Reasonable Accommodations

Reasonable Accommodations

Reasonable accommodations refer to any adjustments to the recruitment process, the position in question, the physical environment, or the organizational processes that allow a person with a disability to perform essential functions of the given job (ADA National Network). In this manner, qualified individuals who may have disabilities get afforded the opportunities to enjoy the benefits of employment while also fulfilling their roles and responsibilities as expected. Thus, an employee should examine the necessary qualifications of an applicant, and then review their stated disabilities and how the company can bolster their chances of success in that capacity.

According to the law, every employer with a labor force exceeding 15 individuals should provide reasonable accommodations to eligible members to ensure the comfort of the worker in that environment. Qualified individuals, in this case, refers to those persons with the right educational background, skills, and experience, and who can perform those required duties even without accommodation. Persons with disabilities, here, are those employees with a mental or physical impairment that could hinder them from performing one or more activities of daily living.

There are several adjustments or changes that an employer can make to enhance an employee’s effectiveness that may otherwise be limited by impairment. An employer could restructure the job description and switch some responsibilities to another individual. The company can also improve accessibility to individuals with mobility issues by modifying the physical site. Providing additional services like hiring aids and personal assistant could be of help to such individuals, thus, enabling them to perform essential functions of the job (Roberts et al., 3). However, applicants or employees must understand the process of negotiating for accommodations to ensure they get as much help as possible. Here, they analyze targeted job positions, evaluate essential functions, and assess potential accommodations and their costs and availability (Roessler & Rumrill 3-7).In this manner, they would be able to get the most out of the negotiation and improve their comfort in the given job position.

In a hospitality establishment, many individuals would often qualify for a job but would encounter a few problems due to disabilities, which may reduce their productivity, or hinder them from performing essential job functions. A manager should ensure that examines requests and respond to them accordingly. For instance, an individual may have speech impairment that may reduce their effectiveness in verbal communication. A supervisor may have several ways of improving job outcomes and making it worthwhile for the worker. For instance, if the individual is the cashier at the establishment and is also expected to make phone calls to other people, management may remove this responsibility and reassign it to another.

However, to avoid any undue hardship, the business can switch roles between the two employees to ensure a balance of work, without overloading those without disabilities. Thus, job restructuring would involve exchanging marginal functions of a position, which cannot be performed by an individual with an impairment, for those carried out by several workers. In other instances, an exchange would not be necessary, and the manager could remove the non-essential tasks without adding more responsibilities. This process could go well if there is enough cooperation between the employer and the employees (Roessler & Rumrill, 3-7).

The organization can also decide to provide personal assistants for those individuals with speech impairment or no speech at all. These aids may help remove the communication barrier and interpret sign language to colleagues, thereby improving the productivity of the employee. If this type of accommodation causes unjustifiable hardship, the hospitality manager may consider options such as communication aids, which convert writing into a speech that may ensure other employees can understand their colleagues during meetings or work periods.

The ADA extends protections to persons with chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, or cancer. These individuals often require time off to go for check-ups, treatment sessions like chemotherapy, or to take necessary rests. Thus, an employee should have documents to prove the history of such disabilities in a bid to secure reasonable accommodations. These accommodations could include flexible leave policies, which would enable them to take off days even without pay to go for medical treatment. In this manner, a cancer patient, for instance, could get rest periods after intensive therapies that may need them to recover their strength before returning to work. Others may need time to go for specialized treatments and procedures that may improve their standards of living.

It is also critical to note that sometimes disabilities may get worse, like a case where a diabetic employee goes blind or develops vision impairment. In a situation like this, the hospitality manager could consider modifying policies that would improve the chances of the worker performing essential functions of their jobs effectively. For instance, the establishment could allow a service animal to accompany the employee and aid them in their daily activities. Also, most of these individuals may require training on the use of the guide dog. In this manner, the employee would still be able to fulfill their roles and responsibilities, even while managing their health conditions.

Employees could also have physical disabilities that may hinder their mobility. In a case like this, a hospitality manager would ensure to improve access to essential parts of a building like bathrooms. The employment must take place in an integrated environment. In this manner, other employees would not operate in segregation and feel unwanted. Thus, the establishment should consider taking down barriers and altering structural access and ensure all individuals can move about conveniently. Modifications to existing structures like bathrooms, lunch stations, and water fountains may also prove essential in ensuring that these individuals feel prioritized.

In cases where the individual’s mobility issues are extensive, the hospitality manager may consider the option of working remotely. Here, the employee could fulfill their roles and responsibilities from home or place of convenience (Crosgrove et al. 42). The employee could be a social media manager, public relations expert, or even a sales support assistant. These job descriptions could provide the opportunity for a person with a disability to enjoy employment benefits with reasonable accommodations. This type of arrangement would be a win-win situation for both parties, which could lead to highly favorable outcomes.

Another disability that individuals must have to be eligible for reasonable accommodations involve hearing impairments. Modifying existing equipment to suit the needs of such an individual, or buying appropriate models may be a way to reasonably accommodate these employees. With the evolving technological applications every day, several devices already exist in the market help persons with hearing disabilities overcome barriers. These devices could range from low-tech to high-tech, depending on the extent and needs of the employee (Roberts et al., 6). The manager could consider telephone amplifiers, which ensure that these individuals get to hear, otherwise inaudible sounds. Other technologies include telecommunications devices for the deaf, text telephones and, video phones, which help individuals communicate efficiently.

Unfortunately, there are instances where the company would feel it necessary to reject requests for reasonable accommodations. Firstly, if an individual cannot prove the existence of a disability, or history, then the hospitality manager would feel inclined to reject the request entirely. A broken arm, for instance, does not amount to an impairment given the fact that it only limits major life activities for a short period. Additionally, in cases like cancer or other chronic medical conditions, policies require that they authenticate their requests with official documentation. If the individual fails in proving a qualifying disability in this manner, he or she may run the risk of not qualifying for adjustments.

The organization may also refuse to provide reasonable accommodation when an employee shows evidence that they can perform the essential functions of a job without the accommodations. If a person demands devices or modified equipment for a task which they can accomplish without, then the organization may have sufficient grounds to deny that request. Also, if the hospitality manager discovers that a given accommodation may not enable the employee to perform the task in question, it would be necessary to reject the demand. It would make no sense to introduce flexible leaves for an individual with mobility issues. Individuals with such concerns may otherwise benefit from the modification of physical sites or facilities to guarantee convenient access.

Fortunately, the ADA does not require employers to make changes or adjustments that would cause them undue hardship in any manner, financial or otherwise. However, determining this might pose challenges, and that is why there are several factors that the organization must consider. If the nature and cost of the accommodation cause significant financial strain to the employer, then they may reserve the right to refuse to offer reasonable accommodation (ADA National Network). Additionally, the size of the organization matters and the ADA put its minimal number of employees at 15. In this manner, firms with small labor-forces may not be required by law to provide reasonable accommodations given their natural inability to foot larger bills. Another reason that may provide sufficient grounds for rejecting a request will be if those demands are primarily for a non-disability reason. In this manner, meeting these demands may cause health and safety concerns that may interfere with the organization’s primary objectives.