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Press Release

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Florida State University

For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement with the Florida State University Board of Trustees, acting for and on behalf of Florida State University (FSU), in Tallahassee, Florida.  The settlement agreement resolves an investigation and compliance review of the FSU Police Department by the Justice Department under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its implementing regulations.  The investigation found that the FSU Police Department’s online application form asked questions about a past or present disability and other medical conditions in violation of the ADA.  The ADA does not permit employers to inquire whether an applicant is an individual with a disability or as to the nature of such disability before making a conditional offer of employment.

 

Under the settlement, FSU agrees to ensure that its hiring policies do not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of disability, including by:

 

·          not conducting any medical examination or making any disability-related inquiry of a job applicant before a conditional offer of employment has been made;

 

·          after making a conditional offer of employment, limiting the scope of medical examinations or disability-related inquiries to what is necessary to either confirm the job applicant’s ability to perform job-related functions, with or without a reasonable accommodation; or whether the applicant poses a direct threat to the health or safety of the applicant or others;

 

·          maintaining the medical or disability-related information of an applicant or employee in separate, confidential medical files;

 

·          training employees who make hiring or personnel decisions within the FSU Police Department on ADA regulations; and

 

·          ensuring that the FSU Police Department website, including its employment opportunities website and its mobile applications, conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level AA Success Criteria and other Conformance Requirements (WCAG 2.0 AA).  The WCAG 2.0 AA is available online .  

“This agreement ensures that people with disabilities will have an equal opportunity to compete for jobs in the FSU Police Department,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division.  “The Justice Department is committed to knocking down employment barriers for people with disabilities, and we commend the FSU for its cooperation and continuing efforts to improve accessibility for all job applicants.”       

 

People interested in finding out more about the ADA or this agreement can call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 or 1-800-514-0383 (TTY), or visit the ADA website

Updated August 6, 2015

Press Release Number: 14-606