(a) No qualified person with a disability shall, on the basis of disability, be subjected to discrimination in employment by any legal services program.
(b) A legal services program shall make all decisions concerning employment under any program or activity to which this part applies in a manner that ensures that discrimination on the basis of disability does not occur, and may not limit, segregate, or classify applicants or employees in any way that adversely affects their opportunities or status because of disability.
(c) The prohibition against discrimination in employment applies to the following activities:
(1) Recruitment, advertising, and the processing of applications for employment;
(2) Hiring, upgrading, promotion, award of tenure, demotion, transfer, layoff, termination, right of return from layoff, and rehiring;
(3) Rates of pay or any other form of compensation and changes in compensation;
(4) Job assignments, job classifications, organizational structures, position descriptions, lines of progression, and seniority lists;
(5) Leaves of absence, sick leave, or any other leave;
(6) Fringe benefits available by virtue of employment, whether or not administered by the legal services program;
(7) Selection and financial support for training, including apprenticeship, professional meetings, conferences, and other related activities, and selection for leaves of absence to pursue training;
(8) Employer sponsored activities, including social or recreational programs; and
(9) Any other term, condition, or privilege of employment.
(d) A legal services program may not participate in any contractual or other relationship with persons, agencies, organizations or other entities such as, but not limited to, employment and referral agencies, labor unions, organizations providing or administering fringe benefits to employees of the legal services program, and organizations providing training and apprenticeship programs, if the practices of such person, agency, organization, or other entity have the effect of subjecting qualified applicants or employees with disabilities to discrimination prohibited by this paragraph.
(e) A legal services program shall make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified applicant or employee with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the program.
(1) For purposes of this paragraph (e), reasonable accommodation may include:
(i) Making facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities; and
(ii) job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, the provision of auxiliary aids and/or other assistive technologies, and other similar actions.
(2) In determining whether an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of a legal services program, factors to be considered include, but are not limited to, the overall size of the legal services program with respect to number of employees, number and type of facilities, and size of budget, and the nature and costs of the accommodation needed.
(3) A legal services program may not deny any employment opportunity to a qualified employee or applicant with a disability if the basis for the denial is a need to make reasonable accommodation to the physical or mental limitations of the employee or applicant.
(f) A legal services program may not use employment tests or criteria that discriminate against persons with disabilities, and shall ensure that employment tests are adapted for use by persons who have disabilities that impair sensory, manual, or speaking skills.
(g) A legal services program may not conduct a pre-employment medical examination or make a pre-employment inquiry as to whether an applicant is a person with a disability or as to the nature or severity of a disability except under the circumstances described in 45 CFR 84.14(a) through (d)(2). The Corporation shall have access to relevant information obtained in accordance with this section to permit investigations of alleged violations of this part.
(h) A legal services program shall post in prominent places in each of its offices a notice stating that the legal services program does not discriminate on the basis of disability.
(i) Any recruitment materials published or used by a legal services program shall include a statement that the legal services program does not discriminate on the basis of disability.