What are the Three Most Important Factors in Determining Accommodation in the Workplace is Required?
What are the Three Most Important Factors in Determining Accommodation in the Workplace is Required?
- Qualified employees; assistance; disability.
- Reasonable accommodation; disability; changes.
- Disability; reasonable accommodation; undue hardship.
- Disability; reasonable accommodation; qualified employee.
ANSWER
Disability; reasonable accommodation; undue hardship.
WHY IS IT RIGHT
A reasonable accommodation is assistance or changes to a position or workplace that will enable an employee to do his or her job despite having a disability. Under the ADA, employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities, unless doing so would pose an undue hardship. Qualified employees are those who hold the necessary degrees, skills, and experience for the job; and who can perform its essential functions, with or without an accommodation.
Individual with a disability?”
An individual meets the Americans with Disabilities with Act definition act of “disability” that would qualify them for reasonable accommodations if they have “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities (sometimes referred to in the regulations as an “actual disability
Essential functions?”
In order to be qualified for a position, an applicant or employee must be able to perform essential job functions. Factors for determining essential functions of a job include:
- Whether the position exists specifically to perform these essential functions.
- The number of other employees who are available to perform the same job duties.
- The expertise or skills required to perform the essential functions.
What types of accommodations are generally considered reasonable?
- Change job tasks.
- Provide reserved parking.
- Improve accessibility in a work area.
- Change the presentation of tests and training materials.
- Provide or adjust a product, equipment, or software.
- Allow a flexible work schedule.
- Provide an aid or a service to increase access.
- Reassign to a vacant position.
What are some examples of reasonable accommodation?
Provide Alternative Formats: A supervisor gives feedback in writing, rather than verbally, for an employee who communicates better through written materials.
Accessible Parking: An employer changes its practice of only offering parking to upper management to allow an employee who is unable to walk long distances access to a reserved parking spot close to the building.
Service Animals: An employer reasonably changes their office’s “no animals” policy, in order to welcome an employee’s service animal.
Equipment Change: An employer purchases software that magnifies the computer screen to allow an employee with low vision to correctly enter and read information on the computer.
Reorganization of the Job: The employer provides a checklist to ensure task completion for an employee who has an intellectual disability.
Reassignment: Reassignment is the reasonable accommodation in some situations. An employer may reassign an employee to an open position if the employee can no longer perform the essential functions of their current job. The employer does not have to create a new position, no other employees need be transferred or terminated in order to make a position vacant for the purpose of reassignment, and the individual with a disability should be qualified for the new position.
WHY IS EVERYTHING ELSE WRONG
The key words and phrases in accommodations that give reasonable to understand this important workplace principle are:
- Reasonable accommodations
- Disability
- Qualified people
- Undue hardship
- Necessary degrees, skills and experience.
- Essential functions.