Leadership Rhode Island (“LRI”) is committed to providing equal opportunity and reasonable accommodations to employees and program participants with disabilities. LRI complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and all other applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding disability discrimination and accommodation.

Reasonable accommodations are available for the known physical or mental limitations of qualified employees and program participants with disabilities. An employee or program participant is qualified if they can perform essential job functions or leadership program activities with or without reasonable accommodation.

For purposes of this policy, a disability is any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.

A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment of an employee’s job or work environment, or a program participant’s leadership program environment, that enables that person to perform essential job functions or enjoy the same benefits and privileges as similarly situated employees and program participants without disabilities. Examples of reasonable accommodations include, but are not limited to: modifying a workspace to make it wheelchair accessible, providing screen reading software, or adjusting an employee’s work schedule to accommodate medical appointments. LRI does not provide accommodations of a personal nature, such as eyeglasses or hearing aids. 

A program participant is any person who participates in LRI’s Core Program or College Leadership Rhode Island program and all alumni of those programs.  

LRI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations so long as those accommodations do not place an undue hardship on it, pose a direct threat to the health or safety of employees or program participants, or result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the services, facilities, privileges advantages, or accommodations being offered. 

Requests for a reasonable accommodation should be made by phone, email or in person to Abby Burnep, Director of Operations and Strategic Initiatives at aburnep@leadershipri.org or 401-273-1574 ext. 111.  Upon receipt of such a request, LRI will actively engage in an interactive process with the requesting employee or program participant to determine what, if any, accommodation can be provided.  LRI aims to process requests for accommodations in a prompt and efficient manner and expects that timely notice of the need for a reasonable accommodation be given.  Requests that are last minute may not be accommodated.

As part of its evaluation of a request for a reasonable accommodation, LRI may request additional medical information or have an employee’s or program participant’s medical information reviewed by a medical expert to assist with its evaluation. 

All information obtained by LRI concerning medical conditions or history of employees or program participants, including genetic information, is maintained in separate medical files and treated as confidential records that are disclosed only as permitted by law. HR representatives and employees who have knowledge of another employees’ or a program participant’s medical information are prohibited from sharing such information unless others need to be informed.

Anyone who is denied accommodations will be notified of the denial and the basis for the denial. Retaliation for requesting or using an accommodation is prohibited.