Wiki Page, Multicultural Diversity in the Workplace for the Tourism Professional: Topic 2 Disabilities in the Workplace-5

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2022-09-21T17:33:45+08:00

Disability Discrimination

Visible VS Invisible Disabilities in the Workplace

Reasonable Accommodation

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Disability Discrimination

It is everyone’s right to find a job and discrimination should not stop anyone from having one. But reality check, it is difficult for people with a disability to be part of the workforce.

The good news, things are getting better for them because of significant positive changes in the law.

Qualified workers with disability is someone capable of performing the essential duties of the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation by the employer. However, disability discrimination frequently occurs in the workplace. This refers to people being treated unfairly, worst missing out on job opportunities just because they have a disability.

There must be law to protect employees with a disability from discrimination at all stages of employment – from the initial interview right through to leaving the company. The sad truth is some employers do still discriminate against applicants with a disability.

Disability discrimination can sometimes be direct such as telling someone explicitly that they won’t be considered for the job because they judged to be incapacitated for the position. Likewise, a workplace that is not providing access for wheelchair is also a form of disability discrimination however in an indirect way.

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It can legal in some instances for a company to refuse someone a job because of their disability. This is only deemed to legal if the person because of his disability can’t perform the inherent requirements of the position and therefore cannot carry out the duties of the job.

These inherent requirements will depend on the job. For example, a person with speech defect may not meet the requirements to be concierge in a hotel. But, if the disability won’t affect the performance of specific job, a person with disability deserves a fair chance and it will be illegal for employers turn the person down just because of his disability.

Visible VS Invisible Disabilities in the Workplace

Most often than not, work is stressful and burdensome. If a worker is with a disability, the daily routine of work tasks and deadlines for them can be a weightier obligation. Based on several studies, around 30% of the professional workforce has disability and the majority are not disclosing it.

Workers with visible disability have no choice but to disclose. Employees in this group may use a wheelchair, rely on a seeing eye dog, or have a prosthetic limb. But, studies also show that over half of employees with disability has invisible disability. Unless they tell, their employers and co-workers will not know that they have disability. Thus, it is difficult to know what’s going on behind the scenes or determine if when someone is suffering and struggles may present themselves in a variety of ways.

Commonly, people are more accepting of individuals that have visible disabilities, as they can clearly see that they have a debilitation that hinders the way they interact with others. However, individuals that have invisible developmental disabilities may suffer from bullying and being misunderstood because to the naked eye, they may seem as though they do not have a disability.

To receive reasonable accommodations to perform the essential functions of the job, it will be best for the worker to disclose his/her disability. A positive and open relationship with the employer will also be established and legal protection against discrimination will also be provided.

Nevertheless, a person disclosing his/her disabilities can be also viewed negatively. The employee will be viewed as less capable than others and may be treated differently due to misconceptions about disabilities. More so, once the disability is known, the disclosure is cannot be taken back.

To protect the person who disclosed his/her disability, employers must keep medical information related to the employee’s disability and medical history private and confidential. Medical records and other documents containing information about a disability must be stored in a secure medical file separate from the personnel file. Employers also cannot disclose that an employee has requested or is receiving a reasonable accommodation.

But then again, an employer may disclose confidential medical information under several just circumstances. If it is necessary to communicate disability-related work restrictions or accommodations, it needs to be communicated to the supervisors or managers concerned. It has to be reported to the first-aid workers and first responders, if the disability might require medical treatment or special evacuation procedures. And as required by law, it has to be disclosed to state workers' compensation agency employees and for insurance purposes.

Reasonable Accommodation

To provide workplace inclusion for qualified employees with disabilities, it the responsibility of the employers to create reasonable accommodation for them. Reasonable accommodation is any adjustment or modification that allows the employee to do the job.

Unless the disability is obvious or already known to the employer, the employee must request a reasonable accommodation and the employer isn't required to guess whether one is needed. The employer must engage in the interactive process, a dialogue with the employee about accommodations that will meet that person's needs.

If the accommodation request of the qualified employee with disability would cause undue hardship to the employer, or in cases of direct threat, the employer can deny the request.

Undue hardship is when an accommodation is expensive, difficult, disruptive to the work environment, or will fundamentally change the nature of the position while direct threat is a significant risk of threat to the safety of the employee or others that cannot be eliminated or lessened by reasonable accommodation. The employer isn't also required to provide the particular accommodation an employee requests if another accommodation will do.

Modified supervision is an example of reasonable accommodation. A supervisor may write out feedback, rather than presenting it verbally, for an employee who communicates more effectively through written materials.

Another example is facility modification wherein furniture can be moved to make a safer passageway for an employee who is blind. While equipment modification is when a computer is modified to magnify images on the screen, thus allowing a worker who has low vision to accurately enter and read information.

Restructuring the job to make it more consistent from day to day but keeping all the essential functions will allow a worker with a cognitive disability to have a structured routine. The last option of reasonable accommodation is reassignment wherein an employer might reassign an employee to a vacant position if they can no longer perform the essential functions of his or her current job. The employer does not have to create a new position, no other employees should be transferred or terminated in order to make a position vacant for the purpose of reassignment, and the individual with a disability must be qualified for the new position.

Reasonable accommodation is a powerful tool in empowering employees with disabilities. To appreciate it further, join the canvas discussion by tapping the link.

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