#Accommodations #HR #DisabilityRights #ADA
Hey HR friends! 👋
I need your input on a situation I’m facing regarding accommodations. So, I recently had a health issue that prevents me from driving for the next few months. My doctor suggested I refrain from driving until we figure things out.
I approached my manager about this, and they suggested that coworkers from other departments could drive me to work each day. 🤔
Now, I know employees aren’t entitled to the exact accommodation they want, but this suggestion feels a bit strange to me. I don’t think it’s fair to make my colleagues responsible for my accommodation.
I’ve done my research but resources are somewhat vague. How would you approach this situation? Do you think carpooling with coworkers is a reasonable accommodation? 🚗
Possible solution:
– Exploring alternative transportation methods like public transit or ridesharing services
– Temporary work schedule adjustments to accommodate for remote work while you sort out your driving situation
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and insights! Let’s brainstorm together. 💭 #Collaboration #HRCommunity
This sounds absolutely bonkers to me.
1. Why the hell do you report to the VP of Finance? They obviously have no knowledge of HR policy.
2. Involving other employees in your accommodation request would violate your right to privacy regarding your medical condition. This would also create additional liability for the company if your coworker got in an accident with you in the vehicle. This is not an acceptable accommodation.
3. If you have been with the company for over 12 months (1250 hours) you would likely get approved for FMLA if you need to take time off.
4. Allowing a temporary, fully-remote schedule and providing company-paid uber rides for days where you absolutely must be in-office would be a reasonable accommodation. This should be in writing with specific dates, pending additional medical testing.
I agree with you. It seems odd to have to ask other employees to use their personal time and property to assist another employee for an ADA accommodation especially if your position is already able to be fully remote and there is a time frame of how long you would be fully remote.
Your VP of Finance seems to not understand accommodations processes – the burden is on the employer to provide the accommodation, not on other employees. This also puts you in a bizarre situation of having to explain your medical conditions with a coworker. I would push back and remind them that the burden is on the employer and perhaps suggest that reimbursing for ubers to and from work would be more appropriate – if your job duties are only able to be performed on-site. Remember that the burden would also be on them to prove that remote work is an unreasonable hardship to the company.
No but how you get to work is not the responsibility of the company. Your commute does not fall under ADA.
Your employer is responsible for providing reasonable accommodations. You’re asking to WFH (for 5 months, nonetheless). If that’s not reasonable on their end, they’re simply not obligated.
Your manager was likely just spitballing ideas for you to figure out how to get yourself to work and not actually offering that as a solution.
Nope, an accommodation shouldn’t involve forcing a coworker to give you a ride to work. Now, if the VP was that pressed he could agree to pay for a taxi/uber to work every day, but working from home for a period of time is reasonable and you can also reassess whether the accommodation is still working in a few months, if he’s going to be that weird about it. Do YOU have an HR person within the company that can help with this or are you the only one?
No, tell your manager why this is inappropriate – medical information and shifting the burden onto other employees, and make your case for why allowing you to work remotely is the right move. It’s an interactive process for a reason, you can go back and forth until you find an appropriate accommodation, could end up being remote work or could be a LOA.
Carpool? That’s a fucking new one! This guy probably thinks this is the greatest idea ever.
This is why HR should never report into finance.
Carpooling sounds crazy. They need to do a reasonable accommodation tests and determine feasibility. If there are some tasks that require you to be in the office and it meets the test that could require you to arrange a way to get to the office on those days. Again it depends on the job description and ADA test.
This is why Finance shouldn’t manage HR, in a nutshell. The accommodation must be provided by the company. Demanding you get a ride from someone else is not “an accommodation”.
That being said, if your only accommodation is not driving, they would be within their rights to say “Ok fine, don’t drive at work but find another way to get here”. You aren’t required to drive to work, you’re required to be at work. You can get a ride, take the bus, etc.
And this is why HR should NEVER report into Finance.
This does seem odd. I would never ask an employee to do that.
Could the company pay for a rideshare service for you as an accommodation instead of making you find a car pool buddy?
This is absolutely CRAZY!
There is no undue hardship to having you WFH, other employees are under NO obligation to bring you to work.
What if someone drives you to work and you get into an accident? Is your employer liable? Finance should know better. Huge red flag from your boss.
🚩 someone needs to get legal involved. Unless the company is paying employee 2 to drive employee 1, that’s not acceptable.
The accommodation should involve remote work and the occasional Lyft reimbursement for mandatory in-office meetings.
I don’t know the particulars of what you do, but this should be pretty open/shut for an office job.
I’m sorry but I’m still lost at you being an HRBP but reporting to the VP of Finance….
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The company has to accommodate you. Not its employees. If they had company vehicles, then yes, car pool, on the clock to be covered by insurance.
According to informal guidance from the ADA Policy Division of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, while employers do not have to actually transport an employee with a disability to and from work (unless the employer provides employee transportation to and from work as a perk of employment), employers may have …
OP, so sorry to hear of this situation. I had a similar situation, while in the hospital for a blood clot (emergency situation); nurse said I had a “absence seizure”. Where you stare of into space. After many tests, I was put on anti seizure meds, and probably will be for life, despite no evidence I’d ever had one of these episodes before. Massachusetts says 1 yr no driving, NH 6 months. Happened during early COVID so luckily we were all work from home.