{"id":1720,"date":"2024-09-23T15:34:15","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T20:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/community-empowerment-institutional-inclusivity\/?page_id=1720"},"modified":"2026-03-05T11:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T17:59:10","slug":"invitation-to-identify-disability-and-veteran-status","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/community-empowerment-institutional-inclusivity\/services\/equal-opportunity-civil-rights\/invitation-to-identify-disability-and-veteran-status\/","title":{"rendered":"Invitation to Identify Disability and Veteran Status"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"uwm-p-accordion uwm-p-accordion--icon-left-circle\" data-accordion-prefix-classes=\"uwm\" data-accordion-cool-selectors=\"1\"><button class=\"uwm-p-accordion--toggle-button size-p-md\">Expand All<\/button>\n<div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--header\"><strong>Why is UWM asking employees to identify their disability and veteran status?<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel\"><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel-inner uwm-u-clear\">\n<p>Because UWM receives funding from the federal government, UWM is considered a federal contractor. As a federal contractor, UWM must comply with federal affirmative action regulations that require UWM to collect and report demographic information regarding job applicants and employees. These same federal regulations require UWM to regularly provide its employees with the opportunity to self-identify as an individual with a disability and\/or military veteran.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--header\"><strong>Where do I identify my disability and\/or veteran status?<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel\"><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel-inner uwm-u-clear\">\n<p>You may view or edit your veteran and disability status by clicking the \u201cVeteran Status\u201d and \u201cDisability\u201d tabs on the&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrs.wisconsin.edu\/psp\/hrs-fd\/EMPLOYEE\/HRMS\/c\/EL_EMPLOYEE_FL.HR_EE_ADDR_FL.GBL\">Update My Personal Information<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;page in the My UW System portal. On this same page, you can also update your contact information, emergency contacts, and marital status.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--header\"><strong>Who has access to my information regarding disability and\/or veteran status, and how is it used?<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel\"><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel-inner uwm-u-clear\">\n<p>Individual information concerning disability and\/or veteran status is treated as confidential employee information and is used only for affirmative action reporting purposes. As such, individual information is only accessible by staff in UWM\u2019s Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights (formerly Equity\/Diversity Services) and by designated UWM Human Resources professionals.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--header\"><strong>What if I don\u2019t want to provide this information?<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel\"><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel-inner uwm-u-clear\">\n<p>While we encourage you to provide this information, your participation is completely voluntary and declining to participate will not subject you to any adverse employment action. There is also an option of \u201cI don\u2019t wish to answer\u201d for disability status on the&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrs.wisconsin.edu\/psp\/hrs-fd\/EMPLOYEE\/HRMS\/c\/EL_EMPLOYEE_FL.HR_EE_ADDR_FL.GBL\">Update My Personal Information<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;page.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--header\"><strong>Didn\u2019t I already provide this information during onboarding for my position?<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel\"><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel-inner uwm-u-clear\">\n<p>While you may have provided information about your disability and\/or veteran status when you were hired, disability status can change over time, and data-entry errors sometimes happen when this information is provided. To ensure that it has the most accurate and current information, UWM is asking all employees to review\u2014and update, if necessary\u2014their disability and veteran status.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--header\"><strong>Can my status as an individual with a disability and\/or veteran be used in making employment decisions?<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel\"><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel-inner uwm-u-clear\">\n<p>No. This information is kept&nbsp;<em>confidentially<\/em>, and individual information will only be accessed by staff in EOCR and designated Human Resources professionals. It will not be used as the basis for any employment decisions affecting you or in any other manner inconsistent with the law.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--header\"><strong>How do I know if I have a disability?<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel\"><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel-inner uwm-u-clear\">\n<p>Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), you are considered to have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment or medical condition that substantially limits a major life activity, or if you have a history or record of such an impairment or medical condition. Specific examples of disabilities can be found on the \u201cDisability\u201d tab of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrs.wisconsin.edu\/psp\/hrs-fd\/EMPLOYEE\/HRMS\/c\/EL_EMPLOYEE_FL.HR_EE_ADDR_FL.GBL\"><strong>Update My Personal Information<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;page.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--header\"><strong>How do I know if I am a protected veteran?<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel\"><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel-inner uwm-u-clear\">\n<p>The Vietnam Era Veterans\u2019 Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA) outlines four categories of military veterans who are considered protected veterans:<br>\u2022 Disabled veteran<br>\u2022 Recently separated veteran<br>\u2022 Active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran<br>\u2022 Armed forces service medal veteran<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More detailed definitions for each of these categories are available on the \u201cVeteran Status\u201d tab of the&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrs.wisconsin.edu\/psp\/hrs-fd\/EMPLOYEE\/HRMS\/c\/EL_EMPLOYEE_FL.HR_EE_ADDR_FL.GBL\">Update My Personal Information<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;page.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--header\"><strong>Can I change my disability or veteran status in the future?<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel\"><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel-inner uwm-u-clear\">\n<p>Yes. You can update your disability or veteran status at any time through the&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrs.wisconsin.edu\/psp\/hrs-fd\/EMPLOYEE\/HRMS\/c\/EL_EMPLOYEE_FL.HR_EE_ADDR_FL.GBL\">Update My Personal Information<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;page.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--header\"><strong>How do I request a workplace accommodation if I have a disability?<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel\"><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel-inner uwm-u-clear\">\n<p>Regardless of their classification as faculty, academic staff, or university staff, any UWM employee who has a disability may be eligible for reasonable accommodations in their position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because the needs of a particular employee and the accommodations they seek are unique and assessed on a case-by-case basis, any questions about accommodations should be directed to the HR Compliance Officer and ADA Coordinator, Kurt Hennemann, at&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:rommel@uwm.edu\">rommel@uwm.edu<\/a>, or (414) 229-5411.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are an employee in need of a leave of absence due to a medical condition, please consult the Human Resources Business Partner for your School, College, or Division (<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/hr\/client-group-assignments\/\">Client Group Assignments<\/a>), or the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/hr\/toolkits\/fmla\/\">Family and Medical Leave Act Toolkit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--header\"><strong>Who can I contact for more information about identifying my disability and\/or veteran status?<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel\"><div class=\"uwm-p-accordion--panel-inner uwm-u-clear\">\n<p>If you have any questions or concerns about identifying your veteran or disability status, please contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights at&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:eo-cr@uwm.edu\">eo-cr@uwm.edu<\/a> or 229-5923, or Human Resources at 229-4463.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":17391,"featured_media":0,"parent":2205,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"class_list":["post-1720","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - 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