ADA reasonable accommodations and collective bargaining agreement conflicts

ADA

When a reasonable accommodation under the ADA conflicts with a provision of a collective bargaining agreement between the Employer and a Union that represents the employee requesting the accommodation, what consideration, if any, should be given to the requirements of the collective bargaining agreement?

According to the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers must make reasonable accommodations or modifications so that qualified disabled individuals can enjoy equal access to employment opportunities. The employment discrimination provisions of the ADA apply to labor unions both as employers (that is, to the employees who work for the union) but also to unions as bargaining agents. Even before the passing of the ADA into law, the courts found under the similar statute Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, sex, national origin and religion that a union must not interfere with an employer's duty to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious observances when the accommodation did not violate the collective bargaining agreement (Johnson, 2007).

Employers must conform to the requirements of the National Labor Rights Act (NLRA) and the ADA. The NLRA has stated that to the extent that a reasonable accommodation does not affect terms and conditions of employment, "for instance, putting a desk on blocks, providing a ramp, Braille signage, or providing an interpreter, an employer does not have to negotiate with the union representing its employees. The union, however, must be part of the process of determining a reasonable accommodation where the reasonable accommodation would cause a material, substantial or significant change in working conditions" to the unionized employees (Johnson, 2007).