Does the office return-to-work plan cover visually impaired and hearing-impaired employees?

Hybrid work occupies an important place in many companies' office return plans, but the model still raises questions about compliance with federal civil rights regulations, especially for employees with visual or hearing impairments, multiple sources told HR Dive.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2017, about 9 million employed people in the United States have a disability. Of those, 31% have some form of hearing difficulty, and about 22% have some form of visual difficulty.

Returning to open physical offices presents special challenges for employees with visual or hearing impairments, said Terri Rhodes, CEO of the Disability Management Employer Coalition. When working from home, hearing-impaired employees may already have assistive listening devices, amplifiers, and other tools; visually impaired employees may also have set their computer monitors to specific colors or fonts. But standard office equipment typically requires more time and effort to prepare, Rhodes explained.

Whether employees are returning full-time or starting flexible work arrangements, employers should handle accommodation requests on an individual basis for each employee after receiving them, Sharon Rennert, senior attorney advisor in the Americans with Disabilities Act Division of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, said in an interview with HR Dive.

Additionally, employers may need to consider that support personnel for people with disabilities may have adjusted work hours due to facility capacity limits or other scheduling issues, Rhodes said. Because of these changes, support staff such as IT personnel and ergonomics specialists may not be in the office, causing employers to take longer or require more coordination to set up accommodations.

"We hear many employers reporting this situation," Rhodes said. "Usually there are on-site people who handle these issues, but they're not there."

If a shortage of support personnel affects the progress of providing accommodations, Rennert said HR teams can escalate issues to ensure support personnel prioritize them, especially when these personnel are unfamiliar with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and may need help understanding legal requirements.

Is your Zoom chat feature accessible?

Accessibility of virtual meetings and training has become an urgent issue for employees with visual and hearing impairments, Teresa Goddard, principal consultant at the Job Accommodation Network, said in an email to HR Dive.

Video calls are a primary method for remote, hybrid, and other flexible work arrangements, and are also heavily used in modern recruitment processes. But Rhodes noted that if employers do not consider employee needs when using video, people with visual and hearing impairments may face difficulties.

For example, hearing-impaired employees may need closed captioning or transcription services to effectively participate in remote meetings. Employers can also integrate chat features.

"Know your audience," Rhodes said. "If there are people with hearing impairments on the team, make sure the right tools are in place."

On the other hand, visually impaired employees may benefit from the option to turn off cameras during meetings. If team members present charts or other graphics as slides, be aware that visually impaired colleagues may not be able to see them, Rhodes added. If an employee has a condition affecting recognition of specific colors, they may not understand the nuances of what is presented.

The same applies to spreadsheets and other documents that use smaller fonts. Managers and team members can take small steps to help visually impaired colleagues, such as asking whether everyone can see visual elements. "Actually, if someone can't see a chart, I would have a follow-up conversation to make sure they understand the information," Rhodes said.

There may also be minor technical difficulties. "Employees often report difficulty using screen magnification software and video conferencing programs at the same time," Goddard said. "For example, the computer may be slower than usual, or the screen may display differently than expected. Contacting assistive technology vendors for advice or looking for alternative programs may be helpful."

Potential issues in recruitment

Earlier this month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice issued two technical assistance documents reminding employers of the potentially discriminatory effects of algorithmic decision-making tools in recruitment and other processes, serving as a wake-up call for employers.

These tools, which use technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, may be particularly disadvantageous to people with disabilities, the agencies said. For example, the EEOC noted that if job applicants must complete an online gamified assessment, those who cannot interact with the assessment due to a disability may be at a disadvantage.

Employers' efforts to create accessible job applications should begin before a position is posted, Rennert noted. For example, employers can proactively assess whether any people with disabilities would be excluded from the process. Employers can also directly state in job postings that reasonable accommodation requests from people with disabilities are welcome; "don't hide that fact, list it very prominently," Rennert said.

The Americans with Disabilities Act has long required employers to provide alternative application methods for job applicants, but employers "don't always remember that," Rhodes said.

Adjustments to virtual recruitment processes may resemble virtual team meetings. If an employer conducts a video interview and the candidate is hearing-impaired, the employer can provide closed captioning for interaction. If the candidate is visually impaired, the employer can provide an assistant. But the key is that employers need to provide alternatives for people requesting accommodations and have staff who can handle the interactive process, Rhodes said.

The Americans with Disabilities Act does limit employers' ability to ask candidates about disability status, but when an accommodation request occurs and the reason is not clear, employers have some leeway to ask applicants or employees what they need and why, Rennert said.

"Candidates understand the process, so people doing initial screenings or hiring should be aware that they are asking: If a video interview is conducted, can you participate? What tools do you need? I think asking whether tools are needed is good business practice," Rhodes said.