The ADA Amendments Act, which took effect on Jan. 1, provides for a greater pool of protected individuals and equates to a greater risk to the employer with regard to disability discrimination claims. In order to help human resources professionals understand the legal definition of a disability and ensure their company is compliant with the new ADA Amendments Act, J.J. Keller recently introduced the ADA Compliance Manual.
“As of January 2009, 23.1 percent of the population in the labor force has a disability,” says Darlene Clabault, an HR subject matter expert with J.J. Keller & Associates Inc. “The new law, in essence, will result in even more people being protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Therefore, companies need to be more aware of their responsibilities when it comes to responding to possible ADA-related situations and providing reasonable accommodations.”
J.J. Keller says the 520-page guide reviews the ADA requirements and provides plain-English explanations, making it easier to ensure one’s organization is in compliance; it also provides relevant best practices and court cases related to the recruitment, hiring, training and general employment topics associated with an individual with a disability. The company says the manual provides helpful answers and guidance on topics such as hiring issues, employment issues, reasonable accommodations, definition of a disability, enforcement and how ADA relates to other laws.
A section of the manual is dedicated to supervisor/manager training issues in order to help strengthen an organization’s ability to avoid disability discrimination claims. Court cases are included throughout the manual when they apply to specific topical sections; a court case index also is provided in order to help users easily locate specific court cases throughout the manual.
A chapter on reasonable accommodations is designed to provide HR professionals with information on providing accommodation, removal of barriers, ADA/ABA guidelines, accommodating safety in emergencies, undue hardship, financial assistance and more. Other features include sample documents and frequently asked questions, best practices and situation analyses that apply real-life situations.
An optional update service provides two manual updates each year, along with two electronic 4-page newsletters sent between updates. Update service subscribers also will receive a CD-ROM containing the text of the law as well as supporting regulations and state-specific information. For more information, go to www.jjkeller.com/ADA.
