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On July 26, 1992 the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) was signed into law by then President George Bush. Title I of this law prohibits any employer with more than 15 employees from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application processes, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions and privileges of employment. To be considered a qualified individual with a disability, a person must be able to perform the essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodations.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) developed the final regulations for implementing Title I of the ADA. According to the EEOC's definition, a reasonable accommodation includes but is not limited to:
Making existing facilities readily accessible to and useable by employees with disabilities; job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules; reassignment to a vacant position; the acquisition or modification of equipment or devices; appropriate adjustments or modifications of examinations; training materials or policies; the provision of qualified readers or interpreters; and other reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. (Part 1630 -Regulations to Implement the Equal Employment Provisions of the ADA. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, July 26, 1992.)
Employers, covered under provisions of Title I of the ADA must provide reasonable accommodations unless providing these accommodations would pose an undue hardship. Numerous factors are considered when determining undue hardship. If the employer lacks information or background knowledge to know the exact cost of an accommodation or to get the best price, there are a number of resources available. Maine's Career Centers and the Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) are both excellent resources which can be used to help the employer identify the least expensive means of meeting an employee's needs. The New England DBTAC is in Adaptive Environments Center. You can contact Adaptive Environments Center, Inc., at 374 Congress St., Suite 301, Boston, MA 02210; or call them at: 617 695-0085 (Voice/TTY); 617 482-8099 (Fax).
If the employer claims of undue hardship in providing an accommodation are valid, the employer must be open to sharing the costs of the accommodations with the person with a disability and/or outside funding agencies such as vocational rehabilitation or supported employment programs.
The requirements for reasonable accommodations have clear implications for users of assistive technology (AT). AT often plays a critical role in achieving job accommodations which allow people with disabilities to perform essential job functions. Of course, any accommodation should be individually determined and the individual with a disability should be the first source of possible solutions to achieving reasonable accommodations.