On May 15, 2013, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provided specific types of reasonable accommodations for people with cancer, diabetes, epilepsy and intellectual disabilities. The EEOC also noted that since Congress enacted the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which took effect in 2009, individuals with a wide range of impairments—including cancer, diabetes, epilepsy and intellectual disabilities—have been presumed to have an ADA disability.
Examples of accommodations for employees with Cancer
- Leave for doctors’ appointments and/or to seek or recuperate from treatment.
- Periodic breaks or a private area to rest or to take medication.
- Modified work schedule or shift change.
- Permission to work at home.
- Modification of office temperature.
- Permission to use work telephone to call doctors if the employer’s usual practice is to prohibit personal calls.
- Reallocation or redistribution of marginal tasks to another employee.
- Reassignment to a vacant position if the employee can no longer perform her job.
Examples of accommodations for employees with Diabetes
- A private area to test blood-sugar levels or to administer insulin injections.
- A place to rest until blood-sugar levels return to normal.
- Breaks to eat or drink; take medication or test blood-sugar levels.
- Leave for treatment, recuperation or training on managing diabetes.
- Modified work schedule or shift change.
- Use of a stool for someone who has difficulty standing a long time because of diabetes-related nerve damage (i.e., neuropathy).
- Reallocation of marginal tasks to another employee.
- Reassignment to a vacant position if the diabetic no longer can perform his duties.
Examples of accommodations for employees with Epilepsy
- Breaks to take medication.
- Leave to seek or recuperate from treatment or adjust to medication.
- A private area to rest after a seizure.
- A rubber mat or carpet to cushion a fall.
- Adjustments to a work schedule.
- A consistent start time or schedule change.
- A checklist to help remember tasks.
- Permission to bring a service animal to work.
- Someone to drive to meetings and other work-related events.
- Permission to work at home.
- Reassignment to a vacant position if the employee no longer can perform his job.
Examples of accommodations for employees with Intellectual Disabilities
- Reallocation of marginal tasks to another employee.
- Tweaked training on how to do the job, such as instructions at a slow pace, additional time to finish training, descriptions of job tasks in sequential steps, and the use of charts, pictures or colors.
- Extra training when necessary.
- A tape recorder to record directions as a reminder of steps in a task.
- Detailed schedules for completing tasks.
- A job coach, who can help the employee learn how to do the job; provide intensive monitoring, training, assessment and support; and help develop a healthy working relationship between management and the employee by encouraging appropriate social interaction.
- Modified work schedule or a shift change.
- Help in understanding job evaluations or disciplinary proceedings.
- Acquired or modified equipment.
- Reconfigured placement of workstation from a large open area to a quieter part of the office.
- Reassignment to a vacant position if the worker no longer can perform his or her duties.
Reference: EEOC Guidance Gives Examples of Reasonable Accommodations
5/20/2013, By Allen Smith , SHRM.org
