Faculty/Staff Information
Review the options below or contact the Office of Human Resources for additional questions.
If you are employed by South Dakota State University (SDSU) and are requesting reasonable accommodation(s) under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act:
- You have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, including but not limited to caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, breathing, eating, sleeping, walking, talking, etc.;
- You need the accommodation, given your impairment, to perform the essential functions of your position with SDSU or to enjoy the same benefits and privileges of employment at SDSU as non-disabled employees; AND
- Your condition or the need for the accommodation is not already known or obvious to SDSU.
Contact Human Resources to begin the accommodation process. The information below describes the accommodation process.
INTERACTIVE PROCESS
A qualified individual employee with a disability who seeks accommodation or other work modification will request reasonable accommodation to their supervisor and notify the Office of Human Resources. The Employee Relations Specialist shall be responsible for ensuring application of a fair and consistent process for verifying a disability and providing reasonable accommodation and for maintaining the university's employment records that relate to the disclosed disability. The Employee Relations Specialist will interact with employees, supervisors and administrative decision-makers to facilitate communication and agreement about accommodation for employees with disabilities. The Employee Relations Specialist will consult with the ADA Coordinator with any questions regarding application of appropriate reasonable accommodations.
The Employee Relations Specialist shall verify that the individual is a qualified individual with a disability and coordinate the university's response when determining an appropriate accommodation. Every effort will be made to balance the need for employees or representatives of the university to have information in order to fulfill an accommodation request and the disabled individual's interest in maintaining privacy of protected health information.
In the event that a reasonable accommodation cannot be agreed upon or is denied, individuals may seek review of a department’s or unit’s decision to deny implementation of a requested accommodations. Review of decisions to deny requests for accommodation in the application process or workplace may be made to the ADA Coordinator, who will attempt to resolve the dispute informally through interactive dialogue with all parties involved and in consideration of the entire situation. In the event that an informal resolution is not possible, the ADA Coordinator shall forward the request for review to the Title IX/EO Coordinator per SDBOR Policy 1:18. Although the preferred accommodation will be provided where reasonable, planning units may provide reasonable alternative accommodation where appropriate. Federal disability law requires that any accommodation be evaluated in light of the total resources and function of the university and not simply from a given department’s resources or function.
COMPLAINTS
Individuals who believe that they have been discriminated against in any employment situation at the university on the basis of having a disability, a record of a disability, being regarded as disabled or having association or affiliation with a person who has a disability, may file a complaint with the Title IX/EO Coordinator pursuant to this policy, SDBOR Policy 1:18 and University Policy 4:6.
Contact the Employee Relation Specialist to request a reasonable accommodation(s).
Having accessible documents available online allows everyone equal access to information. Regardless of whether the document is in Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF or another document format there are a few basic guidelines to make your content accessible:
- Use headings and keep order
- Use descriptive hyperlinks
- Add alternate text to images and graphics
- Identify document language
- Color contrast
- Don't use color as the only way to convey meaning
- Use tables wisely
As a reminder, all university video assets must feature synchronized captions. This can be accomplished by manually entering captions or using the auto-sync function services provided by YouTube, Facebook, etc. It's important to check any auto-captioning for accuracy and review before publishing.
South Dakota State University strives to ensure that physical resources, as well as information and communication technologies, are reasonably accessible to users in order to provide equal access to all. If you encounter any accessibility issues, you are encouraged to immediately contact the instructor of the course and the Office of Disability Services:
- Phone: 605-688-4504
- Fax (private): 605-688-4987
- Email: Nancy Hartenhoff-Crooks in the Disability Services Office
- Address: Room 271, Box 2815C, University Student Union, Brookings South Dakota 57007
As South Dakota State University is a recipient of federal funds, any program or activity at the university must be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
We believe in a supportive, inclusive, collaborative and cohesive environment with a focus on access. Our online Report a Barrier tool allows visitors, guests, students, faculty and staff to report lack of access.
Individuals who believe that they have been discriminated against in any education program or activity or employment situation at the University on the Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance basis of having a disability, a record of a disability, being regarded as disabled or having association or affiliation with a person who has a disability, may file a complaint with the Title IX/EO Coordinator pursuant to SDBOR Policy 1:18 and University Policy 4:6.