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Abigail Nadler, The Relationship of ADA, Ergonomics, Disability management, and Worker’s Compensation in the Scope of an Overall Safety Plan Intro The work force
has come a long way in making the workplace a safer and less discriminating
place to work. In the beginning there were no laws or standards that forced an
employer to provide their employees with a safe work environment or standards
prohibiting discrimination when making new hires. There are four key elements
that have brought the workplace up or close to par in terms of safety and
discrimination in the workforce. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
ergonomics, disability management, and workers compensation all work together to
reduce injury and illness, discrimination, and cost due to lost work time to
both the employer and employees. History The primary focus of any Safety and Health professional in a workplace ergonomics program is to redesign the workplace and focus on job demands and workstations that must change to accommodate the employees. In the 1920’s WWI veterans returned. There was an increase in industrial accidents, which meant there were a large number of people with disabilities. Rehabilitation along with returning these people to work were now considered appropriate goals. Since 1968, congress has passed a series of laws focusing on the goal of integration through the provision of meaningful equal opportunity (JAN). The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) bans discrimination in employment. Federal legislation created the forerunner to the rehabilitation structure in the United States, currently embodied in the provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 provides for the establishment of comprehensive programs of vocational rehabilitation and independent living (JAN). In addition, this Act created a federal board to prohibit discrimination in employment by the federal government’s Executive Branch, and required affirmative action in the hiring of people with disabilities by federal agencies and contractors (JAN). President Bush signed the ADA into law on July 26, 1990, and it is legislation intended to make American society more accessible to people with disabilities (JAN). This has reinforced the need for comprehensive disability management programs that will help control cost and retain disabled workers with valuable skills. Presently, an employer is required to adjust the workstation design for average employees and also to accommodate employees with disabilities resulting from Workplace Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs). When employers do not accommodate their employees often times WMSDs are the result. The use of workers compensation increases when WMSD’s, workstation design, and ergonomic hazards are not taken care of. Workers compensation is designed to pay lost wages and medical treatments to restore employees to pre-injury status. The broadest and most controversial standard of all times is ergonomics. The essential Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) landmark case that received the final rule November of 2000 compensated employees 100% for their losses for the first three months of an injury. However this standard was rescinded in March of 2001. An employer is now obligated to pay 66% for their losses. This 66% was designed as an incentive to drive employees to come back to work (Brubaker).
Ergonomics plays a large role in the injury management program, when considering needs for new hires and impaired persons, by emphasizing opportunities for transitional duty job modifications. Originally selection criteria screened out potential employees with disabilities by requiring exams before the job was offered. Now all exams must be made post offer, and the exam criteria must measure critical job demands and be consistent with business necessity. An employer, may however, ask questions about the ability to perform specific job functions and may, with certain limitations, ask an individual with a disability to describe/demonstrate how she/he would perform these functions (ADA). Assuming that this disability or impairment happened in the workplace, it is considered a covered impairment. Most workers compensation injuries are covered (law covers and protects the applicant). If workers compensation covers the impairment, the employer must make accommodations for returned workers. Reasonable accommodations must be made unless the accommodations place an undue hardship on a company. Accommodations can be made through disability management programs that focus on job modifications for transitional duty and vocational rehabilitation that are designed to get the injured employee back to work sooner (Brubaker).
Job dissatisfaction is the number one predictor for the use of health care (Ramsay). The overall benefit of incorporating ergonomic programs that meet all employee requirements, by implementing disability management programs is to provide employees with a safer work place. When an employer provides a safe work environment that is free of discrimination and ergonomic hazards, employee satisfaction increases. Ultimately these programs decrease health care costs related to workers compensation, lower insurance costs, increase retention of skilled workers, and enhance employee relations. These programs collectively create a win-win for the employee and employer.
Works Cited Americans with Disabilities Act (2003). US Department of Justice Americans with Disabilities Act. Retrieved April 10, 2004: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm Brubaker S. (2004). Safety and Health Protection 311 (Notes & Lecture)
Job Accommodation Network (JAN) (2001). US DOL's Office of Disability Employment. Retrieved April 12, 2004: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/media/adahandbook/preamble.txt Ramsay J. (2004) Health Promotion and Wellness 420 (Notes & Lecture)
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