As if hiring the right talent wasn’t tough enough, the Americans with Disabilities Act makes every step of the hiring process more difficult – from collecting applications and interviewing candidates to getting a new hire ready to start the job. Here are the most common pitfalls that trip up companies and how HR can help avoid them.

Last week, the EEOC released a question-and-answer guideline on disability hiring. Though directed at federal employers, the document contains plenty of information that applies to all companies.

Here are the answers to HR’s common questions:

1. What are the most common types of accommodations companies give applicants and newly hired employees?

Here are the top examples from the EEOC:

• making application and testing materials accessible in different formats (for example, making recruiting sites compatible with screen-reader software for the blind)
• altering facilities and work areas
• giving other employees responsibility for marginal tasks an employee can’t perform (as long he or she can handle the job’s essential functions), and
• changing the job’s schedule, if possible.

2. How do companies know if an accommodation will cause an “undue hardship?”

There’s no easy answer — figuring out which accommodations are reasonable is a case-specific question. The two most important factors to consider:

• cost (taking the company’s budget into account), and
• impact on other employees’ abilities to do their jobs.

For outside opinions and recommendations, the EEOC recommends contacting the Job Accommodation Network (www.jan.wvu.edu).

3. What if we think an applicant could pose a safety risk?

Again, determining whether a disabled applicant can perform the job safely requires an individualized assessment. Here are the things employers should take into account:

• the duration of the risk
• the nature and severity of the potential harm
• the likelihood that the potential harm will occur, and
• the imminence of the potential harm.

In other words, the EEOC says, “a slightly increased, moderate, speculative, or remote risk of harm” isn’t enough to deny someone a job.

Employers should consider qualified medical opinions, the person’s history performing similar work and of course, the possibility of erasing the safety risk with a reasonable accommodation.

4. Can employers give preference to disabled applicants?

Yes. Unlike other types of bias (race and gender, for example), there’s no such thing as “reverse discrimination” under the ADA. Though companies obviously want to employ the most qualified applicants, there’s nothing illegal about giving disabled candidates a preference.

Also, employers may state in job ads that they encourage qualified persons with disabilities to apply.

5. What should employers do after an applicant or new hire asks about accommodations?

Once HR or a manager knows someone needs an accommodation due to a medical condition, it’s time to start the “interactive process” to find out if any change is necessary and possible. Here are the EEOC’s keys for staying compliant and finding the best solution:

• Get specific — It’s important to get as much information about the specific limitations as possible.
• Ask for suggestions — The process is defined as “interactive” for a reason. The employee or applicant may know from past experiences what some possible accommodations are. (Note: The EEOC recommends giving priority to the employee’s preference, but companies aren’t required to do so if there’s a better solution.)
• Keep looking for alternatives — If a suggested solution isn’t reasonable, your obligations don’t end there. Companies need to exhaust all possible alternatives before deciding there’s no accommodation available.

Tags: ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act, disability hiring, EEOC