New rule seeks flexibility in accommodating workers with disabilities

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is in the process of finalizing a rule that would give federal agencies more flexibility in accommodating employees with disabilities. The proposed rule, originally published in March 2000, appeared as part of the agency's semiannual regulatory review, which was published in the Federal Register in May. The semiannual review lists all regulations scheduled for review or development over the next year. The proposed rule would lift current restrictions on reassigning employees with disabilities, which limit job reassignments to the disabled employee's commuting area. The proposed rule implements the 1992 amendments to the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, which, in part, requires affirmative action in the hiring, placement and advancement of people with disabilities. Under the 1992 amendments, which are based on similar provisions in the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, federal agencies must reassign employees who can no longer perform in their original positions due to disability, unless doing so would place an undue hardship on the agency. There are no constraints-other than undue hardship-on reassigning employees under the Americans With Disabilities Act, said Carol Miaskoff, assistant legal counsel for EEOC. "The proposed rule is more individual and less mechanistic when it comes to determining reassignment for employees with disabilities," she said. According to the regulatory agenda, final action on the rule is expected by September.