Reasonable Accommodations for Employees With Autism: A Practical Guide

Quick Hits

• About 2 percent of U.S. adults have autism.
• The rate of autism diagnoses among U.S. adults is speeding up.
• Employers must provide reasonable accommodations to employees with a qualifying disability, which may include autism.

Autism is a condition characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and communication. It is one of the conditions included under the broader umbrella of neurodiversity or neurodivergence. Some people with autism have other medical conditions that affect their autism symptoms, such as anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), insomnia, or dyslexia. Autism is a spectrum of symptoms with wide variances in how it manifests for each person. This puts increased importance on having an individualized interactive process to discuss possible accommodations.

About 2 percent of adults in the United States have autism, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research shows the rate of autism diagnoses has increased steadily in recent years. For employers, that may result in more accommodation requests from employees with autism.

Depending on the job type and business needs, employees with autism may present certain strengths in the workplace, such as intense focus, attention to detail, logical thinking, and creativity. At the same time, they may exhibit certain challenges in their communications, thinking processes, social awareness, and personal interactions.

Reasonable Accommodations

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers with fifteen or more employees must provide reasonable accommodations for employees with a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, such as speaking, hearing, eating, sleeping, or learning. Autism may qualify as a disability under the ADA. Some state and local laws provide lower thresholds for disability accommodations or additional protections beyond what the ADA provides.

Reasonable accommodations for employees with autism may include flexible schedules, remote work, noise-cancelling earplugs or headphones, modified lighting, shades, or a workspace in a quieter location. For some employees with autism, written instructions, visual checklists, and using email instead of phone calls may be helpful.

Each person with autism may have different needs, depending on their individual symptoms and the type of job and workplace. Employers can use the interactive process to pinpoint the accommodations that are likely to work best for a specific employee. The interactive process is a collaborative dialogue between the employer and the employee to identify the employee’s limitations and explore potential accommodations that would enable the employee to perform the essential functions of the job. The ADA calls for employers to engage in this process promptly after receiving an accommodation request without unnecessarily delaying discussions or decisions.

To legally justify denying an accommodation for a qualifying disability, an employer must demonstrate the accommodation would impose an undue burden, meaning a significant cost or difficulty. Determining whether an accommodation poses an undue hardship requires a case-by-case analysis. Factors to consider include the cost of the accommodation, the employer’s financial resources, the size of the business, and the impact on operations. An accommodation that may be an undue hardship for a small employer might be reasonable for a larger organization with more resources.

Employers are required to maintain the confidentiality of employees’ disability-related information in accordance with the ADA.

Next Steps

Employers may wish to train supervisors to understand reasonable accommodations and legal obligations under the ADA. Applying disability accommodations in a consistent and fair manner may help to prevent discrimination lawsuits based on disability or other legally protected characteristics.

Retaliation against employees who request accommodations is prohibited under the ADA. Adverse actions taken against an employee for requesting an accommodation—even if the request is ultimately denied—may give rise to a retaliation claim. Employers may wish to carefully document their legitimate business reasons for denying or revoking accommodation requests.

Employers also may wish to consider providing general autism awareness training for all employees to foster a more inclusive workplace culture, while being careful not to disclose any individual employee’s disability status. Employers can consult the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a free resource provided by the U.S. Department of Labor that offers practical accommodation ideas and one-on-one consultation services.

In the hiring process, these steps may help employers be more inclusive toward applicants on the spectrum:

• using clear, plain language in job descriptions;
• conducting job interviews on a video call or in a room that isn’t noisy or crowded;
• relying more on skills-based assessments than standard job interviews;
• emphasizing proven skills more than eye contact and social performance; and
• providing interview questions to candidates in advance.

Ogletree Deakins’ Leaves of Absence/Reasonable Accommodation Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will post updates on the Employee Engagement, Employment Law, and Leaves of Absence blogs as additional information becomes available.

Phillip B. Russell is a shareholder in Ogletree Deakins’ Tampa office. He is a co-founder of Autism Inspired Academy in Clearwater, Florida, a nonprofit K-12+ school for students on the spectrum whose mission is to help students build and sustain lives of meaning, purpose, and joy.

This article was co-authored by Leah J. Shepherd, who is a writer in Ogletree Deakins’ Washington, D.C., office.

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