Question of needs: handling employee accommodation requests.

• Author: Franchi, Emily
• Position: Humanresources

For many CPA firms the following scenario is all too familiar: A long-term staff member frequently calls in sick for extended periods of time, requiring other staff members to take on increasing workloads. The employee has not communicated any specifics of his condition to anyone, other than to say that he has been sick. The workload situation is getting to the point where the partners need to do something, but what earl they ask of the employee? How do they work around the illness without knowing exactly what the condition is and what limitations are present?

This is a difficult situation for any employer, considering the sensitive nature of an employee's illness: Not crossing the line of asking for protected information and needing to make staffing decisions to meet the needs of the firm.

One of the primary laws governing this type of' situation is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. For employers this means that if a "reasonable accommodation" can be made to support the employee in performing his or her duties, the employer must make every effort to do so, provided it does not present an undue hardship for the employer. When handling a request for accommodation, it also helps to consider guidance from professional organizations, such as the Society for Human Resources Management (www.shrm.org).

The following steps would apply to the preceding scenario involving an employee.

1 Initiate the "interactive process." The employer should meet with the employee to discuss the impacts resulting from the frequent absenteeism. If it becomes apparent that the absenteeism is due to a health condition, the partners should consider initiating what is referred to as an "interactive process."

The employee does not need to use words such as "reasonable accommodation" or "interactive process" to trigger the process. If the employer recognizes the need for an accommodation, it must initiate the process. The process may be triggered by several different situations, some of which may not involve the employee requesting accommodation. The request may be made by a family member, friend, health professional, workers' compensation administrator or other representative.

While the ADA does not require the request for accommodation to be in writing, having documentation of the request is a good practice. Obtain written medical release or permission from the employee so his or her...