Common Workplace Accommodation Situations

In 1991 the ADA made a law that stated businesses with 15 or more employees must provide reasonable accommodations.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) “prohibits discriminating against an individual in the selection process” (Moran, 2014, p. 32) due to a potential disability. A disability can be defined as a mental or physical condition that can result in some sort of handicap. As a result, the employer may be required to accommodate the people who are considered as disabled, to help them perform his or her job duties.

This is not a complete list of the types of discrimination found in the workplace, there are other forms of workplace discrimination prohibited by the ADA. However, one form of workplace discrimination; the failure to reasonably accommodate the disabilities of applicants and employees, applies to all stages of the employment process. An accommodation is any change in the workplace environment or in the way things are done in the workplace that gives individuals with disabilities equal employment

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 established a standard to “public accommodations” requiring businesses to make “reasonable modifications” to the usual

Individuals with disabilities continually encounter various forms of discrimination, including intentional exclusion from certain work areas, that denies them the opportunity to compete on an equal basis and to pursue those opportunities that guarantees success in the society. To guarantee success there is expectation regarding the relationship between the employer and employee, giving close attention to the various factors that should be considered to make the person with disability successful. This paper outlines the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the terms and conditions covering employees and employers as stated in Title 1. Title 1, as amended by the ADA amendment 2008, states that no covered entity will discriminate against a qualified individual based on disability (EEOC, 2015).

A medical office needs to be compliant with employment laws; this will ensure they do not have lawsuits that could patiently put a company out of business. This also helps the offices run smoothly and free from errors. There are several employment laws a few of them are the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The American with Disabilities (ADA) is when an employer is to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee with a known mental or physical limitation, or a qualified individual with a

The disability can range from any form of walking, talking, seeing, hearing, and learning. This law also extends to persons diagnosed with HIV or AIDS as well any person who has completed drug and alcohol rehabilitation. This law was enacted to protect people with disabilities and provide them with employment opportunities. All organizations within in United State of America must provide these disabled employees with various accommodations such as elevators, access lamps, and telephones with hearing impaired equipment. If an organization does not comply with this law they maybe subject to civil penalties such as $55,000 for the first violation or $110,000 for each subsequent violation. If cited for major noncompliance the organization could cause warranty compulsory and punitive damages (United State Department of Labor,

According to Gary Dessler, “employers with 15 or more workers are prohibited from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities with regard to applications, hiring, discharge, compensation, advancement, training, or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. It also says that employers must make ‘reasonable accommodations’ for physical or mental limitations unless doing so imposes an ‘undue hardship’ on the business.” It not only prohibits discrimination in employment but also outlaws most physical barriers in public accommodations, transportation, telecommunications, and government services.

A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a job or things related to someone’s job that allow an individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of the position as long as it does not present too much of a hardship to the employer. For example, an employer must make existing facilities used by employees readily

The ADA was approved by the United States Congress in 1990 and is an extension of The Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law protects individuals from employment discrimination based on disability. “The purpose of this section is to ensure that people with disabilities are not excluded from job opportunities or adversely affected in any other aspect of employment unless they are not qualified or otherwise unable to perform the job” (Guido, 2014, p.277). Not only the disability can be physical such as a person in a wheelchair, people that might have visible symptoms as fatigue, kidney or heart diseases that limit a person's attitude. In this case the employer must evaluate to offer a reasonable accommodation in the preparation for the employee

Sears, Roebuck & Co. – “The Commission brought this landmark disability discrimination lawsuit alleging that Sears maintained an inflexible workers’ compensation leave exhaustion policy and terminated employees instead of providing them with reasonable accommodations for their disabilities, in violation of the ADA. The case resulted in the largest monetary recovery in a settlement of a single ADA lawsuit in EEOC history” (EEOC, 2009, para. 2). So, employers were not interactively providing reasonable accommodations, which violated the ADA as stated. Actually, employers do not have to provide reasonable accommodation unless the employee asks, according to the EEOC in

Every employee in the organization should be given the necessary accommodations to make sure they are working in an environment that is safe. Organizations struggle with ADA because they are unaware of the guidelines set by the law and they lack the expertise to manage the needs for the employees.

Employers operate disability management programs because it gives them a structured way to manage workplace costs associated with workplace illness and injury. Costs can be controlled through maintaining skilled workers and limiting absences to maintain a productive workforce. The program is also thought to “prevent workplace injury and illness and to accommodate workers in a manner that facilitates early and safe return to work.” (Management of Occupational Health and Safety, 2011, 329) I also feel that employers operate disability management programs as a way to keep themselves out of financial hardship and legal issues which could stem from a workplace injury or illness.

    A person with a disability, or handicap, can be defined as someone with a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial or long-term adverse affect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities (Employment 2). Handicap workers face many challenges in the work place that the average person overlooks. Also, many special arrangements and alterations have been made to the workplace for people with handicaps. Accessibility, transportation, workload, and salary are just some of the many issues that must be considered with the prospect of employing the handicap.

Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers with fifteen or more employees are prohibited from discriminating against people with disabilities. Furthermore, the employment provisions of the Act require that employers provide equal opportunity in selecting, testing, and hiring qualified applicants with disabilities, job accommodations for applicants and workers with disabilities when such would not impose due hardship, and equal opportunity in promotion and benefits. (United States Department of Labor). If an employer is found liable for such discrimination, the fines can be extremely high. Therefore, it is important to know the definition of disability as determined by the ADA. A disability is a physical or mental impairment that essentially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual, a record of having such impairment, or being regarded as having such impairment (Bennett-Alexander and Hartman) and the individual should be able to prove such factors to establish a prima facie case in court. Despite of these definitions, a disability is determined based on the effect the impairment