JAN E-News: Volume 1, Issue 2

JAN E-News is the quarterly newsletter of the Job Accommodation Network. JAN is a service of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy. This newsletter will help keep you informed of new work site accommodation tools and techniques, changes at JAN, and other issues important to improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Disclaimer: This document does not represent a statement of policy by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Please use the links at the end of this document to subscribe, unsubscribe, and contact us.

Index

Announcements
Modified Schedules As Accommodation for Fatigue
Personal Finance Issues When Starting a Small Business
CAP - An Accommodation Resource for Federal Employers
Feature Article: Automatic Speech Recognition as a Job Accommodation for Individuals Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Contact JAN

Announcements

New Freedom Initiative Award. ODEP invites nominations for the Secretary of Labor's 2003 New Freedom Initiative Award. Established in 2002, this award recognizes businesses, organizations and individuals who have demonstrated exemplary and innovative efforts in furthering the employment objectives of President George W. Bush's New Freedom Initiative. The eligibility criteria and nomination process, as published in the February 18 issue of the Federal Register, may also be accessed at this site. The deadline for receipt of nominations is May 15, 2003. For more information, go to ODEP's home page at http://www.dol.gov/odep

Modified Schedules As Accommodation for Fatigue

There are several medical conditions that may result in decreased stamina or fatigue, including multiple sclerosis, lupus, fibromyalgia (FMS), cancer, diabetes, and chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS). Tardiness and absenteeism associated with fatigue-causing conditions often results in disciplinary action by the employer. An employee who is overly exhausted or experiences cognitive lag or poor memory retrieval due to fatigue may not be able to meet productivity expectations.

Flexible start-up times can be effective for people who are often late to work. Part-time or reduced hours might help those who cannot work the standard 9-5 schedule or a standard Monday through Friday schedule. Adjustments to regular schedules could include a permanent shift rather than rotational shift assignments.

If an employee's productivity is better earlier in the shift but tends to wane as the shift progresses, then a modified schedule could result in increased productivity overall and in less absenteeism for future days. The employee could be more productive in a shorter shift than in a longer shift and could conserve personal energy for the following day. Fewer work days in the week could have the same result as shorter days.

Some examples of modified work schedules as accommodation:

A warehouse worker needs an hour of rest twice per week to reduce fatigue associated with arthritis. Being allowed to take extended lunch breaks and to make up that time by working later on those days could be an effective accommodation.
A data entry worker tends to be productive in the morning hours but slows down considerably during the afternoon due to reduced stamina associated with multiple sclerosis. By allowing reduced hours or a part-time schedule, the employer could expect better productivity than in a longer shift.
An accountant is chronically late to work whenever experiencing flare-ups of symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. By allowing a flexible start up time, the employer can anticipate a full day's work by having the employee report to work later and leaving later on those days.

- Eddie Whidden

Personal Finance Issues When Starting a Small Business

An area of interest and concern for many Small Business and Self-Employment Services consumers is the role their personal finance and credit issues will play in their ability to secure financial assistance when starting a business. If there has been an interruption in work, unpaid medical expenses, or other catastrophic life circumstance, one's personal credit may be negatively affected. What steps can be taken to improve the chances that adverse credit histories will not detrimentally affect one's ability to secure funding? JAN asked community development banking and alternative funding practitioners throughout the country for their suggestions:

Demonstrate that every attempt has been made to pay current and past debts or that appropriate payment arrangements have been made. Even small monthly payments can demonstrate a consistent attempt to address the issue.
Meet with a consumer credit counseling agency and keep meticulous records of the credit repair process.
Be completely candid and forthcoming with the funding source about your circumstances and possibly present a written explanation of what specifically caused the credit problem. If you can explain the "derogatories" sufficiently, a poor credit record may not have a detrimental effect.
Go over your credit report carefully and make sure that all information is correct. Make sure all new and paid debts are accurately reflected on the report.
Include as much of your personal finance information to the potential lender as they request and be prepared to show your monthly budget. Use supporting documentation to show that monthly bills (utilities, etc.) have been paid on a regular basis.
Provide proof that good credit was maintained before the "negative event" (i.e. illness, job loss, divorce). Make sure that the business idea/plan you are interested in presenting to a funder is well developed and a good fit for you. Be extremely meticulous and organized in your presentation. Have others read over your letters and plans.
Be upfront and honest. Over and over again, loan practitioners emphasized the importance of this. They said that honesty goes a long way in their eyes. If they have someone who is not completely truthful, there is little chance they will overlook the other issues.

Resources:

Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA)
PMB 626, 11350 Randoms Hill Road
Suite 800
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Toll-Free: 800-450-1794
Phone: 703-934-6118
Fax: 703-802-0207
URL: http://www.aiccca.org/

National Foundation for Credit Counseling
801 Roeder Road
Suite 900
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Toll-Free: 1-800-388-2227
Phone: 301-589-5600
Fax: 301-495-5623
URL: http://www.nfcc.org/

- Kim Cordingly

CAP - An Accommodation Resource for Federal Employers

Federal agencies have two important accommodation resources available for employees with disabilities, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) and the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP). CAP ensures that people with disabilities within the federal government have equal access to the information environment and opportunities. The Department of Defense (DoD) established CAP to provide assistive technology and accommodation services for individuals with disabilities. CAP is the centrally-funded program in the federal government to provide accommodations. In 2002, CAP had partnerships with 51 federal agencies including eight at the cabinet level. CAP also provided over 2,000 accommodations to its federal partners and over 3,200 accommodations to DoD organizations. CAP currently provides accommodations to DoD and 53 partner agencies.

In addition to paying for and providing a wide variety of assistive technology for people with hearing, visual, dexterity, cognitive, and communication disabilities, CAP provides services including:

assistance with assessments, accommodations, and training for Workers' Compensation claimants;
accommodations for teleworkers (telecommuters);
ensuring public access to Human Resource/EEO Offices and Training Centers; and technology integration and installation.

By providing these services, CAP helps DoD and federal partner agencies adhere to Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Executive Orders 13163 and 13164, which mandate the hiring of 100,000 persons with disabilities in the federal government and require the establishment of accommodations procedures.

In order to identify and request accommodations, CAP has a simple five-step process which includes: 1) needs assessment, 2) accommodation solution, 3) completion and submission of the CAP Request Form, 4) identification of whether training is required, and 5) feedback on customer service received from CAP. Further information on this process is available online at: http://www.tricare.osd.mil/cap/acc_proc/acc_proc_ov.cfm.

CAP also maintains the CAP Technology Evaluation Center (CAPTEC) where employees and their supervisors can evaluate and become familiar with assistive technology. CAPTEC, located in the Pentagon, contains several computer workstations equipped with a wide variety of technology solutions for a variety of disabling conditions. CAPTEC is available via video teleconference (VTC) for individuals who cannot travel to Washington, DC. Furthermore, there is an interactive tour available online at: http://www.tricare.osd.mil/cap/captec/captec_ov.cfm.

Recently, CAP has been more active in training federal employees and supervisors how to integrate a disability management plan into their organization to support President Bush's New Freedom Initiative (http://www.disabilityinfo.gov) and the President's Management Agenda (http://www.results.gov). Specifically, as Dinah F. B. Cohen, the CAP Director, states:

"CAP seeks to ensure that federal agencies recognize that mainstream recruitment, placement, and retention issues in their agency's Human Capital Scorecards can be positively impacted with a well-devised disability management plan. At CAP, we work with DoD and partner agencies to bring forward accommodation solutions for employees that also support an agency's overall objective, such as reduction of Workers' Compensation costs, increased utilization of teleworkers, and locating talented Americans to create the federal Workforce of the 21st Century."

CAP and JAN support the federal goal of increasing employment and retention of people with disabilities and are jointly committed to making the federal workplace a productive and healthy environment for all employees. The CAP and JAN staffs work with individuals to ensure compliance with federal laws and to assist in creating a more accessible information environment within the federal government. To assist with these initiatives, the JAN and CAP organizations have formed a partnership portal where all federal employers and employees dealing with disability issues quickly can locate information and resources to answer their most frequent questions. The CAP and JAN portal is available at: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/cap.

For further information on CAP, contact via telephone at (703) 681-8813, TTY at (703) 681-0881, e-mail at cap@tma.osd.mil, or the Internet at http://www.tricare.osd.mil/cap.

- Beth Loy, Ph.D. (With Thanks to Derek Shields, CAP Technical Manager, for supplying valuable information.)

Feature Article: Automatic Speech Recognition as a Job Accommodation for Individuals Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Automatic Speech Recognition (the computer-driven transcription of spoken language into readable text) technology has been used as a job accommodation for years. Although the technology has most commonly been used to prevent or alleviate workplace cumulative trauma injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, and to enable computer access for individuals with fine motor limitations, vision impairment, or learning disabilities, this article focuses on its use by people who are deaf or hard of hearing. To read the complete article about using automatic speech recognition as an accommodation for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, go to http://www.jan.wvu.edu/enews/2003-2/speech_recognition.htm

Contact JAN

E-mail: jan@jan.wvu.edu

JAN Web site: http://www.jan.wvu.edu

Call JAN: 800-526-7234 (Voice), 877-781-9403 (TTY), 304-293-5407 (Fax)

To subscribe to or unsubscribe from JAN Updates:

To subscribe, e-mail us at subscribe@jan.wvu.edu. When subscribing, be sure to include the e-mail address at which you want to receive the newsletter.

To cancel a subscription, e-mail us at unsubscribe@jan.wvu.edu. Be sure to include the address at which you are receiving the newsletter.

This document was developed by the Job Accommodation Network, funded by a contract agreement from the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy (#J-9-M-2-0022). The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the U.S. Department of Labor. Nor does mention of tradenames, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Labor.

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Home >> JAN E-News
Volume 1, Issue 2, Second Quarter, 2003

JAN E-News is the quarterly newsletter of the Job Accommodation Network. JAN is a service of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy. This newsletter will help keep you informed of new work site accommodation tools and techniques, changes at JAN, and other issues important to improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Disclaimer: This document does not represent a statement of policy by the U.S. Department of Labor. Please use the links at the end of this document to subscribe, unsubscribe, and contact us. Index Announcements Modified Schedules As Accommodation for Fatigue Personal Finance Issues When Starting a Small Business CAP - An Accommodation Resource for Federal Employers Feature Article: Automatic Speech Recognition as a Job Accommodation for Individuals Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing Contact JAN Announcements New Freedom Initiative Award. ODEP invites nominations for the Secretary of Labor's 2003 New Freedom Initiative Award. Established in 2002, this award recognizes businesses, organizations and individuals who have demonstrated exemplary and innovative efforts in furthering the employment objectives of President George W. Bush's New Freedom Initiative. The eligibility criteria and nomination process, as published in the February 18 issue of the Federal Register, may also be accessed at this site. The deadline for receipt of nominations is May 15, 2003. For more information, go to ODEP's home page at http://www.dol.gov/odep Modified Schedules As Accommodation for Fatigue There are several medical conditions that may result in decreased stamina or fatigue, including multiple sclerosis, lupus, fibromyalgia (FMS), cancer, diabetes, and chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS). Tardiness and absenteeism associated with fatigue-causing conditions often results in disciplinary action by the employer. An employee who is overly exhausted or experiences cognitive lag or poor memory retrieval due to fatigue may not be able to meet productivity expectations. Flexible start-up times can be effective for people who are often late to work. Part-time or reduced hours might help those who cannot work the standard 9-5 schedule or a standard Monday through Friday schedule. Adjustments to regular schedules could include a permanent shift rather than rotational shift assignments. If an employee's productivity is better earlier in the shift but tends to wane as the shift progresses, then a modified schedule could result in increased productivity overall and in less absenteeism for future days. The employee could be more productive in a shorter shift than in a longer shift and could conserve personal energy for the following day. Fewer work days in the week could have the same result as shorter days. Some examples of modified work schedules as accommodation: A warehouse worker needs an hour of rest twice per week to reduce fatigue associated with arthritis. Being allowed to take extended lunch breaks and to make up that time by working later on those days could be an effective accommodation. A data entry worker tends to be productive in the morning hours but slows down considerably during the afternoon due to reduced stamina associated with multiple sclerosis. By allowing reduced hours or a part-time schedule, the employer could expect better productivity than in a longer shift. An accountant is chronically late to work whenever experiencing flare-ups of symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. By allowing a flexible start up time, the employer can anticipate a full day's work by having the employee report to work later and leaving later on those days. - Eddie Whidden Personal Finance Issues When Starting a Small Business An area of interest and concern for many Small Business and Self-Employment Services consumers is the role their personal finance and credit issues will play in their ability to secure financial assistance when starting a business. If there has been an interruption in work, unpaid medical expenses, or other catastrophic life circumstance, one's personal credit may be negatively affected. What steps can be taken to improve the chances that adverse credit histories will not detrimentally affect one's ability to secure funding? JAN asked community development banking and alternative funding practitioners throughout the country for their suggestions: Demonstrate that every attempt has been made to pay current and past debts or that appropriate payment arrangements have been made. Even small monthly payments can demonstrate a consistent attempt to address the issue. Meet with a consumer credit counseling agency and keep meticulous records of the credit repair process. Be completely candid and forthcoming with the funding source about your circumstances and possibly present a written explanation of what specifically caused the credit problem. If you can explain the "derogatories" sufficiently, a poor credit record may not have a detrimental effect. Go over your credit report carefully and make sure that all information is correct. Make sure all new and paid debts are accurately reflected on the report. Include as much of your personal finance information to the potential lender as they request and be prepared to show your monthly budget. Use supporting documentation to show that monthly bills (utilities, etc.) have been paid on a regular basis. Provide proof that good credit was maintained before the "negative event" (i.e. illness, job loss, divorce). Make sure that the business idea/plan you are interested in presenting to a funder is well developed and a good fit for you. Be extremely meticulous and organized in your presentation. Have others read over your letters and plans. Be upfront and honest. Over and over again, loan practitioners emphasized the importance of this. They said that honesty goes a long way in their eyes. If they have someone who is not completely truthful, there is little chance they will overlook the other issues. Resources: Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA) PMB 626, 11350 Randoms Hill Road Suite 800 Fairfax, Virginia 22030 Toll-Free: 800-450-1794 Phone: 703-934-6118 Fax: 703-802-0207 URL: http://www.aiccca.org/ National Foundation for Credit Counseling 801 Roeder Road Suite 900 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 Toll-Free: 1-800-388-2227 Phone: 301-589-5600 Fax: 301-495-5623 URL: http://www.nfcc.org/ - Kim Cordingly CAP - An Accommodation Resource for Federal Employers Federal agencies have two important accommodation resources available for employees with disabilities, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) and the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP). CAP ensures that people with disabilities within the federal government have equal access to the information environment and opportunities. The Department of Defense (DoD) established CAP to provide assistive technology and accommodation services for individuals with disabilities. CAP is the centrally-funded program in the federal government to provide accommodations. In 2002, CAP had partnerships with 51 federal agencies including eight at the cabinet level. CAP also provided over 2,000 accommodations to its federal partners and over 3,200 accommodations to DoD organizations. CAP currently provides accommodations to DoD and 53 partner agencies. In addition to paying for and providing a wide variety of assistive technology for people with hearing, visual, dexterity, cognitive, and communication disabilities, CAP provides services including: assistance with assessments, accommodations, and training for Workers' Compensation claimants; accommodations for teleworkers (telecommuters); ensuring public access to Human Resource/EEO Offices and Training Centers; and technology integration and installation. By providing these services, CAP helps DoD and federal partner agencies adhere to Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Executive Orders 13163 and 13164, which mandate the hiring of 100,000 persons with disabilities in the federal government and require the establishment of accommodations procedures. In order to identify and request accommodations, CAP has a simple five-step process which includes: 1) needs assessment, 2) accommodation solution, 3) completion and submission of the CAP Request Form, 4) identification of whether training is required, and 5) feedback on customer service received from CAP. Further information on this process is available online at: http://www.tricare.osd.mil/cap/acc_proc/acc_proc_ov.cfm. CAP also maintains the CAP Technology Evaluation Center (CAPTEC) where employees and their supervisors can evaluate and become familiar with assistive technology. CAPTEC, located in the Pentagon, contains several computer workstations equipped with a wide variety of technology solutions for a variety of disabling conditions. CAPTEC is available via video teleconference (VTC) for individuals who cannot travel to Washington, DC. Furthermore, there is an interactive tour available online at: http://www.tricare.osd.mil/cap/captec/captec_ov.cfm. Recently, CAP has been more active in training federal employees and supervisors how to integrate a disability management plan into their organization to support President Bush's New Freedom Initiative (http://www.disabilityinfo.gov) and the President's Management Agenda (http://www.results.gov). Specifically, as Dinah F. B. Cohen, the CAP Director, states: "CAP seeks to ensure that federal agencies recognize that mainstream recruitment, placement, and retention issues in their agency's Human Capital Scorecards can be positively impacted with a well-devised disability management plan. At CAP, we work with DoD and partner agencies to bring forward accommodation solutions for employees that also support an agency's overall objective, such as reduction of Workers' Compensation costs, increased utilization of teleworkers, and locating talented Americans to create the federal Workforce of the 21st Century." CAP and JAN support the federal goal of increasing employment and retention of people with disabilities and are jointly committed to making the federal workplace a productive and healthy environment for all employees. The CAP and JAN staffs work with individuals to ensure compliance with federal laws and to assist in creating a more accessible information environment within the federal government. To assist with these initiatives, the JAN and CAP organizations have formed a partnership portal where all federal employers and employees dealing with disability issues quickly can locate information and resources to answer their most frequent questions. The CAP and JAN portal is available at: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/cap. For further information on CAP, contact via telephone at (703) 681-8813, TTY at (703) 681-0881, e-mail at cap@tma.osd.mil, or the Internet at http://www.tricare.osd.mil/cap. - Beth Loy, Ph.D. (With Thanks to Derek Shields, CAP Technical Manager, for supplying valuable information.) Feature Article: Automatic Speech Recognition as a Job Accommodation for Individuals Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing Automatic Speech Recognition (the computer-driven transcription of spoken language into readable text) technology has been used as a job accommodation for years. Although the technology has most commonly been used to prevent or alleviate workplace cumulative trauma injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, and to enable computer access for individuals with fine motor limitations, vision impairment, or learning disabilities, this article focuses on its use by people who are deaf or hard of hearing. To read the complete article about using automatic speech recognition as an accommodation for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, go to http://www.jan.wvu.edu/enews/2003-2/speech_recognition.htm Contact JAN E-mail: jan@jan.wvu.edu JAN Web site: http://www.jan.wvu.edu Call JAN: 800-526-7234 (Voice), 877-781-9403 (TTY), 304-293-5407 (Fax) To subscribe to or unsubscribe from JAN Updates: To subscribe, e-mail us at subscribe@jan.wvu.edu. When subscribing, be sure to include the e-mail address at which you want to receive the newsletter. To cancel a subscription, e-mail us at unsubscribe@jan.wvu.edu. Be sure to include the address at which you are receiving the newsletter. This document was developed by the Job Accommodation Network, funded by a contract agreement from the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy (#J-9-M-2-0022). The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the U.S. Department of Labor. Nor does mention of tradenames, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Labor.
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