Category: Sidkoff General Blog

What Are Reasonable Accommodations for Disabled Employees?

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Philadelphia Employment Lawyers at Sidkoff, Pincus & Green P.C. Assist Clients Entitled to Reasonable Accommodations in the Workplace.

Employers are required to make reasonable accommodations to allow employees with disabilities the ability to perform their job duties successfully. A disability is legally defined as having a physical or mental impairment, a record of a physical or mental impairment, or regarded as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more bodily functions or major life activities.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides disabled persons federal civil rights protection from discrimination, and it provides equal opportunity for employment and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities in businesses with 15 or more employees.

Reasonable accommodations are changes to the job description, application process, or workplace for disabled individuals to apply for a position and the ability to perform essential job duties. Some examples of reasonable accommodations include:

  • Changes to the make the workplace more accessible, such as installing ramps and elevators and providing accessible bathroom facilities for employees who use a wheelchair or walker.
  • Altering or adding necessary equipment to allow a disabled employee to successfully perform their job duties, such as computer programs that convert text to speech for the blind and videophone communication for the deaf.
  • Modifications to the work schedule for the disabled and employees with chronic medical conditions to accommodate for medical appointments and the flexibility to complete work at alternate times or locations.
  • Reassigning a disabled employee to a more suitable open position, if qualified, should the employee’s disability prevent them from performing the duties in their current job.
  • Adjusting policies to allow service animals in the workplace.
  • Providing handicapped parking or providing a reserved parking space closer to the building for an employee unable to walk long distances.

Requesting Reasonable Accommodations

If you require an accommodation that is not already provided for your job, you must request one and you will need to disclose the nature of your disability. Making an ADA request for accommodation does not have to be in writing unless you prefer to do so, but you must inform your employer that you require an accommodation due to the medical condition.

Written requests are typically submitted to both your supervisor and the company’s Human Resources (HR) department and should include that you are requesting a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.

Following your request, your employer may choose to grant it or work together with you to find a suitable alternative. While employers are required to meet the needs of their employees, however, they may not be required to provide an employee’s first choice of accommodation. Keep in mind that employers may request medical documentation from your provider in cases of disabilities with no physical presentation.

Employers are not required to make reasonable accommodations if doing so would impose an undue hardship to the business’s operation and is determined on a case-by-case basis. Undue hardship may be applicable if the accommodation would require significant difficulty or expense in relation to the business size, available resources, and the type of business operation.

Unfair Accommodations

There are also certain items that are not considered reasonable accommodations that employers are not required to implement, such as:

  • Eliminate a primary responsibility of the job.
  • Lower standards of production that apply to all employees.
  • Provide personal items, such as hearing aids, eyeglasses, and the like.
  • Excuse violations of conduct rules that apply to all employees, such as violence or threats of violence, theft, or destruction of property, and is permitted to discipline a disabled employee the same as any other employee.

Philadelphia Employment Lawyers at Sidkoff, Pincus & Green P.C. Assist Clients Entitled to Reasonable Accommodations in the Workplace

If you believe your employer has wrongfully denied your requests for a reasonable accommodation to allow you to successfully complete your job responsibilities, our Philadelphia employment lawyers at Sidkoff, Pincus & Green P.C. can help. Call us today at 215-574-0600 or contact us online for an initial consultation. Located in Philadelphia, we proudly serve clients throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

What are the Pitfalls of Videoconferencing?

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The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to re-think how they conduct their affairs on a daily basis. One of the biggest changes was having to cope with employees working from home as opposed to centrally located in one office. With that new dynamic in place, many companies in varying industries turned to technology to stay in contact and conduct ongoing meetings. The biggest technology that has seen significant growth during this pandemic has been videoconferencing software. Applications like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, WebEx, GoTo, Ring, and BlueJeans have become part of the routine business lexicon when they were more of a novelty just one year prior.

Since February, when many states began implementing stay-at-home orders, videoconferencing software has reported an 84 percent increase in demand with Webex, claiming that it hosts more than four million meetings per day. However, most companies just jumped right into using these technologies without researching or determining the security risks. It has led to reports of security breaches and instances where an unauthorized individual will break into a private meeting undetected and gain access to sensitive and confidential material about a company’s decision making.

What are Effective Methods for Securing a Meeting?

One of the ways that trespassers have managed to infiltrate these secure meetings is through brute force and trial and error. In the 1980s and 90s, hackers would utilize a tactic known as war dialing. They would methodically call different numbers looking for a secure modem to hack into.

Today, the strategy has been updated to try different names for video conferences. Most companies keep their chat room names consistent, making it easier for hackers to gain access. Firms must secure their own platforms and develop a strong security system. One of the first ways to do that is to host the meeting in-house rather than have a third-party do it. This gives them more control over the meeting and who participates. There are other ways to secure a meeting including:

  • Use unique meeting IDs: When creating a meeting room, most platforms provide a generic name that consists of the company and maybe the host’s name. While this is an easy one to guess and hack, it probably will not make that much of a difference for a quick one-on-one with an employee and their supervisor. However, if the meeting is more important, like a board meeting, the host should consider using a unique and different name to minimize break-ins.
  • Implement passwords: An added level of security is to provide all participants with a password. This way, only those specifically invited to the meeting can legally attend.
  • Roll call: Initiating a roll call to determine who is in attendance will also weed out those who should not be there and make sure that the appropriate people are.
  • Give host total control: As the host of a meeting, they have significant control over who is allowed in and out of the meeting. As such, it is possible to revise the setting to prevent participants from joining the main meeting room until the host arrives. This prevents them from discussing any sensitive information before the host has the opportunity to implement any security procedures.
  • Eject button: If at any point during the meeting the host suspects that it has been compromised, they can immediately end the meeting before any sensitive information is discussed.

What is the Proper Process for Recording a Meeting?

Another security risk when conducting videoconferencing involves recording the meeting. It is not so much the recording of the meetings that is a problem, it is how that meeting is stored afterward. When recording a meeting, some platforms such as Zoom, will store the meeting in its Zoom Cloud. The problem with this scenario is that the meeting, which could contain sensitive dialog, is in the possession of an outside party. Without any verification, there is no way to guarantee its safety, meaning it is prone to be hacked. To minimize this risk, the most ideal strategy is to save the meeting in-house or with a trusted vendor. This way the security of the meeting is under the firm’s control.

Philadelphia Business Lawyers at Sidkoff, Pincus & Green P.C. Help Businesses with All Types of Legal Matters

If your business needs legal guidance, the Philadelphia business lawyers at Sidkoff, Pincus & Green P.C. can help. We can provide you with the legal assistance to need to see you through most business transactions. Give us a call at 215-574-0600 or contact us online to find out how we can help. Located in Philadelphia, we serve clients throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania.