Providing Reasonable Accommodations

hands holding the icon of a person in a supportive wayApprentices with disabilities must meet the same qualifications and performance expectations as apprentices without disabilities. However, reasonable accommodations can help apprentices or applicants for apprenticeship meet job requirements and enhance their performance and productivity.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers must provide employees with disabilities, including apprentices, with reasonable job accommodations. (1)  Accommodations help apprentices with disabilities perform tasks essential to their jobs. For instance, an apprentice who is blind or has low vision might ask their employer to provide a Braille keyboard, screen magnification software, or a keyboard with large print to more easily use a computer.

Did you know?

lightbulb

Most workplace accommodations are not expensive, and half of all accommodations cost employers nothing. For accommodations with a cost, the typical one-time expenditure is $500—an expense many employers say pays for itself through reduced training costs, increased productivity, and more.

(2020 Survey Data from the Job Accommodation Network)

Examples of reasonable accommodations include but are not limited to: 

  • Modified work schedules (e.g., creating part-time or flexible work schedules)
  • Buying or modifying equipment (e.g., providing alternative keyboards)
  • Policy modifications (e.g., allowing service animals into an office)

Check out PIA’s Provide Workplace Accommodations page to learn more.

(1)Federal agencies have similar obligations under the Rehabilitation Act, Section 501.