1. FEATURE STORY: WORKPLACE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER
We all get a case of the wintertime blues occasionally. Some individuals experience a type of depression that recurs in late autumn and winter called seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. If an employee has been clinically diagnosed with SAD, you might be required to provide a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
SAD Symptoms And Solutions
According to the U.S. Office of Disability Policy's Job Accommodation Network (JAN), common symptoms of SAD include:
Exacerbated by wintry gray skies and poor indoor lighting, SAD is usually treated with light therapy. The affected individual spends a period of time each day exposed to high-intensity bright lights, typically referred to as light boxes or sun boxes. Many of these light boxes are portable and can be placed on a desk or table in the work environment.
JAN describes four basic light products that may be used to accommodate workers with SAD:
Light boxes: Rectangular light fixtures that have several fluorescent tubes that produce between 5,000 and 10,000 lux and come in many different sizes and styles.
Light visors: Head-mounted light sources that resemble tennis visors and are good choices for people who do not have sedentary jobs or who need to be mobile during the day.
Desk lamps: Resemble typical office lamps.
Dawn simulators: Devices that mimic natural sunrises by gradually brightening rooms over programmed periods of time.
A Natural Accommodation
Providing natural light could also be a reasonable workplace accommodation for employees with SAD. A school district's failure to see natural light as a reasonable accommodation option landed it in court, charged with failure to accommodate in violation of the ADA.
Facts of the case: When a teacher was moved to a classroom lacking exterior windows, she told the principal that she had SAD and would have difficulty functioning in a room without natural light. She repeatedly requested a room with natural light, but she never got one, even though another teacher was willing to switch with her and there was an empty classroom being held open for a possible additional class. At most, the school district helped remedy other issues that exacerbated her SAD sympoms, such as noise distractions and inadequate ventilation. The teacher's health began to deteriorate, and she went out on disability leave as recommended by her doctor, who wrote a letter to the school district explaining that natural light would be the key to the teacher being able to return to work.
In allowing the teacher's ADA claim to proceed, an appeals court ruled: "Once aware of natural light's medical necessity to [the teacher], and having been informed…that she was willing and able to return to work in a classroom with natural light, the school district was obligated to provide [her] specifically requested, medically necessary accommodation unless it would impose an undue hardship on the school district." Providing the teacher with an available classroom with exterior windows would have imposed "little hardship." At most, the school would have experienced costs associated with moving items and making any necessary readjustments. (Ekstrand v. School District of Somerset, 7th Cir., No. 09-1853, 2009)
Lessons learned: ADA lawsuits based on SAD are rare, but this case goes to show that SAD can be considered a qualifying disability that must be reasonably accommodated, absent an undue hardship. Take a true look at the cost of moving an employee to a location with natural light. A mere one-time inconveniencing of other employees who have to move too would not likely render the accommodation as unreasonable; it might be a hardship if the monetary expense would be great or if it would cause a permanent adverse effect on production. If a location change is not feasible, look into JAN's suggested light products.
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