ADA in Employment

One of the most important and most misunderstood provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”) is the duty of reasonable accommodation.  Generally speaking, the ADA requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to qualified but disabled employees and job applicants.  The employer, therefore, is required to make the workplace, equipment, and information physically accessible to the disabled in order that they might enjoy employment opportunities available to the non-disabled.

A reasonable accommodation is an aid or service provided, or a special adjustment made, by an employer enabling a disabled employee or job applicant to perform the “essential functions” of a job.  Although an employer is not required to fundamentally alter the “essential functions” of the job in question, it must attempt a reasonable accommodation.  Generally, these may include: making existing facilities readily available; restructuring or modifying the job to enable a disabled person to perform the job’s essential functions; provide part-time or flex-time scheduling to the disabled employee; reassign the employee to a vacant position; provide special equipment or modify existing equipment for the employee; modify or adjust examination or training procedures that do not relate to the job’s “essential functions”; and, in certain cases even provide the employee with a reader or an assistant. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recommends that the employer and the employee or qualified job applicant engage in a flexible, interactive process in order to determine the possible solutions applicable to the individual employee.  At minimum, the employer ought to analyze the job’s “essential requirements” and consult with the employee to determine his/her individual preferences and limitations arising out of the disability.  This is an area of law that is far from concrete and in which fair dealing and good faith ought to control.