ADA Accommoation Must Be Reasonable and Effective

In EEOC v. UPS, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals considered the issue of reasonable accommodation in a lawsuit filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act. (The suit arose before the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act became effective.) The court’s decision is instructive on several issues involved in disability discrimination lawsuits. 

Since the employee had been deaf since birth, he had a disability. His first and primary language was American Sign Language (ASL). English was a secondary language, but since ASL has signs with no comparable English words, the employee was limited in his ability to read and write English. The employee was able to perform his primary job duties without an accommodation. The question was whether the employer had provided an accommodation for certain benefits and privileges of employment that other employees enjoyed.

There were three benefits and privileges in question: weekly meetings, job training, and company policies. The employee said that because of his hearing deficiency and limited ability to read and write English, he needed an ASL interpreter to help him with the meetings, training and policies. Although an interpreter was occasionally provided, the employer’s primary accommodation took the form of written notes and other documents in the English language.

The Ninth Circuit said the ADA requires that the employer engage in an interactive process with the employee to determine whether an accommodation is reasonable. While an employer has the right to select an accommodation that’s different from what the employee requests, the accommodation must be effective. Because uncertainty existed as to the effectiveness of the accommodation provided by the employer, the Ninth Circuit determned that the lower court was wrong to dismiss the case without a full trial.

When the issue of reasonable accommodation arises for a disabled employee, don’t forget the interactive process. And don’t forget that an accommodation has to be effective to be reasonable.