The Reasonableness of Working from Home in the Digital Age

Main Article Content

Jennifer Tennant

Keywords

home-based work, reasonable accommodation, Americans with Disabilities Act

Abstract

The Americans with Disabilities Act states that employers must make "reasonable accommodations" to allow disabled employees to work effectively. Using summary statistics, a theoretical model and a legal history, this article will attempt to determine whether home-based work is a “reasonable accommodation” under this law.

Abstract 296 | PDF Downloads 109 Word Downloads 86 Text Downloads 122

References

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2).

Edwards, L. N., & Field-Hendrey, E. (2002). Home-based work and women’s labor force decisions. Journal of Labor Economics, 20(1), 170-200.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt. (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/FDR

Gallagher, H. (1985). FDR’s splendid deception. New York: Dodd Mead.

Hotchkiss, J. (2003). The labor market experience of workers with disabilities: The ADA and beyond. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute.

Hypes v. First Commerce Corp., 134 F.3d 721 (5th Cir. 1998).

Kaye, H.S. (2003). Improved employment opportunities for people with disabilities. (Disability Statistics Report 17). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

Kuenzi, J., & Reschovsky, C. (2001). Home-based workers in the United States: 1997. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p70-78.pdf

Kvorjak v. Maine., 259 F.3d 4 (1st Cir. 2001).

Ludgate, K. (1997). Telecommuting and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Is working at home a reasonable accommodation? 81 Minn. L. Rev. 1309.

Mason v. Avaya Communications, Inc., 357 F.3d 1114 (10th Cir. 2004).

O’Brien, R. (2001). Crippled justice: The history of modern disability policy in the workplace. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Ruggles, S., Sobek, M., Alexander, T., Fitch, C. A., Goeken, R., Kelly Hall, P., King, M., Ronnander, C. (2004). Integrated Public Use Microdata Series [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis: Minnesota Population Center [producer and distributor]. http://usa.ipums.org/usa/

Schwochau, S., & Blanck, P. (2003). Does the ADA disable the disabled? -- More comments. Industrial Relations, 42(1), 67-77

Smith v. Ameritech, 129 F.3d 857 (6th Cir. 1997).

U.S. Department of Labor: Office of Disability Employment Policy. (2008). Employment rights: Who has them and who enforces them. Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/rights.htm

Valenza, M.A. (2004). Telework and the ADA: Is working at home finally a reasonable accommodation? 5 U.C. Davis Bus. L.J. 2, at http://bizlawjournal.ucdavis.edu/article.asp?id=547.

Vande Zande v. Wisconsin Department of Administration, 44 F.3d 538 (7th Cir. 1995).

Waggoner v. Olin Corp., 169 F.3d 481, 483 (7th Cir. 1999).