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Albritton Disability Consulting Services, LLC: Your guide to Section 508 compliance

Reasonable Accommodations

When faced, for the first time, with providing a reasonable accommodation to a qualified employee with a disability, it should not have to be a stressful or complex process. ADCS-LLC has extensive experience that can help your employee!

Here are some things to remember:

  • Job accommodations are often not very costly. In fact, over 71 percent of accommodations cost less than $500.00 – according to a report from the Job Accommodation Network.
  • Be creative and think with an open mind! Some accommodations just require simple readjustment of the work setting.
  • Job accommodations can reduce workers' compensation costs.
  • With accommodations in place, you create opportunity for a qualified employee with a disability.

Definition of a reasonable accommodation

A reasonable accommodation is any modification or adjustment to a job or the work environment that will enable a qualified applicant or employee with a disability to participate in the application process or to perform essential job functions.

Reasonable accommodation also includes adjustments to assure that a qualified individual with a disability has rights and privileges in employment equal to those of employees without disabilities.

Is your business covered?

Job discrimination against people with disabilities is illegal if practiced by:

  • Private employers
  • State and local governments
  • Employment agencies
  • Labor organizations
  • Labor-management committees.

As an employer, you have rights and responsibilities when it comes to exploring and implementing reasonable accommodation. If confronted by a job applicant or an employee with an existing or acquired disability, you have a responsibility to engage in a timely interactive process to determine an effective reasonable accommodation. If not, you could be held individually liable in court for such actions construed as discriminatory.

Accommodating hidden disabilities can often be a little more complex. ADCS-LLC's consultants can equip you with the knowledge and strategies you need to effectively accommodate a person with an obvious or non-obvious disability.

Help is a phone call away!

Contact us today to schedule a workshop for your business and learn:

  • What employment practices are covered in order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation?
  • Who is protected by the law to receive a reasonable accommodation?
  • How are essential functions determined?
  • What are an employer's obligations to provide reasonable accommodations?
  • What is the best way to identify a reasonable accommodation?
  • When does a reasonable accommodation become an undue hardship?
  • Can an employer require medical examinations or ask questions about an individual's disability?
  • Do individuals who use drugs illegally have rights under the State or Federal disability laws?
  • How are State and Federal disability laws enforced and what are the available remedies?

We can also provide answers to what the State and Federal disability laws have to say about:

  • If there are several qualified applicants for a job, do the State and Federal disability laws require that the applicant with a disability be hired?
  • Is an employee protected under State and Federal disability laws if she has diabetes, but takes insulin daily to control it with no significant impact on her employment?
  • Is an employee protected by the State and Federal disability laws if he has a broken arm that will heal but is temporarily unable to perform the essential functions of his job as a machine operator?
  • Is a business obligated to provide a reasonable accommodation for an individual if it is unaware of her physical or mental impairment?
  • How does a business determine whether a reasonable accommodation is appropriate and the type of accommodation that should be made available?
  • When must a business consider reassigning an employee with a disability to another job as a reasonable accommodation?
  • What if an applicant or employee refuses to accept an employer-offered accommodation?
  • If a business has a gym in the building, must it be accessible to employees with disabilities?
  • If a business contracts for a consulting firm to develop a training course for its employees, and the firm arranges for the course to be held at a hotel that is inaccessible to one of the employees, is the business liable under the State and Federal disability laws?
  • What are a business' responsibilities as an employer for making its facilities accessible?
  • Under the State and Federal disability laws, can an employer refuse to hire an individual or fire a current employee who uses drugs illegally?
  • Do State and Federal disability laws cover people with AIDS?
  • Can a business consider health and safety in deciding whether to hire an applicant or retain an employee with a disability?
  • Is a business required to provide additional insurance for employees with disabilities?
  • Is a business required to post a notice explaining the State and Federal disability law requirements?