2023 Rhode Island General Laws › Title 42 - State Affairs and Government › Chapter 42-87 - Civil Rights of People with Disabilities › Section 42-87-1.1. - Other definitions.

§ 42-87-1.1. Other definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1)
“Auxiliary aids and services” includes:
(i)
Qualified interpreters or other effective methods of making aurally delivered materials available to individuals with hearing impairments;
(ii)
Qualified readers, taped texts, or other effective methods of making visually delivered materials available to individuals with visual impairments;
(iii)
Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices; and
(iv)
Other similar services and actions.
(2)
“Discrimination”:
(i)
Includes those acts prohibited on the basis of race by 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983 and those on the basis of disability by 29 U.S.C. § 794, and those on the basis of disability by 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., and those on the basis of disability by chapter 5 of title 28.
(ii)
Nothing in this chapter shall provide the basis for a claim by an individual without a disability that the individual was subject to discrimination because of the individual’s lack of disability.
(3)
“Readily achievable” means easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense. In determining whether an action is readily achievable, factors to be considered include:
(i)
The nature and cost of the action needed under this chapter;
(ii)
The overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in the action; the number of persons employed at such facility; the effect on expenses and resources, or the impact otherwise of such action upon the operation of the facility;
(iii)
The overall financial resources of the covered entity; the overall size of the business of a covered entity with respect to the number of its employees; the number, type, and location of its facilities; and
(iv)
The type of operation or operations of the covered entity, including the composition, structure, and functions of the workforce of such entity; the geographic separateness, administrative or fiscal relationship of the facility or facilities in question to the covered entity.
(4)
“Reasonable accommodation” may include:
(i)
Making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; and
(ii)
Job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials or policies, the provision of qualified readers or interpreters, and other similar accommodations for individuals with disabilities.
(iii)
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require an individual with a disability to accept an accommodation, aid, service, opportunity, or benefit which such individual chooses not to accept.
(iv)
An employer, state or local government agency and any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation, need not provide a reasonable accommodation or a reasonable modification to policies, practices, or procedures to an individual who meets the definition of disability in subsection 42-87-1(1) solely under subparagraph (4)(iii).
(5) “Reasonable modifications”:
(i)
include modifications in policies, practices, or procedures when the modifications are necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability, unless the covered entity can demonstrate that making the modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity.
(ii)
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require an individual with a disability to accept an accommodation, aid, service, opportunity, or benefit which such individual chooses not to accept.
(iii)
Any person or entity covered by § 42-87-2, need not provide a reasonable modification to policies, practices, or procedures to an individual who meets the definition of disability in subsection 42-87-1(1) solely under subparagraph (iii).
(iv)
Nothing in this chapter alters the provision, specifying that reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures shall be required, unless an entity can demonstrate that making such modifications in policies, practices, or procedures, including academic requirements in postsecondary education, would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations involved.
(6)
“Undue hardship” means:
(i)
An action requiring significant difficulty or expense, when considered in light of the factors set forth in subparagraph (ii) herein.
(ii)
In determining whether an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on a covered entity, factors to be considered include:
(A)
The nature and cost of the accommodation needed under this chapter;
(B)
The overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in the provision of the reasonable accommodation; the number of persons employed at such facility; the effect on expenses and resources, or the impact otherwise of such accommodation upon the operation of the facility;
(C)
The overall financial resources of the covered entity; the overall size of the business of a covered entity with respect to the number of its employees; the number, type, and location of its facilities; and
(D)
The type of operation or operations of the covered entity, including the composition, structure, and functions of the workforce of such entity; the geographic separateness, administrative, or fiscal relationship of the facility or facilities in question to the covered entity.
History of Section.
P.L. 2009, ch. 96, § 8; P.L. 2009, ch. 97, § 8.