Overview
Reflects authority, financial responsibilities, including escalation, and contacts and brings UCSF into compliance with requirements under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and California State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
Purpose
To ensure individuals with a disability enjoy equal access and/or employment opportunities, this policy establishes the decision-making authority and financial responsibilities at UCSF Campus and Health for programmatic and physical barrier removals and reasonable accommodations required under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act as amended (ADA, 2008), California State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), other related laws, and University of California policies.
Definitions
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A modification or adjustment to the work, learning, programmatic environment, or to the way that an individual’s work or activities are customarily done that enables an individual with a disability to enjoy equal access or equal employment opportunities. The reasonableness of the accommodation is determined by the University through the interactive process.
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An organizational facility, program, service, policy, practice, or equipment that limits or denies equal access opportunities for an individual with a disability.
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At UCSF, the chief accessibility and inclusion officer, a member of the Office of Diversity and Outreach, fulfills the responsibilities of ADA coordinator.
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A defense available to entities for not providing an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. It refers to a significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of the individual with the disability or to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated or reduced by accommodation. Factors to be considered for direct threat include the duration of the risk, the nature and severity of the potential harm, the likelihood that the potential harm will occur, and the imminence of the potential harm.
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Fundamental alteration means a change, alteration, or modification that is so significant that it alters the essential nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations offered.
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Undue hardship means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense when considering factors including but not limited to an entity's size, financial resources, the impact of the accommodation on the operation of the facility, and the nature and structure of its operation.
Policy
An essential element of compliance with disability access-related laws and policies is the University’s ability to respond promptly to assess barrier removal and accommodation requests raised by members of the UCSF community. This policy establishes the first point of contact to report barriers for all constituent groups (see Section N) and financial and decision-making responsibilities. To achieve this capability, the Chancellor has established financial and decision-making responsibilities between and among the departments, schools, and central administrative units.
A. Authority for Determining Programmatic Access for Students with Disabilities
1.The responsibility for implementing and maintaining program accessibility for students with disabilities is shared jointly by the faculty, the respective Dean's Office or graduate program, Student Disability Services in the Office of Student Life, and the student, per PACAOS 140.00: University of California Guidelines Applying to Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability.
2. Departments are to refer any student with functional restrictions that may require accommodation or impact the student’s ability to participate in academic or co-curricular student activities directly to Student Disability Services at the earliest feasible date after the onset of any limitation or notification of disability to facilitate a timely, good faith interactive process.
3. Due to policy and legal obligations in matters of accessibility compliance, ultimate decision-makers are advised to consult with the Office of Legal Affairs regarding the assessment of undue hardship, direct threat, or fundamental alteration to a program, and/or denial of a requested accommodation wherein other reasonable accommodations options are not available and/or viable.
B. Authority for Determining Accommodations for Employees with Disabilities
1.The responsibility for determining, implementing, and maintaining accommodations for employees (which includes faculty, staff, residents, postdoctoral scholars, and fellows), with disabilities is a shared responsibility of the employee's home department, the respective Vice Chancellor's or Dean's Office, Disability Management Services in Human Resources, and the employee in accordance with the PPSM-81: Reasonable Accommodation, APM 711 Reasonable Accommodation for Academic Appointees with Disabilities, and other relevant collective bargaining agreements.
2. Departments are to refer an employee with functional restrictions that may require accommodation or impact the ability to perform the essential functions of the position directly to Disability Management Services at the earliest feasible date after the onset of any limitations or notification of disability to facilitate a timely, good faith interactive process.
3. Due to policy and legal obligations in matters of accessibility compliance, ultimate decision-makers are advised to consult with the Office of Legal Affairs regarding the assessment of undue hardship, direct threat, fundamental alteration to a program, and/or denial of a requested accommodation wherein other reasonable accommodations options are not available and/or viable.
C. Authority for Physical Barrier Removal in Public Areas
1.UCSF Real Estate is responsible for the review of and capital planning for all accessibility and physical barrier removals in public areas of UCSF-owned facilities.
2. Public areas include Interior and exterior spaces that are open to public use and spaces that do not require UCSF identification and/or security access during business hours. Examples may include outdoor landscape areas, building entrances and lobbies open to the public, public restrooms, and parking spaces. When use changes a space can change designation to or from a public space.
3. UCSF Real Estate serves as a liaison with landlords and property owners regarding disability access issues that occur in rented and leased facilities.
D. Authority for Determining Physical Access for Guests and Visitors
1.UCSF patients or patient companions who wish to report physical access barriers in public spaces may contact Patient Relations, covered by 1.01.10 UCSF Health Disabled Accessibility and Communication Services for Patients.
2. To report physical access barriers in public spaces guests and visitors (non-patients/companions) may contact the chief accessibility and inclusion officer or Campus Life Services (CLS)/Facilities is an additional office of authority for review if individuals report a barrier via their public CLS/Facilities website link.
3. University events: Authority for determining reasonable accommodations or receiving physical barrier reports for UCSF guests and visitors is the responsibility of the department sponsoring a University event.
a) Patients and their companions with disabilities may request accommodations via the event organizer or Patient Relations.
b) If there is no event organizer contact for a specific event, guests (excluding patients and their companions) may report barriers to the chief accessibility and inclusion officer who will review the barrier request.
E. Authority for Physical Barrier Removal in Work and Academic Areas
UCSF Real Estate has the delegated authority and responsibility for making decisions regarding physical barrier removal in work and academic areas to facilitate public accessibility.
F. Financial Responsibilities for Individually Based Accommodations
Responsibilities for implementing individual accommodations for students will be referred first to Student Disability Services, which will then coordinate with the school or program and, if necessary then the Dean's Office of the school where the student is based. For employees, responsibility for implementing individual accommodations will be referred first to Disability Management Services and then to the administrative units, department, and/or the Vice Chancellor for that area of responsibility.
In cases where Disability Management Services or Student Disability Services determine central funding is justified, they will coordinate with the Office of Budget and Resource Management within UCSF Finance.
G. Financial Responsibilities for Physical Barrier Removals in Public Areas
1.Funding for required physical barrier removal in University-owned public areas of the campus will be sought by UCSF Real Estate through the capital budget process.
2. Responsibility for expenses for required physical barrier removal in public areas of leased buildings will be negotiated through UCSF Real Estate.
H. Financial Responsibilities for Physical Barrier Removal in Work and Academic Areas
1.Physical barrier removal expenses for individual accommodations in University-owned work and academic areas will be referred to Disability Management Services (for employees) or Student Disability Services (for student accommodations).
2. In cases where Disability Management Services or Student Disability Services determine central funding is justified, they will coordinate with the Office of Budget and Resource Management within UCSF Finance.
a) If an accommodation requires modifications of facilities or physical infrastructure (including at leased facilities), Disability Management Services or Student Disability Services and the Office of Budget and Resource Management and/or UCSF Health will work with Real Estate and UCSF Campus and/or Health Facilities Services to identify appropriate actions and funding sources.
b) In facilities not owned by the University, it is the responsibility of UCSF Real Estate to negotiate with the facility’s owner and, with agreement, distribute the costs that the University will bear among the appropriate parties.
c) For all accommodation requests related to physical access barriers, if the physical barriers cannot be eliminated in a timely manner in the original location, it is the responsibility of the University to provide access, whenever possible, by providing alternate reasonable accommodations.
I. Financial Responsibility for Health Care Facilities
This section applies to any individual accommodation or barrier removal request made by a student, employee, guest, or UCSF Health patient or patient companion, and to actions taken as part of the university’s scheduled barrier removal remediation projects at UCSF Health facilities or facilities co-owned by UCSF Campus and UCSF Health.
1.Financial responsibility for physical barrier removals in UCSF Health-owned facilities will be referred to UCSF Real Estate and UCSF Health and/or Campus Facilities services to identify appropriate actions and funding sources.
2. Financial responsibility for physical barrier removals in UCSF Campus and Health co-owned facilities will be reviewed jointly by UCSF Campus and Health Real Estate and/or Campus and Health Facilities.
3. If an individual accommodation requires modifications of facilities or physical infrastructure (including at leased facilities), Disability Management Services, Student Disability Services, or Patient Relations (on behalf of a patient or patient companion in a clinical care area) will work with UCSF Real Estate (including for Campus/Health co-owned facilities) and Campus Facilities and/or Health Facilities to identify appropriate actions and funding sources.
4. In cases where Disability Management Services, Student Disability Services, and Vice Chancellor (for Campus-owned clinical areas) or Vice President of the clinical care administrative unit determine central funding is justified for an individual accommodation, they will coordinate with UCSF Health and if necessary, the Office of Budget and Resource Management within UCSF Finance.
5. In leased facilities, it is the responsibility of UCSF Real Estate to negotiate with the facility’s owner and, with agreement, distribute the costs that the University will bear among the appropriate parties.
6. For all accommodation requests related to physical access barriers, if the physical barriers cannot be eliminated in a timely manner in the original location, it is the responsibility of the University and/or Health to provide access, whenever possible, by providing alternate reasonable accommodations.
J. Financial Responsibilities for Digital Barrier Removal in Community Areas
1.Digital access barrier removal expenses for UCSF Campus and UCSF Health-owned digital content (e.g., websites, mobile applications, and software, including software UCSF purchased from a third party), are the responsibility of the website, application, or product owner’s department. In cases where costs exceed available funding, the Dean's Office of the school where the barrier exists will be approached; for administrative units, the department and/or the Vice Chancellor/Vice President for that area of responsibility.
2. In cases where department/school/unit decision-makers and Information Technology determine central funding is justified, they will coordinate with the UCSF Health and/or the Office of Budget and Resource Management within UCSF Finance.
K. Financial Responsibilities for Digital Barrier Removal in Work and Academic Areas
1.Digital access barrier removal expenses for UCSF Campus and UCSF Health-owned digital content (e.g., websites, mobile applications, and software, including software UCSF purchased from a third party) for individual accommodations in University-owned work and academic areas will be referred to Disability Management Services (for employees) or Student Disability Services (for students). In cases where costs exceed available funding, the Dean's Office of the school where the barrier exists will be approached; for administrative units, the department and/or the Vice Chancellor/Vice President for that area of responsibility.
2. In cases where Student Disability Services or Disability Management Services, department/school/unit decision-makers, and Information Technology determine central funding is justified, they will coordinate with the UCSF Health and/or Office of Budget and Resource Management within UCSF Finance.
L. Authority for Determining Programmatic Access for Patients and their Companions with Disabilities
1.The responsibility for determining, implementing, and maintaining accommodations for UCSF Health patients and their companions with disabilities is the shared responsibility of the patient or their companion’s treating clinical care department or inpatient unit and/or Patient Relations in accordance with 1.01.10 UCSF Health Disabled Accessibility and Communication Services for Patients and 6.11.02 Service Animals (Requires MyAcess login).
2. UCSF Health clinical and/or other staff may review and determine the reasonableness of accommodations in consultation with the patient’s treating clinical care department or inpatient unit. Patient Relations may also review and determine the reasonableness of accommodations with consultation from the patient’s treating clinical care department or inpatient unit.
3. Due to policy and legal obligations in matters of accessibility compliance, ultimate decision-makers are advised to consult with the UCSF Office of Legal Affairs regarding the assessment of undue hardship, direct threat, fundamental alteration to a program, and/or denial of a requested accommodation wherein other reasonable accommodations options are not available and/or viable.
M. Financial Responsibilities for Individually Based Accommodations for Patients and Companions
For patients and their companions, responsibility for implementing individual accommodations will be referred first to the UCSF Health clinical care department and/or inpatient unit and if necessary, to the business operating unit (Benioff Children’s Hospital, Adult, Ambulatory and Network), department and/or the Chief Operating Officer/Senior Vice President and if applicable, the school (if Campus-owned), and/or the Vice Chancellor/Vice President for that area of responsibility.
In cases where the Vice Chancellor/Vice President of an administrative unit or the school/Dean’s Office (non-UCSF Owned-operated) determine central funding is justified, they will coordinate with UCSF Health or if necessary, the Office of Budget and Resource Management in UCSF Finance.
N. First Point of Contact and Grievances
Please refer to the list below to determine the fastest way to resolve access barriers and review grievance policies and procedures. Procedures vary depending on constituency group and barrier type. The Office for Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD) is an alternative first option for students, employees, patients, and guests/affiliates, to report a formal complaint of failure to accommodate, failure to engage in the interactive process, and/or disability discrimination. Contacts listed below are a means of potentially informally resolving a grievance, though patients may also file formal accessibility barrier grievances with Patient Relations. Formal complaints to OPHD may be filed at any time.
General Accessibility
Please refer to UCSF Accessibility Resources for information on making barrier reports.
Additional points of contact:
Students
- Contact Student Disability Services Grievance Webpage.
- Students may speak to the UCSF Office of The Ombuds to discuss issues confidentially.
Employees
1.Disability Management Services (DMS) is the first point of contact for employees to request accommodations, or to meet with DMS staff or Director to appeal an accommodation decision.
2. Employees may also consult with the chief accessibility and inclusion officer to discuss potential informal solutions including working with the employee's supervisor and DMS or discussing the accommodations process in general with the employee. *Please note that DMS and the chief accessibility and inclusion officer are not designated confidential resources.
3. Employees may speak to the UCSF Office of The Ombuds and/or the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program to discuss issues confidentially.
4. Employees may file a formal complaint with the Office for Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination.
Patients
1.Patients and patient companions at UCSF Health may contact the clinical care team informally and/or Patient Relations to file a grievance.
2. Patients and patient companions at UCSF Campus-owned clinical programs may contact the respective supervisor on duty.
3. Patients and patient companions may contact the chief accessibility and inclusion officer.
Guests
1.For event accessibility, guests may contact the event coordinator if available, otherwise please contact the chief accessibility and inclusion officer.
2. For complaints, contact the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination.
Digital Accessibility
Students, staff, faculty, patients, and guests of the University can report digital access barriers via the digital access barrier reporting page. Alternatively, individuals may contact the website owner or the chief accessibility and inclusion officer to report digital access barriers.
Responsibilities
Contact the Responsible Office (see above) with any questions.