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Workplace Accommodations

Purpose and Policy

The New School complies with all applicable laws that prohibit employment discrimination, including those that prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability. These laws also require that The New School provide qualified applicants and employees with a disability reasonable accommodations to enable them to apply for a job and/or to perform their job.

Human Resources manages all accommodation requests for university employees. All inquiries regarding disabilities and requests for accommodations should be directed to the Benefits Office at 212-229-5671 X 4942 or benefitshelp@newschool.edu.

Types of Accommodations

It’s important to note that having a medical condition alone is not enough to make an employee eligible for a particular accommodation. Once the Office of Human Resources is notified of a faculty or staff member’s request for an accommodation, we engage in a collaborative and interactive process with both the employee and the supervisor or department chair to determine what accommodations are reasonable considering the essential functions of the job, the employee’s needs, and the particular work environment.

Examples of reasonable accommodations may include but are not limited to:

  • Making programs and activities readily accessible to and usable by individuals with mobility or other disabilities
  • Modifying equipment or devices to allow people with disabilities to use them, such as providing amplification for a telephone
  • Modifying a work schedule
  • Restructuring job responsibilities or reallocating non-essential (marginal) job functions
  • Providing printed materials in an alternative format that is accessible to individuals with visual impairments


Ergonomic Assessment

Ergonomic Assessment adjustments may or may not be part of a reasonable accommodation. Faculty and staff may request an ergonomic assessment regardless of disability. For ergonomic requests, faculty and staff should submit a note from their physician to benefitshelp@newschool.edu. The note must include diagnosis or symptoms and request for equipment or evaluation.

Eligibility and Procedure

  1. Employees or applicants who request accommodations for a disability must submit the following documents to Human Resources at benefitshelp@newschool.edu:
    1. Reasonable Accommodation Request Form for Employees (Google Drive); and
    2. Medical Inquiry Form In Response to Accommodation Request (Google Drive), which must be completed by a certified and/or licensed health care provider who is qualified in the area of the employee’s disability.
  2. Documentation of impairment alone may not be sufficient to require that the employee or applicant be provided a reasonable accommodation(s). It must be demonstrated that the impairment meets the definition of a disability according to applicable law.
  3. The Benefits Office will review the documentation and, where applicable, engage in an interactive process (described below) with the employee or applicant to determine the appropriate accommodation(s), if any.
  4. Only the Benefits Office, and not any other employee or supervisor, may respond to a request for an accommodation. All accommodation requests must be presented to – and approved by - the Benefits Office, not your supervisor.
  5. Human Resources will provide an employee with written confirmation of approved (or denied) accommodation(s). All documentation pertaining to a disability will be maintained in a confidential file separate from the employee’s personnel file. The University will keep accommodation requests confidential and will disclose information about the individual's accommodations only to those with a "need to know." (e.g. an employee’s immediate supervisor).


Interactive Process

Upon receiving a request for accommodation, the New School Benefits team will engage with faculty and staff in what is known as the “interactive process and cooperative dialogue.” The purpose of the interactive process and cooperative dialogue is to enable the team to understand the needs of the faculty or staff member and, based on the circumstances, to identify any reasonable accommodations. If necessary, the Benefits team may consult with a supervisor or department chair during this process (disability will not be disclosed to the supervisor or department chair).

At the conclusion of the interactive process and cooperative dialogue and upon reaching a final determination, the Benefits team will provide the requestor with a written final determination identifying any accommodation granted or denied. A copy of the approved accommodation plan will also be provided to the employee’s supervisor or department chair. Faculty and staff or their supervisor or department chair can contact the Office of Human Resources at any time to request a revision to the accommodation plan to reflect changes in job description, medical condition, etc.

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