Employers are required, in certain circumstances, to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified employees and job applicants with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to enable disabled persons to perform the essential functions of a job for which they are applying or in which they are working. That must be done unless it would impose an undue hardship on the employer. Adding to employer responsibilities is the new ADA Amendments Act of 2008 that went into effect on January 1, 2009.

What is a reasonable accommodation for workers and job applicants?

Generally, an employer is obligated to make a reasonable accommodation under the ADA only for an employee's or applicant's known or obvious disability. The Americans with Disabilities Act places the initial burden on the worker to inform his employer of a need for an accommodation for his disability. The employee is required only to suggest the existence of a plausible accommodation, the costs of which don't clearly exceed its benefits.

A reasonable accommodation must be examined on a case-by-case basis to determine whether it will be effective and whether it will constitute an undue hardship on the employer. Employers should start the accommodation process by discussing it with the disabled worker and contacting the Research Foundation HR office for guidance in the reasonable accommodation process.

Accommodations can range from making existing facilities accessible to job restructuring, acquiring or modifying existing equipment, or reassignment to a vacant position. The employee with a disability must be provided with the tools and environment to enable him to accomplish the job.

Basic responsibilities of employees and job applicants with disabilities

An individual may use “plain English” and need not mention the Americans with Disabilities Act or use the phrase “reasonable accommodation” when requesting an accommodation. That doesn't mean, however, that an employer is required to provide the change, it is merely a first step.

Employer response to a request for reasonable accommodation

After receiving a request for a reasonable accommodation, the employer and the individual should engage in an informal process to clarify what he needs and to identify the appropriate reasonable accommodation.

Generally, an employer must not ask whether a reasonable accommodation is needed when an employee has not asked for one. An employer should initiate the reasonable accommodation interactive process, however, without being asked to if it: (1) knows the employee has a disability, (2) knows or have reason to know that the employee experiences workplace problems because of the disability, and (3) knows, or have reason to know, that the disability prevents the employee from requesting a reasonable accommodation. RF HR is available to assist with all accommodation requests and will work closely with the sponsored program to make sure that our programs are in compliance with the ADA.

Undue hardship

An employer may refuse to grant an accommodation to an employee or applicant if the requested accommodation isn't reasonable or would cause an undue hardship on its business. Undue hardship refers not only to financial difficulty, but also to reasonable accommodations that are unduly extensive or disruptive or those that would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the business.

For more information on The Americans with Disabilities Act the following information provided by the Job Accommodation Network, a service of the US Dept of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy should prove to be very helpful.