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Other Duke Sites: Disability Management Systems SAFE - Orientation Program (Students, Administrators and Faculty for Equality Learning & Organization Development (L&OD) DUMC Maps DUMC Online Calendar Human Resources OIE Brochures & Other Publications Diversity and Equity Programs Brochure (pdf) Duke Consensual Relationship Brochure (pdf) Harassment Policy Brochure (pdf) OIE Brochure (pdf) Equal Opportunity Policy Title IX (pdf) Other Websites: Samuel Dubois Cook Society Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Student Ombudsperson *Faculty Concerns? ... Contact The Faculty Ombudsman Richard Burton, Professor Fuqua School of Business rmb2@duke.edu

Definitions & Commonly Used Terms

Definitions Related to Disability Status
Definitions Related to Veterans

Adverse impact– Statistically significant disproportionate selection rates of minorities or women in employment decisions including hires, transfers, promotions, unit expansions and reorganizations, and terminations.  Impact ratio analysis (IRA) is one common method used to determine whether adverse impact exists within job groups and/or entities at Duke.

Availability, Labor Market – An estimate of the number of qualified minorities and women available for employment, from which Duke may reasonably expect to recruit to fill positions in a given job group.  Availability estimates are derived from Census 2000 data, data from colleges, local job service offices, and other relevant entities, and current promotion-eligible workforce demographics.  The purpose of the availability determination is to establish a benchmark, against which the demographic composition of the contractor’s incumbent workforce can be compared, in order to determine whether barriers to equal opportunity may exist within particular job groups.

Impact ratio analysis (IRA)– A statistical method used to determine whether there is a substantial difference between the selection rates of minorities and women in any employment decisions.  The IRA provides a preliminary indicator of possible disparities.  Hires, transfers, promotions, unit expansions and reorganizations, and terminations are all examined at Duke using this method.

If the selection rate for one group falls below 80% of other groups’ selection rate, IRA is considered adverse.  IRA is only one measure of adverse impact, and does not necessarily indicate discrimination.

Job group– A classification for a set of positions with similar job characteristics which the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) requires federal contractors to create in evaluating their workforce.  Job Groups are divisions within a series of seven broader occupational categories, which are derived from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s EEO-6 categories.  Within each of the occupational categories, Duke has established 29 job groups to reflect the diversity in job functions and pay ranges offered.  Job groups are comprised of corresponding pay levels and job classifications as described in the Duke University Job Classifications and Pay Ranges Guide. 

Occupational category– A set of job groups derived from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s EEO-6 categories.  There are seven occupational categories consisting of job groups with similar sets of primary functions.

Placement goals– Percentage targets for minority and women hiring that Duke will work to achieve for underutilized job groups.  Placement goals are determined by labor market availability, and are set equal to each Job Group’s availability.  Placement goals are not quotas, and are not legal justification for extending preferences in hiring to any individual.  It is the overall personnel process that is of primary concern in determining compliance, rather than the exact degree to which goals have been met. 

Individual with a Disability - Any individual who:                                                                                                                                                   
·      has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of her/his major life activities;
·      has a record of such an impairment; or
·      is regarded as having such an impairment.

Physical Impairment - Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss, affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genito-urinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin, and endocrine.

Qualified individual with a disability - An individual who satisfies the requisite skill, experience, education, and other job-related requirements of the employment position such individual holds or desires, and who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of such position.

Mental Impairment - Any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities.

Major Life Activities - In order for a disability to be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an impairment must substantially limit one or more major life activities.  These activities are those which an average person is able to perform with little or no difficulty.  Examples include walking, seeing, speaking, hearing, breathing, learning, and manual self-care tasks.

Substantially Limits - An impairment only qualifies as a "disability" under the ADA if it substantially limits one or more major life activities.  An individual must be unable to perform, or be significantly limited in the ability to perform an activity, compared to an average person in the general population.

The regulations provide three factors to consider in determining whether a person's impairment substantially limits a major life activity:

1.   nature and severity;
2.   how long it will last, or is expected to last;
3.   permanent or long term impact, or expected impact.

These factors must be considered, because generally, it is not the name of an impairment or a condition that determines whether a person is protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act, but rather the effect of an impairment or condition on the life of a particular person. 

Some impairments, such as blindness, deafness, HIV infection or AIDS, are by their nature, substantially limiting, but many other impairments may be disabling for some individuals, but not for others, depending on the impact on their activities.

Record of a Substantially Limiting Condition - Protects people who may have been misclassified or misdiagnosed as having a disability.  For example:  It protects a person who may at one time have been erroneously classified as having mental retardation, or having a learning disability.  These people have a record of disability.  (If an employer relies on any record [such as an educational, medical, or employment record] containing such information, to make an adverse employment decision about a person who is currently qualified to perform a job, the action is subject to challenge as a discriminatory practice.)

Regarded as Substantially Limited - Protects people who are not substantially limited in a major life activity from discriminatory actions, taken because they are perceived to have such a limitation.  Such protection is necessary, because as the Supreme Court has stated, and the Congress has reiterated, "Society’s myths and fears about disability and disease are as handicapping as are the physical limitations that flow from actual impairments."

The legislative history of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) dictates that Congress intended this part of the definition to protect people from a range of discriminatory actions, based on "myths, fears, and stereotypes" about disability, which occur even when a person does not have a substantially limiting impairment.

The individual may have an impairment which is not substantially limiting, but is treated by the employer as an individual who has such an impairment.

Reasonable Accommodation - Reasonable accommodation is a critical component of the ADA’s assurance of non-discrimination.  Reasonable accommodation is any change in the work environment, or in the way things are usually done, that results in equal employment opportunity for an individual with a disability.  An employer must make a reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of a qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless it can show that the accommodation would cause an undue hardship on its business operations. 

Some examples of reasonable accommodations include:

·    making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to, and usable by an individual with a disability;
·    job restructuring; modifying work schedules; reassignment to a vacant position;
·    acquiring or modifying equipment or devices;
·    adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials, or policies providing qualified readers or interpreters.

An employer is not required to lower quality or quantity standards to make an accommodation.  Nor is an employer obligated to provide personal use items, such as glasses or hearing aids, as accommodations.

Undue Hardship - "Excessively costly, extensive, substantial, or disruptive, or that would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the business." 

In determining undue hardship, factors to be considered include the nature and cost of the accommodation in relation to the size, the financial resources, the nature and structure of the employer's operation, as well as the impact of the accommodation on the specific facility providing the accommodation.  An employer is not required to provide an accommodation, if it will impose an undue hardship on the operation of its business. 

Temporary Impairments - Non-chronic impairments that do not last for a long time, and that have little or no long-term impact, usually are not disabilities.  This part of the definition protects people who have a history of a disability from discrimination, whether or not they currently are substantially limited in a major life activity.  For example:  It protects people with a history of cancer, heart disease, or other debilitating illness, whose illnesses are either cured, controlled, or in remission.  It also protects people with a history of mental illness.

Drug Use and the ADA - Individuals who currently use drugs illegally, are not individuals with disabilities protected under the Act when an employer takes action because of their continued use of drugs.  This includes people who use prescription drugs illegally, as well as those who use illegal drugs.  However, people who have been rehabilitated, and do not currently use drugs illegally, or who are in the process of completing a rehabilitation program, may be protected by the ADA.


Veteran Status

Special Disabled Veteran - A “special disabled veteran” means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military ground, naval, or air service and (1) who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability, or (2) who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) for certain disabilities under laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (i.e., disabilities rated at 30 percent or more, or at 10 or 20 percent if the veteran has been determined to have a serious employment handicap.)

Disabled Veteran - A veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military ground, naval, or air service: (1) is entitled to disability compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to disability compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or (2) was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

Veteran of the Vietnam Era - Under Section 4212, a ‘Veteran of the Vietnam Era’ means a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service, any part of whose service was during the period of August 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975, who (1) served on active duty for a period of more than 180 days, and was discharged or released with other than a dishonorable discharge, or (2) was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.  “Vietnam Era Veteran” also includes any veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service who served in the Republic of Vietnam between February 28, 1961, and May 7, 1975.

Recently Separated Veteran - Defined as any veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service during the one-year period, beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty.

Newly Separated Veteran - Defined as any veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service, during the one-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge, or release from active duty.

Other Protected Veteran - An “other protected veteran” means any other veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military ground, naval, or air service during a war or in a campaign or expedition, for which a campaign badge has been authorized, other than a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era, or recently separated veteran.

Armed Forces Service Medal Veteran - A veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military ground, naval, or air service, participated in a United States military operation, for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985 (61 Fed. Reg. 1209.)

Substantially limits

	Duke University Women's Network: http://www.studentaffairs.duke.edu/
	Administrative Women's Network:  http://www.duke.edu/web/awn/events.html
	Women in Science and Engineering: http://www.duke.edu/web/wise/
	Graduate and Professional Women's Network: http://wc.stuaff.duke.edu/gpwn.html
	Society of Women Engineers: http://www.duke.edu/web/SWE/active.html
	Women's Studies: http://www.duke.edu/web/SWE/
	Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy: http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/djglp/
	Women in Trades, Technology & Science: http://www.serve.com/iwitts/

	International House: http://ihouse.studentaffairs.duke.edu/
	International Office: http://www.international.duke.edu/main.html

	Center for LGBT Life: http://lgbt.studentaffairs.duke.edu/
	SAFE: http://lgbt.studentaffairs.duke.edu/programs/safe/dvddownloads.html
	Gothic Queers: http://lgbt.studentaffairs.duke.edu/
	LGBT Task Force: http://lgbt.studentaffairs.duke.edu/resources/taskforce.html

Implicit Association Test This web site presents a method that demonstrates the conscious-unconscious divergences much more      convincingly than has been possible with previous methods

Student Judicial Affairs: http://deanofstudents.studentaffairs.duke.edu/judicial.html

	Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972 www.dol.gov/dol/oasam/public/regs/statutes/titleix.htm
	Equal Pay Act of 1963 www.eeoc.gov/laws/epa/html
	Civil Rights Act of 1991 http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/cra91.html
	Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 www.dol.gov/dol/oasam/public/regs/statutes/titlevi.html
	Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 www.eeoc.gov/laws/vii.html Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 www.eeoc.gov/laws/vii.html
	Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 www.eeoc.gov/laws/adea.html
	Age Discrimination Act of 1975 www.dol.gov/dol/oasam/public/regs/statutes/ageact.htm