This article was published in Alternatives, Vol. An ADA employment dispute may be limited to a reasonable accommodation request or may involve discrimination allegations such as harassment, unfair discipline or discharge, or failure to promote. The impact of these cases on the parties can be emotional as well as legal. A reasonable accommodation dispute normally has multiple possible solutions.
Mediators can tailor an approach for the particular case and for the range of concerns presented.
The ability to deal with the multi-faceted nature of a dispute makes mediation an ideal forum for resolving ADA employment conflicts. Mediation is also a useful tool at the pre-dispute level for preventing ADA complaints, and for assisting in the design of reasonable accommodations. An ADA mediation does not need to be a full-blown dispute. ADA disputes can be limited if there is a reasonable accommodation request procedure in place for use by employees. There should be a structure that accommodates requests by all levels of employees and managers.