Disabilities law's wider sweep - Americans with Disabilities Act; includes related article with compliance resources

Nation's Business, July, 1994 by Laura M. Litvan

The statute's ban on job discrimination will soon be expanded to apply to firms with as few as 15 employees.

In July 26, an additional 400,000 businesses will come under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 1990 law designed to make jobs and public facilities more accessible to the disabled.

Since July 26, 1992, the law's ban on employment discrimination against the disabled has pertained only to companies with 25 or more workers. But on this July 26, the threshold drops to firms with 15 or more employees.

The result of that change is a 150 percent increase in the number of companies covered by the law, bringing the total number of businesses affected to 666,000, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which enforces the statute.

Among other things, the law's employment provisions make it illegal for a company to fire or refuse to hire someone because that person has a disability. unless the disability would prevent the individual from performing the basic functions of the job.

In addition, an employer must make reasonable efforts to improve access for and otherwise accommodate a worker who uses a wheelchair, requires telecommunications devices for the deaf, or has other needs. A company is not required to make changes that are so extensive that they would place an "undue burden" on the business.

The law applies not only to persons with physical disabilities, such as blindness or mobility problems, but also to those with mental illnesses or with contracted diseases such as AIDS. A federal court recently decided that obesity is a disability under the law.

By the end of March, nearly 25,000 employees or unsuccessful job applicants had filed disabilities-act claims with the EEOC.

Small employers who must soon comply with the law should take several steps to prepare, attorneys say. The first is to brush up on the disabilities law. There are numerous resources to help small-business owners understand their obligations under the law, including free guides and advice from the government.

Small-business managers should also document the basic functions of every job at their companies, according to Karen Kienbaum, an attorney in the Detroit office of the law firm of Varnum, Riddering, Schmidt and Howlett.

If a disabled job applicant is turned down for a particular position because he or she could not perform the work required, a company can better defend itself against any discrimination charges if it already had on record the expectations for the job, Kienbaum says.

Another piece of advice: If a disabled employee at a profitable company needs a device to accommodate his or her needs, declining to purchase the device can be risky. Juries evaluating whether an accommodation poses an "undue burden" on an employer often look straight at the bottom line, Kienbaum says.

Resources To Help You Comply

The following services and publications are designed to help companies comply with the disabilities law:

* The federal government's 10 regional Disability and Technical Assistance Centers provide numerous free services to businesses that have questions about the Americans with Disabilities Act.

These services include specific suggestions about accommodating an employee with a disability, compliance guides, and on-site training.

For the number for the center in your region, call 1-800-949-4232.

* The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities offers advice by phone to companies seeking low-cost ways to accommodate workers who have disabilities. Operators at the committee's Job Accommodation Network can also answer basic questions about the law. Call 1-800-526-7234. To reach the network's computer bulletin board, call 1-800-342-5526.

* The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has published What Business Must Know About the ADA: Compliance Guide, a comprehensive, 88-page booklet available to U.S. Chamber members for $14, and to nonmembers for $21. To order, call 1-800638-6582. Ask for publication No. 0320. Payment can be made by major credit card or by check made payable to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and mailed to Publications, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1615 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20062-2000.

* Three hands-on guides to understanding the disabilities law are available from Nation's Business and Meeting the Challenge Inc., a Colorado Springs, Colo., firm that specializes in making facilities accessible to people with disabilities.

One is "Consultant-in-a-Box," which contains guidebooks and devices to help measure fixtures in a workplace for determining accessibility.

Another aid, called "ADA IQ," is a guide to provisions of the disabilities law on DOS 5 1/4-inch, DOS 3 1/2-inch, and Macintosh computer disks. "Consultantin-a-Box" costs $104.95, and the software costs $63.95; both prices include shipping and handling.

A third guide to the ADA is a videocassette, "The Basics of the Americans with Disabilities Act," priced at $53.95.

To order any of the three items, or all of them for $179.95, call 1-800-528-1993, or mail your check to Nation's Business, Circulation Department, 1615 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20062-2000.