Chapter 8 of 127.6% of exam

Business Engagement

This domain treats employers as customers: consulting on accommodations, explaining the law, and building pipelines such as apprenticeships. Most items rest on EEOC guidance and the Title I regulations.

The dual customer

Rehabilitation counselors serve both the person with a disability and the employer, and the most durable placements meet both sets of needs. A counselor who understands an employer's staffing needs can place clients more successfully. Business engagement also includes training employers on disability law and building work-based learning pipelines. Items often ask which activity fits the dual-customer approach.

Dual customer role

The blueprint names the employer and the person with a disability as dual customers.

CRCC 2021 JTA, Domain 8.F

Employer engagement

VR agencies engage with employers to increase job opportunities.

RSA, State VR Services Program

Apprenticeship

Registered programs combine on-the-job learning with organized related technical instruction (144 hours per year recommended).

29 CFR 29.5(b)

Accommodation rules employers ask about

Employers often ask what counts as a request, who chooses the accommodation, and what they are not required to do. These rules come from EEOC's enforcement guidance and are frequently misunderstood by employers. A counselor who knows them can prevent disputes before they start. Many items describe an employee's words and ask whether a request has been made.

Plain English

A request needs no legal words; describing a medical-related workplace problem is enough.

EEOC Enforcement Guidance (2002)

Choosing among options

The employee's preference gets primary consideration, but the employer may choose among effective accommodations.

EEOC Enforcement Guidance (2002)

Limits

No duty to eliminate essential functions or lower uniformly applied production standards; reassignment is the last resort.

EEOC Enforcement Guidance (2002)

Undue hardship and safety

The two main defenses are undue hardship and direct threat, and both require individualized analysis. Neither defense can rest on stereotypes or general statistics about a condition. Outside funding and tax credits reduce the cost side of the analysis. The employer must look at the individual in front of it.

Net cost

Undue hardship considers the net cost after tax credits, deductions, and outside funding, plus the employer's resources.

29 CFR 1630.2(p)

Direct threat

Based on an individualized assessment of present ability, weighing duration, severity, likelihood, and imminence of harm.

29 CFR 1630.2(r)

Injured workers

Inquiries of an employee with an occupational injury must be job-related, consistent with business necessity, and limited in scope.

EEOC, Workers' Compensation and the ADA

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