Top Banner
Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel
30

Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Dec 29, 2015

Download

Documents

Elvin Fox
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Page 1: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with

Disabilities

Joyce Walker-Jones

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Office of Legal Counsel

Page 2: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

2

CANCER

Page 3: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

3

DIABETES

Page 4: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

4

HYPERTENSION

Page 5: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

5

SEVERE ARTHRITIS

Page 6: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

6

MENTAL ILLNESS

Page 7: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Tip #1

Recognize that the person needing a reasonable accommodation could

be you or someone you know

7

Page 8: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

What Accommodations May Be Needed?

Job restructuring Leave Modified or Part-time Schedule Telework Modified Workplace Policies Reassignment

8

Page 9: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Tip #2

Recognize requests for

reasonable accommodation

9

Page 10: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

How Does A Person Ask for Reasonable Accommodation?

Individual may use “plain English” and need not mention the ADA or use the phrase “reasonable accommodation,” but

Person must indicate that a change or adjustment is needed for a reason related to a medical condition

10

Page 11: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Hypothetical A: Notice

An administrative assistant tells her supervisor that, due to her medical condition, she needs to be able to work from home one day per week for medical treatment.

Is this a request for a reasonable accommodation?

11

Page 12: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Tip #3

Engage in the interactive process – i.e., talk to the person

12

Page 13: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Hypothetical B: Interactive Process

Same facts as in Hypothetical A.

How should employer start the interactive process?

What questions should the supervisor ask?

What type of documentation, if any, can employer seek?

What if employee does not want to reveal the nature of her “medical condition”?

13

Page 14: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Hypothetical C: Leave

An attorney takes 10 weeks of FMLA leave to treat depression. Instead of returning to work after leave ends, she sends a note from her doctor indicating that she needs another six weeks of leave.

Does employer have to grant the additional leave?

What questions should employer ask?

14

Page 15: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Hypothetical D: Modified Schedule

An EEO counselor asks to change her hours from 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. because the medication she takes for her bipolar disorder makes her drowsy in the mornings. Employees in the EEO office usually work from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Is the employee’s request “reasonable”? Why or why not?

Would changing employee’s schedule pose an undue hardship?

What other information would employer need to know?

15

Page 16: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Hypothetical E: Reassignment

A probationary secretary has been working for two weeks but is unable to type because of a flare-up of arthritis in her wrists. She asks to be reassigned to a vacant receptionist position that does not require typing.

Does the employer have to grant her request for reassignment?

What else does employer need to know?

16

Page 17: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Common Mistakes Made by Employers

Only engaging in reasonable accommodation process if employee formally initiates it

Having frontline supervisors obtain medical information

Focusing on disability and not essential job functions

Failing to use job descriptions when focusing on essential functions

Dismissing an employee’s requested accommodation without exploring alternatives

17

Page 18: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Tip #4

Uniformly apply performance and conduct standards

18

Page 19: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Hypothetical F: Performance and Conduct

Employee’s performance is steadily declining and she has become increasingly withdrawn. Instead of being enthusiastic and positive, she has been coming to work late, generally is negative once she arrives, and has been making errors and missing deadlines.

Should the supervisor raise its concerns about employee’s attitude when talking to her about her performance?

Should the supervisor ask employee whether she is depressed?

19

Page 20: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Tip #5

Decide whether to go beyond

legal obligations

20

Page 21: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Hypothetical G: Going Beyond Legal Obligations

Secretary comes to work on crutches and explains that she slipped coming down the stairs and badly twisted her ankle. She asks whether she can have a printer temporarily installed in her work space until it heals.

Should supervisor ask for documentation from her doctor about the severity of her injury?

Could supervisor consider whether temporarily moving a printer would be an undue hardship?

21

Page 22: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Tip #7

Maintain confidentiality

22

Page 23: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

23

Confidentiality

Information about an employee’s reasonable accommodation must be kept confidential

Exception: Information may be disclosed to supervisors and managers for necessary work restrictions or reasonable accommodations

Exception: Information may be disclosed to individuals involved in making decisions about reasonable accommodations

Exceptions: When necessary for emergency treatment; to officials investigating compliance with ADA; for workers’ compensation and insurance purposes

Page 24: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Tip #8

Document and follow up

24

Page 25: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Remember to . . . Note dates:

When request was made When interactive process began What was requested of employee When documentation was received

Document any follow up (e.g., subsequent requests for documentation, update on employee’s expected return to work)

25

Page 26: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Tip #9

Take advantage of resources

26

Page 27: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

27

Resources

U.S. Department of Labor (for information on Family and Medical Leave Act)

www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla

Job Accommodation Network (JAN)

https://askjan.org

ADA National Network (10 centers located throughout U.S. that provide local assistance)

www.adata.org

Page 28: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

28

Resources (cont.)

Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID)

www.rid.org

Disability*gov (federal government website for comprehensive information on disability programs and services nationwide)

www.disability.gov

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

www.eeoc.gov

Page 29: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

29

Contact Information

Joyce Walker-Jones

Senior Attorney Advisor

[email protected]

(202) 663-7031

Page 30: Best Practices for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities Joyce Walker-Jones Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Counsel.

Tip #10

Remember that on any day, for a host of reasons, anyone …

including me and you … could need a

reasonable accommodation

30