Question

Phil is a marketing employee who works for a medium sized firm employing 120 full-time and 46 part-time employees. Phil was diagnosed as having a severe learning disability when he was an adolescent.

As part of his job duties, he is required to attend weekly departmental meetings to plan marketing strategies. In order to remember what is being discussed at these meetings Phil must take detailed notes. However, he contends, due to his disability, he has great difficulty writing.

After being reprimanded by Mindy, his supervisor, for failing to accomplish several goals outlined in a departmental meeting, Phil tells Mindy about his disability. He requests that in the future that he be given a laptop computer to use in the meetings.

a. Is Phil asking for a reasonable accommodation? Why? (4 points)

b. Can his supervisor ask Phil for reasonable documentation about his impairment? (2 points)

c. Can his employer also ask why the disability necessitates use of a laptop computer to help the employee retain the information from the meetings? (2 points)

d. Is there a violation of the ADA of Phil’s supervisor decides to give him a tape recorder instead of the laptop computer he requested? (2 points)

Answer 1

a. Yes, Phil is asking for reasonable accommodation by requesting to provide a laptop computer to take detailed notes in the meetings. Reasonable accommodation refers to the modifications in a job that will allow the employee with a disability to perform the essential functions of the job if the modification does not create an undue hardship for the employer. Phil is having a learning disability and in order to overcome the same he should take detailed notes during meetings, but he has difficulty in writing. A laptop computer will help him to overcome the disability as he can type the details easily and perform his essential job function by meeting the goals. The provision of a laptop may not cause undue hardship for the business. Hence Phil’s request for a laptop qualifies as a reasonable accommodation.

b. Yes, his supervisor can ask Phil for reasonable documentation about his impairment. The employer may ask the individual for reasonable documentation about the disability and functional limitations. But the supervisor should be careful and should not ask any medical information that is not pertinent to the accommodation.

c. Yes, his employer can also ask why the disability necessitates the use of a laptop computer to help the employee retain the information from the meetings. When the employee requests for reasonable accommodation, the employer can clarify the degree of impairment and whether the impairment will substantially limit a major life activity even after correcting. Hence employer can ask questions to check whether the provision of the laptop will still limit the major life activity of learning to make a final determination of whether Phil has a disability.

d. There is no violation of the ADA if Phil’s supervisor decides to give him a tape recorder instead of the laptop computer he requested because the employer is required to provide requested accommodation only if it does not create an undue hardship on the business. The employer is allowed to ask questions that check whether the employee can perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation and determine the appropriate reasonable accommodation that would allow the employee to perform those functions. Here Phil is requesting the laptop to remember what is discussed in the meeting and overcome the difficulty in writing. A laptop can be costly and may create an undue hardship on the business based on its financial position. But a tape recorder will also do the job and it is less costly. Hence there is no violation of ADA if the supervisor decides a tape recorder to be appropriate reasonable accommodation and provide the same to Phil.