Questions and Answers about Deafness and Hearing Impairments in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act

11.  May an employer request documentation when an employee who has a hearing disability requests a reasonable accommodation?

Sometimes. When a person's hearing impairment is not obvious, the employer may ask the person to provide reasonable documentation about how the condition limits major life activities (that is, whether the person has a disability) and why a reasonable accommodation is needed. An employer, however, is entitled only to documentation sufficient to establish that the employee has a hearing disability and to explain why an accommodation is needed. A request for an employee's entire medical record, for example, would be inappropriate, as it likely would include information about conditions other than the employee's hearing disability.[26]

Example 17: Luíz, who has a hearing disability and communicates primarily through lip reading and speech, works as a programmer for an Internet security firm. The firm acquires a new client and promotes Luíz to be the senior programmer responsible for all consultations regarding the Internet security system design for the new client. Luíz's new assignment requires frequent phone conversations and teleconference meetings that do not allow for the use of Luíz's lip reading skills to aid in his verbal comprehension. As a result, Luíz's audiologist recommends, and Luiz requests, the use of a voice carry-over phone, which would provide an almost real-time text relay of the client's speech and also allow the client to hear Luíz. Because Luiz's hearing impairment is not an obvious disability, his employer may lawfully request medical documentation to verify his disability.

[26] Requests for documentation to support a request for accommodation may violate Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) where they are likely to result in the acquisition of genetic information, including family medical history.  29 C.F.R. §1635.8(a).  For this reason, employers may want to include a warning in the request for documentation that the employee or the employee's doctor should not provide genetic information.  Id. at 1635.8(b)(1)(i)(B).