• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

ADA/EEOC Interview

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

Rylee74

Member
What is the name of your state? Michigan

I resigned from my full time job in October due to attendance. My attendance issues stem from complications related to Rheumatoid Arthritis and the treatment regimine (my job involved a lot of physical labor, heavy lifting, manual dexterity). In June of this year I requested a reasonable accommodation (or so I thought). I followed what I thought was the EEOC's advice in that plain language was acceptable and there were no "magic words" needed. After reading through many posts here it sounds like actual practice in the HR world is different and that I should have used "reasonable accommodation." The specific wording I used was "due to my rheumatoid arthritis I am wondering if a reduced schedule or something similar is a possibility."

Obviously there are many more details to the story but I didn't want to post a wall of text. I have an EEOC interview coming up next month and I am starting to wonder if I didn't do my part. I would be very grateful for your take as well as any insight into what the EEOC interview process is like. Thank you.

Also I was employed full time and my employer was private sector.
 


FlyingRon

Senior Member
The one fundamental thing is that ADA only requires an accommodation to allow you to perform the job you were hired to do. It doesn't require the employer to create a different employment situation just to accommodate your disability. Asking to go part-time is not an ADA-required accommodation. There are no "magic words" that make it so.
 

Rylee74

Member
Yikes, ok. I was under the impression that a part time schedule could be a reasonable accommodation because working 4 x 12 hour shifts in a row was extremely painful. There was no interactive process whatsoever, multiple emails were not acknowledged.

I hope that doesn’t come across as argumentative. I’m just disappointed there wasn’t a different outcome considering I was there 13 years.

I appreciate your thoughtful response.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
I followed what I thought was the EEOC's advice in that plain language was acceptable and there were no "magic words" needed. After reading through many posts here it sounds like actual practice in the HR world is different and that I should have used "reasonable accommodation."
No particular words are needed, i.e. you didn't need to use the phrase "reasonable accommodation." But what you do say has to be enough that the employer can figure out that you are asking for a reasonable accommodation. Of course using the specific term would make that pretty clear, there are other ways to say it that would do the job. If the employer is going to hang its hat on a defense that you didn't ask for a reasonable accommodation then in the end it will be up to a jury to decide if the way you asked for it was good enough to put the employer on notice that you were seeking a reasonable accommodation.

The specific wording I used was "due to my rheumatoid arthritis I am wondering if a reduced schedule or something similar is a possibility."
That could be a problem for the employer. It should have at least prompted the employer to engage in a dialog to clarify that you were in fact seeking reasonable accommodation and what accommodation you both could agree upon. The EEOC makes it pretty clear it's position is that the employer must engage in that kind of dialog when the employee makes a request that might indeed be a request for an accommodation.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
Longevity doesn't give you any particular rights. You can be fired outright after being an exemplary employee for 21 years (believe me, that's what ended my career). If the job requires full-time attendance, not coming in full time again is not an accommodation the ADA requires. A reasonable accommodation would be schedule adjustments if the business could accommodate it, more breaks, a better chair or another assistive device.
 

Rylee74

Member
Thank you for your response. This wasn’t the only request I made. A few weeks later I asked my supervisor about a different piece of equipment that I offered to buy and was told “we’ll look into it” and that was the end of it. Several weeks after that I requested another accommodation (voice to text on a computer program because we do heavy typing in a non-ergonomic environment) and was told by another supervisor “probably not because IT won’t want to deal with it.”

I know you guys field a lot of dumb questions about “unfair” treatment and I promise I’m not that entitled. Just frustrated that I’m the only person they’ve ever refused a change to part time. 3 people went part time after me without a hassle. I’m the only one with a disability. I don’t mean to sound like a know-it-all, I’m close friends with the 3 people who went part time.

Thank you again for your help.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
So, now you insert additional information you omitted before.

The "IT doesn't want to deal with it" is indeed not a compelling reason not to provide the text to speech accommodation. Indeed my wife has requested and obtained such. Other ergonomic devices (better keyboards, wrist pads, etc...) would also be reasonable requests. You see this is as I described, an accommodation that allows you to do the job for which you were hired.

Understand that it is NOT illegal for them to treat you differently than other employees. It's only illegal under ADA if they treat you different BECAUSE of your disability. ADA again doesn't require them to offer you a switch to part-time.
 

Rylee74

Member
I apologize, I wasn’t trying to conceal information. I was trying to be concise.

I understand I’m not entitled to special treatment. I feel like they didn’t want to deal with me.
 

Rylee74

Member
I appreciate your advice. This subject is so unbelievably complicated that it seems like a minefield for anyone in HR.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Different accommodations are reasonable depending on the circumstances. What is reasonable for a data entry operator is not necessarily reasonable for a receptionist. What is reasonable for IBM is not necessarily reasonable for a mom-and-pop grocery store.
 

Rylee74

Member
Different accommodations are reasonable depending on the circumstances. What is reasonable for a data entry operator is not necessarily reasonable for a receptionist. What is reasonable for IBM is not necessarily reasonable for a mom-and-pop grocery store.
Oh my gosh I remember you from the laborlawtalk website! About 12 years ago you helped me tremendously with how to approach my employer with an FMLA question. I learned so much about labor law from all your posts. Sorry, I’m fan-girling a bit over here
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top