ADA accommodation

System · April 2001

This week's HRhero.com poll question (on home page):

Have you ever made an ADA accommodation for an employee?

If so, what was your experience? Did the employee request the accommodation, or did you offer the accommodation? Did it work out well for your company and the employee?

WO · April 2001

This public employer has made many small accommodations. One significant accommodation ended in discharge and took four years to complete. The employer was finally successful in "summary judgement". The case involved an employee who insisted on receiving his desired accommodation. The employer made 4 separate offers of accommodation which were rejected and the employee was discharged for refusal to report to work. The employee could not prove any valid medical reason for not accepting the employer's accommodation.

I have read recently of a court definition stating that the employee's requested accommodation must be given primary consideration.

Gar · April 2001

It has been my experience that most ADA accommodations are relatively inexpensive and require some simple creativity/imagination. We had a situation in which an employee in the mail room could not perform the "lift 50 pounds" job requirement due to her bad back. We simply asked the employee what she would consider to be a reasonable accommodation. Her response was that a co-worker, in another department, who performed data entry work wanted a change. Both employees held the same grade level and the employee with the bad back had data entry experience. So, it was a matter of a simple job swap and everyone was happy. So, the first step I normally take in making accommodations is to ask the affected employee his/her view as to what reasonable accommodation would be. More often than not, the accommodation is a relatively simple one and inexpensive.

Bellywasher · April 2001

Our company has OFFERED accomodation to three employees. It appears this is the most prudent action to take in light of potential litigation. It is always better to enter court knowing that you made every effort to accomodate an employee, regardless if the employee made a formal request for accomodation or not.

I would like to know to what extent the court would agree that an accomodation would create an undue hardship on an employer. My company has been trying to trim labor costs yet we have an employee for whom we created a temporary light duty position some time ago. The previous HR Manager did not specify with the employee the length of time this light duty position would be available to the employee. The employee recently had a functional capacity exam, which states the employee cannot perform the essential functions of the position for which he was hired with or without accomodation. Would the court frown on this employee's termination should the employee file an ADA action?

Gar · April 2001

Fisrt of all, the ADA does not require an employer to create a position for a person (applicant or employee) with a disability that cannot be accommodated. Secondly, it seems to me that if you've made good faith attempts and cannot accommodate the employee, employment termination is your only choice.

Theresa Gegen TX · April 2001

I would handle this situation gingerly. The ADA does not require you to create a position, but since you already have, given this employee "light duty" with no particular end date, you may run into problems. Before you terminate the employee, you probably should get counsel from an employment attorney, who can go over the facts of the situation in detail (what was told to the employee about the light duty, etc) and could help you develop a defensible plan for terminating the employee.

Terri · April 2001

We had a similar situation with an employee who had been employed with us for approx. 14 years. When he no longer could do his regular heavy equipment operator job, we offered to transfer him to the maintenance dept. where he worked until he and his doctor said he could not longer do this type of work either. We had no choice but to terminate his employment because we didn't have any other jobs that he could perform. We never "create" jobs but we certainly do look at alternatives for light duty work, but for only as long as the doctor says he has to be on light duty work. Good Luck.

Dawn_TX · April 2001

We have a long-term employee (12 years) who's health has posed several problems in the last few years; a cerebral aneurysm in 96, a heart attack 2/2000 and now fibromyalgia. Her doctor requested 4 day work weeks with Fridays off for rest. We granted this request in March of this year and it's working out very, very well. The employee schedules all medical and/or personal appointments on Fridays, and by telecommunting as needed, her productivity AND attendance have improved significantly. This has worked well for all.

Jackie · June 2001

Is this a production job or office job? Do you have a Union contract involved?

Don D · February 2002

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 02-25-02 AT 12:51PM (CST)[/font][p]This one offers a strange twist. When I joined this ER as HR Director I soon learned of a shipping Ee who had been granted an accomodation. Upon investigation, I learned that the major requirement of the position was forklift operation, constantly, with all other duties remaining peripheral and totalling maybe 1 hour per day. Upon researching further and discussion with supervisors and the Ee, I learned that he never made a request, only that he was insulin dependant and the prior HR guy had decided to grant. After 4 subsequent seizures, one resulting in him laying unconscious for some period of time behind a stack of large cable reels with towmotors scurrying about the area, I decided to require further medical opinion and certification. His primary physician then reviewed our job description, including physical demands, and said he could do the job only if we removed the forklift operator requirement. This was the main job essential and no accomodation was found that was reasonable. He had earlier been told he could just sit around and others would pick up the slack. The union had also filed grievances about this accomodation. The same union contract in effect precludes our shifting him to another position since its outside the bid process (although no job here could accomodate his condition) I removed the accomodation, earlier granted, and he was terminated. Legal counsel advised that since the company's earlier accomodation was in fact not reasonable, the company was not forever saddled with the outcome of that bad decision, and the current review of medical opinion could be used to remove the earlier granted accomodation. Sticky? You bet! Don D.

ADA accommodation

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