How to Respond to Employee Accommodation Requests at Your Management Firm

Is your association management firm among the employers out there that are unsure of how to proceed when an employee requests an accommodation for a disability, whether under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or a state counterpart? Messing up can prove costly, but our two-part article can help your management firm reduce its risk of liability.

Not every association management firm is legally required to comply with disabilities discrimination laws. The ADA generally applies to private employers with at least 15 employees, but not meeting that threshold doesn’t necessarily let you off the hook. Some state and local disabilities laws apply to smaller employers or employers of any size.

If you’re covered, you need to understand exactly what counts as a reasonable accommodation. The laws generally define reasonable accommodations as adjustments or modifications that allow people with disabilities to apply for a job, perform a job, or enjoy the same benefits and privileges of employment (e.g., access to training) as those employees without disabilities.

Read our new article to learn the initial steps your management firm should take to handle an employee accommodation request and why it can be challenging. In the second part of this article, next month, we’ll cover how to select an appropriate accommodation and give you the heads up on a significant potential pitfall.

Read the first part here: How to Handle Employee Accommodation Requests, Part 1

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President