WHO PAYS FOR MY GLOVES?

Question: "I work in the cold, 20 degrees below 0, and the gloves they supply us aren't good enough for me. I am skinny for my age because I've had cancer. Do [employers] have to supply me with gloves that work for what I need, even if they have to special order them just for me?"

Answer Provided by the Job Accommodation Network Team:

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers with 15 or more employees must provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, so they can perform their jobs and enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment. Employers must provide accommodations unless they pose an undue hardship. To read more about how to request and negotiate an accommodation, go to the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) and view the Employees' Practical Guide on Reasonable Accommodation under the ADA: http://askjan.org/Eeguide/index.htm .

Providing warmer gloves for an employee with a disability, who is sensitive to cold temperatures, may be required as an accommodation. The following is a summary of related questions JAN posed to the ADA Policy Division of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in January 2003, and the EEOC's responses. This information is informal guidance only; it is not legal advice and is not the EEOC's formal position on the issue.

WORK-RELATED EQUIPMENT

Question 1:

If an employer purchases work equipment, such as steel-toed work boots, and an employee with a disability needs a specialized boot that costs more than the regular boots, does the employer have to pay the extra cost for the specialized boot? (This same discussion would apply to work-related gloves.)

EEOC Response:

If the equipment or device is a personal-use item, then the employer does not have to provide it. Thus, if the employee has to wear this type of boot all the time, the employer does not have to pay for it.  Common items that fall into this category are hearing aids, glasses and medication.

On the other hand, if the boots are necessary only for work and constitute an accommodation, the employer would have to pay the entire cost of the boot, unless it would be an undue hardship to do so.

However, there is also a tool of the trade issue here. If the boots constitute a tool of the trade, that is the boots are necessary to get the job done, then the employer must pay for the specialized boot as a form of equal treatment. For example, if a person's feet are two different sizes due to a disability (say, size 7 and size 10), and the only way to get the person the boots is to buy two pair, one size 7 and one pair size 10, the employer must purchase both pairs. See discussion below.

Question 2:

Same situation as in #1, except the employer gives employees vouchers, and the employees are then responsible for purchasing their own boots. The vouchers are all for the same amount, regardless of how much the employee spends on the boots.

EEOC Response:

The answer is the same - if a personal use item, the employer need contribute nothing.  If provided as an accommodation, the employer must bear the entire cost, unless to do so would constitute an undue hardship. If a tool of the trade, the employer must pay the entire cost.