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The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that
employers with 15 or more employees make reasonable accommodations in the
workplace for employees with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations must be
made on a case-by-case basis and are not required when costs would constitute
an undue hardship for an employer.
What are Reasonable Accommodations?
Reasonable accommodations are adjustments or modifications which
range from making the physical work environment accessible to restructuring a
job, providing assistive equipment, providing certain types of personal
assistants (e.g., a reader for a person who is blind, an interpreter for a
person who is deaf), transferring an employee to a different job or location,
or providing flexible scheduling. Reasonable accommodations are tools provided
by employers to enable employees with disabilities to do their jobs, just as
the employer provides the means for all employees to accomplish their jobs. For
example, employees are provided with desks, chairs, phones, and computers. An
employee who is blind or who has a visual impairment might need a computer
which operates by voice command or has a screen that enlarges print.
What is Undue Hardship?
This legal term is defined in the ADA as an action requiring
significant difficulty or expense for the business/employer, considering the
following factors:
- the nature and cost of the proposed accommodation,
- the overall financial resources of the business and the effect
of the accommodation upon expenses and resources, and
- the impact of the accommodation upon the operation of the
facility.
When May a Job Accommodation be
Required?
A workplace accommodation may be requested by an employee with a
disability at any time during employment. After initiating the workplace
accommodation process, the individual and the employer should discuss the
request. There are several considerations when determining reasonable
accommodation requests, including the demands of the job, the employee's skills
and functional limitations, available technology, and cost. After both parties
agree that a workplace accommodation is needed, an appropriate one must be
selected.
What are the Steps to Consider When Making
a Workplace Accommodation?
Step 1: Decide if the employee with a disability is qualified
to perform the essential functions of the job with or without an
accommodation.
Step 2: Identify the employee's workplace accommodation needs
by:
- involving the employee who has the disability in every step of
the process;
- employing confidentiality principles while exploring ways to
provide workplace accommodations;
- consulting with rehabilitation professionals, if needed;
- using job descriptions and job analyses to detail essential
functions of the job; and
- identifying the employee's functional limitations and potential
accommodations
Step 3: Select and provide the accommodation that is most
appropriate for the employee and employer.
- Costs should not be an undue hardship.
- Accommodations selected should be effective, reliable, easy to
use, and readily available for the employee needing the accommodation.
- An employee should try the product or piece of equipment prior
to purchase.
Step 4: Check results by:
- monitoring the accommodation to see if the adaptation enables
the employee to complete the necessary work task(s); and
- periodically evaluating the accommodation(s) to ensure
effectiveness.
Step 5: Provide follow-up, if needed, by:
- modifying the accommodation if necessary; or
- repeating these steps if appropriate.
What Tax Credits are Available to Assist
with Workplace Accommodations?
Disabled Access Tax Credit: This is a tax credit available
to an eligible small business in the amount of 50 percent of eligible
expenditures that exceed $250 but do not exceed $10,250 for a taxable year.
Architectural Barrier Tax Deduction: Businesses may deduct
up to $15,000 of the costs incurred each year to remove physical, structural,
or transportation barriers in the workplace.
Where Can I Obtain Additional Information
About Workplace Accommodations?
The Office of Disability Employment Policy's Job Accommodation
Network (JAN):
(800)526-7234 (V/TTY)
/odep/programs/job.htm
Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers
(DBTACs):
(800)949-4232 (V/TTY)
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC):
For Technical Assistance: (800)669-4000 (V) or (800)669-6820 (TTY)
To
Obtain Documents: (800)669-3362 (V) or (800)800-3302 (TTY)
Mark Pitzer, Attorney
Office of Chief
Counsel
IRS
1111 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20224
(202)622-3110 |
