Accommodating Employees who use
Mobility Devices
Burr Corley, MSW, Consultant
Eddie Whidden, M.A., Senior Consultant
JAN is a service of the U.S. Department of Labor’s
Office of Disability Employment Policy.
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Accommodating Employees who use
Mobility Devices
Objectives
 JAN Overview
 Employees who use mobility devices
 Accommodations for employees who use mobility
devices
 Scenarios
 Questions
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JAN Overview
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How many people use mobility devices?
There are 6.8 million Americans living in the
community who use an assistive device to help
them with mobility
27.4%of Americans who use mobility devices
are in the labor force
These statistics are from following document
Kaye, H. S., Kang, T. and LaPlante, M.P. (2000). Mobility
Device Use in the United States. Disability Statistics
Report, (14). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of
Education, National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research. Available online at
http://dsc.ucsf.edu/pdf/report14.pdf
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Impairments which may require use of a
mobility device
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Arthritis
Amputation
ALS
Back conditions
Cancer
Cerebral Palsy
Heart Disease
Hemiplegia
Hip conditions
Knee Conditions
Multiple Sclerosis
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Muscular Dystrophy
Myasthenia Gravis
Lupus
Osteoporosis
Paraplegia
Parkinson’s Disease
Quadriplegia
Respiratory Disorders
Spina Bifida
Spinal Cord Injury
Stroke
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Types of mobility devices
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Canes
Crutches
Walkers
Knee Walkers
Rollators
Wheelchairs
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Manual and Electric
Standing
Outdoor
 Scooters
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Mobility Impairments in the Workplace
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Accessing the work site
Accessing the work space
Accessing information technology
Bending, stooping, and kneeling
Reaching
Maintaining balance
Sitting for prolonged periods
Standing
Walking
Lifting materials
Carrying and moving materials
Lifting people
Driving or operating vehicles
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Accessing the Worksite
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Install automatic door openers
Accessible door handles
Parking
Modify the building to make it accessible
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Ramps
Chair lifts
Stair lifts
Elevators
Restrooms
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Accessing the Worksite
 Moving employee to accessible location
 Allowing or providing mobility devices
 Scooter
 Wheelchair
 Manual
 Powered
 All-Terrain
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Emergency Evacuation
Motor Impairments
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Employers should remove any physical barriers
(boxes, supplies, furniture) to insure a barrier-free
route of travel out of the building.
Employers may want to provide heavy gloves to
protect individuals' hands from debris when pushing
their manual wheelchairs, a patch kit to repair flat
tires, and extra batteries for those who use motorized
wheelchairs or scooters. Arrangements should also
be made to make wheelchairs available after
evacuation.
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Emergency evacuation
 Designate areas of rescue assistance
 Providing emergency evacuation mobility
aids
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Accessing the Workspace
 Providing accessible route of travel
 Modifying workstation to make it accessible
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Ergonomic chairs
Articulating keyboard trays and mousing surfaces
Foot rests and forearm supports
Headsets
Slant boards and copy holders
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Accessing the Workspace
 Desk-A-Lators
 Provide adjustable workstation that can allow
a wheelchair user access to the desk, or
allow alternating between sitting and standing
 Accessible workstations for office settings
 Accessible workstations for industrial settings
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Accessing Information Technology
 Alternative keyboards
 Alternative mice
 Speech recognition
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Accommodations for Climbing
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Aerial Lifts
Work platforms
Provide reacher
Provide safety ladders for
employees who must use
ladders
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Bending, Stooping, and Kneeling
• Raise equipment or material on which the
employee is working
• Provide low stool or creeper
• Racatac
• Provide reacher
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Reaching
• Set up workstation to minimize reaching
• Provide reacher
• Job restructuring
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Maintaining Balance
 Provide safety ladders for employees who
must use ladders
 Provide or allow use of mobility aids
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Canes
Walkers with seats
Rollators
Wheelchair
Scooter
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Sitting for Prolonged Periods
 Providing adjustable workstation
 Using ergonomic chairs
 Seat cushions
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Sitting for Prolonged Periods
Implementing ergonomic principles
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Monitor risers
Articulating keyboard and mouse trays
Foot rests and forearm supports
Headsets
Lumbar cushions
Copyholders, page turners, and book holders
Task lighting
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Standing for Prolonged Periods
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Adjustable and accessible workstations
Stand-lean stools
Anti-fatigue matting
Stand-up wheelchairs
ErgoMates
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Walking
 Communicating with email, IM, two-way
radios and cell phones
 ErgoMates
 Providing or allowing mobility device
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Wheelchairs
Scooters
Walkers and rollators
Canes
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Lifting Materials
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Job restructuring
Compact lifting devices
Adjustable lift tables
Vacuum lifts
Mobile cranes
Tool balancers and ergonomic
tools
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Carrying and Moving Materials
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Carts and hand trucks
Motorized carts
Baskets for walkers and rollators
Carts that can be attached to a mobility
device like a scooter
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Accessibility in Agriculture
National Agrability Project
http://www.agrability.org
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Lifting People
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Adjustable and walk-up changing tables
Adjustable examination tables
Patient lifts
Transfer aids
Independent living products
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Driving or Operating Vehicles
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Steering grips
Vehicle cushions
Anti vibration seats and wraps
Automatic clutch
Hand controls
Pedal extenders
Specific seat belts and seat belt extenders
Swivel seats and seat extenders
Lifters and carriers for mobility aids
Allow work from home
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Non-Product Accommodations
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Job restructuring
Modified schedule
Reassignment
Telework
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Scenario 1
A caller said an employee with a doctor's note
stating he needs to telework because he can
only walk 200 ft without experiencing
pain/weakness due to neuropathy. The
employee’s job is sedentary. They wanted
some alternatives to working from home. We
discussed the use of a mobility device and
placing him closer to the common-use areas
in the office, such as, the restroom, break
area, etc.
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Scenario 2
A school teacher with 30 years experience in the
classroom has difficulty walking around the
room in order to give one-on-one attention to
her students and has difficulty balancing while
standing in front of the class for prolonged
periods. Her arthritis has worsened in the last
two years making mobility an issue at work.
We discussed the use of a sit-to-stand stool to
use when lecturing and a rollator for some
limited walking.
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Scenario 3
Caller said they have a city employee working in
grounds maintenance, but the employee has
difficulty walking on uneven terrain and must
haul bags of fertilizer throughout the area.
She has a back condition resulting in
restrictions of walking, carrying, and lifting. We
suggested a powered scooter designed for
outdoor use with a "yardcart" attached to the
rear of the scooter.
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Scenario 4
An employee has trouble lifting/moving heavy
boxes of computer paper due to a shoulder
injury; he works in an office setting and
deliveries are made to the basement. He must
lift/move the boxes while ascending the
basement stairs. We explained the use of a
stair-climbing compact material lift device.
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Tax Incentives
 Disabled Access Credit (DAC)
 Architectural and Transportation Barrier
Removal Deduction
 Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
Program
 Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program
 http://AskJAN.org/media/tax.html
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Questions? AskJAN.org
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Work that Works
Contact
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(800) 526-7234 (V) & (877) 781-9403 (TTY)
(304) 216-8189 via text
AskJAN.org & jan@askjan.org
janconsultants via Skype
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