The Office of Disability Employment Policy's
Job
Accommodation Network (JAN), a toll-free service, has been advising
businesses and individuals about job accommodations since 1984. With the
passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, JAN expanded to
include information about the ADA. During the fiscal year that began October 1,
1994, and ended September 30, 1995, JAN received more than 80,000 calls from
individuals and businesses in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto
Rico. Following is information related to these calls for advice, as well as
examples of accommodations that were implemented as a result of the advice.
Understanding the ADA |
34% |
|
Impact of Accommodation |
13% |
|
Conflict between Employer/Employee |
13% |
|
Cost of Accommodation |
3% |
|
Concerns related to Federal and State Agencies |
6% |
|
Other |
31% |
|
|
California |
10,079 |
Texas |
4,776 |
Virginia |
4,547 |
Pennsylvania |
4,196 |
New York |
3,921 |
|
No cost |
19% |
Between $1 and $500 |
50% |
Between $501 and $1,000 |
12% |
Between $1,001 and $2,000 |
7% |
Between $2,001 and $5,000 |
9% |
Greater than $5,000 |
3% |
Value unknown |
4% |
Between $1 and $5,000 |
34% |
Between $5,001 and $10,000 |
16% |
Between $10,001 and $20,000 |
19% |
Between $20,001 and $100,000 |
25% |
Greater than $100,000 |
2% |
Companies reported an average return of $28.69 in benefits for
every dollar invested in making an accommodation.
Accommodations Implemented by JAN Callers
Situation: A production worker
with mental retardation, who has limited fine motor dexterity, must use
tweezers and a magnifying glass to perform the job. The worker had difficulty
holding the tweezers.
Solution: Giant tweezers were purchased. Cost: $5.
Situation: A teacher with
bipolar disorder, who works in a home-based instruction program, experienced
reduced concentration, short term memory, and task sequencing problems.
Solution: At one of their weekly meetings the employee and
the supervisor jointly developed a check list. This check list showed both the
week's work and the following week's activities. Forms were adapted so that
they would be easy to complete, and structured steps were developed so that
paper work could be completed at the end of each teaching session. An
unintended bonus to the company was the value of the weekly check-off forms in
training new staff. Cost: $0.
Situation: A garage mechanic
with epilepsy was unable to drive vehicles.
Solution: The employer negotiated with the employee's union
and reached an agreement that any qualified employee, regardless of job held,
could drive the vehicles to the mechanic's work station. Cost: $0.
Situation: An individual with
a neck injury, who worked in a lab, had difficulty bending his neck to use the
microscope.
Solution: A periscope was attached to the microscope. Cost:
$2,400.
Situation: A catalog
salesperson, who had a spinal cord injury, had problems using the catalog due
to difficulty with finger dexterity.
Solution: The employer purchased a motorized catalog rack,
controlled by a single switch via the mouthstick, and provided an angled
computer keyboard stand for better accessibility. Cost: $1,500.
Situation: A field geologist
who was deaf and worked alone in remote areas was unable to use two-way radio
communication to report his findings.
Solution: Text telephone technology was used to allow the
geologist to communicate using a cellular telephone. Cost: $400 plus monthly
service fee for the phone.
Situation: A saw operator with
a learning disability had difficulty measuring to the fraction of an inch.
Solution: The employee was provided with a wallet-sized
card on which the fractions were listed on an enlarged picture of an inch. This
allowed the employee to compare the card with the location on the ruler to
identify the correct fraction. Cost: $5.
Situation: An accountant with
HIV was experiencing sensitivity to fluorescent light. As a result, she was not
able to see her computer screen or written materials clearly.
Solution: The employer lowered the wattage in overhead
lights, provided task lighting and a computer screen glare guard. Cost:
$80.
Situation: A custodian with
low vision was having difficulty seeing the carpeted area he was vacuuming.
Solution: A fluorescent lighting system was mounted on his
industrial vacuum cleaner. Cost: $240
For additional information contact:
Office of Disability Employment Policy's Job
Accommodation Network (800) 526-7236 (Voice/TTD/TTY)
jan@jan.icdi.wvu.edu (e-mail)
July 1996 |