4000-7-2 Accommodation

Policy

1. This policy shall apply to all Lambton College employees.
2. The college:
   1. Ensures compliance with all applicable legislation and college policies.
   2. Intends to provide a fair and consistent policy for rehabilitating employees who have been injured on the job or are suffering from a non-occupational injury, illness or disability.
   3. Ensures the college will make every effort, short of undue hardship, to implement appropriate accommodation measures and provide meaningful employment.
   4. Provides employment accommodations in a manner consistent with the core principles of dignity, integration, independence and equal opportunity.
   5. Provides an efficient and timely accommodation process.
   6. Ensures that all employees and job applicants are aware that accommodation measures are available within the organization.
   7. Ensures the accommodation process is readily available and communicated to all employees in a variety of formats.
   8. Protects the confidentiality of personal and medical information provided by our employees.
   9. Appoints the office of the Director, Human Resources, to be responsible for the administration and communication of this policy.

Procedure

Lambton College is committed to providing accommodation for people with disabilities. When an employee with a disability requests an accommodation, the following process is followed:

The Accommodation Process

1. Step 1 - Recognizing the need for accommodation
   1. Requested by the employee or identified by the Return to Work representative/supervisor
   2. The Return to Work representative informs the employee of the steps taken to ensure the privacy of the personal information
2. Step 2: Gathering relevant information and assessing needs
   1. The employee is an active participant in this step
   2. Lambton College does not require details on the nature of the employee’s disability to provide an accommodation; it needs to know only about the employee’s functional abilities
   3. The Return to Work representative may ask for a functional abilities assessment (in the form of a completed Functional Abilities Form) at the College’s expense
   4. The employee, Return to Work representative and supervisor explore a range of specific and universal accommodations to find the most appropriate measure - an external expert (e.g. Kinesiologist) may be involved, at the College’s expense
   5. The employee can request the participation of a representative from her bargaining agent, or, if there is no bargaining agent, from a different representative from the workplace
3. Step 3: Writing a formal individual accommodation plan
   1. Accommodation details are provided in a formal individual plan, including:
      1. Accessible formats and communication supports, if requested;
      2. Workplace emergency response information, if required; or,
      3. Any other accommodation that is to be provided.
   2. The accommodation plan is provided to the employee in a format that takes into account their accessibility needs due to their disability:
      1. The employee’s personal information is protected at all times
      2. If the individual accommodation plan requires adjustments, the supervisor provides the employee with the reason for the change, in an accessible format.
4. Step 4: Implementing, monitoring and reviewing the accommodation plan
   1. Employee and supervisor monitor the accommodation to ensure that it has effectively met the need
   2. Formal reviews are conducted at predetermined intervals
   3. The accommodation plan is reviewed if the employee’s work location or position changes
   4. The accommodation is reviewed if the nature of the employee’s disability changes
   5. If the employee has ongoing restrictions, the college will make every effort, short of undue hardship, to accommodate. The employee must provide the Return to Work representative with updated medical information on an annual basis
5. If the accommodation is no longer appropriate, the employee and supervisor work together to gather relevant information and reassess the employee's needs in order for the employer to find the best accommodation measure. The process would then start over at Step 1.