CIEE Return-to-Work & Accommodation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the ADA, which factor is NOT considered when determining whether an accommodation is an 'undue hardship'?
- Cost of the accommodation
- The employee's personal preference for the accommodation (Correct answer)
- Size and financial resources of the employer
- Nature and structure of the employer's operation
Correct answer: The employee's personal preference for the accommodation
Undue hardship analysis considers cost, employer resources, and operational impact—not employee preference.
Question 2: A transitional duty program is BEST described as:
- Permanent light-duty job placement for injured workers
- Temporary modified work assignments while an employee recovers (Correct answer)
- A training program for new ergonomic evaluators
- A return-to-work plan that bypasses medical clearance
Correct answer: Temporary modified work assignments while an employee recovers
Transitional duty provides temporary modified tasks matched to an injured worker's current restrictions during recovery.
Question 3: Which documentation is MOST critical before an ergonomic evaluator recommends specific accommodations for a returning worker?
- The worker's employment history
- Medical restrictions provided by the treating physician (Correct answer)
- The worker's job satisfaction survey results
- HR department approval forms
Correct answer: Medical restrictions provided by the treating physician
Physician-provided functional restrictions form the clinical foundation for any accommodation recommendation.
Question 4: When conducting a job demands analysis for a return-to-work candidate, the ergonomic evaluator should focus PRIMARILY on:
- The worker's previous productivity metrics
- Matching essential job function demands to the worker's current capabilities (Correct answer)
- Identifying tasks the worker enjoys most
- Comparing the worker to co-workers' performance
Correct answer: Matching essential job function demands to the worker's current capabilities
Matching physical job demands to the worker's medically-defined restrictions ensures a safe and sustainable return.
Question 5: An employee with a shoulder injury returns to a clerical role. The FIRST ergonomic intervention to consider is:
- Purchasing a fully motorized adjustable workstation
- Repositioning the monitor and keyboard to reduce shoulder elevation (Correct answer)
- Reassigning all computer tasks to a coworker
- Requiring the employee to use voice recognition software exclusively
Correct answer: Repositioning the monitor and keyboard to reduce shoulder elevation
Repositioning existing equipment to minimize shoulder elevation is a low-cost, immediate accommodation that reduces strain.
Question 6: Under OSHA's General Duty Clause, an employer's obligation regarding return-to-work ergonomic hazards is to:
- Provide a hazard-free workplace using feasible means (Correct answer)
- Guarantee zero risk of re-injury for all returning workers
- Follow only ANSI ergonomic standards without exception
- Defer all hazard decisions to the injured worker's union
Correct answer: Provide a hazard-free workplace using feasible means
The General Duty Clause requires employers to keep the workplace free of recognized hazards using feasible abatement methods.
Question 7: Which metric BEST evaluates the effectiveness of a return-to-work program from an ergonomics standpoint?
- Number of accommodation requests filed per year
- Rate of re-injury or symptom recurrence after return to full duty (Correct answer)
- Total cost of all ergonomic equipment purchased
- Employee satisfaction scores for the HR department
Correct answer: Rate of re-injury or symptom recurrence after return to full duty
Re-injury or symptom recurrence rates directly measure whether ergonomic accommodations successfully reduced hazard exposure.
CIEE Return-to-Work & Accommodation 2
Under the ADA, which factor is NOT considered when determining whether an accommodation is an 'undue hardship'?