Acquiring Workplace Accommodations when Management Support is Voluntary: Crafting Jobs and Accommodations.

The Americans with Disability Act sets forth the conditions under which management is compelled to respond to informal and formal requests for accommodations, one of which is that requests must relate to essential job functions. When requests do not relate to essential job functions, employer responsiveness becomes voluntary. The distinction between compelled and voluntary compliance has important implications for the process by which employees with disabilities pursue accommodations. The rather well-defined process for acquiring an accommodation when the ADA compels managers to respond is reviewed here. Discussion then turns to issues and examples associated with the less familiar process that some employees follow when management responses are voluntary. This less familiar process is discussed in the context of a strategy, known as job crafting, for expanding the boundaries, and thus the essential functions, of a job. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]