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Accommodation - FAQs:

During an influenza pandemic, do employers have to provide new accommodations for a person with a disability (e.g., special work hours) due to lack of public transportation or other similar circumstances? What are the organization’s obligations if it can no longer provide an accommodation (e.g., the sign language interpreter is home sick and no others are available)?

If a particular accommodation cannot be provided (e.g., no sign language interpreters are available), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) would require you to provide an available alternative accommodation if it does not pose an undue hardship.  (See the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Enforcement Guidance: Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship under the Americans with Disabilities Act for additional information.)

Note: As an overall matter, employers should be guided in their relationship with their employees by federal, state, and local employment law, and by the company-specific application of these laws as reflected in employee handbooks, manuals, and contracts (including bargaining agreements).

Not all of the employment laws referenced apply to all employers or all employees, particularly state and local government agencies.  For information on whether a particular employer or employee is covered by a law, please use the links provided for more detailed information.  This information is not intended for federal agencies or federal employees -- they should contact the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for guidance.


May an employer covered by the ADA and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 compel all of its employees to take the influenza vaccine regardless of their medical conditions or their religious beliefs during a pandemic?

No, an employee may be entitled to an exemption from a mandatory vaccination requirement based on an ADA disability that prevents him from taking the influenza vaccine. This would be a reasonable accommodation barring undue hardship (significant difficulty or expense).

Similarly, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, once an employer receives notice that an employee’s sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance prevents him from taking the influenza vaccine, the employer must provide a reasonable accommodation unless it would pose an undue hardship as defined by Title VII (“more than de minimis cost” to the operation of the employer’s business, which is a lower standard than under the ADA).

Generally, ADA-covered employers should consider simply encouraging employees to get the influenza vaccine rather than requiring them to take it.


During a flu outbreak, must an employer continue to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with known disabilities that are unrelated to the pandemic, barring undue hardship?

Yes, an employer’s ADA responsibilities to individuals with disabilities continue during an influenza pandemic. Only when an employer can demonstrate that a person with a disability poses a direct threat, even after reasonable accommodation, can it lawfully exclude him from employment or employment-related activities.

If an employee with a disability needs the same reasonable accommodation at a telework site that he had at the workplace, the employer should provide that accommodation, absent undue hardship. In the event of undue hardship, the employer and employee should cooperate to identify an alternative reasonable accommodation.

Example A: An accountant with low vision has a screen-reader on her office computer as a reasonable accommodation. In preparation for telework during a pandemic or other emergency event, the employer issues notebook computers to all accountants. In accordance with the ADA, the employer provides the accountant with a notebook computer that has a screen-reader installed.

All employees with disabilities whose responsibilities include management during a pandemic must receive reasonable accommodations necessitated by pandemic conditions, unless undue hardship is established.

Example B: A manager in a marketing firm has a hearing disability. A sign language interpreter facilitates her communication with other employees at the office during meetings and trainings. Before the pandemic, the employer decided to provide video phone equipment and video relay software for her at home to use for emergency business consultations. (Video relay services allow deaf and hearing impaired individuals to communicate by telephone through a sign language interpreter by placing a video relay call.) During an influenza pandemic, this manager also is part of the employer’s emergency response team. When she works from home during the pandemic, she uses the video relay services to participate in daily management and staff conference calls necessary to keep the firm operational.


Are there equal opportunity resources available that explains policies about working with disabled people and accommodation?

Employers are encouraged to consult the following EEOC publications for further information about the Americans with Disabilities Act.


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