[NAGDU] Reasonable Accommodation vs. Modification of Policies, Practices, and Procedures

NAGDU President blind411 at verizon.net
Sun Dec 4 21:01:46 UTC 2016


                I am writing to clarify some language about the Americans
with Disabilities Act, The Fair Housing Act, and the Air carrier Access Act.
I know that there are some who believe I am nitpicking; however, this post
may clear up the differences between the terms reasonable accommodation and
modification of policies, practices, and procedures, how they are different,
and how they are applied within the aforementioned laws.

 

                Let me start with the term "reasonable accommodation". This
term is found in the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and in Title I of the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) - the part of the ADA that governs the
relationship between employers and their disabled employees. In both these
laws, the process of accommodating for a disability is a negotiation. For
instance, in order for me to do my job, I will need a screen reading and OCR
software and a human reader to read those things that are handwritten and
inaccessible by OCR software. The employer may return a compromise by
stating they will provide the screen reading and OCR software but cannot
afford to pay for a human reader, since it is not within the budget. The
employee may return the negotiation by requesting that a particular employee
who is already on the payroll be assigned the task of being a reader when
such is necessary to read handwritten correspondence. The employer may
return the negotiation by stating that they can have someone in the clerical
staff transpose handwritten correspondence into an electronic format
accessible with screen reading software. Now, through this negotiation we
have a reasonable accommodation. 

 

                The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and Titles II & III of the
ADA and most state statutes, require air carriers, public (governmental)
entities and private entities that provide public accommodations to modify
their policies, practices, and procedures so as to not discriminate against
a person with a disability in the provision of their goods and services.
Unlike making a reasonable accommodation, the process of modifying policies,
practices, and procedures is nonnegotiable. So, a retail grocery store may
not say, "You can come into our store but you may not go into our produce
section with your dog. We will make an accommodation for you by providing a
safe place for your dog and an employee to be your sighted guide." Though
this would be considered a reasonable accommodation, since the retail
establishment is a Title III entity and reasonable accommodations are not a
part of Title III, such a practice would be illegal.

 

                We had a real such case in Florida law. In 1986, Florida
passed a law that stated, "Places that keep or display live animals for
public amusement, enjoyment, or entertainment may deny access to an
individual accompanied by a service dog, provided such place make a
reasonable accommodation by providing a safe place for the housing of the
service dog and a sighted guide or other accommodation for the disabled
person." Since what this law did was, as stated, provide a reasonable
accommodation, something not provided for in Title III of the ADA, the law
was repealed because it was incongruent with the ADA. In addition, Section
501(d) allows an individual with a disability to refuse an aid,
accommodation, service, or benefit the person wishes to refuse.

 

                I hope this post helps to clarify this terminology and
better understand these particular laws in a way that give us the tools to
be the best advocates for ourselves and others. As always, questions and
comments are welcome! 

 

Fraternally yours,

Marion Gwizdala, President

National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc. (NAGDU)

National Federation of the Blind

(813) 626-2789

President at NAGDU.ORG

 

 

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise
expectations because low expectations create barriers between blind  people
and our dreams. You can live the life you want! Blindness is not what holds
you back.

 




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