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Weekly UpdatesIn response to Theodore A. Olsen's guest column regarding the ADA Amendments Act ("Redefining Disability," April), we at the DBTAC Rocky Mountain ADA Center offer the following points as pulled directly from the language of the Americans With Disabilities Act and the ADA Amendments Act:
* The ADA and the Amendments Act seek to ensure access to equal employment opportunities based on merit. They do not guarantee equal results, establish quotas or require preferences favoring individuals with disabilities over those without disabilities.
* While the ADA and the Amendments Act focus on eradicating barriers, they do not relieve an employee or applicant with a disability from the obligation to perform the essential functions of the job. To the contrary, the intention is to enable people with disabilities to compete in the workplace based on the same performance standards that employers expect of persons who are not disabled.
* The only time a reasonable accommodation is required is if an employee is having difficulty performing an essential function of their job due to their disability. A reasonable accommodation does not eliminate the essential function of the job. Instead, it is a tool to allow an employee with a disability to perform the essential function. Examples of reasonable accommodations include things such as a screen magnifier for a person with a visual impairment, a regularly scheduled lunch hour for a person with diabetes, or flex time for a person who needs to attend required medical appointments.
* An employer is not required to provide an accommodation if it will impose an undue hardship on the operation of its business. Undue hardship is defined as "excessively costly, extensive, substantial, or disruptive, or that would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the business."
Please call us for additional discussion at 1-800-949-4232.
--SANDY LAHMANN, DBTAC
ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADA CENTER
(DISABILITY AND BUSINESS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER)
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