HRM textbook

CHAPTER 2 EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND THE LAW 37
including those with IQs below 70 75. 30 The guidelines say employers should be alert
to the possibility that traits normally regarded as undesirable (such as chronic
lateness, hostility, or poor judgment) may reflect mental impairments. Reasonable
accommodation, says the EEOC, might then include providing room dividers,
partitions, or other barriers between work spaces.
QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL Just being disabled doesn t qualify someone for a job,
of course. Instead, the act prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals
those who, with (or without) a reasonable accommodation, can carry out the
essential functions of the job. The individual must have the requisite skills,
educational background, and experience to do the job. A job function is essential
when, for instance, it is the reason the position exists, or it is so highly specialized
that the employer hires the person for his or her expertise or ability to perform
that particular function. For example, when an Iowa County highway worker had an
on-the-job seizure, his driver s license was suspended and the state fired him. The
court ruled that he had no ADA claim because he couldn t perform the essential
functions of the job. 31
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION If the individual can t perform the job as
currently structured, the employer must make a reasonable accommodation unless
doing so would present an undue hardship. Reasonable accommodation might
include redesigning the job, modifying work schedules, or modifying or acquiring
equipment or other devices (such as adding curb ramps and widening door
openings). 32 For example, the National Federation of the Blind estimates that about
70% of working age blind adults are unemployed or underemployed, although they
have the requisite education. Yet existing technologies would enable most of these
people to work successfully in numerous job functions. One such technology is a
screen-reading program called Jaws, which converts text from a computer screen into
Braille while speaking it. 33
Attorneys, employers, and the courts continue to work through what reasonable
accommodation means. 34 In one classic case, an employee with a bad back who
worked as a door greeter in a Walmart asked if she could sit on a stool while on duty.
The store said no. She sued. The federal district court agreed with Walmart that door
greeters must act in an aggressively hospitable manner, which can t be done sitting on
a stool. 35 Standing was an essential job function. You can use technology and common
sense to make reasonable accommodation. Figure 2-1 summarizes several examples.
TRADITIONAL EMPLOYER DEFENSES Employers traditionally prevailed in
almost all 96% federal circuit court ADA decisions. 36 A U.S. Supreme Court
decision typifies what plaintiffs faced. An assembly worker sued Toyota, arguing that
carpal tunnel syndrome prevented her from doing her job. 37 The U.S. Supreme
FIGURE 2-1 Examples
of How to Provide Reasonable
Accommodation
Employees with mobility or vision impairments may benefit from voice
recognition software.
Word prediction software suggests words based on context with just one or
two letters typed.
Real-time translation captioning enables employees to participate in meetings.
Vibrating text pagers notify employees when messages arrive.
Arizona created a disability friendly Web site to help link prospective employees
and others to various agencies.
mixed motive case
A discrimination allegation case in which the
employer argues that the employment action
taken was motivated not by discrimination,
but by some nondiscriminatory reason such
as ineffective performance.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The act requiring employers to make
reasonable accommodations for disabled
employees; it prohibits discrimination against
disabled persons.
qualified individuals
Under ADA, those who can carry out the
essential functions of the job.