Employees and applicants with a disability may request an accommodation when there is a workplace barrier that is preventing them from competing for a job, performing a job, or gaining equal access to a benefit of employment. Human Resource Services will respond in a timely manner to all accommodation requests.

 Employees may have a disability if they:

• Have a physical or mental condition that substantially limits a major life activity (such as walking, talking, seeing, hearing, or learning); or
• Have a history of a disability (such as cancer that is in remission); or
• Are believed to have a physical or mental impairment that is not transitory (lasting or expected to last six months or less).

Process Steps

Requesting an Accommodation

Employees or their representative can request an accommodation verbally or in writing by:

 Communicating directly with their supervisor, or by

• Contacting Michele Wheeler, Workers Compensation Manager and ADA Accommodation Coordinator, in Human Resource Services 406-243-2842 or Michele.wheeler@mso.umt.edu);  or
• Completing the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form
• Please return the completed form to Michele Wheeler, ADA Accommodation Coordinator, to begin the formalized accommodation process.  Michele's office is located in Human Resource Service in the Lommasson building, room 252.

Engaging in the Interactive Process

Human Resource Services utilizes an interactive process, which simply means that an HRS representative, the supervisor and the employee with a disability who requests an accommodation work together to determine what reasonable accommodation is needed and what will be implemented.

Once an accommodation request has been received, the employer will gather whatever information is necessary to process the request. Necessary information may include documentation of the disability from a health care provider and need for accommodation. In some cases, the employee’s disability and need for accommodation are obvious and no additional information is needed. The accommodation needs to be reasonable, effective and take both the employee’s and employer’s needs into consideration.

Implementing, Recording, and Monitoring the Accommodation

Once the accommodation has been determined and implemented, the effectiveness is monitored by the employee and supervisor. The accommodation is then documented and maintained by Human Resource Services in a confidential file separate from the employee's personnel file. If an employee chooses to work directly with their supervisor, any accommodations made for the employee must be reported to Human Resource Services for documentation.