Would you deem Karina disabled under the ADAAA?

Homework

After viewing the tutorial located in this week’s Lecture tab, complete the reading and review the Lecture notes. Answer the following questions relating to ADA expanded by the ADAAA.

If such a situation occurred in your workplace and you were the Director of Human Resources:

• Would you deem Karina disabled under the ADAAA? If so, what reasonable accommodations would you offer to her?
• From an ADA policy standpoint, what would your ideal be in terms of an employer ADAAA policy? What would your ideal be as to what the employee (Karina) should be told by the HR Department in regards to her rights and obligations pursuant to the ADAAA? From the employer policy perspective, focus on identification of reasonable accommodation requirements under applicable law, application of the legal requirements for this scenario, determinations as to whether reasonable accommodations can be made, and steps that can be taken to make specific accommodations if requested.

Your assignment should be between 500-750 words. Properly cite your sources using APA format.

 

I have attached case

Americans with Disabilities Act, ADAAA, and the Family Medical Leave Act

 

Introduction

This week, we will continue our discussion on discrimination in the employment environment. However, we will focus on two different areas of discrimination: disability and leave discrimination. These areas of discrimination are slightly different from our prior areas of focus. In addition, we will cover how the Occupational Safety and Health Administration provides protection for employees.

Americans with Disabilities Act

 

The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 towards making employment and other areas of life more accessible to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. We will focus on the employment-related areas.

When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed, the intent from an employment side was to allow opportunities in the workforce for all, but especially those with disabilities. Prior to the passage of the Act, employers had limited responsibility to accommodate individuals who were not able to perform the duties of their position. The ADA requires employers to make a reasonable accommodation for disabled employees to help with performing their duties. This action allowed more individuals for job consideration. In return, employers made modifications to help disabled workers on the job.

It sounds simple, right? Well, the ADA is not as easy to follow as it sounds. In fact, many employers find the Act complex and difficult to administer. According to many employers, terms are vague, which creates challenges in compliance. However, there are guidelines for employers to insure compliance. Even while doing this task, though, there is no guarantee that an employer can completely avoid a claim under ADA. The ADA was recently amended on January 1, 2009. The ADAAA provides clarity and broadens the definition of coverage.

Job Descriptions

ADA compliance begins with the employer’s job descriptions. A job description includes a summary of the position, job duties, and job requirements. The job duties and requirements are most important when considering ADA. The job duties should focus on the essential duties and responsibilities of a position. Employers must check the job requirements section for accuracy. Job requirements (such as a college degree) are typically not applicable to ADA. However, mental, physical, and environmental conditions may result in a requirement for an accommodation. Some employers will include requirements casually because they feel that employees may need those skills to perform the jobs. However, this can be dangerous. An employer should review the requirements and determine if they are essential or if additional assistance can be provided to help perform the task. For example, including a requirement to be able to walk around the office is unnecessary. The requirement would more appropriately be stated as the ability to move around the office, which would not exclude someone in a wheelchair. Applicants and employees can request accommodation to perform the essential functions of the job. We will explore accommodations more below.

Reasonable Accommodations

Now, let’s get back to our discussion on accommodations. Employers cannot ask direct questions about candidate disabilities. However, the employer has the legal right to ask a candidate if he or she is able to perform the duties of a job. This opens the door for a candidate to reveal a disability for which reasonable accommodation might apply. One exception is in which an individual comes in with an obvious disability and it is clear that this disability might impact his or her ability to perform the job. In this instance, an employer can ask the applicant if he or she will need reasonable accommodation to meet any of the job duties. The key here is that the applicant’s disability is obvious, so the employer is not asking the applicant to reveal something that is not already known.

When an accommodation is requested, the employer should consider the request as it relates to essential job duties. The employer should also consider the reasonableness of the requirements. An accommodation is considered reasonable or unreasonable based upon the cost to make the change and the available resources. Undue hardship is an individualized assessment of current circumstances that shows how reasonable accommodation would cause significant difficulty or expense. This is determined by cost, financial resources of the employer, employee headcount, impact of the cost, industry, and the impact of the accommodation to operations.

When addressing a reasonable accommodation, good practice is to request that the employee provide suggestions that would help him or her perform the duties of the position. These suggestions should then be reviewed by human resources or a disability coordinator. By having the employee suggest the requirements, it is more likely that the accommodation will work for the employee. The employer should also obtain supporting medical documentation to substantiate the disability. An employer may need a medical consultant to help determine if the disability and requested accommodation are appropriate.

The ADAAA did not change the reasonable accommodations provisions of the ADA. However, the term disability was significantly expanded. The ADAAA states that it should be interpreted broadly, versus narrowly, which can exclude employees from protection. The ADAAA added major bodily functions to protect those with serious medical conditions that are not evident daily. For example, major bodily functions include digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions. The ADAAA prohibits employers from considering the effects of many mitigating measures when determining whether someone has a disability. Additionally, the ADAAA covers workers whose employers discriminate based on a perception that the worker is impaired, regardless of whether the worker has a disability. This protection does not apply to persons with short-term impairments (colds, flu, broken bones).

ADA Tutorial

Tutorial

ADA

Click on the above ADA link to view the Tutorial related to the Americans With Disabilities Act in conjunction with our TCO.

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox, located at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these step-by-step instructions.

See Syllabus/”Due Dates for Assignments & Exams” for due date information.

Family and Medical Leave Act

 

Our next topic is the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Passed in 1994, it was the first federal legislation that provided job-protected leave for an employee’s own medical condition, to care for a seriously ill family member, and for bonding time after birth or adoption. FMLA applies to all employers who have 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius. Many employers have concerns with FMLA because of the complexities that come with its administration.

In January 2009, FMLA was amended to provide additional benefits to military families. In addition, the amendment clarifies information related to eligibility, pregnancy, intermittent and long increments of leave, and leave compensation. For additional information on the changes, see the link provided in Webliography titled ADAAA.

FMLA provides up to 12 weeks of leave for qualifying exigencies within a rolling year. In addition, the law was expanded to provide coverage of up to 26 weeks to care for an injured serviceperson. To qualify for leave, an employee must be employed with the employer for 12 months (need not be consecutive) and have worked at least 1,250 hours. A leave of absence is unpaid; however, employer policies may allow use of accrued, compensated leaves.

The human resources department typically administers FMLA provisions to ensure compliance and to meet the timelines prescribed by the law. The U.S. Department of Labor provides significant resources on its website to assist employers in administering the law (see Webliography).

Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)

With more and more responsibilities placed by government on employers for the safety of their staff, it is no surprise that businesses are consistently reviewing safety policies and procedures. In today’s environment, providing a safe working environment for your team is critical not only for the safety of your employees, but protection from liability. The governmental agency, which monitors corporate safety policies, is OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). “OSHA’s mission is to assure the safety and health of America’s workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health” (http://www.osha.gov).

Some items to understand in creating a safe work environment include:

· knowing the laws/maintaining the appropriate logs;

· ergonomics; and

· Violence in the workplace.

OSHA Logs

It is critical to understand the laws governing businesses related to safety. If your company has a Safety Organization, meet with them and have them provide you with the skills and tools necessary. Review the “Compliance Assistance” portion at the OSHA website, posted in the Webliography. It is important to understand the requirements specific to the industry of your business, for example, working with chemicals (copier repair) or construction workers (safety tools/equipment/belts, etc.).

Ergonomics

Ergonomics is the study of workplace design in relation to the physiological capabilities of people to fit the workplace. Ergonomics relates to stress upon the human body. Ergonomics works towards preventing injuries/illnesses by instituting ergonomic principles to identify, evaluate, and control risk factors for work-related physical disorders. Examples of physiological ergonomic factors include repetitive and prolonged activity, forceful exertions, awkward postures, excessive vibrations, and workstations lacking adjustability. Examples of physiological factors include heat, cold, environmental extremes, or extended work schedules.

Violence in the Workplace

Violence in the workplace is a serious safety and health issue. The most extreme workplace violence is homicide. It is also the third leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States. There were 639 workplace homicides in 2001 in the United States, out of 8,786 fatal work injuries (Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries). Research has identified specific environments associated with workplace violence and determined solutions to implement for potential prevention. As a result, recommendations were developed (OSHA) to provide counsel towards creating safer work environments (U.S. Department of Labor). Take some time to review these workplace violence potential solutions at the OSHA website posted in Webliography.

Conclusion

The laws that we discussed in this week’s lecture provide employees with protection related to personal situations, disabilities, and safety. While there are a multitude of employment laws, they were all put into place to protect people. Having a basic, yet solid understanding of these regulations will help reduce risk for employees and the employer. There are a variety of resources available for HR professionals. Identify them and use them as needed.