The Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) administers accommodations for WSU faculty and staff. OEO and WSU provide reasonable accommodations to all faculty and staff with documented disabilities and applicants for employment who seek accommodation in the job application process due to a disability.

Under both federal and Michigan state law, an individual with a disability is someone who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more "major life activities", and has a record of such impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. "Major life activities" include various everyday tasks such as walking, standing, talking, hearing, and caring for oneself.

Reasonable accommodations 

A reasonable accommodation is any adjustment to a job, work environment, work policy or practice that would help a person with a disability and does not cause an undue hardship to the University. OEO can help provide people with accommodations for their disability in order to help them:

• Apply for a job 
• Perform their job duties 
• Enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment

Common accommodations

Some common accommodations include:

• Assistive technology 
• Flexible work arrangements 
• Workspace/office adjustments and/or reassignment
• Furniture accommodations
• American sign language interpreter services
• Job restructuring materials in alternate formats (large print, braille, etc.)

Service animals

State law provides that service animals are allowed on campus and other places of public accommodation without engaging in the accommodation process. Michigan Complied Laws Section 750.502c states that a public accommodation, such as Wayne State’s campus, shall not ask a person with a disability to remove a service animal from the premises because of allergies or fear of the animal. A public accommodation may ask a person with a disability to remove his or her service animal from the premises only if either of the following applies:

    (a) The service animal is out of control and its handler does not take effective action to control the service animal, or

    (b) The service animal is not housebroken.

A service animal must be under the control of the person with a disability and must have a harness, leash, or other tether. If the person with a disability is unable because of a disability to use a harness, leash, or other tether or the use of a harness, leash, or other tether would interfere with the service animal's safe and effective performance of work or tasks, the service animal must be otherwise under the control of the person with a disability. If it is not obvious what service a service animal provides, staff of a public accommodation shall not ask about a person with a disability's disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the service animal, or ask that the service animal demonstrate its ability to perform work or a task. Staff may make the following two inquiries to determine whether an animal qualifies as a service animal:

    (a) Whether the service animal is required because of a disability.

    (b) What work or task the service animal has been trained to perform.

Please contact OEO if you have any questions or concerns about the use of a service animal on campus.

How to request an accommodation 

If you are a person with a disability that requires a reasonable accommodation, please submit your request here:

Request for Reasonable Accommodation of Disability

Employees may update their disability and veteran status through the Account Management menu in Academica. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Equal Opportunity at oeo@wayne.edu or call (313) 577-2280.