The Role of the American with Disabilities Act: The Job Analysis Methods - Research Paper Example

Introduction Job analysis is defined as systematic process of attaining and at the same time analyzing information that pertains to jobs. The job analysis process provides information regarding issues such as work environment, work relationships, work performed, and training requirements required in a job. The process can be conducted in various ways and the results mainly turnout to be a list of tasks as well as the responsibilities on the position in question. Over the years, the job analysis process has been used to analyze jobs, which have turned out to be detrimental as well as ineffective to the organization’s performance. The current job analysis methods have recently incorporated the role of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).The American with Disability Act was legislated in the year 1990 whose main effort was to combat the existing discrimination that was present against the disabled in the society. Despite the passing of this Act, little is known of its impact to the job analysis process, a main pillar to the personnel practices. At the same time, the practitioners in the various human resource departments are in a dilemma on how to undertake the job analysis methods in implementing the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. In addition to this, vague terminologies such as “reasonable accommodation” as well as “essential functions” have proved to be a difficult task in terms of their definition (Mitchell, et al, 2001, p. 5). American with Disabilities Act in America The passing of American with disabilities act by the congress is said to be one of the major legal steps that sought to curb down the existing discrimination that existed towards the disabled people in the American population. The people with disabilities faced discrimination in the different areas of their daily lives including in workplaces. Despite having explicit and good intensions, the ADA was not sufficiently formulated to cover all the shortcomings. Shortcomings have arisen since the time of its passing that relate to limited protection towards employees as well as applicants who have different disabilities. The U.S Supreme Court over the years issued countable rulings under the American with Disabilities Act that has had an effect to the rights of the employees with disabilities. The rulings that were made have both negative and positive effects as they are attributed to the adversary and advocacy of aiding people with disabilities. The court on its part has not helped much in some instances as it is accused of disregarding to listen to additional crucial issues that affect the disabled people. Such actions have placed people with disabilities in a tight corner in regards to their legal rights assurance. The ADA was passed in 1990 by the American congress as it sought to prohibit discrimination towards the millions of Americans that have mental or physical disabilities in the various public sectors that included the workplace. This was in line with the fact that majority of the people with disability had traditionally been discriminated in the workplace and even denied job opportunities. The incorporation of the ADA in the workplace has had an impact to both the employees and the employers (Mello, 2002, p. 176). Over two decades have passed since the passing of the ADA in 1990 by the American congress. However, according to the study of 2008 conducted by the American Community Survey (ACS), it is estimated that about 39.5% of the working age persons with disabilities regardless of their background, race, education level, or gender were achieved their employment application as compared to 79.9 % of their counterparts without disability. In comparison to their income earnings, the disabled persons were said to be earning an average of 39, 600 dollars annually while their counterparts with no disability earn an average of 61,200 dollars annually, which is twice as much. It is such disparities within the workplace environs that relate to increase of persons with disabilities below the poverty line. Despite the fact that various public policy factors are associated to the disparities within the employment and economic sectors, the employers have even a bigger role in the success of an individual in terms of attaining, maintaining and losing of a job opportunity. However, it is important to understand how the culture of the workplace may lead to disparities. The ever-increasing changes in terms of demographics and the emergence of persons with disability have resulted to changes taking place in the management approach of disabled people. As the age of the employees in the workplace increases, the disability among the disabled persons is bound to increase thereby calling for alignment of administrative procedures within the organization as well as organizational culture and plan designs. It is critical to find out how the workplace practices and cultures can lead to disparities as well as comprehend the various sectors of the employment process can result to the escalating problems (Bruyere, 2010, p. 49). ADA implication in workplace Decades have passed since the passing of the ADA and still employers have not fully applied the requirements indicated by the ADA. High levels of uncertainty have emerged in the application of the ADA requirements especially in the workplace. The Supreme Court rulings as well as the issues the court disregarded to address have resulted to employers attaining vast amount of freedom on how to treat applicants and employees as questions still arise on whether their workplace practices as well as their policies may result to the violation of ADA. This therefore means that employers should be cautious on their practices that might cause collision with the protection measures of applicants and employees in the American with Disabilities Act. In addition to this, the employers cannot forcefully ensure that an employee files for disability with the hope of avoiding a lawsuit. All in all the ADA has provided sufficient grounds on for vast amount of legal activity pertaining to people with disability. This however does not solve the discrimination of the disabled persons as the discrimination persists despite having the ADA in place. The problem is attributed to the ambiguity of the ADA that has not only confused the courts but also the oversight mandated with its implementation. Since the incorporation of the American with Disabilities act and Family and Medical Leave Act, doctors have become aware of the job descriptions and mental as well as the physical requirement that pertains to a particular job. However, majority of the doctors cannot still comprehend the mental as well as the physical demands that pertain to the work in which they are removing or returning the employee from. The importance of ascertaining the job requirements is important to the employer, the employee, and the doctor. This is because the employee gets back to work with conditions that are unresolved; there is a high possibility of increase damage in terms of injuring themselves. On the occurrence of more damage, the employer may have to deal with lawsuits that range from worker’s compensation case to the disability case. The short-term disability claims are supposed to go hand in hand with the job description as to provide easy diagnosis and course of treatment (Smentek, 2006, p. 17). Over the years, social systems have been used to divide individuals into classes, which include the disabled and the able. This has increased the challenges posed by leaders as well as philosophers in regards to the artificial boundaries separating the human community. These social systems have continuously marginalized the disabled persons to the low status of jobs. This is evident in the 1993 U.S Census Bureau report that indicated high levels of unemployment as compared to their able counterparts. In addition to this, the survey indicated that that the disabled also attained minimal pay rates as compared to their counterparts that are able (Stone, 2001, p. 1). The American with Disability Act terminologies The ADA has posed some serious challenges to the numerous human resources departments in America as compared to the past legislations of civil rights. It is one of the requirements of the American with Disabilities Act that both the reasonable accommodation and the essential functions terminologies be defined. However the job analysis methods that were in use prior to the implementation of the ADA, were not designed to meet the requirements indicated of the ADA. This posed a serious dilemma to the human resource managers who wondered on the adequacy of the job analysis methods in meeting the suggested requirements or if modifications were needed to make them suitable for the implementation of the Act. In order to comprehend the relevance that exists between the job analysis methods and the American with Disabilities Act, some relevance terms must be clearly defined. Terms such as disability, reasonable accommodation for job analysis, qualified individual with disability and essential functions are some of the critical terms that have to be defined extensively. According to the definition brought forth by the ADA of 1990, disability is described as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such an individual.” On the other hand, an individual qualified of disability is regarded as an individual that possesses an impairment or disability and at the same time, the individual in question can perform the critical functions of a job that he or she desires or holds. In addition to this, the individual in question has to be qualified while at the same time being experiencing impediments in his or her job performance in the place of work. The employer is mandated with the responsibility of determining whether a qualified employee with disability is able to perform crucial functions of the job with the facilitation of or without reasonable accommodation. The American with Disabilities Act defines reasonable accommodation as the responsibility of the employer to facilitate changes to the existing schedules, facilities, job tools, work assignments and any other job factors for the sole reason of suiting the individuals’ with disabilities job performance. Some of these changes may include provision of devices and equipments suite for individuals with disabilities, exchanging of marginal tasks between the individuals with disabilities and those without and as well as modifying the work schedules existing in the work place. According to the ADA, these accommodations are termed as reasonable unless they become expensive or difficult to the organization in terms of implementation. Essential functions The essential functions are regarded as the one of the important and crucial term in the job analysis process. In a standard job analysis method, there is no any explicit identification of the essential functions entailed in a job. This is because essential functions differ in terms of critical tasks. In the workplace, essential functions are attributed to indication of the intended results rather than the process to be undertaken in performing the essential functions. Thus in a job analysis essential functions are more or less regarded as duties rather than tasks. Despite having the same job title, the process upon which an individual takes to perform an essential function will differ from one person to another. However, the outcomes of work are bound to be the same among the people with disabilities regardless of the different methods used. The ADA is equipped with guidelines that are crucial in determining the essential functions. According to ADA a function can be essential if there exists an opportunity to undertake that particular function, there is inadequate personnel to undertake that duty, and if the function requires a specialized personnel to undertake the duty. It is not necessary for a job analysis to be conducted in order to identify essential functions. Although a job analysis that identifies the factors used in determining essential factors, is considered crucial in the function essentiality defense. In attaining whether a job analysis is essential or not, one has to find out whether the main purpose of the job in question will be compromised because the incumbents are not entitled to undertake the same function. Job description In the ADA, it is a requirement that jobs are described so as identification of essential functions of the job can take place and later on revealed to the people who are not holders of the job. In analyzing jobs, a vast range of possibilities is normally experienced, as decisions relating to the descriptors have to be made. Factors of both employee oriented techniques and work itself are critical in the provision of necessary information regarding to the compliance of the ADA requirements of selection. The information acquired in the work is critical in defining the description of the job. Major tasks are included in the job description as these tasks are the ones, which are communicated to the applicants as well as the personnel involved in hiring. The applicant is supposed to be acquainted with all the essential functions in order after training him or she can decide whether he can be able to undertake them regardless of accommodation. The information achieved from the worker orientation is useful in measurement of skills, knowledge, or abilities that are regarded as crucial in undertaking of the job in question (Brannick, et al, 2001, p. 175). The policy capturing results is essential in combination of the various elements that are attributed in defining the degree of a task’s essentiality. Such a policy is used in communicating on the ways to be used in determining essential tasks as well as attaining reliability or consistency while designating tasks according to their essentiality. However explicit policy can be regarded as a negative option especially if a task within an organization is mistakenly labeled essential, it might result to conflicts with the company’s policy and can possibly cause liability of damages. Requirements of an ADA job analysis According to the survey that was conducted by the EEOC, different perspectives were revealed crucial especially while conducting a job analysis that pertains to the requirements of the ADA. The perspectives resulted to different scenarios that had to be tackled if any job analysis is to be successfully achieved. Some of these scenarios include if the job analysis instigated is able to come up with essential functions, what is composed of the relationship between the job analysis method and the outcome, and if the method of job analysis used is crucial in the identification of the flexibility of the job. In the analysis, the essential function is the first issue that is supposed to be tackled. The job analysis should be able to come up with the time spent in the ratings of all job functions, as this will help in the identification of both the marginal and essential functions. Quantitative job analysis is considered to be a legally defensible method as they are regarded to provide consistency in function essentiality evidence. Majority of the organizations operating tend to make use of the qualitative approaches in their job analysis, as they are known for jobs’ narrative descriptions. However qualitative are not bound to capture particular pieces of information that indicate the type of function that is essential as the descriptions are different in terms of the information presented and the kind of information achieved. In regards to the employees and the job applicants, it is the requirement of the American with Disabilities Act to ensure that decisions made over employment should be based on the fact that one can be able to perform certain essential functions that pertains to a job regardless of reasonable accommodation. Disability cannot be a factor to rule an applicant or an employee out of a job opportunity. On identification of a disability by a an applicant or an employee and a request of accommodation is put forth, the employee has the responsibility of engaging in a one on one process of attaining information on the kind of disability and the possibility of the applicant receiving accommodation while in his or her applicant’s or employee status. On attaining the essential functions of the job, it is only then that the employer can explore the possibility of granting the applicant’s request. A job analysis is essential and it is important if it is conducted by the employer in order to attain essential functions of the job in question and use its results as the basis of setting out the job descriptions (Felsberg, 2004, p. 91). O*NET Job analysis According to Jeanneret and Strong, some strategies of job analysis are mainly based on the tasks or job activities while other job strategies are based on the study of characteristics or requirements of workers. On the national front, jobs are described and analyzed in one basis, which is said to be limited in regards to the information-age employers as well as information on the occupation of other users. The U.S department of labor sponsored a large scale initiative which brought about structuring of a new and well elaborative job analysis approach that was referred to as Occupation Information Network (O*NET). The O*NET was designed for the sole purpose of providing data concerning jobs in the current workplace environs as well as the future workplace environs and was also referred as a an occupational description information system. In its database the O*NET possesses an important and reliable analyzed job information that incorporates different kinds of jobs (Jeanneret and Strong, 2003, p. 466). It is the belief of most of the researchers that O*NET database is well suited in providing vast amount of information that is needed in order to tackle the various needs of human resource management. Detailed information can be on occupation is attained and the variables of O*NET are attributed to groupings of jobs. O*NET is attributed to deriving of other important information such as job requirement identification, approximation of job values for categorization, and the connection of job behaviors to the abilities, skills and knowledge. This kind of information is critical in developing personnel selection systems, training programs and compensation systems. The O*NET output will only be significant upon the system achieving its utility. This therefore means that O*NET database is crucial in identifying assessment tools and performance levels of the same tools in defining job requirements especially when employing and designating employees in their place of work. This type of job analysis approach is extensive and may be well suited in the implementation of the American with Disabilities Act as jobs can be grouped according to the disability personnel in the company as well as their training and selection systems. Job analysis and implementation of ADA In the years to come, job analysis is destined to become a crucial factor that will not be handled by a job analyst. In addition to this, job analysis is expected to be broad in terms of its rationalization, codification, and justification in terms of jobs. In majority of the organizations, personnel officers are often lack training that is required in analyzing the means by which the workplace can be reestablished to meet the specific requirements of handicapped employees within the organization. Despite the existing requirements of the ADA, these personnel are still in a dilemma on whether the accommodations are appropriate or are undue expenses to the organization. The ADA is perceived as necessary evil among the various organizations that are concerned with their employees. In defining the ADA and what it entails, majority of the organizations are normally left in a dilemma as the statute is incorporated with minimum details regarding the process that has to be put in place in providing reasonable accommodations. It is the responsibility of the employer to determine whether an employee is impaired in a manner that he or she is likely to be covered by the ADA. Information attained from the statute, gives a general view needed by the employer and it is vague in nature. The various terms incorporated in the statute such as undue hardship, reasonable accommodation and even disability can be interpreted in a number of different ways. The statute does not indicate the level of degree upon which it is the employer to facilitate accommodation nor does it indicate the specific tools that must be provided by the employer to a disabled employee. In undertaking a job analysis to the ADA, a big percent of the process will be outdated. As a result, it is the same job analysis that indicates that the persons with disability are in adequate and that litigation is considered costly as well as the undue hardships imposed to the organization. Although majority of the companies this as their response, the reality is that this response is inefficient, reactive and defensive (Morfopoulos and Roth, 1996, p. 69). According to a survey conducted by Job Accommodation Network in 1996 (JAN), it was discovered that 20% of the accommodations that were approved by a qualified profession resulted to having no cost to the organization. About 70% of the cases studied indicated that the cost attained in making reasonable accommodation was below the 500 dollars margin. Some of these accommodation included installation of ramps, handrails especially in bathrooms or arrangement of files for easy access. All in all what is bound to be useful to the disabled persons is bound to be useful to the persons without disability. This therefore means that while analyzing a given job in relation to particular person, it does not mean inclusion of everyone but instead how to make use of everyone regardless of his or her disability status. The experience attained in the in this kind of consideration is bound to enhance effectiveness within the organization as well as an advanced job analysis. Impact of the ADA on job evaluation According to the ADA, job function is presented and defined before the review of the two job evaluation methods that are commonly used. Human resource within an organization is one of the departments that are often faced with challenges that are attributed to enactment of any equal opportunity laws. Since its passage in 1990, ADA has widely been described in regards to its effects towards human resource management operations such as recruitment, job analysis, selection, compensation, training employees and labor relations. Over the year’s one activity that stands out as neglect is the job evaluation process, an operation that is essential in determination of the value processed by jobs within an organization. The idea behind the use of job evaluation to determine compensation partially is because jobs of greater magnitude in terms of worth should be highly compensated as opposed to the lesser magnitude jobs that should be paid less. A job’s value is highly defined by the level of effort, skills and responsibility required as well as the conditions of work that prevail in the job. Relative worth on the other hand is defined despite the status of the employee’s identity and regardless of whether the employee needs reasonable accommodation that is attributed to disability. Job analysis and job descriptions are required in order job evaluation can be carried out. It is not compulsory for an organization to carry out a job analysis according to the law. However ii is highly recommended as it can act as a legal defense in case of accusations of discrimination that are founded on disability or any other factor that is legally protected (Karsten, et al, 1995, p. 436). In organizations, skills, responsibility, and efforts are regarded as universal factors that are common. The main issue regarding the impact of the ADA on job evaluation is whether the personnel rating should incorporate marginal functions in their determination of a job’s worth. If the marginal functions are part and parcel of the job and they must be undertaken, then the rating personnel are supposed to incorporate them in to the account while evaluating the jobs. The exclusion of marginal function could result to undervaluation. Based pay decisions are mainly founded on the job evaluation and hence if an undervaluation occurs it might lead to underpayment of a job. Conclusion With the numerous effects of the employment of disabled people, the American with Disability Act has largely been attributed to the restoration of hope to the disabled individuals particularly in the workplace. Changes have taken place in the working environment since the passage of the act in 1990. Transformed organizations are currently employing people with disabilities to high and appropriate positions in the organizations, as opposed to the era before the passage of the act. The systems incorporated in the job analysis that can be redesigned are bound to make the disabled workers to be more cost effective. In higher positions within the organization such as managers and consultants, the job description is often decided by the incumbent in the job. In a more realistic dimension, the interactive relationship that exists between the characteristics of an individual and a job are supposed to be defined. References Brannick, T. M., et al. (2001). 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NY: State University of New York. Morfopoulos, R. and Roth, W. Job analysis and the American with Disability Act. Business Horizons. Smentek, F.R. (2006). Job descriptions and monitoring return to work are keys to an appropriate, cost-effective disability plan management. Stone, L. D. (2001). Overview: The impact of ADA on human resources management. JAI Press. Read More