The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990. Through its five titles, the ADA provides specific protection for individuals with disabilities in areas of public life, including employment.  Title I of the ADA specifically prohibits discrimination in employment to all individuals with disabilities, including Deaf professionals.  Title I requires that employers with more than 15 employees, recruiters or employment agencies, state or local governments, and labor unions provide reasonable accommodations to all qualified job seekers and employees. 

Workplace Barriers that Deaf professionals face

The number one barrier that Deaf or hard of hearing professionals face in the workplace is struggling to effectively communicate in an environment that is not inclusive of their specific needs.  A survey of Deaf individuals shows that Deaf job seekers experience resistance, whether perceived or real, from employers regarding initial hiring. This resistance may be from an unconscious bias or a lack of understanding the differences in Deaf culture. Deaf culture has different communication methods like touching to gain attention, speaking directly to someone, and limiting background noise.  Integrating these communication methods into a typical workplace culture is not difficult, it just takes time and training.  

Unfortunately, workplace barriers do not stop once hired. Many Deaf employees feel that they were not included in common workplace activities, like company wide training.  Many Deaf employees feel that they are not supported in their work environment, with a majority feeling that they were actively excluded from conversations.  In addition to feeling excluded, many felt lonely and misunderstood, with some reporting that they felt they were passed over for promotion due to their Deafness.   

What is a reasonable accommodation?

Many communication and accessibility barriers exist due to an employer’s perception of what a reasonable accommodation is.  Reasonable accommodations is a term that is used frequently in ADA law.  It simply means that the accommodation requested by a job seeker or employee will not cause an undue burden on the employer or company.  For instance, before a job has even been secured, Deaf professionals must request a reasonable accommodation for the interview process to ensure effective communication during the recruitment process. 

Many employers immediately jump to the idea of providing a sign language interpreter for Deaf job seekers and think about how that may cause a financial burden, however, reasonable accommodations can be as simple as an alternative communication method, as not all Deaf people speak American Sign Language. In fact, written communication or assistive listening devices can be all a Deaf employee needs to perform a job effectively. 

Once a job is secured, the most common accommodations for Deaf employees were telephone aids, like teletypewriters and assistance from co-workers, both of which are not likely to cause an undue burden on employers.  Many states have programs that will offer Deaf individuals access to teletypewriters to help make workplaces more inclusive and accessible to Deaf workers. And on a positive note, nearly half of Deaf employees feel that their coworkers had a positive attitude towards trying to communicate with them.

How the ADA works to prohibit employment discrimination

The ADA is a federal law that provides specific protection to Deaf or hard of hearing individuals, however the governing agency over job discrimination is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  The EEOC enforces ADA laws regarding employment discrimination, and they would be the first contact point in filing a complaint or charge of discrimination.

The ADA and EEOC have very specific guidelines when it comes to disability discrimination. First, the employer cannot ask a job applicant to answer any questions related to their Deafness or ask them to take a medical exam before extending an employment offer.  After a job opportunity is offered, the company can ask the applicant to take a medical exam, but only to make sure that the applicant is fit to complete the required tasks of the job. 

Once an employee has started work, the employer can ask disability-related questions but only if the employer has evidence that the employee is unable to effectively perform their job duties.  The employee can also ask for accommodations to be made without fear of discrimination.  Specific accommodations for Deaf employees include access to teletypewriter, sign language or oral interpreters, alternative communication methods, closed captioning, written communication (via email or interoffice chat), changes in workplace arrangements, or visual cues for emergency systems like fire alarms. If an accommodation is denied due to undue burden, then a reasonable accommodation must be provided in its place. When refusing to provide reasonable accommodations, a company must prove that the accommodation being requested is unable to be provided.  If a company can in fact provide that accommodation, then the company is guilty of discrimination and a complaint can be filed by the employee.  Complaints must be filed within 180 days of the incident. 

Employers who offer inclusive environments

While some employers can seem reluctant to hire Deaf employees, many companies are aware that assets Deaf employees can be.  There are multiple companies that actively recruit and employ deaf employees including Boeing, Center on Deafness, Goodwill Industries, Microsoft, Sunbelt Staffing and Amazon.  Microsoft provides inclusivity trainings to bridge the communication gap and allow hearing and Deaf individuals to communicate through the use of its translation software and Amazon has ASL communication hubs that allow hearing employees to learn and communicate with their Deaf colleagues in ASL.  In addition to the private companies working towards inclusion, there are many employers at the local and state level that hire Deaf or hard of hearing professionals as teachers and interpreters.

Conclusion

Deaf professionals are a diverse and unique group of workers, and many companies are now realizing that there is an untapped potential in these workers and modifying their work environment to make it accessible and inclusive. If you are ever in need of creating an inclusive and accessible environment for all, reach out to Unspoken Language Services, a professional sign language interpreter service.