Vision Accommodation under the ADA

            In order to avoid liability under the American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) employers must provide reasonable accommodations to disabled employees. However, it is often difficult to determine if the person requesting an accommodation is actually entitled to receive one. In particular it is often unclear what if any duties employers owe to employees who are suffering from some form of visual impairment.

 Employers are obligated to provide reasonable accommodation for visually impaired employees but they are only required to do so in certain circumstances. Not every employee who has less than perfect eye sight will qualify for an accommodation. Simply wearing glasses will not qualify as a disability. An employee is only entitled to an accommodation, if their visual impairment is sufficiently severe to qualify as a disability. The visual impairment qualifies as a disability if the employee demonstrates that the impairment substantially limits a major life activity or that the employer treats this type of impairment as a disability. For example, individuals whose eye sight has become so deteriorated that they cannot read a book or a computer screen even with the aid of glasses will qualify as disabled. Likewise persons who only have one functioning eye and therefore have no depth perception may also qualify as disabled.

            Once it has been determined that the employees visual impairment is sufficient to qualify as a disability the employer is obligated to provide a reasonable accommodation. This requirement begs the question as to what is a "reasonable accommodation," after all what is reasonable to the employee may not be reasonable to the employer who has to pay for the accommodation. Generally, an accommodation is a modification of the work environment which once made will allow the employee to carry out both the essential job functions and to enjoy the privileges and benefits provided to all other employees.

            Past accommodations, which were designed to allow employees to perform their job functions have included: external magnifying screens mounted on computers monitors, digital voice recording devices, software which audibly read information displayed on the computer screen, books written in large font, documents prepared in Braille, the use of guide dogs at the job site, and drivers to transport the disabled personnel. This list is by no means exclusive. Disabled persons may and have made requests for accommodations which are not provided here.

            In addition to providing accommodation which enable employees to perform their job functions employers must also provide accommodation which will allow the employee to enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment. These accommodations are generally designed to allow the employee to access the break room, the bathroom and any other facilities which are provided for the convenience of the employees. Additionally, the employer must also provide employees with accommodations necessary to allow them to participate in work retreats or other perks. For example, when hosting a retirement dinner, at which there are printed programs, the employer upon request must provide a program in a larger font for the visually impaired employee.

            When dealing with requests for accommodation by visually impaired persons employers should keep in mind that an employee need not be blind in order to qualify for extensive accommodations under the ADA and that such requests are ignored at the employer's financial peril.