by Coming up with ideas for policy or workplace adjustments that will allow an employee with a disability to perform the essential functions of a job can be challenging. The needs of the job and the needs of the individual can be determined during the interactive accommodation process where the employee and the employer exchange information and ideas. Sometimes, however, you need to go beyond local knowledge and creativity. For the past thirty-five years, the federal Department of Labor has funded a resource to bring accommodation experience and expertise from across the U.S. to the local challenge. The Job Accommodation Network, known as JAN, is a free resource for employers and employees with disabilities who are working through the interactive reasonable accommodation process.
JAN offers many online resources, plus free individual consultations. There are several ways to access the resources:
- Ask Jan! (www.askjan.org) This will link you to the overall website and provide information on how to contact JAN for personal and individualized assistance on reasonable accommodation needs.
- A to Z lists of articles and tools, sorted by disability, topic, and limitation (https://askjan.org/a-to-z.cfm)
- Searchable Online Accommodation Resource (known as SOAR) (https://askjan.org/soar.cfm)
- MyJan portal: This online service allows you to create your own JAN mini-site where you can keep articles, tools, and resources that fit your workplace, your jobs, or specific limitations. (https://askjan.org/myjan/) No confidential information is collected, and the resources you collect on MyJan are automatically updated as new, related information is published.
- YouTube Channel with webcasts, accommodation toolkits, and solution videos addressing a variety of disabilities and job situations (https://www.youtube.com/user/JANinformation/featured)
