Providing and maintaining effective reasonable accommodations: five practical tips
Abstract
An important part of program management is providing and maintaining reasonable accommodations for service members and volunteers with disabilities. Elesheva Soloff with the National Service Inclusion Project submitted this effective practice in April 2009, which offers information on successfully fulfilling this type of request.
Issue
Some supervisors are not sure how to make reasonable accommodations available for their service members or volunteers who require them to successfully perform their service roles.
Action
The following strategies will help organizations improve their ability to provide and maintain reasonable accommodations:
Tip 1: Develop Written Policies and Procedures
Written policies and procedures can
- Help ensure that all service members are aware of your program’s rules and regulations
- Improve consistency when processing accommodation requests
- Assist in documenting organizations’ efforts to provide effective accommodations
When writing policies and procedures consider the following:
Try to keep them simple and flexible.
This will be more effective in the long run than policies and procedures that are overly rigid, technical, or complicated.
Be sure to appoint a person or persons who will be responsible for implementing and overseeing accommodation policies and procedures.
Occasionally service members or volunteers ask for accommodations but no one acts. The request may get passed around from one person to another with no one taking charge due to lack of knowledge regarding how this type of request should be handled. Program staff should decide who will be responsible for implementing and overseeing accommodation policies and procedures. This could be one dependable person, a team, or even individual supervisors or managers; the right approach will vary from program to program but the important thing is to assign a point person.
Inform everyone
Policies and procedures will not be useful unless everyone knows about them. Organizations should make sure to communicate all changes and newly developed processes to all service members, staff, and volunteers.
Tip 2: Train all Managers and Supervisors to Recognize and Respond to an Accommodation Request
No matter who will be responsible for processing accommodation requests, all managers and supervisors need to know how to recognize them. One of the main reasons employees file complaints under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is that an accommodation request wasn’t responded to, because often supervisors did not recognize the request.
Educate managers and supervisors so that they understand that when requesting an accommodation service members only need to use plain English and do not have to mention the ADA, Section 504, or other legal terminology such as the phrase “reasonable accommodation.” In general, all a service member needs to say is that he needs “an adjustment or change in service for a reason related to a medical condition.”
Therefore, any time a service member indicates that a medical condition is causing a problem, a supervisor or manager should treat it as an accommodation request until a definite determination is made. If there is any doubt about whether a request was made, managers and supervisors should consult with the person or persons responsible for accommodations in the organization.
Whatever policies and procedures are in place, service programs should always respond quickly to an accommodation request and keep service members informed about the status of the request.
Tip 3: Have a Process for Determining Effective Accommodations
One of the best places to start the process is with the service member who requested the accommodation — often the member knows what is needed and can suggest viable options.
If the service member does not know what accommodation is needed or if the supervisor wants to explore other options, another good resource is the service member’s medical provider. With the service member’s permission, the medical provider may be able to offer useful information about the member’s limitations and effective accommodation options. The medical provider does not need to mention the nature of the disability or anything that is medically related.
If both the service member and the medical provider cannot suggest effective accommodations, supervisors should contact technical resources such as the National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP), Job Accommodation Network (JAN), or see NSIP’s fact sheet: A Sample Process for Determining Effective Accommodation Options.
Tip 4: Monitor and Update Accommodations
For example, if the accommodation involved equipment, the equipment may need periodic maintenance. Or if the accommodation concerned software that interfaces with an existing system, the software may need to be updated as the overall system is updated. If the accommodation required a new process for doing things, the process may need to be modified as the service changes
One of the best ways to monitor accommodations is to communicate openly with the service member. Service members need to know that they can revisit an accommodation if needed — before a performance problem occurs.
Finally, supervisors should document their accommodation efforts. Documentation is invaluable in the case of a dispute between a supervisor and service member. Keep in mind that all documentation that contains medical information must be maintained in a confidential manner.
Tip 5: Train New Service Members, Managers, and Supervisors
If everyone is aware of the policies, the program will run more smoothly when making necessary accommodations for members with disabilities.
While it is okay for a new manager or supervisor to make changes, if an accommodation for a service member with a disability is affected, a new accommodation may be necessary.
Context
Accommodations refer to all of the technology, services, and changes in policy or procedures, and the constructed environment that enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions or to equally participate in events and programs. The list of potential kinds of accommodations is limited only by creativity. An accommodation will vary depending on the individual need, the disability, the program, resources available, and the tasks that need to be completed.
Citation
Five Practical Tips for Providing and Maintaining Reasonable Accommodations, from the National Service Inclusion Project Fact Sheet.
Outcome
Organizations can attract qualified service members by offering accommodations such as flexible hours, virtual volunteering (from home) opportunities, position sharing, and regular check-ins with their current volunteers. Providing these types of accommodations can help organizations retain an experienced member/volunteer pool by improving the overall morale of the service program. Additionally, providing reasonable accommodations allows organizations to meet their legal obligations under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and similar state laws.
Evidence
A recent study provided by the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) not only confirms the benefits of providing accommodations, but also shows that providing accommodations is not costly. More than half the organizations surveyed reported that there was no cost for providing an accommodation and the remainder reported a typical cost of $500.00.
(For additional information on the benefits and costs of accommodation, view Job Accommodation Network’s Workplace Accommodations: Low Cost, High Impact at http://www.jan.wvu.edu/media/LowCostHighImpact.doc).
Posted On
May 5, 2009For More Information
Resources
For managers who want to develop written accommodation policies and procedures, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) — the federal agency that enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — provides the following useful publications:
Establishing Procedures to facilitate the Provision of Reasonable Accommodation http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/accommodation_procedures.html
Practical Advice for Drafting and Implementing Reasonable Accommodations http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/implementing_accommodation.html
(Additional information can be obtained from the Job Accommodation Network’s Employers’ Practical Guide to Reasonable Accommodations Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) at http://www.jan.wvu.edu/Erguide/index.htm).
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