• Resource Guide Home
• Legislation and Policies
  • What Laws Might Apply?
  • Other Employment Laws
  • Roles & Responsibilities
  • Resources: Legislation
• Identification of Accommodations
  • Workplace Assessment
  • Types of Accommodations
  • Implementation
  • Resources: Programs
  • Resources: Funding
• Motor Impairments
  • Getting Around
  • Communicating
  • Reading or Writing
  • Managing Work and Time
  • Using a Computer
  • Working in the Lab or Field
  • Case Example
• Vision Impairments
  • Getting Around
  • Communicating
  • Reading or Writing
  • Managing Work and Time
  • Using a Computer
  • Working in the Lab or Field
  • Case Example
• Communication Difficulties
  • Getting Around
  • Communicating
  • Reading or Writing
  • Managing Work and Time
  • Using a Computer
  • Working in the Lab or Field
  • Case Example
• Cognitive Impairment
  • Getting Around
  • Communicating
  • Using a Computer
• Resources: Technical Assistance
• Research Findings

Module 2: Identification of Accommodations

Funding Workplace Accommodations

Workplace accommodations may be paid for by a variety of sources. Under the ADA, employers are responsible for covering the costs of reasonable accommodations unless it would result in undue hardship. However, in practice, teachers, vocational rehabilitation, workers compensation, and/or insurance will often be involved in paying for accommodations.

Employer-Funded Accommodations

As mentioned, under the ADA, employers are responsible for covering the costs of reasonable accommodations. Our research found that employers paid for at least part of accommodations a little over half of the time.

Resources – Tax Incentives

• Disabled Access Tax Credit - allows eligible small businesses to take a tax credit for 50 percent of eligible access expenditures (e.g., architectural barriers, alternative formats, interpreters) costing between $250 and $10,250 for a taxable year.
  http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/tifpba.htm
• Tax Deduction to Remove Architectural and Transportation Barriers to People with Disabilities and Elderly Individuals - applies to all businesses, but the $15,000 per year tax credit can only be applied to expenditures to make a facility or company-owned vehicle more accessible.
  http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/tifpba.htm
• Work Opportunity Tax Credit - provides a one-time tax credit for a new employee with a disability who is receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits or is referred by vocational rehabilitation.
  http://www.doleta.gov/business/incentives/opptax/

Employee-Funded Accommodations

If the responsibility for paying for accommodations falls to the employer, why did our research find that about 69% of teachers were paying for at least part of their accommodations themselves? There are several reasons: some educators may be reluctant to request accommodations, some may prefer to own the equipment themselves so that they can use it at home or other settings, and others may share the costs with their employer so that a better, more expensive accommodation can be purchased.

Resources - PASS

• Social Security’s Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) - an incentive to make it possible for people with disabilities receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to work and still maintain all or part of their monthly payments by setting aside some of that money for accommodations. For example, a teacher might have a PASS plan to pay for items such as an accessible vehicle, wheelchair or computer if they are needed to achieve a specific work goal. The money that is set aside is excluded from the income limitation calculations of whether or not he or she qualifies for SSI.
  http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disabilityresearch/wi/pass.htm

Vocational Rehabilitation-Funded Accommodations

Only 13% of the teachers in our study were clients of state vocational rehabilitation agencies (VR), however those agencies are another source for accommodations. VR policies differ slightly between states, but they all provide services to individuals with a permanent physical or mental impairment which interferes with their ability to work. The individual must wish to work and be capable of benefiting from VR services to "prepare for, enter into, engage in, regain, or retain gainful (paid) employment." VR is mandated to step in only where other funding is not available. Thus, since employers are only required to provide accommodations related to an employee’s job tasks and participation in the workplace, VR will often assist with other related expenses, such as job training, personal equipment, and supports needed to help a person get to and from the job.

Resources - State VR Agencies

• Listing of State VR Agencies - http://www.jan.wvu.edu/SBSES/VOCREHAB.HTM

Insurance-Funded Accommodations

Personal insurance, Medicaid and Medicare will sometimes pay for personal / medical equipment (e.g., vision aids, hearing aid, wheelchair). While some of this equipment might have usefulness at work, it is important to remember that these programs will often only pay for those expenses for which there is a medical need, and it is that medical need that must be emphasized when communicating with these groups.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - http://www.cms.hhs.gov