Hearing Disabilities in the Workplace and the ADA
Updated: Jan 30
In January of 2023, the EEOC released an updated resource document named "Hearing Disabilities in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act". The document outlines how certain pre- and post-job offer disability-related questions can violate the ADA. It describes easy-to-access technologies that can make providing a reasonable accommodation for a hearing disability free or low-cost and also addresses employer concerns about safety. The document also shares realistic scenarios of potential discrimination situations that any company might face and provides concrete actions that businesses can take to recognize and prevent harassment.
You can access the document through this link: https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/hearing-disabilities-workplace-and-americans-disabilities-act
This document revises the "Deafness and Hearing Impairments in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act," that was originally issued May 7, 2014.
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reported on January 17, 2023 that approximately 15% of American adults report some hearing trouble As a mother of a daughter who is hard-of-hearing, I know how frustrating it has been for her when there are no accommodations available during job interviews. This update will improve accommodations for both job applicants and employees.
- Kathy Arroyo,
MJ-LEL class of '23
This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0