September 20, 2019
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers are prohibited from discriminating against an employee based on any disabilities they may have. Employers are also required to provide “reasonable accommodations” to disabled employees to help them complete their job tasks. This does not mean that the employer is required to fulfill every single one of their employer’s requests – they are only legally required to supply “reasonable” adjustments.
So what is considered “reasonable” under the law?
A “reasonable” accommodation is anything that does not create undue hardship. Below are some examples of reasonable accommodations that you can make for disabled employees:
Provide an employee in a wheelchair a clear path to their desk. Remove any chairs or other furniture items that may get in their way.
Adjust an employee’s schedule so that they may attend medical appointments. For example, have an employee work four 10-hour days instead of five, 8-hour days. Make sure all training videos are captioned so that Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing employees can easily receive the information. Install computer screen magnifiers for visually impaired employees.
The general theme is here making small considerations that allow your disabled employee to find success at work. It is common for disabled employees to negotiate the accommodations they may need. If you are disabled, make sure to clearly communicate what your limitations are and how they affect your work performance. Follow that up with a list of accommodations that would help you to reach your full potential. If you are an employer and are not sure whether the requests you receive would be considered reasonable or not, then call us to discuss. We are happy to provide legal insight in situations like these.
