Sara is a repairperson for Telecommunications Company (TC). The job requires driving to remote areas to make repairs under any conditions. Sara has had the job longer than other employees. Sara applies for a promotion to a supervisory position that requires constant communication with others in the field. TC rejects the application on the ground that Sara is hearing impaired. TC acknowledges that Sara is otherwise qualified, but asserts that it "needs someone who does not have a hearing disability." Sara files a suit against TC under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. What is the issue in this problem, and what are the relevant considerations on which its resolution depends?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The issue is whether hiring a sign interpreter is a reasonable accommodation for an employee or an undue hardship for the employer. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employers from refusing to hire (or promote) disabled persons who are otherwise qualified for a particular position. An employer may have to make reasonable accommodations for a disabled applicant, but that will not cause the applicant to be considered unqualified. Reasonable accommodations might include creating new job assignments, and creating or improving training materials and procedures. Employers who do not wish to make such accommodations must demonstrate that the accommodations will cause "undue hardship." The law offers no uniform standards for identifying what is an undue hardship, but there are limits to the employer's obligation to accommodate an employee under the ADA. Accommodation cannot impose a "significant difficulty or expense" on the employer. Also, if a disabled employee can perform the essentials of his or her job without accommodation, then no violation of the ADA has occurred. Besides hiring a sign interpreter to accompany a deaf employee, in some cases a company 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.