The intersection of HR Disability Management and ADA compliance intersect is when identifying essential job functions. The individual with a disability must be qualified to perform the job functions of the position they hold and if not should seek out reasonable accommodations.
Having a clear and defined statement of Job functions is the basis of determining if any reasonable accommodations exist.
Some reasonable accommodations for Deaf or Hard of Hearing individuals would include:
Telephone access
- Video phone equipment to access Federally funded Video Relay Services-Internet Requirements would be at minimum 512 kbps download and 512 kbps upload continuous speed in order for the device to work properly.
- Caption phone-Instead of a visual presence for relay there is a text relay communication assistant providing verbatim relay and the individual can see what is being said on a screen.
Signaler systems
- Door Signalers
- Phone signalling
- Fire and smoke Signalers equipped with flashers or visual alerts.
Meetings or interview access
- Video Remote Interpreting
- Onsite Interpreting,
- CART
- Speech to text services
Oftentimes the media used in meetings or interviews are overlooked with regard to captioning. Online clips or videos should be at least captioned accurately not using automated captions as they are faulty and will convey misinformation.
Other options include videos with "Sign-Over" Accommodation where the information is provided in ASL. This is beneficial when the individual watching the video uses ASL as their primary language.
These are a few tips in working with an employee with a hearing loss; for more information email melissa@yourccgroup.com and I'll be happy to send you links for these resources. You can also view an example at www.yourccgroup.com/index.php/multimedia-access.
