Reasonable Accommodation for Disabled Employees
Monday, November 24th, 2008The ADA requires employers with 15 or more employees to make ‘reasonable accommodation‘ so that individuals with disabilities have equal employment opportunities. Such accommodations might include a sign language interpreter for a deaf person during an interview, regularly scheduled breaks for a diabetic to eat and monitor blood sugar, or someone to read bulletin board posts to a deaf person. An employer must provide such reasonable accommodation if a person with a disability needs one in order to apply, perform, or enjoy benefits of a job equal to those offered to other employees. Employers are not required to provide an accommodation that would pose an undue hardship, such as a significant expense based on your resources and normal business operation. Most accommodations are low cost, and can often be offset with tax credits.