If you believe that you need a reasonable accommodation because of a physical or mental impairment that would allow you to perform your job, you should immediately talk to your supervisor. You should spend a few minutes before you approach your supervisor and think about which job duties are affected by your impairment, how your impairment is causing you to be limited, and then come up with a few suggestions for accommodation. Reasonable accommodation might mean asking for ergonomic wrist pads or computer keyboards if you have a wrist problem, or asking to have the office furniture rearranged so you can maneuver your wheelchair around the office. It could also mean asking to have certain office policies relaxed or changed. For example, if you have a mental disability that causes you to get little sleep, you might need to be excused from an office policy that prohibits employees from arriving to work late.
Employers have a duty to some injured workers who are off work because of a disabling condition.
Once an injured worker tells an employer that he or she can return to work, the employer has a duty to reinstate the employee in his or her previous job, if it is available, or to offer other suitable work if the previous job is not available. Three agencies enforce these laws in Oregon. The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries enforces the state law and will investigate and resolve complaints of disability discrimination against any covered Oregon employer. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a federal law, prohibits employers who receive financial assistance from the federal government from discriminating because of a physical or mental disability. You can get information about the enforcement procedures for this federal law from the Civil Rights Division, an agency within the Bureau of Labor and Industries.