CDMS (EXIN) key terms

A modification or adjustment to a job, work environment, or the way work is performed that enables a qualified person with a disability to apply for, perform, and enjoy the benefits of employment.

Significant difficulty or expense that would make an accommodation unreasonable when weighed against the employer's size, resources, and the nature of the operation.

The ongoing, good-faith dialogue between employer and employee to identify barriers and agree on an effective accommodation, typically documented through each step of the exchange.

The fundamental job duties that must be performed, with or without accommodation; they exclude marginal tasks and anchor decisions about qualification, accommodation, and return to work.

Secondary or peripheral job duties that can be reassigned or redistributed to others without fundamentally changing the position, often a low-cost accommodation option.

A person who meets legitimate skill, experience, or education requirements for a position and can perform its essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation.

A significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of the individual or others that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation, assessed on current objective evidence.

A case-by-case evaluation of a person's actual abilities, limitations, and circumstances rather than assumptions based on a diagnosis, disability category, or generalized stereotype.

A structured, objective measurement of physical or cognitive abilities such as lifting, sitting tolerance, and endurance, used to compare a worker's capacity with job demands.

A systematic description of the strength, posture, motion, and environmental requirements of a specific job, used to match worker capacity with job requirements.

The process of gathering and organizing information about a position's duties, tasks, tools, working conditions, and performance standards to support hiring, accommodation, and return-to-work decisions.

A coordinated set of policies and practices that helps an injured or ill employee re-enter employment safely, often through modified duties, graduated hours, or temporary assignments.

Temporary, time-limited duties or schedules that bridge an employee from recovery to their regular job while accommodating current functional limitations.

An interdisciplinary, work-oriented program using real or simulated job tasks to progressively rebuild a worker's physical tolerance, safety awareness, and productivity behavior.

A physical conditioning program focused on restoring strength, endurance, and mobility after injury, typically without the job-specific and psychosocial emphasis of work hardening.

A temporary adjustment to a job's tasks, hours, or equipment that lets an employee work within medical restrictions while recovering, often documented in writing.

Documented limits on what a patient may safely do at work, such as lifting caps or shift limits, issued by a treating clinician and used to guide placement decisions.

The clinician responsible for a patient's medical care who provides diagnosis, treatment, and work status information used by the disability manager in case decisions.

An evaluation performed by a clinician who has no treating relationship with the claimant, used to clarify diagnosis, causation, or functional capacity when questions arise.

A collaborative process that assesses, plans, coordinates, and monitors services to meet a person's health and employment needs and to achieve cost-effective outcomes.

The professional who coordinates care, communicates with providers and employers, monitors progress, and documents the plan for an injured or disabled individual.

The deliberate organization of activities among providers, employers, and payers to deliver appropriate services and reduce duplication, delay, and conflicting recommendations.

A framework holding that health and disability outcomes arise from interacting biological, psychological, and social factors, including beliefs, workplace, and support systems.

Non-medical factors such as fear of re-injury, low confidence, workplace conflict, or family stress that can delay recovery and complicate return to work.

A coordinated, employer-based approach that prevents unnecessary work disability and helps employees remain at or return to productive work through accommodation, early intervention, and support.

Prompt outreach and action after an injury or illness, such as early contact and triage, intended to prevent delayed recovery and long-term work absence.

The coordinated administration of leave, tracking, and return processes for employees who are away from work for medical or personal reasons.

Restrictions in a person's ability to perform activities such as lifting, standing, concentrating, or communicating, described in functional terms rather than by diagnosis.

A structured method of identifying skills from past work or training that qualify a person for other occupations when the former job is no longer medically or economically suitable.

Services that help people with disabilities prepare for, obtain, or retain suitable employment, including assessment, counseling, training, and job placement support.

United States law prohibiting disability discrimination in employment and requiring reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals unless it imposes undue hardship.

United States law providing eligible employees job-protected unpaid leave for specified family and medical reasons, with continuation of group health coverage during leave.

A state-based insurance system that pays medical and wage-replacement benefits to employees injured on the job, generally in exchange for limited liability of the employer.

The ethical and legal duty to protect personal health information, sharing it only with those who have a legitimate need to know for a permitted purpose.

A person's voluntary agreement to an assessment, treatment, or release of information after receiving an explanation of purpose, risks, benefits, and alternatives.

A collaborative conversation style that strengthens a person's own motivation and confidence for change by exploring ambivalence without confrontation or persuasion.