Monday, February 28, 2011

Accommodation Solutions at Your Fingertips

U. S. Department of Labor
Office of Disability Employment Policy

Interested in exploring strategies for accommodating employees with disabilities, illnesses or injuries and helping them maximize productivity on the job? Free, expert assistance is just a click away.
The Job Accommodation Network's (JAN) Searchable Online Accommodation Resource (SOAR) is an interactive Web tool that delivers customized job accommodation information by simulating the interaction users would have if they were speaking one on one with a JAN consultant.
When using SOAR, the user is first asked to identify a particular impairment, limitation and job function. Then, based on the user's responses, the system generates a list of potential accommodation solutions, each one linked to a page with further information and resources, if appropriate. In the event an accommodation might require special equipment or technology, SOAR also provides guidance on how such products can be obtained.
SOAR allows employers and employees alike to explore accommodation options for both short- and long-term impairments and decide which is best for a particular situation or circumstance. Fortunately, most options are highly cost effective, incurring little or no expense at all. In fact, data reveal that more than half of accommodations cost employers nothing, and of those that do, the typical one-time expenditure is $600 — an outlay that most employers report pays for itself multiple-fold in the form of reduced insurance and training costs and increased productivity.
JAN is a service of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). It offers assistance via phone at (800) 526-7234 or (877) 781-9403 (TTY) or online at AskJAN.org.

http://www.dol.gov/odep/bsense/bsense0211.htm

No comments: