An employee who becomes disabled may be selected for an open position for which he/she qualifies, and may be considered for open positions over non-disabled applicants, generally for a period of 90 calendar days. Any employee who becomes disabled may be selected for an active, vacant position which has not been publicized. When an employee becomes unable to perform the essential, assigned duties of the currently held position as a result of a covered disability, the Santa Cruz campus is committed to providing services to assist the employee. This includes Special Selection as a reasonable accommodation to provide the employee with the opportunity to be selected for an alternative position.

II. Related Policies, Contract Articles and References

1. Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM) – employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement:
   
   
   • PPSM 81 Reasonable Accommodation Policy and Procedures
   • PPSM 20B.3 Recruitment
     
     
2. Contract Articles– employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

III. Authority

In circumstances where the non-selection of a Special Selection candidate does not appear to be appropriate, the Staff Human Resources Director, in consultation with other appropriate offices, has responsibility for making the final determination regarding selection.

IV. Criteria

Medical documentation from a licensed health care provider and a completed medical release form for the Disability Management Coordinator must be provided by the employee to assist in understanding the nature of the employee’s functional limitations. This documentation may be subject to confirmation by a University-appointed license health care provider. In order to be eligible for Special Selection services, the employee must be a qualified individual with a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Cal-FEHA.

In order to be considered for recruitments under Special Selection, the Special Selection candidate’s current salary range maximum must be less than or equal to that of the vacant position, the vacant position must be at the same or lesser percentage of time as the position currently held by the Special Selection candidate and the vacant position must be at the same campus. The Special Selection candidate may be considered for open positions over non-disabled applicants.