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News Releases
Arthritis and the ADA
Columbia, Mo. (July 31, 2002) - A brochure on the Americans with Disabilities Act and arthritis authored by a MARRTC researcher has been posted to the Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations Web site.
Christy Clark, M. Ed., is a researcher with the Missouri Arthritis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (MARRTC). Clark works in MARRTC’s vocational rehabilitation research project.
Clark was invited to write the brochure by Susanne M. Bruyere, Ph.D., CRC, SPHR, director of the Program on Employment and Disability, School of Industrial and Labor Relations – Extension Division of Cornell University.
The brochure is one in the series of 19 publications on reasonable workplace accommodations for people with disabilities and the ADA.
The brochure on arthritis includes an overview of the various kinds of arthritis, outlines the definition of an individual with a disability and describes reasonable accommodations for people with arthritis.
The publication also includes examples of reasonable accommodations for people with arthritis and a list of other resources for more information.
The Definition
“Under the ADA, an individual with a disability is a person who: has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment,” states the brochure.
People with arthritis could meet this ADA definition even if their disease is under control or in remission, according to the brochure. “Chronic conditions that are substantially limiting when active or have a high likelihood or recurrence in substantially limiting forms are covered under the ADA.”
Reasonable Accomodation
A reasonable accommodation is any modification made to a job, employment practice or process or work environment that allows a person with a disability to fulfill the duties of a job.
Reasonable accommodations need not be expensive. The brochure notes that research shows that one-third of accommodations are accomplished with no cost to the employer and more than half cost the employer less than $1,000.
Examples
For example, a person with osteoarthritis of the hips or knees may find standing all day difficult. A reasonable accommodation would involve providing a stool so the employee could sit or stand while performing their job duties. A person who finds it difficult to sit at a desk for long periods of time due to arthritis could be accommodated with a podium to raise the work area periodically.
Other accommodations could involve the use of adaptive tools or adaptive keyboards.
Some people with arthritis find it difficult to work in the morning or in the afternoons. In this case, a reasonable accommodation would involve flexible scheduling to allow the employee to work later or earlier.
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