Hello and welcome to the Disability Law Lowdown’s ASL podcast. My name is Danny Warthling and I am one of your hosts for the ASL podcasts. We’re so glad that you found us and we hope you enjoy the ASL series of podcasts.

Today’s podcast is about your right to reasonable accommodation in the workplace.

Title I of the ADA covers employment situations, including the right to reasonable accommodation for employees or applicants. The employee or applicant must meet the ADA definition of disability, and must also be able to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation. I’ll explain more in a minute. The law says if an employer has 15 or more employees and does not provide an appropriate accommodation, they have broken the law. It’s important that reasonable accommodations are provided to Deaf or hard of hearing individuals. It allows qualified people to work. However, if an accommodation is so expensive that is causes “undue hardship” to the employer, they may be able to refuse to provide it.

Now I’m going to explain more about what “reasonable accommodations” means. It’s an adjustment, which means something that will help Deaf or hard of hearing people to have an equal opportunity for employment. Common accommodations for Deaf or hard of hearing are related to communication. For example, video relay, instant messaging, amplified telephones, visual alarms, assistive listening systems, sign language interpreters, and so forth.

Often the hardest accommodation to get is a qualified sign language interpreter. If you need an interpreter regularly, of course the employer is going to be concerned about the expense. It may qualify as an undue hardship for a small company. An interpreter may be called only when one is really needed. The problem is deciding when one is really needed. The ADA has some guidelines for helping you decide. If there is a situation where effective communication is important and necessary, then an interpreter must be provided.

Some examples of when effective communication is necessary in employment situations are: if you need to go to a special meeting, training, job performance evaluations, or when you need to discuss something serious with your employer, such as work changes, discipline, benefits and so forth. In these situations, it’s important to have an interpreter.

Remember I said earlier that you must be able to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation. Often, though, there are nonessential job duties. A common one might be answering the telephone occasionally. Transferring those non-essential job duties to another employee can be a reasonable accommodation. Other kinds of accommodations related to modifying the job include modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, adjustment of exams and training materials, and modification of policies. These can all be considered reasonable accommodations.

Noise can be a barrier for people who are hard of hearing. There may be equipment that can help, such as smoke and fire alarms with flashing lights, installing barriers to control ambient noise, and modifying the intercom entry system to permit deaf individuals to enter a secured entrance.

Job applicants are also covered by the ADA so employers must also provide reasonable accommodations during the application and interview process.

When you request a reasonable accommodation, it is not necessary to do it in writing, but it is a good idea to put it in writing so that you have a record of what you requested and when the request was made. The employer has an obligation to engage in an interactive process with you to determine what accommodations are necessary so that you can perform the essential functions of the job.

If you believe you have been discriminated against, based on your disability, or that you are not getting the accommodations you need to perform the essential functions of your job, you may first talk to your employer, particularly to the Human Resources Department. You may not sue your employer in court until you have contacted the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in your area.

Thanks for joining in this ASL podcast on your employment rights under the ADA. For more information, call 1.800.949.4232 – voice and TTY, or visit our podcast website at asl.disabilitylawlowdown.com.

I hope you enjoyed watching this ASL video podcast. You can subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. You can subscribe for free through iTunes or by going to ASL.DisabilityLawLowdown.com The Disability Law Lowdown is sponsored by a network of ten ADA Centers around the country. The ADA Centers provide training and technical assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability-related laws. You can call us at 1-800-949-4232 . The ADA Centers are supported by NIDRR.