(Survey conducted for the National Organization on Disability)
Cost and Benefits of Accomodations
The President’s Committee’s Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a toll-free service, has been advising businesses and individuals about job accommodations since 1984. With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, JAN expanded to include information about the ADA. During the fiscal year that began October 1, 1994 and ended September 30, 1995, JAN received more than 80,000 calls from individuals and businesses in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Following is information related to these calls for advice, as well as examples of accommodations that were implemented as a result of the advice.
|
Accommodation Costs
Reported by Businesses
|
Percentage
|
| No cost |
19% |
| Between $1 and $500 |
50% |
| Between $501 and $1,000 |
12% |
| Between $1,001 and $2,000 |
7% |
| Between $2,001 and $5,000 |
9% |
| Greater than $5,000 |
3% |
|
Company Savings Because
Accommodations Were Made
|
Percentage
|
| Value Unknown |
4% |
| Between $1 and $5000 |
34% |
| Between $5001 and $10,000 |
16% |
| Between $10,001 and $20,000 |
19% |
| Between $20,001 and $100,000 |
25% |
| Greater than $100,000 |
2% |
Companies reported an average return of $28.69 in benefits for every dollar invested in making an accommodation.
For more information about Accommodations or the ADA, call JAN at (800) 526-7234.
For more information about qualified disabled employees, call Manny Ziegler at Dayle McIntosh Center at (714) 658-4281 or e-mail at es1@daylemcintoshcenter.org.
Accommodations Implemented by JAN Callers
Situation: A production worker who has limited fine motor dexterity, must use tweezers and a magnifying glass to perform the job. The worker had difficulty holding the tweezers.
Solution: Giant tweezers were purchased. Cost: $5
Situation: A teacher with bipolar disorder experienced reduced concentration, short term memory, and task-sequencing problems.
Solution: The supervisor and teacher jointly developed a checklist that showed both the week’s work and the following week’s activities. Forms were adapted so that they would be easy to complete, and structured steps were developed so that paper work could be completed at the end of each teaching session. An unintended bonus to the company was the value of the weekly check-off forms in training new staff. Cost: $0
Situation: A garage mechanic with epilepsy was unable to drive vehicles.
Solution: The employer negotiated with the employee’s union and reached an agreement that any qualified employee, regardless of job held, could drive the vehicles to the mechanic’s work station. Cost: $0
Situation: An individual with a neck injury, who worked in a lab, had difficulty bending his neck to use the microscope.
Solution: A periscope was attached to the microscope. Cost: $2,400
