Well, Dan, Speaking as someone who has had a number of ADA-related job accommodation requests, most of which were initially rejected before state and EEOC complaints were filed and negotiated, I would say this *MAY* qualify as a perfect example of a "reasonable accommation."
I imagine this individual is on-site during the taping and I'm pretty sure the only time video taping would be used is during those (likely) relatively few ocassions there was no way for the chair-using employee to personally inspect a particular area. Considering the engineers work in teams (and most do even when no disability is involved), *IF* this person is that team member who has the technical (and perhaps legally required) expertise to properly evaluate the areas being videotaped AND if the quality of the video was good enough to properly do the job, this would be a perfectly good example of a "reasonable job accommodation." Engineers have all sorts of areas of expertise. Some are experts at manually manipulating and changing things while others are "desk engineers" who evaluate by visual inspection of blueprints and pictures. Having both together is not unusual. PLUS, and addition benefit is the video can be saved to document problems or defects and/or compare changes in building/facility condition over a period of time. My AB wife, a PT and ADA Coordinator at a major university, evaluates new and old university properties for proper measurements and ADA code compliance (not all of which are visible from just standing there). She also evaluates blueprints, buildings in progress and potential purchase properties for changes that might be necessary before, during and after work is done. She regularly uses a small, $10 keychain-sized digital camera to document the good and bad and recommend changes where necessary and includes those digital pictures and/or prints to establish her positions. The university attorneys rely on her and her cheap photos to avoid future problems and lawsuits. As ADA requirements go, we don't know exactly how these teams work. However, every job is supposed to have a list of essential functions. If a person is able to perform those essential functions of his/her job with or without an accommodation, that's all that's needed to determine if that individual is qualified. Don't knock allowing what "appears" to be an unusual accommodation. These are normally negotiated between employee and employer, cost less than $200, and almost always end up working out better than the "normal" way of getting the job done. (Besides, some day you might need one!) Best wishes! --Tod ---- Dan <[email protected]> wrote: > I found this on the USDL website. I think this is an blatant example > of accommodation run amuck. What do you guys think. > > "An engineer who uses a wheelchair held a job in a manufacturing > company that required employees to move throughout a campus facility > inspecting various aspects of the buildings, typically using the > ability to climb, scoot, and crawl into small spaces. The engineers > worked in teams. One member of the team would videotape the areas > that this worker could not access. The engineer then used the > videotape to gather pertinent information for the task." > > Dan >
