803 Revised
June 2005
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION IN
EMPLOYMENT
A Fact Sheet from the Minnesota
Disability Law Center.
This
fact sheet discusses Federal Law and Minnesota State Law only. This information does not constitute legal
advice as each case is different, and because the law is constantly subject to
change.
1. How do I know if I meet the definition
of disability?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines disability
as:
a. A
physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the
major life activities of such individual;
b. A record
of such an impairment; or
c. Being
regarded as having such an impairment. See, 42 U.S.C. '
12102(2).
The Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) defines a disabled
person as >any
person who
(1) has
a physical, sensory, or mental impairment which materially limits one or more
major life activities;
(2) has a
record of such an impairment; or
(3) is
regarded as having such an impairment. See, Minn. Stat. ' 363.01,
Subd. 13.
The U.S. Supreme Court held in 1999 that a person is not
disabled if the disabling condition can be corrected through the use of
medications, glasses, or the like.
Therefore, to fit the definition of disability under any of the three
prongs, a person must be able to list disabling conditions which, even when
corrected, still substantially limit a major life activity. For example, the medications may have side
effects; diabetes, although controlled with medications, may require certain
dietary restrictions or accommodations the failure of which would result in
experiencing insulin shock; a person may still have seizures with significant
results even though they are taking medications, etc.
2. Does the employer have fifteen or more
employees?
Only employers who have fifteen or more employees are
required to provide reasonable accommodations under the ADA and the MHRA. These fifteen employees can be full-time or
part-time; they can work in the same or different facilities owned and operated
by the same company; but the company must employ at least fifteen employees.
The standard for what constitutes fifteen employees is
fairly loose. Both Minnesota law and
federal law describe this requirement as:
“A number of part-time or full-time employees for each working day in
each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year
. . . equal to, or greater than fifteen (employees) effective July 1, 1994.”
3. Does the employer know about the
disability?
The employer must have reason to know of the disability. The employer is not obligated to accommodate
a person with a disability if they are not aware of the disability. Usually this means that the person with a
disability must tell the employer about his/her disability and request
accommodation.
4. Has a reasonable accommodation been
requested?
The person with a disability must let the employer know that
reasonable accommodation is necessary.
5. Can
the essential functions of the job be performed with or without reasonable
accommodation?
The accommodation must help the person with a disability
perform the essential functions of the job.
An employer will not be required to hire a second person to perform the
essential functions of the job. For
example: an employer wishes to hire a
typist whose only job function is typing documents. An applicant has carpal tunnel and cannot
type. The employer will not be required
to hire a second person to perform typing duties.
6. What are some examples of reasonable
accommodation?
Some examples of reasonable accommodations set forth in the
MHRA and the ADA include the following:
$ making
facilities accessible to, and usable by, persons with disabilities;
$ job
restructuring, such as exchanging parts of a job with another employee. (For example, one job requires periodic heavy
lifting and the employee has a bad back. Perhaps another employee who does not
have a bad back can do the lifting while the employee with a bad back does
another part of the other person's job.)
$ modified work schedules, such as allowing
an employee with diabetes who has dietary restrictions to eat more often or
have lunch at a different time, or allowing an employee to extend the work day
in order to have a rest period in the middle if required by a disability;
$ reassign the
employee with a disability to a vacant position which the employee is qualified
to fill and which the employer needs filled;
$ modifying
equipment or devices, or providing aides, readers or interpreters.
7. When is an employer not obligated to
provide reasonable accommodation?
An employer is not obligated to provide an accommodation if
it would impose an undue hardship on its business. Factors that the statutes indicate can be
considered to determine undue hardship include:
$ cost of the
proposed accommodation;
$ overall size
of the business, including number of employees;
$ number of
facilities;
$ type of
operation;
$ structure of
the work force; and
$ number of
employees at the location where the accommodation would occur.
An example of undue hardship might be that the employer has
several facilities, but only one or two employees at each office who have to do
all of the work. An employer can
consider the nature and cost of an accommodation, and whether or not the
accommodation could be considered at some facilities, (for example, where the
employer has more employees) and perhaps not at others where the facility and
the accompanying work force are smaller.
8. What if an employer refuses to
accommodate?
If an employer is unwilling to provide the accommodation
requested, or if the employer claims the provision of an accommodation is an
undue hardship, an employer has the burden to prove that it has considered the
least restrictive or less expensive alternatives, including consultation with the
disabled person or with organizations serving persons with disabilities.
Employers often think that it will cost a good deal more to
make an accommodation than it actually would cost. Sometimes an accommodation is as simple as
allowing someone to have their instructions tape recorded, or allowing someone
to wear ear phones so they are not distracted by noise around them, or allowing
someone an empty office as space when they have difficulty with concentration
or attention span.
Recently, a study was completed of Sears employees from 1978
to 1994. The focus of the study was to
determine how much reasonable accommodations actually cost the company. It was determined that only about ten percent
of the persons identified as having disabilities actually needed an
accommodation. Of that number, the
accommodation cost anywhere from practically nothing to several hundred
dollars. The average cost per employee
broke down to $36.00 over this sixteen-year period.
9. Does an employer have to accommodate a
disability-related absence?
Generally an employer is not obligated to accommodate
disability-related absences as a form of reasonable accommodation. If an employee is absent due to the
conditions of his/her disability, an employer may treat the absence in the same
way that absence of employees is generally treated. However, if you have been employed for more
than one year, you may be able to seek relief under the Family Medical Leave
Act. Contact the Wage and Hours Division
of the Department of Labor at (612) 370-3371.
10. Does
an employer have an obligation to provide an employee with a wheelchair,
personal care assistant, or other service which may be necessary to perform the
job?
An employer is not obligated to provide equipment or
services if those services are necessary both at home and at work. For example, if you could use the wheelchair
at work, but you need it at home as well, the employer does not have to buy it
as a reasonable accommodation. If,
however, you need a special kind of chair because of the job you are doing and
you cannot use the same chair you use at home, then the employer may have to
accommodate the request to provide the chair.
If your job requires some unique needs for personal care
assistants, the employer may have to accommodate you. However, if you need a PCA to use the
restroom and you also need a PCA to use your bathroom at home, the employer
will probably not have to pay for it.
11. What are the time limits for filing a
claim?
There are Statutes of Limitations which require a person who
believes that he/she has suffered discrimination to file a complaint in the
court system or a charge with the administrative agencies listed below within a
very short period. A Minnesota Human
Rights Act claim must be filed with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights or
in court within one year of the date the discriminatory event occurred. A federal ADA claim must be filed with the
EEOC within 300 days from the date of the discriminatory event. Unlike state claims, a person must file a
federal ADA claim with the EEOC prior to filing a complaint in court. If you do not file a complaint within those
time periods, you may lose your right to sue.
If you want to file a charge, you may contact:
Minnesota
Department of Human Rights
Army
Corps of Engineers Center, 190 East Fifth Street, Suite 700
St.
Paul, MN 55101
Telephone: (651) 296-5663 or 1-800-657-3704
Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
330
South Second Avenue, Suite 430
Minneapolis,
MN 55401
Telephone: (612) 335-4040
www.eeoc.gov
RESOURCES
The EEOC offers a variety of fact sheets on the ADA, some from the perspective of employee's rights, and some from the perspective of the responsibilities of employers. They are available at EEOC’s website or can be ordered by calling the office listed above.
Another resource for providing information on reasonable accommodation in employment is the Job Accommodation Network (JAN). JAN is a free consultant service which helps employers make individualized accommodations. The telephone number is 1-800-526-7234.
This fact sheet may be reproduced; if reproduced in its
entirety, with credit to the Minnesota Disability Law Center. Laws and regulations change. If the date on the first page is more than a
year old, please check with the Minnesota Disability Law Center before
reproducing it.
Minnesota
Disability Law Center
430
First Avenue North, Suite 300
Minneapolis,
MN 55401-1780
(612)
332-1441 (voice)
TTY:
(612) 332-4668
Toll Free Number: 1-800-292-4150