Policies

Some employees with various limitations may require additional, detail-oriented training to help them learn to do their job tasks or to enhance their knowledge of their duties. Due to difficulties with memory associated a condition or from medications taken, an employee might benefit from training refreshers, whether given in part of in full, extended time with a trainer, or the use of alternate materials.

A person who performs certain job-related tasks for a person with a disability to help overcome limitations resulting from the disability. Examples include a page turner for a person who has no hands, or a travel attendant to act as a sighted guide to assist a blind employee on work-related travel. WPAS may include personal care-related assistance such as helping an employee to access the restroom, eat or drink at work, or travel for business purposes.

Environmental sound machines, also known as sound conditioners, help block out extraneous noises that are often found to be distracting. They can also be used to reduce stress in the work environment. Devices can include those that create persistent masking sound to relieve stress from tinnitus and otherwise drown out unwanted sounds.

Employees who experience limitations in concentration may need a flexible schedule in order to work optimally during hours of increased attentiveness. Flexible schedules can also be used to have a period of mental rest in order to refocus and reorient into his/her work. Examples of a flexible schedule would be adjusting starting and ending times of the workday, combining regularly scheduled breaks to create one extended break or dividing large breaks into smaller segments, and allowing work to be completed during hours when the employee is most mentally alert.

The modification and/or removal of marginal functions from a position is an example of a reasonable accommodation. Essential functions are those job duties that an employee must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation. From The ADA: Your Responsibilities as an Employer by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - Factors to consider in determining if a function is essential include: whether the reason the position exists is to perform that function, the number of other employees available to perform the function or among whom the performance of the function can be distributed, and the degree of expertise or skill required to perform the function. Your judgment as to which functions are essential, and a written job description prepared before advertising or interviewing for a job will be considered by EEOC as evidence of essential functions. Other kinds of evidence that EEOC will consider include: the actual work experience of present or past employees in the job, the time spent performing a function, the consequences of not requiring that an employee perform a function, and the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.

Some employees can benefit from taking their breaks at a different rate than what may be considered standard by their employer to accomodate certain conditions, symptoms and habits they have in order to perform their job at their optimal level.

Periodic rest breaks can allow an individual to move about, stretch, adjust their seating position, or modify how a task is completed. Breaks can be short in duration, depending on the individual’s needs. Time used for breaks can be taken from already provided break time, lunch, or made up so there is not an impact on productivity.

Signage to indicate individual should practice physical/social distancing.

Common policy modification accommodations include modifications to leave, no-animal, dress code, and fragrance policies. For example, an attendance policy can be modified so that the absences related to seizures will not count against the employee.

Employees who are having difficulties meeting the expectations for a given position may benefit from receiving different work from their employer. There may be personal conflicts with an individual and their disabilities that prevents them performing certain jobs or tasks but that may not affect their performance in other tasks that they may be equally qualified for.

These alerting devices emit an alarm or buzzing noise to alert the person they are falling asleep. It is generally used to prevent falling asleep behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Strobe lights can be useful as an accommodation to alert workers who are deaf to oncoming vehicles in an industrial environment.

The modification of supervisory methods can be a reasonable accommodation. Examples include meeting with employees more or less frequently to discuss daily/weekly job tasks, encouraging employee to let supervisor know when something is unclear, providing instructions auditory or in writing, using remote communication options when appropriate, and using a goal-oriented management method.

An emotional support animal (ESA) is a companion animal that provides therapeutic benefit, such as alleviating or mitigating some symptoms of the disability, to an individual with a mental or psychiatric disability. Emotional support animals are typically dogs and cats, but may include other animals. In order to be prescribed an emotional support animal by a physician or other medical professional, the person seeking such an animal must have a verifiable disability. To be afforded protection under United States federal law, a person must meet the federal definition of disability and must have a note from a physician or other medical professional stating that the person has that disability and that the emotional support animal provides a benefit for the individual with the disability. An animal does not need specific training to become an emotional support animal.

Telework, within certain fields, can be an excellent alternative for employees who have conditions that make it difficult for them to leave their home or reliably travel to a place of work. Employers should consider if a job can be made compatible with telework for their employees and communicate their expectations and requirement for the job to be performed out of home. Allowing work from home during worksite or office construction; extremely hot, cold, or inclement weather; or parking renovations could be a reasonable accommodation.

Faucets equipped with a proximity sensor that allows activation without touch.