an Ongoing Process

Once an accommodation has been implemented, it is important to monitor the success and

continued appropriateness of the chosen accommodation. People and situations change

and it is important to recognize that reasonable accommodation is a process and not a one-

time fix.

Assessment of Service Performance

A person with a disability is not exempt from job/service standards and discipline but needs

to be assessed in the framework of their eligibility for coverage under the ADA and the

accommodations that have been provided. Keep in contact with the participant to ensure the

accommodation is enabling them to serve effectively and accomplish his or her goals.

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The Michigan Community Service Commission

Reasonable Accommodation Funding Process

*By statute, only Michigan’s AmeriCorps State and National AmeriCorps members,

Senior Corps volunteers, and Learn and Serve participants are eligible to use these

funds. However, all national service programs must provide reasonable

accommodations where required by law regardless of their eligibility for MCSC or

outside funding.

Submission of the Application

Once it has been established that an applicant or member is eligible for a reasonable

accommodation, the accommodation has been identified, and the program has determined

that providing the accommodation would not be an undue hardship, an application for

funding should be submitted to the MCSC as quickly as possible.

The MCSC Inclusion Coordinator will receive all applications for funds confidentially and the

application reviewed for completeness and accuracy. If additional information is needed, the

Inclusion Coordinator will contact the program director by telephone or letter to request the

additional information. Complete applications will be forwarded for review.

Application Review Process

The Inclusion Coordinator, the MCSC Deputy Director, and an AmeriCorps Program Officer

will review the application. The review process and notification of approval or denial will be

completed within 30 days from the date of receipt. If circumstances necessitate a faster

response, please contact the Inclusion Coordinator to discuss the situation.

Upon completion of the review, the Inclusion Coordinator will contact the program director to

discuss the result. A letter of explanation detailing the outcome of the review process will be

mailed to the program director within 30 days. If the application is approved, final

arrangements will be made between the program director and the Inclusion Coordinator for

providing the member with the requested accommodation(s).

Appeal of Denial of Funds

If the application is denied, the submitting organization has 30 days from the date of their

application submission in which to appeal. The request for reconsideration must be in writing

from the program director or other official of the applicant organization and submitted to the

MCSC Inclusion Coordinator. The request for reconsideration should state the reasons why the

applicant thinks the MCSC should reverse its decision, responding to the reason(s) given for the

adverse decision noted by the MCSC. The MCSC will make a final decision within 30 days of

receipt of the request for reconsideration.

Reporting Use of Reasonable Accommodation Funds

Programs are required to provide two reports on their use of any reasonable accommodation

funds granted. The first report is due no later than two months after the accommodation has

been provided and should detail the nature of the accommodation, the date of

implementation, and the participant’s initial response to the appropriateness of

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accommodation. The second report is due six months from the date the accommodation was

provided. Information to be provided includes the nature of the accommodation, any

changes to the accommodation, and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the

accommodation provided. To insure confidentiality, the name of the member provided with

the accommodation should not be used.

All reports are to be submitted to the Inclusion Coordinator. These reports will be used in the

annual report to the Corporation for National and Community Service on the success of the

Michigan’s national service inclusion initiative and use of related funds.

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Michigan Community Service Commission

Request for Reasonable Accommodation Funds

*Under current legislation, only Michigan’s AmeriCorps State and National

AmeriCorps members, Senior Corps volunteers, and Learn and Serve participants are

eligible to use these funds. However, all national service programs must provide

reasonable accommodations where required by law regardless of their eligibility for

MCSC or outside funding.

Disclosure in seeking accommodations is a complex process. Here are three resources to

assist in understanding this process:

• Job Accommodations Network:

http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu

• Job Applicants and the Americans With Disabilities Act (from EEOC) - Question 16:

http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/jobapplicant.html

• The 411 on Disability Disclosure: A Workbook for Youth with Disabilities

http://www.ncwd-youth.info/411-on-disability-disclosure

The MCSC Statewide Inclusion Team is also available to field questions and provide

additional resources. You may contact them through MCSC Training and Inclusion

Coordinator, Megan Sargent, at [email protected] or (517) 241-3494.

Allow 30 days to evaluate request. If accommodations were not anticipated and funds are

needed sooner than the 30 day timeframe, please contact the MCSC at (517) 335-4295.

Programs are required to report on the effectiveness of reasonable accommodations

provided with MCSC funding.

Date of Submission

Program Name

Street Address

City, State, Zip

Phone Fax Email

Program Director

Program Type: _____ MI AmeriCorps*National Direct _____ MI AmeriCorps*State

_____ Senior Corps _____ Learn and Serve

Status of Individual with Disability:

_____Applicant for national service position _____Current national service participant

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Accommodation Funding Request (additional pages may be added if necessary)

Please describe the requested reasonable accommodation(s) and how it will allow the

applicant/member to perform essential service functions or participate in program activities.

Estimated Cost of the Accommodation___________________________

Amount of MCSC funds requested______________________

Describe additional funding you have secured for the accommodation requested, if applicable.

Will more than one individual benefit from this accommodation? If yes, please describe.

What measures will be used to determine if the reasonable accommodation was effective for the

individual with a disability?

*Please attach any estimates or other information that supports your request.

Program Director Signature / Date

Send, Fax, or Email the completed form to: Michigan Community Service Commission

Attn: Michelle Mackie

1048 Pierpont Ste 4

Lansing MI 48913

Fax: (517) 373-4977

*Email should be sent to Michelle Mackie at

[email protected]

The Michigan Community Service Commission is firmly committed to providing access, equal

opportunity, and reasonable accommodation in its programs, activities, and materials. Please call (517)

335-4295 to request accommodation or to obtain materials in an alternate format.

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Michigan’s Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act &

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission and

Department of Civil Rights

The Michigan Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act was enacted in 1976 and prohibits

discrimination against Michigan citizens with disabilities in the areas of employment, public

accommodation, public service, education, and housing.

Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act: Act 220 of 1976

An Act to define the civil rights of persons with disabilities; to prohibit discriminatory practices,

policies, and customs in the exercise of those rights; to prescribe penalties and to provide

remedies; and to provide for the promulgation of rules.

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission & Department of Civil Rights

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963 to

carry out the guarantees against discrimination articulated in Article I, Section 2. As further

stated in Article V, Section 29, the state constitution directs the Commission to investigate

alleged discrimination against any person because of religion, race, color or national origin

and to "secure the equal protection of such civil rights without such discrimination." Public

Acts 453 and 220 of 1976 and subsequent amendments have added sex, age, marital status,

height, weight, arrest record, and physical and mental disabilities to the original four

protected categories.

The Michigan Department of Civil Rights was established in 1965 to provide a staff

complement to the policy-making responsibilities of the Commission. In 1991, the

Department was expanded further. During that year, the Michigan Women's Commission

was transferred from the Department of Management and Budget to this agency by

Executive Order.

The Department of Civil Rights works to prevent discrimination through educational programs

that promote voluntary compliance with civil rights laws and investigates and resolves

discrimination complaints. It also provides information and services to businesses on

diversity initiatives, equal employment law, procurement opportunities and feasibility studies,

and joint venture/strategic alliance matchmaking.

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A Guide to Disability Rights Laws

This document, published by the U.S. Department of Justice, provides an overview of

several disability-related laws. Of particular importance to national service programs are:

• The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

• The Rehabilitation Act

• Other Sources of Disability Rights Information

The complete document can be found online at: www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/cguide.htm.

This guide provides an overview of Federal civil rights laws that ensure equal opportunity

for people with disabilities. To find out more about how these laws may apply to you

follow the link provided and then contact the agencies and organizations listed for

additional information.

Table of Contents:

• Americans with Disabilities Act

• Telecommunications Act

• Fair Housing Act

• Air Carrier Access Act

• Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act

• National Voter Registration Act

• Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

• Rehabilitation Act

• Architectural Barriers Act

• General Sources of Disability Rights Information

• Statute Citations

*From the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section

Michigan Department of Civil Rights

(Bill of Rights)

The Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) investigates complaints of

discrimination in employment, education, housing, public accommodation, law

enforcement, and public service based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex,

marital status, height, weight, arrest record, disability or familial status. Click on the

following link to view the MDCR Bill of Rights and Responsibilities:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdcr/BillofRights41210_317647_7.pd