COMPLYING WITH THE AMERICANS-WITH-DISABILITIES-ACT - ASSESSING THE COSTS OF REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

The Americans With Disabilities Act poses unique challenges for public and private sector organizations. The Act requires reasonable accommodation for a variety of physical and emotional disabilities, but it does not specify what constitutes ''reasonable.'' If organizations rely on ad hoc decisions regarding protected individuals, they risk unsystematic decisions and exposure to liability under the law. This paper describes a way to systematize decisions about A.D.A. An accommodation cost assessement system, based on a job analysis, can help guarantee that employment and promotion decisions are fair and defensible under the Act.