Making an Accommodation

What does it mean to make an accommodation for an employee and when is it appropriate?  Since April is Autism Awareness Month, it’s a good time to address the general issue of accommodations as many managers shy away from the idea.

Accommodations are appropriate and reasonable in many cases and don’t have to be difficult. Often the hardest part is establishing a culture making it easy for the employee to bring up the need and then determining what works best for both parties involved.  By law, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), typically for companies with 15 or more employees, as well as various state requirements and from a best practice standpoint, once someone brings up a need for an accommodation, there should be an interactive process determining how best to address the request and whether there’s a reasonable solution.

As a reminder, disabilities can vary widely among individuals and many disabilities are not visible (so don’t make assumptions).  As employers, we don’t need a lot of details as to what the problem is, we just need to understand how it can impair performance and what might be done to help.

When an employee (or potential employee through an interview process) comes to you asking for an accommodation, it’s best to get HR or legal involved to ensure appropriate steps are taken, but consider what’s being asked.  Do they need a flexible schedule or remote work (either or both of which may already be available in your organization)?  If it’s an easy ask, why not?

Other accommodations could include providing noise-canceling headphones, quiet workspaces, modified lighting, written (vs verbal) instructions, specific safety equipment or other possibilities.  Again, if this is something that can be easily provided and will help an employee be successful, move forward with the change.

If the request doesn’t work for the organization or for the position, brainstorm with the employee for potential solutions where possible.  If the need is truly an undue hardship for an employer, meaning the impact on the business is too high of a cost or a safety issue or some other problem, then the accommodation request can be denied.  But be clear as to why it’s unreasonable.

Don’t forget that disability information should be guarded as confidential and provided strictly on a need-to-know basis.

Bottom line, if an employee comes to you with a need for an accommodation, work within the parameters of your organization to resolve what you can to promote success for your staff and your company.

#accommodation #positivity #management #hrconsultant

Some accommodations can be easily resolved. Consider the request and move forward where you can.