Tag @work magazine article

Employers often underestimate the risk of noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Yet the most substantial verdicts are awarded in cases with ADA violations.

Under the ADA, employees can recover damages for emotional distress caused by an employer’s failure to comply with the law. It is not unusual for these awards to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. Additionally, juries can award punitive damages if they believe an employer acted with reckless disregard of an employee’s rights.

Workplace accommodations can be as unique as the employees who need them. And resources to help employees stay at work and support employers in staying compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may be closer than you think. The key is to review the basics and ensure widespread understanding.

A recent report shows that 21.3% of people with a disability were employed in 2022 and when you dig deeper, the report includes positive news for people with disabilities who are of working age. For employers, ensuring this employee cohort has equal access to employment opportunities is required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which protects employees against discrimination at every stage of employment — from recruitment and training to pay.

Many employers were forced to shift jobs to work-at-home models at the onset of the pandemic.1 Not surprisingly, one of the results of this change was fewer job accommodation requests. In fact, some employers saw a 32% decrease in accommodation incident rates from 2019 to 2020, and it stayed relatively flat through 2021.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)1 requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodation(s) to employees with disabilities. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recommends engaging in an informal or interactive process2 to understand employee needs and identify a reasonable accommodation. Each employee has unique requests, needs, and experiences, which is why workplace accommodations never have a one-size-fits-all solution. A well-defined and broadly communicated internal process supports workplace accommodations and helps employees advocate for themselves.

The absence management world changed on June 27, 2023, when the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) went into effect. And it’s a game-changer. The law (H.R. 1065)1 was included in the 2022 year-end federal omnibus legislation. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released draft regulations on Aug. 11, and an open comment period for the public to submit comments to the proposed regulations ends on Oct. 11, 2023.

Can an employer accommodate a custodian who has a no heavy lifting restriction if the essential job functions include taking out trash, vacuuming, mopping, and moving furniture? To get to a yes in this situation, employers need more information. What one person considers heavy lifting might not be heavy for another, which is why individual assessments are not only required but also helpful for creating understanding between the employee and employer. Employers need to understand what “heavy” means for the employee and should clarify other vague work restrictions, such as “repetitive” or “forceful.”

When an employee makes a request for accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the interactive process required by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission can be difficult to manage. Technology can help with some of the more challenging parts of the process — from staying compliant to improving employee engagement and retention.