Disability Accommodation in the Workplace

Quick Tips for Employers

Have a process by which your employees and applicants can request an accommodation for their disability.

• Document your process, including who is responsible for each step in the process (ex. supervisor, HR, etc.)
• Communicate the process so your employees and job applicants are aware how they can request an accommodation for their disability.

Recognizing the need for an accommodation.

• Even with a formal process in place, your employees don't need to use "magic words" to request an accommodation for their disability
• Train your supervisors to recognize when an employee may require an accommodation for their disability

Respect medical confidentiality.

• Don't make assumptions about someone's limitations, even if you have reason to believe they have a disability
• Don't engage in prohibited medical inquiries
• Discuss medical issues privately, limit who has access to your employee's medical information, and protect confidentiality of records

Find out what aspects of the job your employee is medically limited from doing? And what (if any) accommodation might allow them to perform those aspects of their job?

• An effective accommodation is one that allows your employee to satisfactorily perform the job
• An accommodation does not need to be the one preferred by the employee, it just needs to be effective
• A reasonable accommodation may be:
  • A change to job duties
  • A leave of absence
  • A change in work hours
  • Other modification that allows your employee to fulfill the duties of their job
  • "Clemency and forbearance" with regard to work rules or production standards may be a reasonable accommodation especially while working with your employee to find an effective accommodation.

  When does the cost of an accommodation become a hardship?

  • A hardship may exist if the accommodation is difficult to achieve, expensive relative to the resources of the business, or overly disruptive to operations.
  • When determining if an accommodation imposes a hardship on the business, you should consider the actual cost of the accommodation, and not hypothetical costs.
  • It is important to note that most accommodations will have some cost associated with them.

  Have you accommodated other employees? How?

  • Offering an accommodation to some employees but not others may constitute unlawful discrimination
  • Legitimate, non-discriminatory operational needs may justify not being able to offer the same accommodations to all employees.
  • You may want to consult with an HR professional or attorney.

  Know when to re-assess the accommodation.

  • You may re-assess the cost and effectiveness of an accommodation periodically to determine whether the accommodation can or should be continued.

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  For more information on providing reasonable accommodation to an employee with a disability, call the Equal Rights Division at (608) 266-6860 or (414) 227-4384, email us at erinfo@dwd.wisconsin.gov or visit the webpage.