Managing Accommodation Requests under the Americans with Disabilities Act

Why Should You Attend:

Employers could face liability under the Americans with Disabilities Act if they fail to make reasonable accommodations for employees or applicants with disabilities. Do you know how to determine whether an employee is entitled to an accommodation? Are you familiar with the interactive process to determine what change to your workplace or policies may be required? This webinar will help you understand your company’s obligations and how to navigate the process of determining reasonable accommodations.

The Americans with Disabilities Act as Amended requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities. Among many other things, accommodations could be changes to absenteeism policies, physical barriers, or various work procedures. In determining which accommodations to implement, employers have a number of factors to consider as they engage in the required interactive process. In this webinar, we will discuss the importance of thorough job descriptions, how to determine the essential functions of a job, what makes accommodations unreasonable, and when accommodations may constitute an undue burden. We will also cover logistics of responding to accommodation requests, including how quickly a company should respond and the importance of documenting all discussions.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Short refresher on the basic framework of the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Potential damages for violating the ADA
• Understanding the interactive process for determining accommodations
• How to determine whether an employee with a disability is qualified
• The importance of essential functions when considering accommodations
• How to identify and highlight the essential functions of a job
• How to determine whether accommodations are reasonable
• Examples of reasonable accommodations
• Examples of accommodations which were found not to be reasonable
• How to determine if an undue burden exists

Who Will Benefit:

• Human Resources (CHRO, Vice President, Director, Manager, Generalist)
• Hiring Manager
• Business Owners / Executive Officers / Operations and Departmental Managers
• General Manager / Plant Manager
• Benefits specialists

Rebecca Jacobs
Training Consultant and Employment Law Attorney, Rebecca Jacobs LLC

Rebecca Jacobs is a Training Consultant and Employment Law Attorney with Rebecca Jacobs LLC. Collaborating with her clients, she develops and presents customized employee training on topics such as harassment prevention, bystander intervention, and discrimination avoidance. She also trains managers on numerous matters, including family and medical leave and disability accommodation requests.

Since 2006, Rebecca has been an adjunct lecturer for the Department of Management and Human Resources at the Ohio State University's Max M. Fisher College of Business. Rebecca teaches the "Contemporary Employment Practices and the Law" class and has recently expanded her teaching to include “Contemporary Employment Practices and the Law II.”

Rebecca has been an employment law attorney for over 20 years and tried a number of cases in federal and state courts, including oral argument before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She has counseled clients on numerous employment law matters and has prepared employee policies and handbooks. In January, 2019, Columbus CEO magazine quoted Rebecca in “Employment Law: Making it Official with Love Contracts.”

Rebecca holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Vanderbilt University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is admitted to practice law in Ohio and licensed (inactive) in California.

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