According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, older adults and people of any age who have certain underlying medical conditions are considered to be members of a ‘vulnerable population’ that are or might be at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19. For more details on the CDC’s definition of ‘vulnerable population,’ please visit the CDC website. This list is subject to change based on emerging scientific evidence and may be periodically updated on the CDC’s website.
Vulnerable employees and/or employees who share a household with or have primary care responsibility for someone who is in the vulnerable population may complete the online form to request temporary COVID-19 accommodations for Spring 2021. Examples of COVID-19 accommodations include working remotely, changing shifts and/or changing work schedule to allow for staggered arrival and departure times, physical work site modifications, providing additional personal protective equipment (PPE), temporary leave of absence, etc.
Employees who are currently approved for a COVID-19 accommodation for the Fall 2020 semester must reapply for Spring 2021. When seeking such accommodations, employees must have their healthcare provider complete a medical inquiry form to determine whether the employee is eligible to request an accommodation. However, medical documentation is not required for age-related accommodation requests. Human Resources will review all forms to determine eligibility. While supervisors and leaders are included in accommodation planning, only HR can deny an accommodation request.
For those requesting temporary COVID-19 accommodations for Spring 2021, please do so as soon as possible after determining the potential need for such an accommodation because there is a short window of time before the winter holiday break. Human Resources has established the following deadlines:
- November 20: Deadline to submit 2021 COVID-19 Accommodation Request Form
- December 4: Deadline to return medical inquiry form to Human Resources
Any accommodation requests received after these deadlines will be processed, however, a decision on late submissions is not guaranteed until after the winter break. The employee’s Dean or Assistant Vice President will receive a copy of the request to initiate the approval process, which may also include input from the Office of Academic Affairs or Human Resources if additional review is necessary.
Approval of a requested accommodation is not guaranteed. Requests will be reviewed in accordance with the University’s health and safety protocols and subject to an undue hardship analysis. Because an accommodation implicates an essential function of the employee’s job, any approved accommodation will be provided on a temporary basis. Employees will receive a system-generated email with a final decision after evaluation of the employee’s accommodation. All approved accommodations will automatically expire on May 15, 2021. However, please note that the approved accommodation may, in the University’s discretion, end at any time prior to May 15, 2021.
Employees who have a disability and need accommodations should continue to follow the established Employee Procedures for Requesting Reasonable Accommodations per the ADA.
Direct questions to the HR Service Center at (205) 348-7732 or hrsvctr@ua.edu.
* NOTE: An alternative 2021 COVID-19 Accommodation Request Form is available for the following groups only: 1) newly hired employees who do not have an assigned CWID, 2) employees with a secondary/overload position for which they need to request an accommodation, and/or 3) employees who do not currently have an active job. The same approval levels, accommodation examples and processing timeline described above applies.