ACCESSIBILITY POLICY

1. Purpose

This policy ensures that the Agency complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Florida Civil Rights Act, and provides equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with disabilities. The Agency is committed to maintaining an inclusive, safe, and accessible work environment for all employees, interns, contractors, and applicants.

2. Policy Statement

The Agency prohibits discrimination against any qualified individual with a disability in all employment practices, including recruitment, hiring, training, assignment, promotion, compensation, and termination. Reasonable accommodations will be provided when necessary to enable qualified individuals to perform essential job functions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship or compromise investigative integrity, safety, or legal compliance.

3. Definitions

3.1 Disability

A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, as defined by the ADA.

3.2 Qualified Individual

An individual who:

Meets the skill, experience, education, and other job‑related requirements, and
Can perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.

3.3 Essential Job Functions

Core duties fundamental to the role. For investigative positions, these may include:

Conducting surveillance
Operating vehicles and equipment
Preparing investigative reports
Maintaining situational awareness
Handling sensitive information

3.4 Reasonable Accommodation

A modification or adjustment that enables a qualified individual with a disability to perform essential job functions, without causing undue hardship or compromising safety or legal requirements.

4. Requesting an Accommodation

4.1 Employee Responsibility

Employees seeking accommodation must:

Notify the Agency Manager or HR representative
Describe the functional limitation
Provide supporting medical documentation if requested

4.2 Agency Responsibility

Upon receiving a request, the Agency will:

Engage in an interactive process
Evaluate the essential job functions
Determine feasible accommodations
Document the decision and communicate it to the employee

5. Examples of Reasonable Accommodations

Accommodations may include, but are not limited to:

Modified work schedules
Adjusted reporting or documentation methods
Assistive technology or adaptive equipment
Reassignment to non‑field duties (when available)
Modified training materials

Note: Certain investigative duties—such as covert surveillance, physical mobility requirements, or firearm‑related tasks—may not be modifiable if doing so compromises safety, licensure requirements, or operational integrity.

6. Undue Hardship

The Agency may deny an accommodation if it would:

Significantly disrupt operations
Create a safety risk to the employee, team, or public
Violate state licensing requirements under Chapter 493
Compromise investigative confidentiality or field readiness

Any denial will be documented and communicated in writing.

7. Confidentiality

All medical information and accommodation requests will be:

Kept confidential
Stored separately from personnel files
Shared only with individuals who have a legitimate business need to know

8. Non‑Retaliation

The Agency strictly prohibits retaliation against any employee who:

Requests an accommodation
Reports discrimination
Participates in an ADA‑related investigation

Any retaliation will result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

9. Reporting Concerns

Employees who believe they have been discriminated against or denied reasonable accommodation may report concerns to:

The Agency Manager
Human Resources
The Florida Commission on Human Relations
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

10. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually to ensure compliance with:

ADA Title I
Florida Civil Rights Act
Chapter 493, Florida Statutes
Applicable federal and state employment regulations