What is a reasonable accommodation?
A reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job that enables an employee with a disability to perform that job. A reasonable accommodation could include:
- Providing or modifying equipment. For example, your employer might provide you with wrist splints, an electric stapler or dictating equipment to take pressure off your wrists and hands.
- Restructuring a job. Your employer might modify your job to eliminate tasks that are difficult for you to complete. For example, say a member of a cleaning crew has arthritis and part of her job requires her to clean the stairs in an office building. However, she has problems walking up and down stairs. The employer can restructure her job (or trade jobs with a coworker) so she can stay on one floor, while the coworker tackles the stairs.
- Offering part-time or modified work schedules.
- Reassigning you to another position.
- Modifying training or required examinations.
- Making the workplace accessible.
When should I request a reasonable accommodation?
Request the accommodation when a workplace barrier is preventing you, due to your disability, from effectively
competing for a position, performing a job or gaining equal access to a benefit of employment. You may make this request at any time during the application process or while you are employed. It may be in your best interest to request a reasonable accommodation before a workplace barrier affects your job performance.
What is the best way to ask for a reasonable accommodation?
Plan carefully how and when you will discuss your needs with your employer. Begin by researching all the changes that could make your performance as productive as possible. When you meet with your employer, describe in simple terms how arthritis is affecting your work. Make it plain that you are not looking for sympathy, but for ways to resolve the problem that will benefit everyone. Be prepared to offer suggestions for possible changes, based on the research you did before the meeting. Chances are, any changes you may need will not be expensive. If you take a positive approach, your employer will probably react favorably. Mention the following facts:
- Job accommodations usually are not expensive. According to the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a service of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, 88 percent of the job accommodations they suggest cost less than $1,000.
- Job accommodations may be as simple as rearranging office furniture or providing work space near the building's entrance.
- Tax deductions and/or tax credits may be available to certain employers who provide accommodations or jobs for people with disabilities. For more information, consult the list of accommodations at the Job Accommodation Network's Web site at
www.jan.wvu.edu.
Where can my employer learn more about the ADA and reasonable accommodation?
The Job Accommodation Network, mentioned above, is one source of free information. Call 800-526-7234 or visit their Web site at
www.jan.wvu.edu. ADA
Technical Assistance Centers, located across the United States, are another
source of information. The centers' specialists can answer most questions you or
your employer may have about the ADA, and they can research more complex
questions if necessary. Call 800-949-4232.
What if I think I am being discriminated against because of my arthritis?
Charges of employment discrimination may be filed at any field office of the U.S. EEOC. Look for an office near you in the government pages of the telephone book under "U.S. Government." The EEOC's Web site address is
www.eeoc.gov.
©2001. National Endowment for Financial Education. All rights reserved.
Note: Certain content areas in this material are current as of the publishing, but legislative and regulatory changes as well as new developments may date this material over time. This
content is meant to provide general financial information; it is not meant to be a substitute for or to supersede specific professional or legal advice.
