When appropriate, the College will work with qualified individuals with disabilities to make reasonable accommodations that allow an individual the opportunity to perform the essential functions of their positions, provided the accommodation does not cause an undue hardship on the College or cause a direct threat to the health and safety of the individual or others. Employees are encouraged to inform the Vice President for Human Resources, Inclusion, and Compliance of any physical or mental disability necessitating accommodation and to suggest appropriate methods of reasonable accommodation. Failure to volunteer this information will not subject an employee to any adverse treatment or penalty. All information concerning disabilities will be considered confidential and will be released only in accordance with applicable law.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a comprehensive federal statute affirming the rights of persons with disabilities. It is a wide-ranging civil rights statute that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities – similar to the protection given to women, minorities, and others since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted. The law bars discrimination in employment and requires most employers to make reasonable accommodations for qualified employees with disabilities starting in 1992. It also bars discrimination in any activity or service operated or funded by state or local government similar to a 1973 requirement for services operated or funded by the federal government.

On September 25, 2008, the President signed the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (“ADA Amendments Act” or “Act” or “ADAAA”). The Act makes important changes to the definition of the term “disability” by rejecting the holdings in several Supreme Court decisions and portions of EEOC’s ADA regulations. The Act retains the ADA’s basic definition of “disability” as an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. However, it changes the way that these statutory terms should be interpreted in several ways.

For more information on the ADA, please contact Human Resources at 607-431-4315 or email humres@hartwick.edu, or visit www.ada.gov.