CESP Workplace Accommodations & Job Retention 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the ADA, an employer is NOT required to provide an accommodation that would:
- Require purchasing new equipment
- Cause undue hardship to the organization (Correct answer)
- Modify non-essential job functions
- Involve reassigning minor duties
Correct answer: Cause undue hardship to the organization
Undue hardship — significant difficulty or expense relative to the employer's resources — is the legal threshold that exempts an employer from providing an accommodation.
Question 2: A job coach notices an employee's workstation layout is causing repetitive-strain symptoms. The FIRST action the coach should take is:
- Contact OSHA immediately
- Document the observation and raise it with the employee and supervisor (Correct answer)
- Purchase ergonomic equipment on the employee's behalf
- File an ADA complaint with the EEOC
Correct answer: Document the observation and raise it with the employee and supervisor
The employment support professional should first document the issue and facilitate a conversation between the employee and supervisor before escalating or procuring equipment.
Question 3: Which factor is MOST relevant when determining whether a flexible schedule is a reasonable accommodation?
- The employee's tenure with the company
- Whether the core job functions can still be performed (Correct answer)
- The cost of changing payroll software
- The preferences of coworkers on the same shift
Correct answer: Whether the core job functions can still be performed
A schedule modification is reasonable if all essential functions of the job can still be fulfilled without undue hardship to the employer.
Question 4: An employee with a psychiatric disability asks that their supervisor provide daily written instructions instead of verbal ones. This is best categorized as a:
- Communication accommodation (Correct answer)
- Physical modification
- Leave accommodation
- Policy waiver
Correct answer: Communication accommodation
Providing written rather than verbal instructions is a communication-based accommodation that supports information processing needs.
Question 5: Job carving in the context of workplace accommodations refers to:
- Reducing an employee's hours to part-time
- Restructuring a position to remove non-essential tasks the employee cannot perform (Correct answer)
- Eliminating a job title and creating a new one
- Transferring an employee to a lower-pay grade
Correct answer: Restructuring a position to remove non-essential tasks the employee cannot perform
Job carving customizes an existing position by redistributing non-essential functions so the employee can succeed in their core duties.
Question 6: When an employer requests medical documentation to support an accommodation request, the information provided should be limited to:
- The employee's full medical history
- The functional limitations relevant to the requested accommodation (Correct answer)
- A list of all medications the employee takes
- The employee's psychiatric diagnosis
Correct answer: The functional limitations relevant to the requested accommodation
Employers may only require documentation that confirms the disability-related limitation and explains why the specific accommodation is needed.
Question 7: A supported employee is at risk of job loss due to attendance issues related to their disability. Which retention strategy should the employment specialist prioritize FIRST?
- Help the employee resign before being terminated
- Explore FMLA or ADA accommodation for medical leave or schedule adjustment (Correct answer)
- Recommend the employee disclose their disability publicly
- Suggest the employee transfer departments without discussing accommodations
Correct answer: Explore FMLA or ADA accommodation for medical leave or schedule adjustment
Exploring protected leave under FMLA or a schedule accommodation under the ADA directly addresses the attendance issue and protects job retention.
CESP Workplace Accommodations & Job Retention 2
Under the ADA, an employer is NOT required to provide an accommodation that would: