Wednesday Wire: January 30, 2019

Submitted by Kris Boone, boone.3@osu.edu

Kris Boone strongly encourages faculty and staff to register for and attend the Equity and Inclusion workshop on Feb. 22 in Wooster.

The Office of Equity and Inclusion’s spring-summer 2019 workshop schedule is now available. Each month, Leo Taylor (taylor.3408@osu.edu), program director of Equity and Inclusion, will facilitate a workshop on the Columbus and Wooster campuses on a topic related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. These free workshops, available to all CFAES faculty, staff, and postdocs, are a wonderful opportunity for personal growth and professional development. Registration is required due to limited space. January’s workshop, “Cultivating an Inclusive Environment: Recognizing and Responding to Unconscious Bias,” was held on Jan. 11 in Columbus and will be held on Jan. 25 in Wooster. It will be offered again in April.

Registration for the February workshops (Feb. 8 in Columbus; Feb. 22 in Wooster) is now underway. Titled “Identity, Power, and Privilege”, the program will explore what it means to have and lack privilege, the complexity of social identities, and how to use power and privilege to disrupt the cycle of oppression. Participants will identify their social identities, begin to uncover sources of bias that have been reinforced by socialization, develop skills for effective allyship, and learn how implementing even the smallest of changes can transform an individual into an agent of change in their communities and profession.

Find the complete schedule of upcoming workshops.

Submitted by Robin Frazier, frazier.389@osu.edu

If employees have left the university, their online W-2 consent is withdrawn. Their W-2 will be mailed starting January 28th to their address in the HR System. 
    
If they have moved they will need to contact the payroll office to confirm identity and update their home address. If the original W-2 is returned it would be re-mailed to their new address. If it does not return, a re-print will be mailed mid to end of February. 
    
Contact information for payroll office is listed below: 
    
Phone: 614-292-2311 
Email: taxoffice@osu.edu 
 

Submitted by Thom Janini, janini4@osu.edu

There continues to be some confusion about the rules governing the presence of animals in ATI academic buildings. I hope this provides clarification. 
    
The University has a general “no pets” policy in all of its buildings. Pets are allowed on the grounds when leashed and under control. Service Animals are generally allowed to accompany their handlers in any building or public space where their handlers are permitted. Emotional Support and visiting therapy animals may be allowed in specified areas of the University with advanced approval. 
    
Service Animals 
A service animal at the Ohio State University, and as defined by the American with Disabilities Act (http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm), is a dog that has been trained to perform an active task that mitigates or partially mitigates the impact of the handler’s disability. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The service (work or task) a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA. 
    
At the Ohio State ATI campus a student (handler) with a service animal (dog) that is registered with Student Success Services - Disability Services is allowed to accompany their student (handler) anywhere on the campus that their student (handler) is permitted (exceptions may exist in areas requiring protective clothing for access). If a Service Animal’s role is not obvious, faculty/staff may ask the student (handler) two questions: 
   1. Is this a service animal required for a disability? 
   2. What work or task (service) does the dog perform? 
   The student (handler) cannot be: 
   • asked about their disability 
   • required to provide medical documentation 
   • required to present a special identification card or training documentation for the dog 
   • asked to demonstrate the dog’s ability to perform the service 
    

Emotional Support Animals 
Assistance animals that provide passive support that partially ameliorates the impact of a disability are referred to as Emotional Support Animals (ESAs). ESA’s are not typically allowed in ATI’s academic buildings unless an accommodation has been granted through Disability Services. 
    
Visiting Therapy Animals 
Animals in the company of their handlers that have been trained to make wellness, stress reduction or therapeutic short-term visits are Visiting Therapy Animals. Permission is required before these animals can be brought into camps buildings. 
    
Pets 
All other privately owned animals that are not in any of the groups listed above are pets. Pets are not allowed in academic buildings generally. Exceptions are occasionally made when an animal will be used in a teaching function and prior permission has been granted by ATI. 
    

 For further information about bringing animals to campus and into academic buildings, please access the OSU University Animal Policy online: https://medicine.osu.edu/students/life/events/Documents/OSU%20University%20Animal%20Policy.pdf