EEOC Updates Resource on the ADA and People with Visual Disabilities

Disability Matters with Joyce Bender

August 8, 2023

#AdvocacyMatters Segment

EEOC Updates Resource on the ADA and People with Visual Disabilities

On July 26, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued updated technical assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and employees with visual disabilities. The original technical assistance was released on May 7, 2014. The revisions were released on the 33rd anniversary of the ADA.

The new technical assistance has a lot to offer employers. The EEOC affirms that thean employer may ask questions about the applicant’s ability to perform the job, but they should not ask whether they have undergone medical procedures related to their vision, use prescription medications related to eye conditions, or whether they have a condition that affects vision.

We all know that employers must engage in the interactive process and offer reasonable accommodations that do not create an undue hardship. The updated technical assistance documents examples of accommodations that would, in most circumstances, not create an undue hardship. These examples include flexible scheduling, hiring a reader or reading device or software for a person with a visual disability, and installing a flashing alarm and audible alarm to notify of dangers.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released statistics in 2022 that showed 18.4% of all U.S. adults are blind or have some or a lot of difficulty seeing.

The National Federal of the Blind reports disability statistics from the Cornell University Disability Statistics Program. That data shows over 70% of working age adults who report significant vision loss are not employed full-time. Only 2% of the ADA charges filed with the EEOC involved visual disabilities.

#AdvocacyMatters

#AdvocacyMatters. If you are an employer, HR staff in a company, an applicant for a job, or a current employee, you should review and understand the updated guidance. The guidance is written in a question-and-answer format. There are 21 questions and answers for review in the technical assistance.

Be sure to visit www.disabilityrightspa.org and click on today’s #AdvocacyMatters segment on our homepage for all the information talked about today and to find the links to the EEOC technical assistance and other resources.

Links

EEOC-NVTA-2023-3 “Visual Disabilities in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act” https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/visual-disabilities-workplace-and-americans-disabilities-act

EEOC – How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination https://www.eeoc.gov/how-file-charge-employment-discrimination

National Federal of the Blind

Blindness Statistics https://nfb.org/resources/blindness-statistics

Cornell University Disability Statistics https://www.disabilitystatistics.org/

Disability Rights Pennsylvania Resource

Combating Employment Discrimination Through the Americans with Disabilities Act https://www.disabilityrightspa.org/resources/#employment