Accommodations for People with Disabilities

Miami-Dade County employees with disabilities may request special accommodations to overcome obstacles that restrict their ability to do their jobs. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects qualified individuals with disabilities from employment discrimination. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's website offers more information on the ADA.

Reasonable Accommodation

A reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job or work environment that enables a qualified applicant or employee with a disability to participate in the job application process, to perform essential job functions, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by employees without disabilities.

When an individual qualifies for reasonable accommodation, the County can choose among effective accommodations, and may choose one that is less expensive or easier to provide. Generally, the County is not obligated to provide personal use items such as eyeglasses or hearing aids.

The accommodation of reassignment should be considered only when an accommodation is not possible in an employee's present job, or when an accommodation in the present job would cause undue hardship. All requests are handled on a case-by-case basis.

Read the Reasonable Accommodation Procedures Manual.

Employee

Employees seeking reasonable accommodation should complete a Employee Reasonable Accommodation Request Form. An employee should complete section 1 of the form and submit it, along with medical documentation, to his or her supervisor or the departmental personnel representative.

Supervisor or Departmental Personal Representative

The supervisor, departmental personnel representative, or designee should complete section 2 of the form. The job description, the Essential Job Functions Form, and any other relevant documents should be attached to the form. If a recommendation is being made to deny the request, the department should consult with and forward the form to the Employee Relations Department ADA Unit.

Department Director

The department director makes a decision in section 3 of the form. The completed form and attachments are forwarded to the Internal Services Department, Human Resources, Labor and Compensation Division (ADA). Decisions to accommodate by reassigning the employee to a vacant position are forwarded to the Disability Review Panel for review and final decision.

Disability Review Panel

In addition to other responsibilities, the Disability Review Panel makes final decisions relating to reassigning employees to vacant positions for disability-related reasons.