HEARING LOSS AT WORK : GUIDANCE FOR EMPLOYERS

In America all the employers have to respect the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 is a US labor law that prohibits unjustified discrimination based on disability.

It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal.

The ADA also requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities and imposes accessibility requirements on public accommodations.

Title 1 of the ADA limits an employer’s ability to ask questions related to hearing and other disabilities and to conduct medical examinations at three stages: pre-offer, post-offer, and during employment.

The ADA does not require applicants to disclose that they have or had a hearing impairment or another disability unless they will need a reasonable accommodation for the application process or if he will need a reasonable accommodation to perform the job.

When an applicant discloses after receiving a conditional job offer that she has or had a hearing impairment an employer may ask the applicant additional questions and send the applicant for a follow-up hearing or medical examination. The employer also may ask the applicant to submit documentation fro, her doctor answering questions specifically designed to assess her ability to perform the job’s functions safely.

An employer may ask an employee about her hearing impairment to the extent the information is necessary:

• To support the employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation needed because of her hearing impairment
• To verify the employee’s use of sick leave related to her hearinf impairment if the employer requires all employees to submit a doctor’s note to justify their use of sick leave.
• To enable the employee to particiape in a voluntary wellness program.

With limited exceptions, an employer must keep confidential any medical information it learns about applicant or employee.

In some case, an employer may disclose that an employee has a hearing impairment:

• To supervisors and managers, if necessary to provide a reasonable accommodation or meet an employee’s work restrictions.
• To first aid and safety personnel if an employee may need emergency treatment or require some other assistance at work.
• To individuals investigating compliance with the ADA and similar state and local laws
• Where needed for workers’ compensation or insurance purposes

• A sign language interpreter
• Assistive technology including a text telephone, voice carry-over telephone, a video relay service, a telephone headset, appropriate emergency notification systems, assistive computer software, assistive listening devices (ALDs), Augmentative communication devices that allow users to communicate orally by typing words that are then translated to sign language or a simulated voice, communication access real-time translation (CART) which translates voice into text at real-time speeds
• Appropriate written memos and notes
• Work area adjustments
• Time off in the form of accrued paid leave or unpaid leave if paid has been exhausted or is unavailable.
• Altering an employee’s marginal job functions
• Reassignment to a vacant position
• Other modifications or adjustments that allow a qualified applicant or employee with a hearing disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities

An employer does not have to provide an accommodation if doing so would be an undue hardship means that providing the reasonable accommodation will result in significant difficulty or expense. If more than one accommodation would be effective, the employee’s preference should be given primary consideration, although the employer is not required to provide the employee’s first choice of reasonable accommodation. If a request accommodation is too difficult or expensive, an employer may choose to provide an easier or less costly accommodation as long as is effective in meeting the employee’s need.

For example, an employee with a bilateral disability requests use of communivation access real-time translation (CART) for an uncoming training. In place of the CART device, the employer suggests an assistive listening device (ALS) because it is less expensive than CART.

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The duty to provide a reasonable accommodation is an ongoing one. Although some employees with hearing disabilities may require only one reasonable accommodation, others may need mor than one.

An employer must consider each request for a reasonable accommodation and determine whether it would be effective and whether providing it would pose an undue hardship.

The ADA prohibits harassment, or offensive conduct based on disability.

Offensive conduct may include, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slur, epithets or name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation ridicule or mockery, insults or put-down, offensive objects or pictures and interference with perform work performance.

Employers should make clear that they will not tolerate harassment based on disability or on any other basis. This can be done in number of ways, such as through a written policy, employee handbook, staff meetings and periodic training.

Not only for the respect of laws, be supportive with your employees with hearing loss is important for your business. Actually, the difficulties that people with hearing loss face in employment are not always obvious, but they’re very real. Hearing loss can make people feel isolated at work, prevent people from fulfilling their potential and ever force people to leave employment altogether.

Be supportive with your employees with Hearing loss can also allowing you to don’t lose valuable employees. Indeed, if a member of your team leaves your employment because of hearing difficulties you will lose their knowledge, skills and experiences. In addition, recruiting and training a replacement member of staff can be very expensive and time consuming. You can avoid this by being flexible in your approach, offering your support and making some small changes to the working environment.

Due to the an ageing population and the rising retirement age, the workforce continue to get older and hearing loss will become increasingly common in the workplace.

Sources:

- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – www.eeoc.gov
- Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilies Act – www.ada.gov
- United States Department of Labor - www.dol.gov/general/topic/disability/ada

- www.vecteezy.com

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