Accommodating Disability in the Workplace

Accommodating Disability in the Workplace Frida Kahlo

Introduction • The Law • Human Rights • Undue Hardship • The Research • Why do some accommodations work and others fail? • Method • What can Employers Do?

Disability Factors • Chronicity • Absenteeism • Control • Visibility • Outside Agency Factors • Omnipotent Physician • Agency • Financial Threat • Diagnosis and Time off for Recovery • Precipitous Returns Coworkers & Union • Employee Factors • Locus of Control • Behaviour • Emotional Overlay • Deceptive Independence • Scamming • Employer Factors • Procedural Justice • Investigation • Recalcitrance • Policy Gaps • Culture Beginning Balance SOCIAL CAPITAL Ending Balance PREDISABILITY ACUTE PHASE RTW PHASE • Performance History • Discipline • Absenteeism • Difficult Coworker Relations • Previous Disability MODEL OF FACTORS IMPACTING RTW SUCCESS

EMPLOYEE WORK HISTORY “You get to know your people after a while, you get to know who is playing, who is honest…When you’ve got somebody that has screwed you in the past and then they have a legitimate injury, you wind up getting blinders on.”

Is this employee’s work history contributing to the difficult RTW? Discipline Absenteeism Difficult Peer Relations Sault Area Hospitals Case Breaching organizational norms Previous Disability How can we address the situation? Preparing peers for the RTW Validate disability Provide strategies to the returning employee Focus on abilities and contribution Return to a different unit EMPLOYEE WORK HISTORY

DISABILITY FACTORS “Now here was a guy that had broken his ankle…Returned to work too early, became permanently injured as a result…They brought him inside into the plant on a temporary basis, until he was able to recover…He made a lot of bad personal choices about how he was going to deal with stuff. Ended up being discharged.”

Is this difficult RTW related to the nature of the disability itself? Precipitous Returns Chronicity and Absenteeism Visibility and Legitimacy Symptom Control Multiple Illnesses How can we address the situation? Functional capacity exams Permanent vs. temporary accommodation Management and Employee education Person-job matching Retraining Telecommuting DISABILITY FACTORS

EMPLOYEE FACTORS “They are so sick and tired of being sick and tired. They are so sick and tired of filling out forms. They are so sick and tired of people not believing that they are ill. That they just give up.” “There’s others that come back on modified return to work and oh gawd, it’s like be careful don’t do too much. And that’s another dangerous group.”

Is this difficult RTW related to the employee’s behaviour or perceptions of that behaviour? Behaviours, Attitudes, and Traits Evasiveness, refusing treatment, ambivalence Locus of control Deceptive Independence Emotional Overlay Scamming How can we address the situation? Make the process clear and consistent Communicate***, in-person and provide documentation Small, manageable steps, positive reinforcement Emphasize/reward adherence to limitations and treatment plan Refer to EAP Management training: Signs and symptoms of depression EMPLOYEE FACTORS

WORKPLACE FACTORS “When asked in cross-examination why he made the harassment allegation, the grievor said three things. First, he was not being treated the same as other employees; second, he did not want to be absent due to his handicap and it did not help the situation when he was told not to be absent; third, he was not able to have any input into the meetings to discuss his absences.” (Greater Victoria Hospital Society, 1998, para. 69).

Is this difficult RTW related to the way we’ve managed it? Accommodation Effort Investigation Reluctance Employee Involvement Procedural Justice Policy Gaps Who is responsible? Worker replacement policies Union/Management Relations How can we address the situation? Focus on RTW vs. illness legitimacy Involve the employee and union from the beginning Employer initiated contact Appropriate accommodation cost allocation Reward systems RTW coordinator With authority and a budget Additional workers to fairly allocate tasks WORKPLACE FACTORS

OUTSIDE AGENCY FACTORS “Everybody thinks a doctor is there to help you, a doctor is there to make money and they are running a business and they went to school to run that business. So, some doctors are more than happy to write doctors notes. It means the patient will come back to get more doctors notes. That really, I think, muddies and discredits something like duty to accommodate.”

Is this RTW complicated by difficult relations with outside agencies? The Omnipotent Physician Physician as Agent Infinite Expertise WCB Bias – Anti-employer, anti-employee, anti-union? Threatened Financial Coverage Immediately post-injury – claim delays LTD – WCB, Insurer, or EI Amount and Duration How can we address the situation? Union as intermediary Focus on super-ordinate goals Review sick time policies Dr.’s note requirements? Financial coverage prior to STD? Employees whose covered sick time has maxed out? OUTSIDE AGENCY FACTORS

CONCLUSION • It may be one or it may be all • How does the organization want to utilize it’s resources? • Proactively address organizational issues, then respond to individual circumstances Contact Information • Kelly Williams-Whitt, MBA, PhD • University of Lethbridge at Calgary • kelly.williams@uleth.ca

Accommodating Disability in the Workplace