Questions and Answers about Deafness and Hearing Impairments in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act

14. What kinds of reasonable accommodations are related to the benefits and privileges of employment?

Reasonable accommodations related to the benefits and privileges of employment include accommodations that are necessary to provide individuals with disabilities access to facilities or portions of facilities to which all employees are granted access (for example, employee break rooms and cafeterias), access to information communicated in the workplace, and the opportunity to participate in employer-sponsored training and social events.

Example 21: Karin, who is deaf, works as an associate in a large investment firm. Every December, the partner in charge of the team for which Karin works holds a party at his residence for all of the team's members and a number of the firm's clients. Upon Karin's request, her employer provides her a sign language interpreter to allow Karin to fully participate in the social event.

An employer will not be excused from providing an employee with a hearing disability with a necessary accommodation because the employer has contracted with another entity to conduct the event.

Example 22: An employer offers its employees a training course on organization and time management provided by a local company with which the employer has contracted. An employee who is deaf wants to take the course and asks for CART services or a sign language interpreter. The employer claims that the company conducting the training is responsible for providing what the deaf employee needs, but the company responds that the responsibility is the employer's. Even if the company conducting the training has an obligation, under Title III of the ADA,[27] to provide "auxiliary aids and services," which would include CART services and sign language interpreters, this fact does not alter the employer's obligation to provide the employee with a reasonable accommodation for the training.[28]

[27] In an effort to eliminate discrimination against individuals with disabilities, Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses and non-profit organizations that are public accommodations to comply with basic nondiscrimination and building accessibility requirements, provide reasonable modifications to policies and practices, and supply auxiliary aids (for example, assistive listening devices, note takers, written materials, taped texts, and qualified readers) to ensure effective communication with persons with disabilities. For more information on the requirements of Title III of the ADA, visit the website for the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section, available at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/drs/.