RE: ADA and Discrimination
The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in 1990 and amended in 2008 to provide protection against employment discrimination against any individual who is qualified for a job position, has a disability, and was denied the job “on the basis of their disability”. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the ADA would not be applicable if the individual is either not qualified for the position or was not chosen for a reason besides their disability.
Accordingly, in order to avoid a repeat of the situation that happened with the applicant Jennifer, I propose the following specific actions be taken. First, I and/or the Human Resources Department (HRD) will review all job positons, and especially those positions that need to filled, to determine what functions are essential to its performance. Once those essential functions are determined I or the HRD will make sure that those essential functions are clearly stated in all job descriptions that are published and advertised, including those position that are only open for internally. Essential duties will be described as accurately as possible. They will no longer include such general descriptions as “able-bodied”. During interviews with potential employees, I or the HRD will be sure to emphasize those essential functions of the position so as to clarify what is required for a person to successfully be offered a position.
Second, I will speak with other managers so that we can provide reasonable accommodation or changes in the work environment that permits disabled employees or applicants to not only participate in the job search process but also in their jobs, is they are hired. Some examples of reasonable accommodations that I will explore include redefining job positions so as to make them more ideal for a disabled employee to work at or modifying job responsibilities to allow for more flexibility in who can hold a position.
Third, I or the HRD will draft an official disabled employee policy that will define our goals and efforts in making the workplace and job application process more accessible and supportive of disabled applicants and employee. It will also set out an organizational work group tasked with monitoring our efforts in this area and making timely recommendation on ways that we can improve.
Sincerely,
