Job Accommodation Network

Volume 1, Issue 4, First Quarter, 2004

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

1. Happy Birthday JAN
2. Supervisors and Job Accommodation
3. The A, B, Cs of Hepatitis
4. What Are Personal Assistance Services?
5. Considerations in Starting a Home-Based Business for People with Disabilities
6. Contact JAN

1. Happy Birthday JAN!!!

Did you know that JAN is 20 years old??? We have been providing timely and useful information about accommodations and disability-related legislation since 1983.

A Quick History of JAN...

JAN was started in 1983 by the President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped and continues to be funded by the Office of Disability Employment Policy into which the President's Committee evolved.
The original idea for JAN came from employers working with the President’s Committee. Members of this group included AT&T, Sears, ITT, and 3M.
JAN has always been located at West Virginia University.
JAN has become an extremely successful program by
Gathering and categorizing accommodation information from many available sources.
Providing customized accommodation solutions directly to users over the phone with a professional consultant or on-line through an extensive website.
JAN maintains information from over 12,000 manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, service providers, organizations, and facilities.
Each of JAN’s consultants has, at a minimum, a Master’s degree in a field related to disability or accommodations. Among the disciplines represented are: vocational rehabilitation, psychology, special education, ergonomics, and safety management.
JAN handles over 32,000 inquiries each year.
The JAN website handles approximately 1.4 million page requests per year.
We look forward to serving you!

- Denetta Dowler

2. Supervisors and Job Accommodation

Supervisors and managers play a key role in any work unit and these individuals are instrumental in the implementation and long-term success of an effective accommodation. As we all know, individuals use a variety of different management techniques and styles. This is also true when implementing accommodations.

For example, some managers may allow for flexibility in break time or schedule without formality – as long as there is an assurance the work is being completed in an efficient manner and the position allows for such flexibility. Some companies have policies that managers, supervisors, and individual employees are required to follow when implementing accommodations.

Even with policies, managers and supervisors may have varying styles and understanding of laws. A change in management or supervision has the potential to impact existing accommodations and affect workers with disabilities.

Approximately 70% of contacts (telephone and email) to JAN involve situations where individuals are currently employed. Many employees who call JAN indicate they had been accommodated successfully, but now they have a new manager or supervisor and the accommodation is either in question or is no longer being implemented.

There can be all kinds of reasons for this change in accommodation. It could be that the accommodation had not been formalized and the new supervisor has no knowledge of the need. Another possibility is that the new manager or supervisor has not been trained or is not experienced and thus is not aware of the potential responsibility to consider accommodation. The new manager may be instituting a change to an existing policy or he or she may simply have a different management style. In almost all situations discussed with JAN, a breakdown in communication usually triggers the breakdown in accommodation.

Successful accommodations may require a “maintenance plan.” This maintenance plan should always include a method of informing new managers and supervisors of existing accommodations when they take over the position. Of course, the individual with the disability should be involved in this process.

Proper training on accommodation and ADA issues are vital tools that managers and supervisors need to do their jobs effectively. Education of all workers on company policy related to requesting, implementing, and maintaining an accommodation is just as important.

Managers and supervisors may benefit from visiting JAN’s Searchable Online Accommodation Resource (SOAR) to learn more about specific accommodation options at http://www.jan.wvu.edu/soar/index.htm. Contact JAN to find out more about possible training options for managers and supervisors (800 526-7234 (Voice/TTY) or jan@jan.wvu.edu). The Regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTAC’s) also offer training specific to the ADA and employment. http://www.adata.org/dbtac.html.

- Anne Hirsh

3. The A, B, Cs of Hepatitis

A recent hepatitis A outbreak in Western Pennsylvania has left many people wondering about the differences between hepatitis A, B, and C. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

Hepatitis A, B, and C are not spread through casual contact at the workplace or school setting.

The hepatitis A virus (HAV) that causes Hepatitis A is transmitted from person to person by putting something in the mouth that has been contaminated with the stool of a person with hepatitis A. Once a person is infected, flu-like symptoms may appear with no long-term effects; death is rare. Hepatitis A is preventable by administering immune globulin or the hepatitis A vaccine, and, most importantly, washing your hands after using the bathroom, changing a diaper, or before preparing or eating food.

Hepatitis B is a chronic disease that can cause lifelong infection, cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer, liver failure, and death. The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is transmitted by coming into direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person. The hepatitis B vaccine is available to prevent Hepatitis B.

Hepatitis C is a disease of the liver with similar long-term effects as hepatitis B. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread when blood or body fluids from an infected person enters the body of a person who is not infected. Eighty percent of individuals who have hepatitis C may not have symptoms. There is not a vaccine available to prevent hepatitis C. Treatment for hepatitis C can produce side effects such as flu-like symptoms, fatigue, and depression.

Accommodation considerations, depending on the job and specific limitations of the individual, will generally include time off work, a modified schedule, job restructuring, telecommuting or work at home, and reassignment.

Resources:

Work-site Accommodation Ideas for Individuals with Hepatitis (A, B, or C) http://www.jan.wvu.edu/media/Hep.html

Division of Viral Hepatitis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Infectious Diseases (888) 443-7232 http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/index.htm

- Mandy J. Gamble

4. What are Personal Assistance Services?

Personal Assistance Services (PAS) means having one or more people assist a person with a disability to accomplish tasks that the individuals would normally do if he or she did not have a disability. Some people with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities must seek assistance with routine activities such as dressing, going to the bathroom, preparing meals, and other activities that are easily performed by people without disabilities. Sometimes Personal Assistance Services are needed on a daily basis; other times, they are needed only at specific times of the day.

Personal Assistance Services, however, also may be considered as a reasonable accommodation in the workplace when the task to be accommodated is job-related. As an accommodation in the workplace, PAS usually are provided to assist a person with meeting job-related needs. Some forms of workplace PAS include readers, scribes, job coaches, drivers, and communication access real-time translation (CART). To be effective, a PAS accommodation should give an individual with a disability an opportunity to apply for employment, perform the job functions essential to a particular job, and/or enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment.

Examples of work-related Personal Assistance Services from JAN cases include:

An engineering assistant who is paraplegic could not open the entry or exit doors because of the type of security system at the communication company where he worked. The system included a security guard on duty at the door. The guard opened the door for the employee.
A college professor with physical limitations resulting from a stroke was assigned a student worker to assist with transport of materials to and from classes. The cost was minimal as the worker was already assigned to the department and performed other duties, as well.
An insurance company program analyst who is deaf had to communicate with others 90 percent of the time. The person worked with a team, but team members rotated throughout various projects. An interpreter was hired to facilitate communication between this worker and other team members.
A private school employed a counselor who is blind. Accommodations included providing a screen reader and voice synthesizer for computer activities and a part-time support service assistant for completing handwritten paperwork and reading print materials.
A health care service case manager who is blind was provided a driver to assist in making home visits. The same driver also was used for other driving needs of the health care facility. As often as possible, trips were scheduled so that the driver was transporting this individual and meeting other needs of the agency at the same time.

For further information on PAS in the workplace, contact the Center for Personal Assistance Services located at the University of California, San Francisco at http://www.PASCenter.org. This Center is sponsoring a series of teleconferences during the month of February to provide employers with additional information about PAS as well as to obtain information from employers about their experience with personal assistance services accommodations. You can also obtain more information about PAS and communication access real-time translation (CART) from JAN at http://www.jan.wvu.edu.

- Denetta Dowler and D.J. Hendricks

5. Considerations in Starting a Home-Based Business for People with Disabilities

Many Small Business and Self-Employment Service (SBSES) callers express an interest in starting a small business that can be run from home. The considerations in starting a home-based business are very similar to those in starting any small business; the difference is primarily the location of the business that is often run from a home, garage, barn, workshop, or online space. Advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) have made it possible to connect with locations outside of the home and made traditionally residential spaces more adaptable to starting and running a business. For people with disabilities, the option of working from home can be a very attractive one for the following reasons:

Starting a home-based business can mean lower start-up costs and give an aspiring entrepreneur the opportunity to “test the waters.” It can also mean working part-time and gradually building one’s capacity to work and the scope of the business.
In certain geographic areas, there may be few employment opportunities and home-based business development can allow a person to create work options where there previously were none.
For some people with disabilities, eliminating the work commute can be an important accommodation and allow a businessperson to conserve their energies for workday activities. It also allows for flexibility in work scheduling so that a business owner can determine which work times are optimum for them. Some may find they do their best work at 3 A.M.!
E-commerce opens up many possibilities for creating a business from any location. Although starting a successful e-commerce business is not as easy as it sounds, the ability to set up a “virtual” storefront or office can provide another layer of employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Although there are many advantages to starting a home-based business, there are also some challenges.

First, the same risks that go into starting any business also apply to starting a home-based one. However, good business and disability planning can help ensure that the business will be successful.
Working from home can be potentially isolating. Even though a businessperson is interacting with accountants, buyers, customers, and so on, an individual is not interacting in the same ways they would be in a more traditional work environment.
Even though the capacity exists to work from home, homes and apartments are still considered residential, not commercial, environments. It’s important to check into local zoning requirements to see if starting a home-based business is even possible in your location.
Working from home can sometimes make it difficult to separate work, family, and leisure time. Studies show that those who work from home tend to work more hours than those who work outside of the home. It’s important to think about these issues and development strategies to separate work and home life.
Finally, homes can be very distracting places. The neighbor’s lawnmower, the cable truck down the street, the 3 P.M. rush of children getting off of the school bus can all be distracting. Many business experts recommend setting up a home office space that takes these challenges into consideration.

For more information on starting a home-based business, contact the SBSES consultant team. We will happily answer your more individualized questions about this employment option.

- Kim Cordingly

6. Contact JAN

E-mail: jan@jan.wvu.edu

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

Small Business and Self-Employment Service: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/sbses/

Call JAN: 1-800-526-7234 (Voice/TTY), 304-293-5407 (Fax)

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This publication is funded under a contract supported by the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the U.S. Department of Labor, contract #J-9-M-2-0022. The opinions contained in this publication are those of the contractor and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Labor.