American Economy in the Late 20th Century, Essay Example

Issue

Handicapped individuals possess considerable challenges throughout their lives, and the workplace environment offers a potential escape from these concerns with the appropriate accommodations in place. For example, handicapped parking spaces, ramps, elevators, and lower counters all represent an opportunity for workers to gain a greater sense of comfort in the workplace environment.

Some employees may believe that some disabled persons may take advantage of their employees and require significant accommodations that are nonsensical or unjust in nature (Colella, 2001). This is a common practice in modern workplace settings, as some disabled persons may attempt to obtain unreasonable accommodation for their disability, even if unnecessary (Colella, 2001).

Legal Framework

Handicapped persons are protected by a number of disability laws that enable them to obtain rights and accommodations in many settings. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) does not allow discrimination in hiring practices on the basis of a disability, and requires organizations to provide accommodations for the disabled in public settings that rely on specific architectural standards (US Department of Justice, 2009). However, only reasonable accommodation is required, as noted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, whereby extenuating conditions that may be deemed unreasonable are not covered (EEOC, 2014). The terms of the ADA do not require accommodations that cause significant expense or difficulties that go above and beyond the norm (Nolo, 2014).

Illustrative Cases

There are significant legal precedents in place to accommodate persons with disabilities in the United States. Reasonable accommodations are required in the workplace in order to ensure that workers are able to perform their jobs successfully (Nolo, 2014). These include such factors as flexibility in work hours and adjusting training materials to meet the needs of workers (Nolo, 2014).

In contrast, there are situations where the concept of reasonable accommodations is perhaps excessive or requires a negotiation in order to accomplish the desired objectives (Nolo, 2014). This is a challenge in and of itself because an employee must demonstrate why an additional accommodation is necessary and if it is likely to have an impact without disrupting the rest of the work environment (Nolo, 2014).

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for determining whether or not employers are required to accommodate employees beyond normal standards and have established such criteria as the size and nature of the business; the cost of the accommodation; and current accommodations and their costs (Nolo, 2014).

Emens (2008) addresses the importance of reasonable decision-making regarding accommodations, as well as undue hardship and what is generally tolerable by civil law standards. Compliance is key in establishing these accommodations, but there are considerable challenges associated with developing accommodations that are favorable and appropriate for the affected parties, while others might believe that these accommodations are too lenient and perhaps unnecessary in some cases (Emens, 2008). Others may argue that the ADA is too limiting in that those who are disabled may believe that they are entitled for repercussions that go beyond their disability (Schwochau and Blanck, 2003).

Disabilities pose a number of economic concerns for some employers, particularly if employees were to take advantage of their status in order to advance their position in a legal case without any real evidence that any wrongdoing has taken place (Stein, 2003). This requires a greater understanding of the impact of the ADA on employers and employees, using historical court cases as a guide (Stein, 2003). Accommodation requirements must be reasonable in scope and effective in meeting the required standards for organizations, while also aiming to achieve the rule of law.

Finally, evidence regarding accommodations and their cost benefits has been limited in the past; however, it is generally believed that most accommodations are not cost prohibitive and provide the desired benefits for workers (Schartz et.al, 2006). These factors support the continued development of new perspectives to ensure that future accommodations meet similar objectives and do not cost an organization a high rate of expense (Schartz et.al, 2006). Under these conditions, it is important to identify the resources that are required to accommodate workers and that are in compliance with the ADA so that fewer legal threats are likely and imminent due to potential perceptions regarding reasonable accommodation that currently exist (Schartz et.al, 2006).

Conclusion

Prior to developing a potential legal case or threat against an employer, adherence to the Americans with Disabilities Act must be addressed in greater detail. This will emphasize the importance of specific factors that have a significant impact on disabled employees in the workplace setting. Employers are responsible for providing reasonable accommodations to employees who are disabled so that they are able to perform their duties effectively. Therefore, it is likely that an organization will be in compliance when these accommodations are available. However, some employees may consider these accommodations less than adequate due to the type of disability that exists; nonetheless, an employer is not responsible for providing any type of accommodations that are unreasonable or that are cost prohibitive and deemed unnecessary. Disabled employees, therefore, must weigh all options heavily prior to considering a legal case against an employer.

References

Colella, A. (2001). Coworker distributive fairness judgments of the workplace accommodation of employees with disabilities. Academy of Management Review, 26(1), 100-116.

Emens, E. F. (2008). Integrating Accommodation. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 839-922.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2014). Procedures for providing reasonable Accommodation for individuals with disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/internal/reasonable_accommodation.cfm#1

McFarlin, D. B., Song, J., & Sonntag, M. (1991). Integrating the disabled into the work force: A survey of Fortune 500 company attitudes and practices. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 4(2), 107-123.

Nolo (2014). Your right to a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Retrieved from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/employee-rights-book/chapter7-8.html

Schartz, H. A., Hendricks, D. J., & Blanck, P. (2006). Workplace accommodations: Evidence based outcomes. Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation, 27(4), 345-354.

Schwochau, S., & Blanck, P. (2003). Does the ADA disable the disabled?—More comments. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 42(1), 67-77.

Stein, M. A. (2003). The law and economics of disability accommodations. Duke Law Journal, 79-191.

United States Department of Justice (2009). A guide to disability rights laws. Retrieved from http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm#anchor62335