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Reasonable Accommodation explained, helps handicapped

By U.S. ArmyNovember 23, 2018

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1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – National Disability Employment Awareness Month presentation Oct. 30, 2018 at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. Kimberly Kloser, Workforce Development Specialist at Dugway's West Desert Test Center, explains Reasonable Accomodation, its definition and appl... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – National Disability Employment Awareness Month presentation Oct. 30, 2018 at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. Guest speaker Richard Knudson, Equal Employment Opportunity Officer at Dugway, offered the biographies of disabled persons who made a major diff... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – National Disability Employment Awareness Month presentation Oct. 30, 2018 at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. Here, Chief of Staff Vincent Liddiard, master of ceremony for this event, accompanies his speech with sign language.
The presentation was in the... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)
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Kloser is the workforce development specialist for the proving ground's West Desert Test Center. Knudson is the Equal Employment Opportunity officer, disability program manager and alternate dispute resolution manager for the proving ground's garrison.

Reasonable Accommodation provides what the disabled employee needs to do their job as they were hired to do. Such accommodation might include a specialized chair, lighting, printed checklist of daily tasks, a phone for the hearing impaired, etc.

"The main thing, and the main goal for the Army, is to keep a viable and agile work force," Kloser said. "We are not looking to remove someone. We are looking at helping you to be a success, and meet our mission goals and our needs."

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission allows an employer to deny a Reasonable Accommodation if it's too costly, burdensome to the organization or creates a safety hazard.

Reasonable Accommodation must be requested by the employee it would benefit. The request is a private document, accessible only by those within the process.

Reasonable Accommodation is about going forward, so poor past performance cannot be negated. "We deal with 'Where do we go from here?' and what can we do about that," Knudson said. "Not meeting standards in the past -- (the employee) may be held accountable for that."

Employees are urged to update their SF256 form, available in CPAC, indicating whether the employee is handicapped and to what degree. The SF256 notes there are 51 people on Dugway with a disability, and one with a severe disability, Knudson said.

Knudson noted that more and more disabled military members are being allowed to stay in the service, thanks to advances in prosthetics and other aids.

"It doesn't have to be that I can't do my job, or can't serve my country anymore," Knudson said. "That's what Reasonable Accommodation is about."

Chief of Staff Vince Liddiard was the Oct. 30 event's master of ceremony. Sgt. Brandon Clonts, chaplain's assistant, offered the invocation. Col. Brant Hoskins, commander of Dugway Proving Ground, gave closing remarks and presented Kloser and Knudson with framed Dugway Proving Ground Certificates of Appreciation for being speakers.