Recruiting and Staffing General Guidance: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commi

Question

Recruiting and Staffing

General Guidance:

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Title I of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities who are employees or applicant for employment, unless doing so would cause an undue hardship. The term “reasonable accommodation,” is defined as modification or adjustment which enables the qualified disabled person to perform the essential functions of that position. Reasonable accommodations must be provided to a qualified disable employees who works either part time, full, or probationary. The employee typically requests or notify the employer that an accommodation is needed. The accommodation is designed to remove barriers for the individual enabling the applicant to have an equal opportunity and/or access in comparison to a nondisabled personnel. Some examples of reasonable accommodations outlined by the EEOC includes:

making existing facilities accessible;

job restructuring;

part-time or modified work schedules;

acquiring or modifying equipment;

Sign language interpreter

changing tests, training materials, or policies;

providing qualified readers or interpreters; and

reassignment to a vacant position.

Undue hardship is not limited to financial difficulty but may include any accommodation that is unduly costly, extensive, substantial, or disruptive, or that would fundamentally alter the nature of the operation of the business (Bennett- Alexander & Hartman 2012).

Scenario: Sam Smith is responsible for filling a vacant position at his firm. The position requires good communication skills, the ability to type, file, prioritize tasks, and occasional travel. An applicant sits before him during an interview for the vacant position. Sam is relatively confident that the applicant satisfies the first four criteria. However, Sam is concerned about the fifth requirement, occasional travel because the applicant is wheelchair bound. However, the disability does not impact the applicant’s cognitive skills or use of arms or hands. A second applicant’s performance evaluation and records are forwarded from Sam’s boss. The applicant’s data outlines that her abilities and performance is slightly lower than those received by the first applicant. The applicant mentions to Sam that she is excited and looking forward to traveling in her new position.

Questions:

1)    Does Sam hire the first applicant, even though he believes the wheel chair will pose a problem with traveling and other areas, or does he hire the second applicant?

2)    What if the wheel chair poses a greater burden than merely adapting a work space?

References:

Bennett-Alexander, D., & Hartman, L. P. (2012). Employment law for business. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Website https://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/accommodation.html

Explanation / Answer

1) Yes, Sam does hire the first applicant. He does so by making a reasonable accomodation of making facilities accessible and job restructuring. Occassional travel, is listed last in the list of criteria and it is not as though the first candidate vcannot travel at all. The disability does not impact the applicant's cognitive skills or use of hands. The main accomodation needed would be of adapting a workspace. Thus, the applicant should be hired.

2) If the wheelchair poses a greater burden than merely adapting a workspace, Sam should do the due diligence to explore if it really constitutes an "undue hardship". Undue hardship is not limited to financial difficulty but may include any accommodation that is unduly costly, extensive, substantial, or disruptive, or that would fundamentally alter the nature of the operation of the business. If it is an undue hardship, the second applicant may be hired.

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