Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Provides Updated Guidance Regarding Employer Accommodations for Cancer, Epilepsy, Diabetes and Intellectual Disabilities

The Amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADAAA) broadened the scope of physical or mental impairments which would be considered to be disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On May 15, 2013 the EEOC issued four separate “informal” guidance documents relating to cancer, epilepsy, diabetes and intellectual disabilities. According to the EEOC there are nearly 34 million Americans who have been diagnosed with cancer, diabetes or epilepsy, and more than two million individuals with an intellectual disability. The EEOC has issued the guidance documents in question and answer form in response to the many inquiries it receives that concern these conditions. Each can be found at the EEOC’s website. 

The EEOC guidance provided specific examples of reasonable accommodations that can be made for employees or applicants with cancer, epilepsy, diabetes and intellectual disabilities. The following lists are examples given by the EEOC and should not be considered the only reasonable accommodations for these conditions. 

Cancer: Employers can make reasonable accommodations for individuals with cancer by doing such things as allowing leave for doctor’s appointments and/or to seek or recuperate from treatment; periodic breaks or a private area to rest or take medication; modified work schedules, permission to work from home; modification of office temperatures; permission to use work telephone to call doctors if the employer’s regular practice is to prohibit personal phone calls; reallocation or re-distribution of marginal tasks to another employee; and reassignment to a vacant position if the employee can no longer perform his or her regular job. 

Epilepsy: Reasonable accommodations for individuals with epilepsy could include such things as a private area to rest after a seizure; to provide a rubber mat or carpet to cushion a fall from a seizure; breaks to take medication; adjustments to the work schedule. 

Diabetes: Reasonable accommodations include breaks to eat, drink or test blood sugar levels; a private area to test blood-sugar levels; a place to rest until blood sugar levels become normal; and leave for treatment, recuperation or training on managing their diabetes. 

Intellectual Disabilities: Reasonable accommodations include enhanced training on how to do the job by allowing additional training time and the use of visual aids; a tape recorder to record directions; providing a job coach; and help in understanding evaluations and discipline. 

These are just examples of reasonable accommodations suggested by the EEOC. It is important to remember that since the ADAAA, the focus has been less on whether a condition is a disability and more on the interactive process to determine reasonable accommodations.