Fall 2006

Serving Members – It's Our Aim!

There are many ways that union staffers assist members, especially at the Capably Disabled Committee. They are often asked to assist members to obtain a reasonable accommodation on the job — and sometimes need to follow up if there are any problems in receiving accommodations. Here are a few examples of how they go about doing this:

A high school teacher had disabilities involving her wrist and hand muscles and she was in much pain, especially writing lesson plans, grading papers and homework. She requested information about how to resolve her difficulties in school.

A UFT staffer reviewed the procedures that are contained in Personnel Memorandum #51 for requesting reasonable accommodations. The member was reminded that along with documentation from her doctors, she should submit her paperwork to the Department of Education Medical, Leaves and Benefits Office. A packet of materials including Personnel Memo #51 and an explanation of the process was sent to this member. Follow-up questions were answered.

On another occasion, a teacher received an accommodation for a disability related to a foot injury, but the principal refused to honor the accommodation. After discussing the situation, UFT staff referred this member to William Brewton, who is the Monitoring and Compliance Officer, at the DOE’s Office of Equal Opportunity. Mr. Brewton's function is to investigate situations where an accommodation that was granted by the Medical Bureau is not being implemented at the school level.