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November 7, 2004 DOL Home > ODEP > Publications > JAN

JAN: Opening Doors to Job Accommodation

What is JAN?

The Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a service of the Office of Disability Employment Policy, is a toll-free 

resource for anyone who has questions about job accommodations, or about the employment sections of the 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Trained consultants respond to questions, discuss specific job 

accommodations, and suggest additional resources to assist you.

Who should use JAN? 

Employers, persons with disabilities, service providers, rehabilitation counselors, or anybody involved in 

helping a person with a disability obtain or retain a job.

How does JAN work?

All calls to JAN are kept confidential. If you are calling about accommodating an individual on the job, the 

more you tell the consultant about the required tasks and the functional limitations and abilities of the 

individual, the better the consultant will be able to help. When you call, the following steps occur:

● The receptionist listens to each question and transfers the caller to the JAN consultant who is most 

knowledgeable in that particular area. 

● The consultant asks questions to obtain the information needed in order to develop the best solution(s). 

● The consultant searches a database of previous accommodations and provides as many potential 

accommodation options as possible. These may include: 

❍ different approaches to job tasks

❍ proposed policy changes

❍ commercially available products

❍ different ways to use existing products 

❍ resources for device modification/fabrication. 

● The consultant provides methods of implementing and maintaining the accommodation(s) and 

recommends processes for reviewing the effectiveness of the accommodation(s). 

● JAN staff will prepare and send materials in the format requested. Information can be sent 

electronically, faxed or mailed using the U.S. Postal Service. 

● As follow-up, the caller may be asked to complete a questionnaire regarding the recommended 

accommodation(s) and their usefulness. This feedback helps JAN improve services and assist future 

callers with accommodation solutions.

What has been the result of JAN services?
Following are examples of accommodations recommended by JAN that have assisted companies and agencies 

in hiring, retaining and promoting people with disabilities.

Call Request: A teacher with a hearing impairment had difficulties hearing the students' voices over the 

squeaks of chairs and desks moving over the linoleum floor. Also, the teacher could not see some of the 

students' faces and therefore could not effectively lip read.

Accommodation Used: To eliminate noise, used tennis balls were cut and attached to the feet of the chairs 

and desks. The teacher rearranged the desks in a horseshoe in order to see the faces of all students. COST: $0 

(The tennis balls were donated by an avid tennis player who would have thrown them away.)

Call Request: Because of low reading skills a child care assistant with a learning disability had difficulty 

preparing lessons based on children's books.

Accommodation Used: The employee was given a videotape of various children's stories and effective hand 

motions to review. COST: $50

Call Request: A new restaurant employee who is legally blind used a service dog to travel to and from work. 

The employee did not need the dog to perform her job duties.

Accommodation Used: A dog crate was placed in a back office with a clear path of travel in and out of the 

facility. The dog was crated during the work day and was out of any contact with food products or supplies 

used in the restaurant. COST: $75

Call Request: A company vice president with arthritis had difficulty maintaining stamina during the workday.

Accommodation Used: The employer provided flexibility in the vice president's work hours and a recliner for 

her office so that she could change body positions to cut down on fatigue. COST: $750

Call Request: A cashier with mild mental retardation had difficulty making change.

Accommodation Used: The worker used a talking calculator and a chart of bills and coins. COST: $150

Call Request: A worker who is deaf was responsible for inspecting underground water utilities. When the 

employee was underground alone, co-workers above ground needed to communicate with him.

Accommodation Used: A wireless portable vibrating paging system was purchased for the employee. COST: 

$445 

Call Request: A department store retail clerk with multiple sclerosis used a scooter and had problems with 

stamina. 

Accommodation Used: The employee was reassigned to a department on the first floor, provided with space 

for the scooter, given a sit/lean stool at the register, and scheduled for first shift with every third day off. 

COST: $200

Call Request: A technical editor in the publishing industry had a spinal cord injury and needed to work lying 

on his back.
Accommodation Used: A work station was provided that enabled the editor to work on a computer while in a 

supine position. COST: $2,000

Call Request: An insurance claims adjuster became ill when exposed to certain chemicals in the air (chemical 

sensitivity).

Accommodation Used: The ventilation system in the employee's office was modified, and co-workers were 

asked not to use scented products. The employee was also permitted to attend staff and training meetings 

remotely by speaker phone and to wear a mask when needed. COST: $650

Call Request: A greenhouse worker with mental retardation had difficulty correctly mixing various chemicals. 

Accommodation Used: Measuring cups, a checklist, and the chemicals were color-coded in a coordinated 

manner so the person could accomplish tasks by matching colors. COST: $25

Call Request: A human resources manager has seasonal affective disorder, a condition requiring adequate 

light during a sufficient number of daytime hours to ward off depression.

Accommodation Used: A simple device called a sunlight box was installed in the person's office. COST: $265

These accommodations are only a few examples of the types of effective solutions provided by the Office of 

Disability Employment Policy's Job Accommodation Network. JAN staff has cumulatively over 100 years of 

experience and has delivered information on over 100,000 job accommodations since 1984.

How do I reach JAN?

Phone: (800) 526-7234 (V/TTY), 

(800) 232-9675 (V/TTY)

Mail: Office of Disability Employment Policy's Job Accommodation Network, 918 Chestnut Ridge Road, Suite 1, 

WVU PO Box 6080, Morgantown, WV 26506-6080

E-mail: JAN@jan.icdi.wvu.edu

Website: Visit the Office of Disability Employment Policy's Web site at http://www.dol.gov/odep . Then click on 

"Job Accommodation Network" in the table of contents, or go directly to JAN at http://www.jan.wvu.edu/.

July 1998

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