Census Data Supports Telecommuting as a Reasonable Accommodation Under ADA

Using home as a “reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act, approximately 316,000 disabled employees regularly work from home, according to TeleworkResearchNetwork.com data. Those whom ADA protects join more than 13 million U.S. residents who currently work from home at least one day a week, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released last week.

Telework can be a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has said that employers must consider allowing employees with disabilities to telework if their disabilities interfere with their ability to work at their office — even if they do not allow employees without disabilities to telework. Not all situations will be conducive to teleworking, but employers must consider it as an option during the interactive process.

To identify a reasonable accommodation for an employee returning to work, an employer must discuss the need with the employee. (See ¶230 on Reasonable Accommodations in The Leave & Disability Coordination Handbook.)

Telework often is granted as an accommodation for employees impaired by fatigue. It also can benefit people with transportation problems, and individuals with fragrance and chemical sensitivities, if it is impossible to control their on-site environment. (For a courtside view on the issue, see Employer May Have to Allow Employee with Chemical Sensitivity to Work from Home.”)

Employers that allow employees to telework as a general workplace policy must ensure that all employees with disabilities have the same opportunities. If the employer offers telework as a benefit of employment, it needs to make sure that accommodations are provided to allow equal access. That may mean modifying the program. For example, an employer could modify how many days a week an employee can telework if an employee with a disability cannot adhere to the existing policy.

Implementing a telework policy or accommodation can be complicated, but sorting out the details ahead of time can make for a successful program, according to the Job Accommodation Network, a U.S. Department of Labor service that provides information on workplace accommodations.

A good telework policy will include:

1. the purpose of the telework program;
2. eligibility criteria;
3. the assignment of responsibility for equipment;
4. a definition of what is considered “telework;”
5. a breakdown of who is responsible for what expenses;
6. a clear understanding of whether confidentiality responsibilities exist; and
7. a concrete explanation of when and why the arrangement may be terminated.

The telework policy should address these concerns from the outset so that if issues arise, they will already be well thought out.

Telecommuting Steadily Rising among All Qualified Workers

The number of people who worked at home at least one day per week increased from 9.5 million in 1999 to 13.4 million in 2010. This is an increase from 7 percent to 9.5 percent of all U.S. workers, according to Home-Based Workers in the United States: 2010 which contains findings from the Survey of Income and Program Participation and the American Community Survey.

The largest increase occurred between 2005 and 2010, when the share grew from 7.8 percent to 9.5 percent of all workers, an increase of more than 2 million.

Read the full story on Thompson Publishing’s HRComplianceXpert web site.