JAN is a service of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. 1 “Current Events” in Accommodation Linda Carter Batiste, J.D., Principal Consultant Beth Loy, Ph.D., Principal Consultant

From JAN: Numbers  47,000+ contacts per year  50% electronic  4 million+ Webpage requests per year 2 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

From JAN: Training Modules  All About JAN  ADA Amendments Act  The Interactive Process  Assistive Technology in the Workplace  All About JAN: Resources in Spanish  Ergonomics in the Workplace  Providing Reasonable Accommodations to Employees with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)AskJAN.org/training/library.htm 3 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

From JAN: Webcast Archives  Monthly Series  Current Trends in Job Accommodations  Mental Health and Self-employment  Assistive Technology  Employment and Service Dogs  ADA Update  Personal Assistants as Workplace Accommodations  Accommodating Employees with Chemical and Fragrance SensitivitiesAskJAN.org/webcast/archive/ 4 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

From JAN: Quarterly ENews Archives  Dress Codes and the ADA  Accommodating People with Eating Disorders  Recruiting Resources for Federal Contractors  ADA and Leave  Accommodating Social Anxiety 5 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

From ODEP  Campaign for Disability Employment  “Who I Am” Public Service Announcement  “Ask Me Who I Am” Public Engagement Effort 6 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorldwww.WhatCanYouDoCampaign.org

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Costs / Benefits: 4 Surveys  Employer  Professional  Self / Individual  Self-Employment 8 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

“Current Events” Employer Follow-up Study  1,182 employers interviewed between January, 2004, and December, 2006  945 employers interviewed between June 28, 2008, and July 31, 2013 Total of 2,127 Employers 9 HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Finding: Employers want to provide accommodations so they can retain valued and qualified employees. “Current Events” 10 HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

“Current Events” Results  Of the employers who called JAN for accommodation information and solutions, most were doing so to retain or promote (82%) a current employee.  On average (including those persons who had just been given a job offer or who were newly hired), the employees had been with the company about seven years, with an average wage of about $15 for those paid by the hour, or an average annual salary of about $50,000.  In addition, the individuals tended to be fairly well- educated, with 54% having a college degree or higher. 11 HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Situation: A computer systems analyst with an anxiety disorder had difficulty coping with stress. The employee told his employer that bringing his service animal to work would help him manage his emotions effectively. Solution: As a reasonable accommodation, the employer opted to modify its no animal policy and allow the service dog to come to work. Reported Benefit: By making this accommodation the employer retained a good employee. Reported Cost: $0. “Current Events” 12 HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Finding: Most employers report no cost or low cost for accommodating employees with disabilities. “Current Events” 13 HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

“Current Events” Results  Over half of accommodations (57%) were made at no cost.  Of the 36% who experienced a one-time cost to make an accommodation, the typical cost of accommodating an employee was $500.  Only 24 (4%) said the accommodation resulted in an ongoing, annual cost to the company and 9 (1%) said the accommodation required a combination of one-time and annual costs. 14 HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Situation: An engineer with a food allergy and fragrance sensitivity had difficulty working when certain spices permeated her working area. Solution: As a reasonable accommodation, the employer purchased an air purifier. Reported Benefit: The employee was very happy with the accommodation, stating that it reduced her symptoms. Reported Cost: $250. “Current Events” 15 HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Finding: Employers report accommodations are effective. “Current Events” 16 HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

“Current Events” Results  Of those responding, 73% reported the accommodations were either very effective or extremely effective. 17 HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Situation: A scientist with neuropathy experienced pain when working at his workstation for long periods of time. Solution: As a reasonable accommodation, the employer purchased an adjustable desk and equipped the workstation with a second monitor, ergonomic chair, and multi-function mouse software. Reported Benefit: The employer reported that the changes were ergonomically beneficial to the employee and improved productivity. Reported Cost: $3,000 “Current Events” 18 HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

The study results consistently showed that the benefits employers receive from making workplace accommodations far outweigh the low cost. “Current Events” 19 HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

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Legal: Americans with Disabilities Act  ADA 25th Anniversary – July 26, 2015  ADA Amendments Act Face Lift – September 25, “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Legal: Americans with Disabilities Act  Third Party Vendors 22 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Legal: Americans with Disabilities Act  Third Party Vendors  Pros  Consistency  Focused Attention  Potentially Faster  Cons  Not as Familiar with the Workplace  Does Not Know Employees  Employees Do Not Know the Vendor 23 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Legal: Americans with Disabilities Act  Third Party Vendors  Make sure the vendor is knowledgeable about the ADA  Bring the vendor to the workplace to meet employees  Explain what the vendor will be doing and why  Stay involved in the process  Stay in communication with your employees 24 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Legal: Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)  EEOC Guidance  Employers required to accommodate pregnant women  Some pregnant women have disabilities under the ADA  Pending U.S. Supreme Court case 25 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

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Memory Device:  Amazon Echo 27 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Memory Device:  Prynt Case (iOS & Android) 28 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Accessing Information:  EyeCan+ “eye mouse” 29 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Accessing Information:  Lightpaper 30 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Wearable Device:  eSight Eyewear 31 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Wearable Device:  Hush Earplugs 32 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

App:  PERCEPT App 33 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Mobility:  Honda UNI-CUB β Personal Mobility Device 34 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Mobility:  Carbon Black Wheelchair 35 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Mobility:  FreeWheel Wheelchair Attachment 36 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Mobility:  Kenguru 37 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

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Living: Disability and Work  Emotional Support Animals  Allergies and Work 39 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Living: Emotional Support Animals Example: A receptionist in a medical billing office experienced a personal tragedy and as a result developed depression and anxiety. She asked her employer if she could have her dog at work with her. 40 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Living: Emotional Support Animals Issues:  Title I is not the same as Titles II and III  Title I is not clear cut  What to do? Try it out! 41 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Living: Allergies and Work Service Animals v. Animal Allergies:  Don’t just say “no”  May be able to accommodate both  See JAN publication for ideas 42 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Living: Allergies and Work Eating in the Office v. Food Allergies:  Get information  May not be able, or required, to ban the food  May be able to accommodate another way  See JAN publications for ideas 43 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

Living: Allergies and Work Electromagnetic Sensitivity v. Technology:  What is it?  What can be done?  New JAN publication coming soon! 44 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

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One Step Forward...  Super Bowl Marketing: Commercial features third-grader with Down syndrome as a customer stunned to learn that McDonald’s will be asking for nothing more than “lovin'” as a form of payment from select diners through February 14th.  Disability-Focused Proms: 45 “Night to Shine” proms sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation expect to draw 7,000 people with disabilities, ages 16 and older. 46 “Current Events” HomeBusinessPoliticsTechnologyLivingWorld

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“Current Events” Contact  (800) (V) & (877) (TTY)  AskJAN.org &  (304) via Text  janconsultants via Skype 48