Miss the live event? Catch the replay below!
Student Veterans often qualify for academic accommodations, so we assembled a group of experts to discuss what that could look like for you, and how to navigate establishing accommodations for your studies, and beyond.
Allison Wang and Maya Guerrant from Golden Gate University's Office of Accessible Education discuss what accommodations are available in a classroom environment and how to initiate that process.
Kevin Cleveland, Partner/Attorney at Young, Cohen & Durrett, discusses the legal ins and outs of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including when to disclose to an employer the need for accommodations.
Jill New, Career Programs and Outreach Manager at GGU's Helen Diller Center for Veterans U.S. Military Service, helps us bridge the gap with resources that can translate academic accommodations into workplace accommodations.
If you've ever been curious about your service-related disability and whether or not there are accommodations available to you that can help, you want to tune in.
-
Academic Accommodations and How They Translate to the Workforce
[00:00:00] Welcome to Academic Accommodations and How They Translate to the Workplace. My name is Jill New. I'm the Career Programs & Outreach manager at the Diller Center for Veterans of US Military Service, and I'm joined today by a few panelists who will talk about both sides: academic and workplace accommodations. I'll go ahead and let our panelists introduce themselves.
[00:00:29] My name is Maya Grant, and I am the Interim Associate Director of the Office of Accessible Education, a.k.a. Disability Services at GGU.
[00:00:39] So, usually, I'm the person a student would reach out to set up the intake process to receive accommodations at Golden Gate. And I'll be getting into that a little bit later.
[00:00:49] Hi everyone. I am Alison Wang. I co-direct the Office of Accessible Education with Maya on an interim basis.
[00:00:59] I am over at the law school where I direct the externship program. And so what I tend to do most is answer law-related questions, accommodations questions for professional exams, and provide programming and community building for the Office of Accessible Education.
[00:01:19] My name is Kevin Cleveland. I'm an attorney out of Sacramento, California. I do employment and labor law. So, I have handled a lot of cases involving discrimination involving accommodation requests and hiring practices.
[00:01:32] And back in the day, I also used to work in HR for a company that was in about 40 states across the country. So, I actually used to handle a whole lot of these requests from the HR side. So, today for my part, I'm going to try and hopefully offer some practical advice on what to do in the workplace to both ask for accommodations and also hopefully get the accommodations that you need to make sure that you can do your jobs effectively.
[00:01:55] We got a lot. We're going to talk about it, and I'm excited to learn more. It's never enough information, so I'm excited. So, Maya, I'll let you go ahead and get started.
[00:02:04] So today, I'm going to keep it pretty brief. We're just going to talk about contact information, some resources, some deadlines, and then I think we're going to save the Q and A for the end.
[00:02:16] So, Director Wang already introduced herself, but as you can see here, this is her contact information to set up meetings and her phone number. So, and of course, this slideshow is going to be available to everybody after.
[00:02:31] So don't worry about writing down the links and everything like that. I just like having all the information on the slides, so it's easily accessible later. And as well, here is my contact information, including my Calendly link to set up appointments and my phone number. Okay. So, just so everyone's clear, anything that is related to the VA and benefits should go through the Diller Center instead of the Office of Accessible Education.
[00:02:57] So, sometimes we get questions. Veterans don't know if they should come to us first or the Diller Center first. The real answer is you can go to either of us first, but the Office of Accessible Education or the OAE will only be supporting veterans with academic accommodations and not anything related to benefits.
[00:03:15] There's a lot of text on this slide, and it's mostly just for your reference. I'm just going to talk a little bit about the intake process for accommodations. So, basically, every student is looking to receive accommodations at Golden Gate University will have to set up a meeting with either myself or Director Wang. And that's what our intake process is. These meetings are usually half an hour. We set them up so we're able to talk to you about what disabilities you may be experiencing and what type of support you're looking for. And we also go over all the forms and documentation that are required for you to be able to start receiving accommodations at Golden Gate University.
[00:03:54] I'm not going to get too much into the specifics of the forms themselves, but basically, the takeaways are that Golden Gate University can not make the decision about which accommodations are considered reasonable for you.
[00:04:09] So what that means is we need either a doctor or a therapist. You know, it really depends on the type of disability you're experiencing. But any sort of licensed professional will have to make the recommendation on your behalf. And then you would turn, they have a form to fill out, and then you would turn that form into us.
[00:04:26] Can I interject real quick? So are you providing that form for them to take to a medical professional?
[00:04:32] Yes, we have all the forms on our website. A slide, I think it's one or two sides later; we'll have the link to where all the forms are to be found. You can also type in Office of Accessible Education on the Golden Gate University website, and the forms will show up there.
[00:04:46] Along with that form, we also need some documentation that basically provides information about your disability: the condition, the reasonable accommodation needed as a result of the condition. To be honest, a lot of the reason we have this meeting is to clarify what documentation is acceptable, mostly because disabilities span so much that the documentation that we collect depends on the disability and is different depending on which disability we're working with.
[00:05:15] After the whole intake process, that usually doesn't take too long unless you're having trouble reaching your doctor, in which case we would just set up an agreement about when the forms would be due and try to collect as much as we can as soon as possible.
[00:05:29] But of course, there's a grace period there, especially with COVID. It's been hard for students to get ahold of their doctors sometimes. So, after the whole intake process, we, you, will be provided with a memo, which looks like a letter. It'll be addressed to you and your professor.
[00:05:46] It won't list any information about your disability, of course, but it will list the class, your name, and which accommodations you are entitled to at Golden Gate University. And that's how you would present the letter to your professor. And then they would be able to grant you all the accommodations you need. So that's that process.
[00:06:07] Okay, so this is the link to the website where all the forms are housed. You might notice that the website says School of Law. This is because we're working on updating where on the GGU website, our page, the Office of Accessible Education's page, is housed. So, just so everyone is clear, all the information for law students, as well as non-law students, is on this webpage.
[00:06:32] Okay. And last part would be that I added this part just so everyone has clarity on how the process works. So the instructors are responsible for providing accommodations that are listed in the letters they receive from the Office of Accessible Education. Of course, if the instructor is having difficulty providing accommodation for the student, the student or the instructor should reach out to us, and we'll be able to handle it internally.
[00:06:57] basically, the reason being is we want to serve as advocates for the students. And of course, sometimes there comes a situation where a student tries to coordinate their own accommodation with the instructor, without us knowing what's going on. And sometimes, that sort of creates liability issues.
[00:07:21] Or there might be some bias issues that come up. So we just ask that everything basically come through our office. If there are any issues or problems or if the student feels as if they aren't receiving the accommodations that they need from their professor. All right.
[00:07:36] And deadlines. Deadlines are not as important for non-law programs. Just because a lot of the programs function on different schedules, so, it's sort of hard to give one deadline for everybody. Of course, it's close to the beginning of the semester. It's sort of a rolling application. So if a student realizes halfway through the term that they need some accommodations, just reach out to us. We'll do our best to get everything worked out as soon as possible.
[00:08:02] The closer a student gets to the exam time, the harder it is to create last-minute accommodations. So I will say that there's a good rule of thumb here. Please try to submit your documentation or forms at least three weeks before the exam you need accommodations on in order to allow time for everything to process through our system.
[00:08:23] And I guess one thing that I did skip, and I'd like to address the types of accommodations that are available. We have in-class accommodations as well as exam accommodations. Exam accommodations are pretty straightforward. They're extra time for exams and time for breaks, and if exams are being taken on campus, we would be able to provide a private room for the student to take the exam if that's helpful.
[00:08:48] And then in-class accommodations include things like access to course notes, access to recordings, the ability to take breaks and things like that, and, of course, assignment extensions. You know, everybody's situation is a little different. So, a lot of those questions can be clarified through the intake meeting, and they usually are.
[00:09:06] If you're looking for accommodations, where you get started is to email us at gguds_shared@ggu.edu or make an appointment with me through my Calendly link.
[00:09:16] That's great. I will ask cause I did think about it. So what about something that might be temporary? You broke your arm, and now you need help with note-taking, you know, those kinds of things.
[00:09:26] How about something temporary? Like that, what's the process for that and is that even covered?
[00:09:33] Yeah, it, that those types of things are covered. Usually, a student would just need to send us an email. We would probably set up a meeting just to make sure the student is getting all their needs met. It's pretty much the same process for long-term accommodations and short-term ones. And then, for the short-term accommodations, we do our best to have the turnaround be a little faster. So if someone breaks their arm, for example, they might not be able to turn in their assignments on time, or they might not be able to type or write. So, we'll be able to work with you on those case by case basis.
[00:10:10] Yeah, so it was basically just reaching out. We're super available most of the time, through our Calendlys and phone numbers and emails. So it's not too hard to get in contact with us.
[00:10:23] Awesome. So, my next prompt is about professional exams. And as you get closer to that., So, I'm thinking some of our accounting, taxation, maybe getting ready for CPA or law, our law students are getting ready for bar exams, and we have these types of exams.
[00:10:41] And I'm wondering how Accessible Education can provide some, some information or slash assistance about those types of accommodations for those folks?
[00:10:54] I'm going to field this one. If you are a law student, then we have a recorded presentation that will walk you through how to apply for each of the exams.
[00:11:05] You would need the MPRE and for the. And also gives you a timetable, suggested timetable and deadlines. If you're applying for a professional exam that is not a law-related exam, the best thing to do is to reach out to the Office of Accessible Education as soon as you realize that this is an exam that you plan to take, and then you can meet with us, and we will help you go over the things that you need.
[00:11:31] Typically, what we do besides giving you information about deadlines or best practices is we will fill out the form that certifies to the examining committee that you received accommodations from our university. We'll detail your diagnosis and the accommodations that you received.
[00:11:51] Perfect. I could feel the question bubbling up from someone else that that might be something that somebody would have a question about.
[00:12:00] We're gonna switch to the workplace side because this is something that maybe, maybe academically, you don't need an accommodation, but when it comes to working, maybe you do.
[00:12:13] I didn't add in my introduction, but I do have an Associate PHR, and I remember distinctly when I took that certification exam; ADA is highly covered. And you'll see if any kind of disability advocacy talks about it. There are the visible ones that everybody can easily recognize, but there are also the invisible ones that can go everywhere, from autoimmune diseases you have temporary ones related to pregnancy, all of those kinds of things. And these are covered under ADA with reasonable accommodations. Is that correct? Kevin? I'll say that, is that correct?
[00:12:46] It depends is going to be the answer for some. For a lot of those, like an autoimmune disease, you know, PTSD, things like that, normally are those are gonna qualify as disabilities under the ADA.
[00:12:57] The ADA basically defines a disability as something which affects your ability to engage in the. I'm trying to remember the exact wording, but basically, the essential functions of daily life. And so if it affects your ability to brush your teeth, tie your shoes, to be able to quickly walk places, to be able to stand, sit any of those sorts of things, you know, lift, lift objects.
[00:13:20] Those are the sorts of things that then maybe do trigger something under the ADA. And so, if you do have something which affects a major portion of your life, then you probably have something that qualifies as a disability under the ADA. So, the reason I said it kind of depends is the interesting thing is under the ADA, pregnancy itself doesn't just automatically qualify as a disability.
[00:13:44] Many states have laws that actually recognize that and have provided leave for pregnancy. So, for at least the one person who said they're in California, congratulations, your state definitely has a law that covers pregnancy because I know we've got that one. But a lot of other states have that as well.
[00:14:01] Now that having been said, at some point during your pregnancy, if you start having complications when you actually have delivered the baby, normally you are disabled for a period of time after that, and more or less, the ADA would look at that and say, "Look, you have suffered an injury by having a human being. And as a result you are entitled to some sort of accommodation." So, it does kick in at a certain point, but when that point is kind of depends. So that's the one caveat with my answer.
[00:14:29] I think the important thing to recognize with disabilities in the workplace is that in a lot of instances, people have kind of lived with something for most of their life.
[00:14:38] And yes, you can deal with it. It's not something that prohibits you from doing a job, but if it makes doing the, and the qualification of the term is "essential function of your job," more difficult, then that disability is something for which you can potentially receive an accommodation. An accommodation can be as little as just simply, "Look, we recognize that this task is a little more difficult for you. So we're going to give you a little more time to do it," to something where perhaps you're getting some sort of assistive device. Whether that's something that helps you hear better, it's something that, you know, helps you reach objects because you've got a shoulder injury and you can't reach very far. It might be, you know, you're allowed to sit on the assembly line where other people have to stand, and they'll get you a stool so that you can do that because you've got some sort of injury. Whatever it might be, these are all possibilities. And then there are many accommodations beyond even those, but don't think that it has to be something really major.
[00:15:36] And the reason I bring that up is a lot of people in the workplace, what happens is they go, "Well, you know, I have this issue and in the workplace. I'm not getting something done quickly enough." And they just keep trying to speed up and do it fast or whatever, but they may have a disability, and that's actually the reason that it is difficult for them to achieve that specific task.
[00:15:58] But they never tell their boss.
[00:16:01] What I'm begging of you is please tell your supervisors or your human resources department if you have a disability that in any way restricts your ability to do the essential functions of your job. Because of then, they are aware of it, and then they have to engage in what's called the interactive process.
[00:16:20] And that means that they have to basically work back and forth with you to exchange information, to determine what, if any accommodation you need. And then also make a determination of if it's a reasonable thing for the company to do. So. For example, Maybe the best accommodation for the thing that you're having an issue with is something that costs $50,000.
[00:16:41] That's probably not reasonable, but maybe there's something else that they can do that will help you and get you, you know, 95% of the way there for ten bucks. Well, that's certainly reasonable. So that's something that they would do. But you at least want to start that conversation because then it's on record that the reason that you're having problems doing X, Y, or Z function of your job, It's because of a disability.
[00:17:04] It's not because you're slow or because you're slacking off or because of a lack of will because you don't want to do your job because of any of those sorts of things. And many times in my lawyer life, I have seen these cases go horribly wrong because I'll be at a deposition, I'll be deposing, someone else says, "Well, who did you ever tell that you had this disability?"
[00:17:26] And they'll say, "Well, one time I told someone that I have PTSD."
[00:17:30] Okay. Well, did you ever tell them how it affected you? No. "Okay. Well then later when you started having issues, working in the machine shop, which has a lot of very loud metallic noises, did you ever tell them that that triggered your PTSD?"
[00:17:45] No. "Did it trigger your PTSD?" Yes. That person never put the company on notice that the reason that he was having problems in the machine shop and was spending what he said was, I think a quarter of his day zoning out and not being able to work, was because his PTSD was being triggered by loud metallic banging noises in the machine shop.
[00:18:08] That's one of those instances where if he had told the company, the company would have engaged in an interactive process discussion with him and maybe either moved him to a different job, gotten him some better ear protection that maybe would have taken some of that background noise out so he wouldn't have heard it as much. You know, there are various options that they could have dealt with.
[00:18:27] In fact, at that deposition, the guy who ran the company said, "He never told us that." And so we had to have kind of a quick side conversation, and then I came back and basically the employer was like, "Hey, I'll offer him his job back right now. We just thought that, honestly, we had a guy who spent half his day daydreaming and didn't really want to work that hard. I didn't know it was because of that. We can probably do something with that. I got a job over here in the warehouse. That's a lot quieter." And the guy went back and started working for them.
[00:18:58] So, it's those sorts of things which make me say, please, the best thing you can do for yourself is don't try and make your disability something that's invisible.
[00:19:08] Don't make it something that you have to overcome or have to deal with on your own. It's something that you are entitled under the law to get reasonable accommodation within your workplace to make sure that you can do your job. And so please make sure that you tell your employer that because if they don't know about it, they can't help you with it.
[00:19:28] Other key things to kind of think about with the accommodation and what that process is. Again, it's not just telling them you maybe have a disability. In a recent case I had -- the guy had told his supervisor that he actually had a glass eye. But to be honest, I don't know what that means in terms of what he can or can't do.
[00:19:48] He then started being kind of slow in his job and a bunch of other things. He never told his boss. "Well, I have trouble reading because of my glass eye. It is more difficult for me to see things over here on my peripheral because I don't have an eye over there." Think it through—things like that. And so don't also just assume that because you know all of the things that are difficult because of your disability, your supervisor or human resources necessarily will know that. You may have to do some education in the process to help them out.
[00:20:20] To be blunt, the ADA is a difficult law to administer. Even with a law degree, when I was administering it, there were times when I went, "You have told me you have a medical condition. I have no idea if that counts as a disability. Here's a form I need you to take to your doctor so you conductor can tell me, you know, how it impacts your life, the various things you can and cannot do. And then I will do an evaluation of your job, and we'll figure out what the overlap is and how it is that we can make accommodations so that it all works." And then we kind of went back and forth between the doctor and me. Because, again, employers are not doctors. They don't know. At the end of the day, if you say, "Hey, this thing will help me."
[00:21:01] Some employers will take you at your word. Some employers will need to document that. If you're asking for something really expensive, they may ask the doctor, "Hey, is there anything else that we can do?" Those are the sorts of things that are out there, but you want to make sure to start that conversation.
[00:21:14] A lot of times also, just so you know, if you say you have some sort of disability, it will also trigger your supervisor or Human Resources to come to you and have a conversation that basically says, "Hey, does that affect your ability to do your job in any way?" They will likely want to document all of this on paper.
[00:21:30] To be blunt, you also want to document all of this on paper because it's then they are saying, "Hey, you did report this thing. Hey, that company knew about it, and this is what the company agreed they were going to do." That way, if your supervisor changes, you've got it in writing, "Hey, this is what my accommodation is."
[00:21:47] Likewise. If your Human Resources person changes, you've got it in writing. And then if there's ever an issue down the road and, you know, "He never told us about this issue." You can go. "Yeah, I did. I reported it. You guys have it in my personnel file. And also, here's a copy of when I sent that to you." So, please do all of those things to help protect yourself.
[00:22:06] The other thing that I have found in the workplace and does not get brought up enough are psychological or invisible sorts of injuries. And those are the ones that I think a lot of people, especially vets, are worried about bringing up in the workplace.
[00:22:24] If you work for a larger company, larger companies have a whole system always just set up for basically dealing with accommodation requests and everything else. They know what they're doing. There's a system in place. You're going to be okay there. With smaller employers, sometimes you're going to have to be the one to educate them.
[00:22:39] And you're going to have to go back and forth in the system. You may have to stick up for yourself and your rights. But to be blunt, most companies know when you start talking about accommodations, they at least know that that's a thing, and they have to figure out how to deal with it. So, be ready for that, but please make sure that with those more invisible injuries, you really have to bring those up.
[00:23:01] I mean, if you're, you know, unfortunately, lost an arm at some point in time. Yeah. Your employer can probably tell that and can probably reasonably figure out how that affects you. But like I said, like with the example earlier with PTSD and stuff, those things, your employer doesn't know, you don't tell them.
[00:23:17] And the only way they're ever going to find out is if you tell them. So make sure you do that, make sure you sort of sound the horn on it and make sure you get whatever assistance you need so that you can get an accommodation in place that will help you do your job.
[00:23:32] Thank you both for your comments thus far. It's certainly very educational and very helpful.
[00:23:37] So Maya, I think this is more relevant right now in the higher education space, and so the question comes from a caretaker, and they said, "I do have a disability, but I'm also a caretaker for my spouse. And the spouse's situation is much more extreme and requires more assistance." So first, what can we do for someone who is a caretaker for a spouse?
[00:24:01] And what guidance can you give them related to students? And then, Kevin, maybe you have your thoughts on the workplace. If someone has a spouse as well and has accommodation needs, what are your thoughts there?
[00:24:12] That is an incredible question. And there are a couple of things that we can talk about. One of the reasons why we renamed the Office of Accessible Education, what we did is because we wanted to address all barriers to access. That said, if you are a caregiver for a person with a disability, that will not entitle you to academic accommodations, which is what our office does. However, we firmly believe that we should support people who are caretakers.
[00:24:46] One of the things that we have done recently is to work with Dean Hineman. He's the Undergraduate Dean, and his specialty is actually working with people who are family caregivers. We have a recorded presentation with some amazing resources. If you reach out to us after the presentation, we'd love to share it with you. And also, I will let you know here that there's an organization, it's both national and local, it's called the Family Caregivers Alliance, and they have incredible resources. So, a person who is dealing with caregiving issues that are causing any kind of difficulties may be entitled to mental health care and may be entitled to other forms of support and information. And we in our office would always be happy to speak with folks who are dealing with barriers related to caretaking responsibilities, see if we can connect you with resources and support you in finding ways to speak with your professors to see if there is anything that you can do to make arrangements around any situation.
[00:26:05] That's great. Awesome. Thank you. And I just dropped the link in for the Bay Area Family Caregiver Alliance webpage.
[00:26:10] So if folks are interested, certainly check that out. Kevin, do you have a different perspective in the workplace on this?
[00:26:15] Unfortunately, the answer is largely the same and the reason why is, on the federal level, the ADA is basically based on the notion that it is to accommodate the person with the disability.
[00:26:25] as a result, there is not much for people who are associated. Now that having been said, there are workplace protections to protect people who are associated with those who are disabled. So basically, your employer couldn't necessarily fire you because you have a spouse with a disability or things like that.
[00:26:42] However, if you ended up missing a whole lot of work, And weren't able to, you know, work that with sick time, vacation time, you know, just work it out, schedule-wise with your employer, that could cause problems. And that would not necessarily be discriminating against you because of your association with a disabled person. Instead, it would be because you were missing work.
[00:27:00] But what I would say is, also look to your specific state laws. I saw the question if I'm licensed in other states. I am only licensed in California because I do not want to take additional bar exams. They're a giant pain. But, that having been said, I saw you're from Colorado. I am also a person from Colorado and grew up there when I was a kid.
[00:27:19] So, I actually kind of still pay attention to Colorado. I know Colorado has been passing more and more laws regarding discrimination involving persons with disabilities and whatnot. So, you might look to state law and see if there's something that could potentially help you there. For example, I'm thinking about under California law; we have what's called FEHA (Fair Employment and Housing Act). If you have a family member who has a significant medical condition, you can take up to 12 weeks a year to help care for them. So, depending on what the circumstances are in this particular instance, you may be able to get time off under a state law, which would allow you to assist your loved one.
[00:27:56] I didn't know that. So that's on top of FMLA?
[00:28:02] Yes. Well, that doubles up with FMLA in most instances because we kind of wrote it to override with FMLA. And so it just kind of depends on what the circumstances are. But the nice thing about FEHA in California is it applies to any employers with five or more employees now, whereas the FMLA standard is 50 employees. So, in California, pretty much it's a given that you get it at this point. Whereas in a lot of other states, you've got to work for a large employer.
[00:28:32] That makes sense. There are a few resources I want to share in terms of workplace accommodations. And maybe you don't know, and maybe you've never come across a situation in which you felt like you needed any kind of accommodations.
[00:28:46] And Kevin talked about like, maybe you have to be the advocate for yourself. And if you're not aware, a good resource that I like to share with students is the Job Accommodation Network. And they have a webpage, and I'm going to have to share that. Hold on one second. What I like about the job accommodation network is they have this handy accommodation search engine right here.
[00:29:08] And you can search it by what's going on with you. So, you can tell I've been on the website before. So if you have a TBI, you can click on that, and it'll give you some information about that. What kind of potential limitations may you have? And then the work-related functions that will come potentially with that.
[00:29:31] If you click on that and say, you know, performing job tasks, you click on that, and it will give you information about those types of things, like how it relates to that and maybe some resources for you. So I definitely want you to make sure that if you're not sure, and you've never done any requests or anything like that, you can use the Job Accommodation Network website to help you kind of navigate what maybe you do need.
[00:29:55] So, maybe it's like we said, more time, maybe it's a stool, maybe it's flex scheduling. You don't know. So I liked that resource, and I think that's a great powerful tool. There are also some higher education professional groups that have similar things, but I cannot remember their acronyms right now because everybody has an acronym for their professional organization.
[00:30:20] One thing that I get asked a lot about is what about in the interview process when, when and how to disclose this.
[00:30:28] And sometimes it depends. Sometimes it depends on what you need. So, I mean, if it's something like, if you're doing a video interview, and you have limited vision. Maybe this is when you need to talk about it. Talking to the recruiter or the human resource contact for that company is going to be the starting point that I would suggest. That's it,
[00:30:49] Allison, you had it. AHEAD (Assoc. on Higher Education and Disability). I knew it. I knew it was something kind of rhymey, and I just couldn't. I couldn't remember it. Definitely reach out to the HR contact in the interview process is going to be a starting point for you.
[00:31:02] Real quick on that. The other thing I'll throw out there is in a lot of job applications, and this, again, depends somewhat on state law. In California right now, I know the way you'll see the questions are sort of a, here's what this job is with a description, and then it will ask. "Are you able to perform the essential functions of this job with or without an accommodation?" And there's just a yes or no answer. And that is because they are trying not to learn whether or not you have a disability because they don't want to accidentally discriminate against you and the hiring process.
[00:31:33] But as Jill's pointing out, you very well, depending on what it is, If it's going to be obvious during the interview process, I think you're better off disclosing it upfront. So, people are aware, "Hey, you know, the reason this person can't do a Zoom meeting is because it will not work with their particular issue or they will need an accommodation in order for that to work with them."
[00:31:54] But otherwise, I would say sometime after the hiring process, if you've been offered a job in California, then you often will be asked the question. "Hey, can you perform these essential functions? Do you need an accommodation to do the central functions of your job?" Because then you're no longer discriminating in the hiring.
[00:32:14] And at that point, you're simply saying, do you need an accommodation? Not all companies are good enough to have the questions set up that. But it's fairly common in a lot of employment settings now to have the questions set up that way. So just look for those specific questions, make sure you're answering them correctly.
[00:32:30] Don't be afraid to say after you've been hired. "Yes, I do need an accommodation." If you need one during the interview process, you're better off talking to them and asking for it than simply trying to sort of fake your way around that problem during the interview process. That's going to look weird to an interviewer, and they're going to wonder why it is that you're so afraid to get on Zoom and talk to them or whatever the case might be.
[00:32:53] So you're much better off just bringing up and talking to them.
[00:32:57] So we talk to a lot of students and, in particular, veteran students, and I know that stigma is already something that we're challenged with and we face when it comes to getting more folks to seek accommodations, right, in school or in the workplace.
[00:33:11] So, can you guys tell me, what are the privacy mechanisms to ensure that fellow students will not know that you've received an accommodation unless you choose to disclose it? And in the workplace, the supervisor may not know or may know. Again, I know it's different with different companies, but help us help our students and our viewers understand that they can feel comfortable with going and seeking these accommodations.
[00:33:36] Can you guys both speak to that about privacy and the comfort level of doing this?
[00:33:40] Yeah, sure. Every conversation that a student has with the office of accessible education is considered to be a confidential conversation. At the school, we are bound by FERPA as well. Students will sign an acknowledgment of that.
[00:33:55] But basically, FERPA is like HIPAA for educational places, and basically, what that means is we can't even tell anyone you're associated with our office unless we get consent from the student to do so. So, and of course, none of our communications will include your diagnosis information. All of the email addresses we use are very limited in terms of who can access them.
[00:34:21] And not nothing gets shared without the student's permission.
[00:34:25] Can I add just one more thing, which is that we send a letter out to all faculty at the beginning of every semester that also tells them about this and explains to them their obligations and what to do if they have any questions or if they feel that information has been divulged to them, or if they think that they have asked for information that maybe they shouldn't have.
[00:34:50] We explain to them all of the things that they also need to do to protect students' rights.
[00:34:58] And then in the workplace, I can't speak for every workplace obviously, but generally, any sort of medical information, which would include any sort of disability you may have or any functional limitations in performing your job function. All of that's medical information; medical information is protected in a couple of different ways under federal and state laws. Generally, there is a very, very low chance that anyone who knows what they're doing is ever going to share that information which then means within the company, it is limited to basically the people who need to know, for lack of a better phrase.
[00:35:30] So that's normally going to be an HR person who's going to be the person who's probably reviewing and approving the thing. Second, if there's some sort of person who's in charge of accommodations, they'll probably get looped in. And then generally, your supervisor is going to at least know that you need to have a specific accommodation.
[00:35:51] They may not specifically be told the reason why. Unless it's something where you're like, yeah, "I'd rather, they know why, so they don't think it's some sort of, you know, special reason that I'm special or something. It's just, and I actually need it to do the job." And again, that doesn't mean that you're not allowed to tell people if you want to tell people. I don't think that you should ever feel like you're not supposed to tell people in the workplace or you need to keep it to yourself. That's certainly not the case, but again, it's your medical information, and therefore it's your choice if people get to know about it or not. That having been said, if you do start telling everybody in the workplace at a certain point, you sort of remove the privacy.
[00:36:27] Because half of the employees know. And so once it kind of becomes out in the open, you kind of lose your privacy rights to it. So just be aware if you do start telling people, if you've told half the employees and then your employer mentions it, that somebody else, you can't really get upset with them about that, nor could you Sue them about that because you already gave up your privacy rights pretty much by talking about it.
[00:36:47] A lot of folks I talked to don't have any good reason why they wouldn't. They know that they might be. They might have something that is prohibiting them from doing their job at a hundred percent.
[00:36:56] But again, maybe it's stigma, maybe it's, I don't know what it is, but they just don't go and take that final step and talk to your office at OAE or talk to the accommodations person in HR. So, if I was that person, can you talk to me and tell me, encourage me on why it makes sense and why it's so helpful to go to your office: workplace or higher education to seek an accommodation like this for student success.
[00:37:21] Thank you, Anthony, for that question. What I would say is that, at least for academic accommodations, the accommodations are not meant to give you, you know, a head start on anything. They're not meant to give you extra and anyone up from anyone. It's meant to level the playing field out and level the educational experience out.
[00:37:43] So, if you need an accommodation and it will help you do better, then I would say that there's no better time than the present to get started with that process. It would be hard to look back on your time in school and just realize that you could have had the help that you needed or had extra resources that you needed, and you didn't take advantage of them. I will also say that there's no harm in setting up your accommodations because, of course, if you have them and decide you don't want to use them, you don't have to. It is much better to have something you need in case you need it, instead of the opposite, which is needing something that you don't have, and then it is too late.
[00:38:20] I just wanted to add I'm very open with the fact that I am a person who has severe hearing loss. And so, I used accommodations when I was in school. And I am familiar with that feeling of, you know, should I ask what people will think if I, you know if they know I have accommodations or, you know, do I deserve these accommodations?
[00:38:42] And I have to say that it is so important to support yourself in what you need. I am really thankful for the accommodations that I received because without them; I would not be able to hear my classmates talk. I would not be able to hear everything that my professor said. And even though it was initially hard to ask for them, I was really glad that they were there.
[00:39:02] And once I really understood how I could use them in my support to really put me on the same footing, they became essential. So, I encourage you to start the conversation, even if you're not sure or you have feelings about it.
[00:39:20] And all I can say from the employment side of things is that everything Maya and Allison just said is absolutely correct in terms of the workplace as well.
[00:39:28] The only thing I would add for the workplace is not only are those accommodations meant to just basically level the playing field like Maya said to provide you equal access and opportunity, as the law says. But also, just from a practical standpoint, new jobs are often hard. Why are you going to make it any harder for yourself than it needs to be?
[00:39:48] You know, make it as easy as you can to be able to perform your job to the absolute best that you can do it. And more than that, if you don't give yourself that opportunity to have a level playing field and the best chance to do the best job you can do, you're potentially costing yourself promotions, raises, and money. And so there's a real practical consequence when you're talking about your employment to potentially not asking for those accommodations that might help you do your job. And even if you can do the job, could you be doing the job better with an accommodation? And I think that the answer to that question is yes, then you owe it to yourself to go and get that accommodation to make sure that you're doing the best you can because it's what your employer wants from you because better employees generally means more profitability for the company. And also it's the best thing for you because again, better chances of promotions, better chances at raises.
[00:40:39] So, do the right thing for you. Do the right thing for the company. Ask for an accommodation if you need one.
[00:40:44] And we do have one more question in the Q and A". So the question is, "I have PTSD. And at times when I'm really stressed out, I space out, start talking to myself and sweat a storm although I'm standing in place. However, stress comes in different forms. Do I need to identify a specific reason that triggers my PTSD?"
[00:41:04] From an academic standpoint, combination standpoint, you don't need to. All we need is the diagnosis, not the reasons why you have the diagnosis.
[00:41:12] And on the employment side, I would say you don't specifically need it in order to get an accommodation, but it may help get you the right accommodation.
[00:41:23] And what I mean by that is if certain things trigger you and moving you away from those things may help, then you might need to actually identify the thing that is setting you off so your office can try and move you to an office that's farther away from that. Or maybe help you move into a different job that would be better suited to avoid whatever your triggers are.
[00:41:43] Okay, so we're rounding out at the top of the hour. So, again, I appreciate your time today and your expertise today. I feel like this is a really important topic for us to be talking about and covering. Thank you so much for your time. And y'all have a great afternoon.