“The Americans with Disabilities Act, or the ADA, is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability,” explained Bonita Croyle, the communications manager at Farm Commons. Croyle and Chloe Johnson, a Farm Commons staff attorney, explained the legal obligations that employers have regarding the ADA in a Farm Commons webinar.
The mission of Farm Commons is to empower agricultural communities to resolve their own legal vulnerabilities within an ecosystem of support. Their work in sharing the information related to the ADA is supported by USDA’s National Institute of Food & Agriculture (NIFA).
The ADA is a federal law which applies to employers with 15 or more employees, but many states require following these rules at a lower employee threshold. Research the rules in your state to decide when these rules should be followed.
How Does the ADA Define a Disability?
According to the ADA, a disability is “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity or bodily function like walking, standing, lifting, bending, breathing, speaking, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, working, eating, hearing, seeing and sleeping.”
Having a record of such an impairment or being regarded as having such an impairment are also considered disabilities.
“If a disability meets this definition, then it is a protected disability under the ADA. That means that employers have a legal responsibility to provide reasonable accommodations for this employee to be able to do their job,” Croyle said.
For example, a farm employee with a cancer diagnosis has a legal disability under the ADA. Some medical conditions such as cancer, deafness, blindness, autism, cerebral palsy, etc., are always considered a disability within the meaning of the law.
“Accommodation” is the legal term for adapting the workspace to accommodate a disability. Most employers are aware they need to provide accommodations to employees with disabilities, and they know employees with disabilities can request them. However, it can be difficult for a farmer to know when they may need to honor an accommodation request.
Continuing with the example, the farm employee with the cancer diagnosis works in a farm store and is requesting extra breaks due to their fatigue.
How to Respond to an Accommodation Request
In order to be qualified for the job, an employee must be able to complete the essential functions of that job with or without an accommodation.
Therefore, the farm must determine what the essential functions of the job are before having to consider an accommodation request. Essential functions are the core tasks that are crucial to getting a job done. Ideally, these essential functions are in written job descriptions prior to hiring.
If the employee can perform the essential functions of the job with or without the accommodation, then they are qualified for the job and the accommodation request should be considered.
There are limits on what employers are expected to provide, but the most risk averse way to approach an accommodation request is to provide that accommodation. “If carefully considered, you may find it helpful to know that legally speaking, there are times an employer does not have to provide an accommodation,” Croyle said.
In the example, if the farm store worker can still complete the essential functions of the job – keeping shelves stocked, completing sales and speaking with customers – with the requested accommodation of extra breaks, then they’re still qualified for the position.
Direct Threats
An employer should also consider whether the employee poses what is called a direct threat. A direct threat is a situation where a worker’s condition creates a substantial risk of harm to the health or safety of themselves or their coworkers.
An example is an employee that works with heavy machinery who has a condition that causes unexpected incapacitation. That danger poses too much of a threat to theirs and others’ health and safety to keep them on the job.
If there’s no available accommodation to eliminate the direct threat, then the employer would be within their rights to refuse to hire or to not to continue to retain the employee.
In the example, the farm store worker’s cancer diagnosis does not pose a direct threat to them or anyone else.
Undue Hardship
The employer can also consider if the accommodation request presents an undue hardship.
“In general, accommodations that would require significant difficulty or significant expense could be an undue hardship, and an employer does not have a legal duty to provide an accommodation that would cause an undue hardship,” said Johnson.
What is considered an undue hardship will depend in part on the business – its assets, its number of employees and the effect of the modification on the job.
There is no definitive answer to whether the accommodation request for the employee with cancer creates an undue hardship. For instance, if the employee needs so many extra breaks that the store has to close repeatedly throughout the day and there are no other employees to assist, then the accommodation may create an undue hardship on the business.
If any employer denies an accommodation request because of an undue hardship, the denial needs to be backed up by records. The farm needs to provide their reasoning in writing and provide some evidence as to what kinds of costs would be incurred if they were to provide the accommodation.
Other Considerations
Farm employers who ignore accommodation requests are exposed to legal risk. If an employee has a disability as defined by the ADA, they are legally required to respond to an accommodation request.
An employee has the right to pursue a discrimination lawsuit if they believe they have been unfairly treated based on their disability.
Regardless of the employer’s choice to deny or support the accommodation, it is their legal obligation to respond to the request in a timely fashion. Any communications and conversations regarding the request must be kept confidential.
There is also a legal responsibility to engage in what is called an interactive process to attempt to find a reasonable accommodation that would work for all involved parties.
There are also recordkeeping responsibilities required by the ADA. Employers are required to maintain copies of any accommodation requests.
“Legal resilience requires an awareness of employee needs and action steps to implement good practices that can support your employment process if a discrimination claim does arise,” said Croyle.
For additional information regarding the ADA see farmcommons.org/resources/articles/accommodation-strategies-for-farm-and-ranch-employers and farmcommons.org/resources/articles/thats-unreasonable-making-sense-of-the-ada-on-the-farm.
