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Disability Access
Employment  

Employment

The opportunity to participate in the employment process is a right guaranteed by both State and Federal law. The California law that addresses the rights of individuals with disabilities and the obligations of employers is the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The Federal law is Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

California disability rights law, in regards to employment, provides protections independent from those in the ADA, and California's definition of disability is broader than the Federal standard.

The law pertains to private businesses, non-profits, as well as the government. Information on compliance can be found by following the links for each specific law.



Laws
The Fair Employment and Housing Act (California Government Code Section 12900-12951 & 12927-12928 & 12955 - 12956.1 &12960-12976)
The Fair Employment and Housing Act provides protection from harassment or discrimination in employment and also prohibits discrimination in all aspects of housing because of a persons disability.
ADA Title I
Title I requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide qualified individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from the full range of employment-related opportunities available to others.
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Resources for Employment Issues

Employment
Reasonable Accommodations

Employment Resources

Disability Under the Fair Employment and Housing Act: What You Should Know About the Law -- California Department of Fair Employment and Housing
http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/Publications/Disability%20Handbook%204-8-02.pdf

Legal Rights of Persons with Disabilities Chapter 1 Employment -- California Attorney General's Office
http://www.caag.state.ca.us/consumers/pdf/disabled.pdf

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has several publications at: http://www.eeoc.gov/publications.html

  • The ADA: Questions and Answers-Employment
  • The ADA: Your Responsibilities as an Employer
  • The ADA: Your Employment Rights as an Individual with a Disability

Reasonable Accommodations Resources

Information on Reasonable Accomodation
Information and Assistance in Selecting an Appropriate Reasonable Accomodation

For more information on reasonable accommodation see:

Reasonable Accommodation (Employment) -- California Department of Fair Employment and Housing
http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/Statutes/empaccommodation.asp

Reasonable Accommodation in Employment -- California Assistive Technology Network
http://www.atnet.org/index_resources.htm

Ninth Circuit Holds that An Employer Must Engage in an Interactive Process with a Qualified Employee with a Disability Who Requests a Reasonable Accommodation under the ADA -- California State Personnel Board
http://www.spb.ca.gov/CHIEF/ninth_circuit.htm

Establishing Procedures to Facilitate the Provision of Reasonable Accommodation -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/accommodation.html

EEOC Enforcement Guidance: Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the Americans with Disabilities Act -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
http://www.eeoc.gov/docs/accommodation.html

Information and Assistance in Selecting an Appropriate Reasonable Accomodation

Jobs Accommodation Network: The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is a free consulting service that provides information about job accommodations, the ADA, and the employability of people with disabilities.
http://www.jan.wvu.edu/
1-800-526-7234 (V/TTY)

AT Network: California's AT Network is dedicated to expanding the accessibility of tools, resources and technology that will help increase independence, improve personal productivity and enhance the quality of life for all Californians.
http://www.atnet.org
916.325.1690 (v)
916.325.1695 (tty)

Cornell University Tips for HR Professionals: This site features articles, checklists, a glossary, and links to useful resources to help Human Resource professionals accommodate applicants and employees with disabilities in accordance with the ADA. http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/ped/hr_tips/home.cfm
Voice: (607) 255-2906
Fax: (607) 255-2763
TTY: (607) 255-2891

Email: ILR_ped@cornell.edu
Website(s):
http://www.cornell.edu
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/ped

Abledata: Sponsored by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education, ABLEDATA's primary mission is to provide information on assistive technology and rehabilitation equipment available from domestic and international sources to consumers, organizations, professionals, and caregivers within the United States. The database contains over 17,000 assistive technology products.
http://www.abledata.com/

Trace Research and Development Center: Trace is a research center at the University of Wisconsin - Madison which focuses on making off the shelf technologies and systems such as computers, the Internet, and information kiosks more accessible for everyone through the process known as universal, or accessible design. Trace's mission is partly funded through the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), which is part of the U.S. Department of Education.
http://trace.wisc.edu/about

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Technical Assistance for Employment

California Department of Fair Employment and Housing
The Mission of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing is to protect the people of California from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, and from the perpetration of acts of hate violence.
http://www.dfeh.ca.gov
Employment/Public Accommodations/Hate Violence:
1-800-884-1684 (Within California)
1-916-227-0551 (Outside California)

The U.S. Department of Justice Americans with Disabilities Act Technical Assistance Program
The ADA requires the Department to provide technical assistance to businesses, State and local governments, and individuals with responsibilities and rights under the law.

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
Toll-Free ADA Information Line:
800-514-0301 (voice)
800-514-0383 (TDD)

The Disability Access Section, California Department of Rehabilitation The Section serves as a centralized resource for providing public information, training, and technical assistance on FEHA, ADA, and other related disability laws to state entities, agencies, and One-Stop service delivery systems serving persons with disabilities and employers.
E-mail:
adatf@dor.ca.gov
916-263-8674 Voice
916-263-8672 TTY

The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)
The leading national law and policy center in disability civil rights-- DREDF--founded in 1979 by a unique alliance of adults with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities. DREDF's name was chosen to associate and align with the tradition of other civil rights legal defense funds, starting with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
http://www.dredf.org/what.html
510-644-2555 Voice/TTY

Pacific Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC)
Provides information, problem solving assistance and referrals for implementing the ADA and Accessible Electronic and Information Technology (E&IT).
http://www.pacdbtac.org
1-800-949-4232 (Voice &TDD)
510-848-2980 (Voice)
510-848-1840 (TDD)

Disability Direct
As part of President Bush's New Freedom Initiative, his comprehensive plan to reduce barriers to full community integration for people with disabilities, the Department of Labor, in collaboration with other Federal agencies, is in the process of expanding and improving the DisabilityDirect.gov web portal. Accordingly, the existing site will be shut down for a brief period while the new site is under construction. Please join our subscriber list to learn more about the new site as it becomes available.
http://www.disabilitydirect.gov

Protection and Advocacy , an organization that works in partnership with people with disabilities, offers several publications dealing with individuals with disabilities and transportation. For more information see the Protection and Advocacy website.
http://www.pai-ca.org/




 

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