Disability

Your rights to accommodations were established by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibits discrimination based on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. 

Both the Unit 17 (Article 2) and Unit 18 (Article 4) contracts have explicit anti-discrimination clauses.  

Unit 17 (Article 2): Article 2 – NondiscriminationPDF 

Unit 18 (Article 4): Article 4–Non-Discrimination in Employment

https://www.ada.gov/resources/disability-rights-guide/ 

Whether or not you are an American citizen, the University of California has the obligation to support you with any documented disability.

According to the UC, workers who provide appropriate documentation (working in tandem with the UC HR administrator at their campus) qualify as having a disability and are thereby able to request accommodations.

Unit 17 members: see Article 30 Reasonable Accomodation

Unit 18 members: see Article 20–Reasonable Accommodation

1. You have the right to request accommodations if you have a documented disability.  

Documentation is achieved by contacting the HR “specialist” in charge of supporting Unit members at your campus. You will then need to provide specified (medical or other) materials in order to have your requested or recommended accommodations approved. Once approved, the specialist works with your department to provide the accommodations.

See section 1) above (“Who Qualifies?” and associated Unit Articles) for additional information about this process.

Please note: It is important to follow the above procedure sequentially rather than hoping for reimbursement for something you may need or deserve.

2. You have the right to keep your disability and any accommodations you receive entirely confidential, both within the union and at your place of work. In other words, if you do not choose to share private information about your health and well-being, that choice must be respected. You have the right to work and be supported in the ways that feel most comfortable to you.

UC AFT has worked hard for member rights and benefits. Sharing your particular situation with your union may feel comfortable to you, and it may not. If you do feel comfortable sharing your situation with your local union, or perhaps your local union’s leadership or grievance committee, we want to hear from you. But if you don’t, there is no pressure to do that. 

Having a disability can be extremely isolating, and it isn’t always clear where safe spaces lie.  Ideally we are all contributing to our union, both at the local and the state levels, so that we have some familiarity with each other as coworkers and coalition builders.

While some processes seem straightforward at some campuses (for example, rights for continuing lecturers to take FMLA), processes for many cases remain ambiguous and difficult to advocate for.

The University of California has the obligation to support injured workers.  “Human Resource” units exist, as the name suggests, to provide resources for workers.  In an ideal world we would reach out to our HR departments and get support for what we need. In reality, as we know too well, neither this culture nor this institution are perfect. 

In an ideal world the principal responsibility for maintaining healthy working conditions would rest on those members of the university community who exercise the most institutional power and leadership. Until it does, we organize as a union to protect each other.  

If you find yourself feeling isolated and unsure about what to do next we hope you will at the very least reach out to your local union to introduce yourself and get a sense of what is available. As an AFT member you should be receiving emails from both your local and from statewide leadership, along with invitations to meetings and informational sessions. We hope you will join us!

Reasonable Accommodations

All academic appointees with disabilities have a right to reasonable accommodations (APM 711). Examples of accommodations for employees with disabilities include:

• Flexible scheduling: Allow more frequent or extended breaks, different starting times, time off for doctor appointments, etc. For example, a dept might move an employee to a later shift to accommodate drowsiness experienced after taking morning medication.
• Reduced work schedule: Temporarily reduce work hours or reassign the employee to part-time work. An employee might return to work part-time following a hospitalization (drawing partial short-term disability and part-time salary) until able to resume full-time schedule.
• Telecommuting: Depending on the type of job, allowing the employee to work from home part of the time could be appropriate. For example, a programmer might work from home two or three days a week to partially accommodate an anxiety or adjustment disorder.
• Modified job: Reassigning non-essential work tasks, evaluating equipment and machinery used in terms of safety issues, reassigning work areas for ease of concentration and/or reduced noise levels.

Disability Leave policy: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010574/PPSM-II-42

Also see Unit 18 contract, Article 12

The University of California has a robust system that supports students with disabilities. Resource centers that support students are well-staffed and very responsive.

You will receive a letter from the student disability center detailing a student’s accommodations and needs. It is your responsibility to accommodate that student following those guidelines.

It is considered standard practice to include information about the campus student disability resource center and services on your syllabus.

Unit 17 (Article 2): Article 2 – NondiscriminationPDF : 

NONDISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT 1. It is the policy of the University not to engage in discrimination against or harassment of any person employed or seeking employment with the University of California on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics), HIV status, ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, political affiliation, union activity, service in the uniformed services as defined by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act of 1994, as well as state military and naval service. 2. This policy is intended to be consistent with the provisions of applicable State and Federal laws and University policies

Unit 18 (Article 4): Article 4–Non-Discrimination in Employment : 

NON-DISCRIMINATION
Within the limits imposed by law or University regulations, the University shall not discriminate or harass any NSF Unit 18 faculty on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, immigration status, religion, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sex, (including gender, pregnancy, childbirth, medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, breastfeeding, and medical conditions related to breastfeeding), sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, physical or mental disability, medical condition, cancer-related condition or genetic characteristics,
genetic information (including family medical history), HIV status, status as a covered veteran (special disabled veteran, recently separated veteran, Vietnam era veteran, or any other veteran who served on active duty during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized), service in the uniformed services as defined by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act of 1994, state military and naval service,) age, citizenship, political affiliation, or union activity.