Veronica is a repairperson for Wind Power Company. The job requires traveling to remote areas to make repairs to windmills, transmission towers, and power stations under any conditions. Veronica has had the job longer than other employees. Veronica

Question

applies for a promotion to a supervisory position that requires constant communica¬tion with others in the field. Wind Power rejects the application on the ground that Veronica is hearing impaired. Wind Power acknowledges that Veronica is otherwise quali¬fied, but asserts that it "needs someone who does not have a hear¬ing problem.". Veronica files a suit against Wind Power under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. What is the issue, and what are the relevant considerations on which its resolution depends?

Answer 1

The issue is whether hiring a sign interpreter is a reason¬able accommodation for an employee or an undue hardship for the em¬ployer.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits employers from refusing to hire (or promote) disabled persons who are otherwise qualified for a particular position. An em¬ployer may have to make rea¬sonable accommodations for a disabled appli¬cant, but that will not cause the applicant to be con¬sidered unqualified. Reasonable accommodations might include creating new job as¬signments, and creating or improving training ma¬terials and procedures. Employers who do not wish to make such accommoda¬tions must demonstrate that the accommoda¬tions will cause "undue hardship.". The law offers no uniform standards for identi¬fying what is an undue hardship, but there are limits to the employer's obligation to accommo¬date an employee under the ADA. Accommodation cannot impose a "significant diffi¬culty or ex-pense" on the employer. Also, if a disabled employee can perform the essen-tials of his or her job with¬out accommodation, then no violation of the ADA has oc¬curred.
Besides hir¬ing a sign inter¬preter to accompany a deaf employee, in some cases a com¬pany could train an employee's co-workers in American Sign Language. The basics of sign language can be learned in just a few hours, so the expense to the company would be minimal. In the facts of this question, contact among distant field workers might be accomplished via texting and other visual means.