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Please click here to download the Newsletter.*  To save it to your computer, right click on the link and choose "Save as"

Telework – A Reasonable ADA Accommodation

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)  released a fact sheet to guide employers in allowing persons with disabilities to telework or telecommute (work at home) to fulfill job duties.  This option would be a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The fact sheet marks the second anniversary of President George W. Bush’s New Freedom Initiative to help integrate people with disabilities into a variety of activities.  Telework is a main strategy to increase the opportunities for people with disabilities to work in this initiative. 

Companies may use existing telecommuting programs or may develop new telework options as a reasonable accommodation.  According to EEOC Chair Cari M. Dominguez, “Advances in technology are making telework an increasingly important option for employers who want to attract and retain a productive workforce.  For some people with disabilities, telework may actually be the difference between having the opportunity to be among an employer’s best and brightest workers and not working at all.” 

Working at home may not be a solution for everyone who has a disability and all jobs may not be conducive to the employee working at home.  The employer and employee would review the job requirements along with the employee’s disability needs to determine if there is a mutual fit.  The fact sheet helps employers and employees to achieve this goal.

The full text of the fact sheet is available at www.eeoc.gov.  The EEOC enforces the following:

  • Title I of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments;

  • the Rehabilitation Act's prohibitions against disability discrimination in the federal government;

  • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin;

  • the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which prohibits discrimination against individuals 40 years of age or older;                 

  • the Equal Pay Act;

and sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991.

BRS Supports Secondary Education

 

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