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Reasonable Accommodation In The Work Place Under Ada

Reasonable Accommodation in the Work Place Under ADA


by
Julie Roberts
Comp 1113
Section 12-041
Instructor Joy Cleaver
December 2, 1996

There may be as many as one thousand different disabilities that affect
over forty-three million Americans. Of all the laws and regulations governing
the treatment of those Americans the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the
most recent major law. It was passed in 1990 and although it is spelled out in
a technical ADA manual that is several hundred pages in length. Two of ADA's
two major sections, Titles II and III concern the operation of state and local
government and places of public accommodation. They require new public and
commercial facilities to be accessible to people with disabilities.
Modifications to existing facilities need to be made only if the cost is
"readily achievable" and does not cause an undue financial or administrative
burden. This essay will concentrate on Title I, the employment aspects of the
law. This section forbids employment discrimination against people with
disabilities who are able to perform the essential functions of the job with or
without reasonable accommodation.
This definition poses three main questions: Who is considered disabled?
What is an essential function of a job? What is considered Reasonable
Accommodation?
To be protected under the ADA an individual must have a physical or
mental impairment that substantially affects one or more major life activities.
The impairment may not be due to environmental, cultural, or economic
disadvantages. For example a person who cannot read because they have dyslexia
is considered disabled but a person who cannot read because they dropped out of
school is not. In addition persons who are perceived to be disabled are
protected by ADA. For example, if a person were to suffer a heart attack, when
he tries to return to work the boss might be scared the workload will be too
much and refuse to let him...