Getting Started

Creating an inclusive, accommodating place of work at your for-profit farm or ranch is key to minimizing legal and financial risks while supporting employee retention.

Whether you are in the beginning stages of hiring employees for the first time or expanding your operation, understanding what to do when you have an employee with a disability is important.

Of course, there are other risk factors you will want to consider in addition to accommodation, like avoiding discrimination when employing workers and how anti-discrimination rules interplay at the state and federal levels. If you haven’t considered these factors yet, start by reading our Avoiding Discrimination in Employment in Farm and Ranch Employment. This guide provides clear examples of how to conduct an interview, advertise a position, and more.

For state-specific anti-discrimination rules, head over to our Selected Essentials in Farm Employment Law to find the “protected characteristics” in your state.

If your goal is to gain practical, actionable strategies for providing accommodations to or managing accommodation requests from employees with physical and mental disabilities on your operation, then you are in the right place. Let’s get started!

Part 1: Discovering Legal Resilience through Accommodation Practices

Many employers know they need to provide accommodations to employees with disabilities, and they know employees with disabilities can request them. Sounds straightforward, right? But things can get weedy fast. After all, when exactly does an employer need to provide accommodations? That’s the legal term for adapting the workspace to accommodate a disability—it’s called providing an accommodation. It’s referred to as “requesting an accommodation,” when the employee asks for something to make their work with a disability more effective.

Farmers may wonder: What if an employee’s needs change or if my operation’s needs change? Do I have to update the accommodations? How does an employee request one? Do I have to provide accommodations to family members?

The good news is that by the end of this guide, you will be better equipped to navigate accommodations and make informed decisions about your farm or ranch operation.

To explore these steps, we are going to visit three farmers: Raina, Keshon, and Zed, all of whom have different operations and questions regarding physical, cognitive, and mental health disabilities. The guide will follow their decision-making process as they learn about the legal issues and begin to better understand their options for providing accommodations for their employees. To wrap up, we’ll share general accommodation strategies and tips for moving forward. Let’s get started.

Learning about Accommodations from Farmer Raina

Farmer Raina

Farmer Raina is feeling sad and a bit stressed out. Last year, they hired their Uncle Chris to help them manage their vegetable and fruit farm stand. Uncle Chris has been excellent, especially with inventory recordkeeping and managing the weekly restocking. The farm is two weeks away from their annual pumpkin sale that brings in hundreds of customers, but last week, Uncle Chris was diagnosed with cancer, and his medication has been making him extra tired. Yesterday, Uncle Chris asked Farmer Raina if he could have a few more scheduled breaks throughout the day.

Farmer Raina wants to help, and they want to ensure they have a policy or plan that helps all of their employees know that they can ask for support, but they’re unsure where to start. Can they just say yes? Do they have to document it? They think they remember that certain medical conditions, like cancer, require accommodations, and they think they have obligations as an employer, but is that correct? How should Farmer Raina proceed?

We have five steps to help Farmer Raina take action.

Now that we’ve reviewed what we’ve learned so far, let’s look at another situation with Uncle Chris and Farmer Raina.

Uncle Chris’s Second Accommodation Request

We mentioned earlier that not all accommodation requests are straightforward and that it is important to stay flexible and open to modifications. Legal resilience requires an awareness of employee needs and action steps to implement good practices that can support your employment accommodation process if a discrimination claim does arise.

Remember: accommodations aren’t one size fits all. What is right for Uncle Chris may not be right for another employee in a similar situation. Instead, accommodations are designed to meet the specific circumstances of an individual, and oftentimes, this can take some creativity.

Let’s take a look at what would happen if, in a few weeks, Uncle Chris provides Farmer Raina with a note from his healthcare provider recommending changes. The note recommends that Uncle Chris continues to have frequent breaks and also works from a desk and chair to manage the inventory while working in the farm stand. Is Farmer Raina still obligated to accommodate Uncle Chris?

As you may recall, Uncle Chris has cancer, which is usually a long-term condition. It is likely that as the cancer progresses, Uncle Chris’s needs and abilities will shift, and Farmer Raina’s operational needs may shift as well. This dynamic is real and also really uncomfortable, and even the most caring, supportive employers often feel stuck.

How should Farmer Raina begin?

We can use our five decision-making steps to help us chart a path forward. So, let’s review them together.

1. Does Uncle Chris have a disability under the ADA? This question is pretty straightforward: Yes. Uncle Chris has cancer, which is a named disability under the ADA.
2. Is Uncle Chris’s request reasonable, and have accommodations been determined? Yes. The request that Farmer Raina received is reasonable and does not create undue hardship for Farmer Raina’s operation. Farmer Raina has already agreed to additional breaks and will now plan on purchasing a desk chair and a desk for Uncle Chris. It’s important to be clear here that Farmer Raina now has two accommodation requests that they are legally obligated to honor, but this number can continue to increase or decrease depending on the needs of the employee and the operation.
3. Has the decision been communicated with Uncle Chris? Not yet. Farmer Raina plans to meet with Uncle Chris at the end of the workday to tell him when the desk and chair will arrive. They are choosing to meet in a private office because they want to ensure that Uncle Chris’s requests are kept confidential.
4. Has the decision been written down and filed in a safe place? Not yet. Farmer Raina needs to ensure that once they have communicated the decision with Uncle Chris, they will also write down the new accommodation and file it. Farmer Raina plans on doing this by typing up a simple memo, including the name of the employee, the date of the request, and the date it will go into effect. This will then be printed and filed.
5. Is Farmer Raina prepared to stay flexible and continue to modify the accommodation request? Yes. Farmer Raina is now successfully working through their steps of providing accommodations to Uncle Chris and believes that they are now ready to continue to modify requests as they journey forward. But, a word of caution. Let’s imagine for a moment that Uncle Chris’s condition continues to worsen, and eventually, he is unable to manage inventory even with the accommodations that Farmer Raina provides. At that point, Farmer Raina must consider reassigning Uncle Chris to an existing position that he can perform with or without reasonable accommodations. Now, Farmer Raina is not required to create a position or bump another employee in order to create a vacancy, but they must consider reassignment. More details on when an employee can no longer do the essential work of a position and about reassignment can be found in our guide, That’s Unreasonable!

These five steps are handy to remember whenever you receive an accommodation request and are helpful even when looking at tricker scenarios:

1. Assess if your employee has a disability under the ADA.
2. Decide if the request is reasonable and determine accommodations.
3. Communicate with the employee about your decision.
4. Write down what was discussed and decided with the employee, and then keep the records somewhere safe (including accommodation start dates).
5. Stay flexible and ready for modifications.

Practice Time

Now that we’ve reviewed our steps, let’s practice applying steps 1 to 3 to two different scenarios.

Scenario One: Lately, Farmer Raina’s experienced CSA manager, Emma, has been mentioning wrist pain. Yesterday, Emma was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome due to the repetitive data entry needed for CSA orders. Emma’s doctor recommends that she cut back her work hours to prevent her medical condition from worsening and provides Emma with a doctor’s note. Emma gives Farmer Raina the doctor’s note and asks for reduced hours.

 How should Farmer Raina proceed?

> Step 1: Assess if Emma has a disability under the ADA

Remember: According to the ADA, disabilities are a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity or bodily function, like walking, standing, lifting, bending, breathing, speaking, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, working, eating, hearing, seeing, and sleeping.

Do you think Emma has a disability under the ADA?

> Step 2: Decide if the request is reasonable and determine accommodations

Remember: The law considers factors like the cost of the accommodation request and the financial stability of the business. An employer has to provide accommodations that are not unreasonably expensive and would not cause unreasonable disruptions to the operation. Employers do not have to provide accommodations that cause an undue hardship to the business.

Do you think Emma’s accommodation request for reduced hours is reasonable? If so, why? And if not, why not?

> Step 3: Communicate with Emma about the decision:

Remember: While the ADA does not require that employers respond to a request within a specific time frame, like one or two days, it does require that employers respond as quickly as possible, and unnecessary delays can lead to legal trouble.

How long do you think it should take to communicate the accommodation request decision made above to Emma?

What influencing factors may impact how long it takes to decide and communicate the decision to Emma?

Now that you’re warmed up, let’s apply those same questions to a different scenario.

Scenario Two: Farmer Raina’s sheep manager, Anita, is obese and has knee problems. Recently, Farmer Raina has noticed that Anita’s performance at work has been problematic, particularly noting that Anita fell asleep on the job and a few sheep were at risk. Anita claims her performance problems are due to the medication and muscle relaxants she is taking, which have been making her unable to sleep for more than two hours each night. Farmer Raina wants to believe Anita but is unsure that Anita has a disability. How can they proceed?

> Step 1: Assess if Anita has a disability under the ADA

Remember: According to the ADA, disabilities are a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity or bodily function, like walking, standing, lifting, bending, breathing, speaking, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, working, eating, hearing, seeing, and sleeping.

Do you think Anita has a disability under the ADA?

> Step 2: Decide if Anita’s tendency to fall asleep on the job can be reasonably accommodated

Remember: The law considers factors like the cost of the accommodation request and the financial stability of the business. An employer has to provide accommodations that are not unreasonably expensive and would not cause unreasonable disruptions to the operation. Employers do not have to provide accommodations that cause an undue hardship to the business.

Do you think Anita’s condition can be reasonably accommodated? If so, why? And if not, why not?

> Step 3: Communicate with Anita about the decision:

Remember: While the ADA does not require that employers respond to a request within a specific time frame, like one or two days, it does require that employers respond as quickly as possible, and unnecessary delays can lead to legal trouble.

How long do you think it should take to communicate the accommodation decision made above to Anita?

What influencing factors may impact how long it takes to decide and communicate the decision to Anita?—

Good work practicing how to navigate physical disability accommodations through these challenging scenarios. Did one of those scenarios feel more challenging to apply the steps to than the other? If so, that’s normal. Deciding whether someone has a physical disability and whether the disability can be reasonably accommodated can feel wrong when we just want to be good to others. At the same time, it is a necessary process for figuring out how to actually support the health of workers and the sustainability of the farm business. While there are many scenarios that we haven’t covered, you now have the tools you need to start moving forward and applying the five steps to your operation. Of course, don’t forget about steps 4 and 5:

●     Step 4: Write down what was discussed and decided with the employee, and then keep the records somewhere safe (including accommodation start dates)

●      Step 5: Stay flexible and ready for modifications

Now, what about accommodating folks who have other needs? In the next section, we’ll explore how to apply our five steps when considering accommodations for employees with cognitive disabilities with another farmer, Zed.

Exploring Accommodation Strategies for Employees with Cognitive Disabilities with Farmer Zed

Did you know that cognitive disabilities are one of the most common disabilities? It’s also one of the most common reasons for discrimination claims. Millions of people around the world have cognitive impairments, which is why it’s especially important for employers to know how to support impacted employees.

A cognitive disability can range from serious conditions to less severe impairments and can affect a person’s ability to learn and process information, communicate through spoken or written language, and infer information correctly from social cues and body language.

Cognitive impairments can include developmental and intellectual disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, and specific learning disabilities. They can arise from a genetic disorder, brain injury, or a completely different circumstance altogether. Intellectual disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, and many other developmental disabilities are protected by law when they impact a major life function.

 In this section, we’ll explore how employers can apply the five steps to supporting employees with cognitive disabilities with the hypothetical Farmer Zed. Although these steps may start to feel familiar, make sure to read each section carefully as we will continue to define cognitive disabilities and take a closer look at accommodation strategies.

Farmer Zed

Farmer Zed is feeling overwhelmed. Every year, she hosts a U-Pick event at her flower farm that attracts hundreds of people. The event is two weeks away, and her field manager, Kyle, has been struggling with concentrating and finishing assignments. This morning, during their daily meeting, Kyle shared that he has attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and wondered if Zed could write down his daily assignments for him on a whiteboard so that he could more easily understand his tasks and clearly track his progress by crossing out completed chores. Farmer Zed suspects that because Kyle has ADHD, she has an obligation to accommodate, but she isn’t sure.

Can she use the five steps we learned with Farmer Raina to help her provide accommodations for Kyle?

Absolutely. The five steps are a great place for Farmer Zed to start.

Let’s review the steps together and see how Farmer Zed can chart a way forward.

What we Learned from Farmer Zed

Some cognitive impairments, like autism, are listed as always disabling, but others are not. For example, ADHD is not always disabling. A diagnosis of these cognitive conditions alone is not enough to trigger ADA protections. The condition must impair a major life activity or bodily function. Options for navigating:

➢     Farmers can simply assume a condition is disabling. This is the easiest and most straightforward path.

➢    Farmers can also request documentation from a medical provider that the condition is disabling to the employee.

Employers can always provide accommodation as a convenience regardless of legal obligation.

Practice Time

Let’s now practice applying steps 1 to 3 to two different cognitive disability scenarios.

Scenario One: Farmer Zed’s niece, Jewel, has been working as a full-time farm employee for the past three years. She often helps Zed harvest flowers and generally manages the U-Pick operation. A few months ago, Jewel was in a terrible car accident and now has a brain injury. Yesterday, she was cleared to come back to work, but her doctor recommends that she take two to three 30-minute breaks each day. 

How should Farmer Zed proceed?

> Step 1: Assess if Jewel has a disability under the ADA

Remember: According to the ADA, disabilities are a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity or bodily function, like walking, standing, lifting, bending, breathing, speaking, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, working, eating, hearing, seeing, and sleeping.

Do you think Jewel has a disability under the ADA?

> Step 2: Decide if Jewel’s doctor’s recommendation for two to three 30-minute rest breaks can reasonably be accommodated

Remember: The law considers factors like the cost of the accommodation request and the financial stability of the business. An employer has to provide accommodations that are not unreasonably expensive and would not cause unreasonable disruptions to the operation. Employers do not have to provide accommodations that cause an undue hardship to the business.

Do you think the recommendation for Jewel can be reasonably accommodated? If so, why? And if not, why not?

> Step 3: Communicate with Jewel about the decision:

Remember: While the ADA does not require that employers respond to a request within a specific time frame, like one or two days, it does require that employers respond as quickly as possible, and unnecessary delays can lead to legal trouble.

How long do you think it should take to communicate the accommodation decision made above to Jewel?

What influencing factors may impact how long it takes to decide and communicate the decision to Jewel?

Scenario Two: Farmer Zed’s employee, Ben, has autism. He helps Jewel harvest flowers and sometimes works at the farmstand. Yesterday, he asked Zed if she could hold a daily 15-minute meeting with him each morning so that he could review his tasks with her and identify any questions or concerns. 

How should Farmer Zed proceed?

> Step 1: Assess if Ben has a disability under the ADA

Remember: Some medical conditions are always considered a disability within the meaning of the law. These conditions include deafness, blindness, intellectual disability, completely or partially missing limbs, mobility impairments that require the use of a wheelchair, autism, cancer, cerebral palsy, diabetes, epilepsy, HIV or AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and muscular dystrophy.

Do you think Ben has a disability under the ADA?

> Step 2: Decide if Ben’s request for a daily 15-minute meeting at the start of the workday can reasonably be accommodated

Remember: The law considers factors like the cost of the accommodation request and the financial stability of the business. An employer has to provide accommodations that are not unreasonably expensive and would not cause unreasonable disruptions to the operation. Employers do not have to provide accommodations that cause an undue hardship to the business.

Do you think Ben’s request can be reasonably accommodated? If so, why? And if not, why not?

> Step 3: Communicate with Ben about the decision:

Remember: While the ADA does not require that employers respond to a request within a specific time frame, like one or two days, it does require that employers respond as quickly as possible, and unnecessary delays can lead to legal trouble.

How long do you think it should take to communicate the accommodation decision made above to Ben?

What influencing factors may impact how long it takes to decide and communicate the decision to Ben?

—

If you determined that Farmer Zed is legally obligated to provide accommodations in each scenario, you’re right. Both Jewel and Ben’s accommodation requests fall under the definition of disability, and Zed has a legal obligation to act.

But, as you might imagine, not every scenario is straightforward. Sometimes employers also have to consider mental health considerations. Let’s connect with Farmer Keshon to discover what he is learning about mental health accommodations on the farm.

Learning about Mental Health Accommodations with Farmer Keshon

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 1 in 5 adults in the United States live with a mental illness. While many people will fluctuate in the range of milder mental health, others land within the range of mental illness. Most individuals with a mental illness will be able to secure work, especially when their mental health is understood and supported by their employer.

Sometimes, mental illness can rise to the level of a disability, thereby requiring employers to make accommodations for workers with such conditions. Complicating this already challenging situation is the fact that sometimes, employers may be doubtful that employees even need accommodation at all, and employees are sometimes reluctant to disclose their situations at all due to stigma.

The good news is that it is possible for you to learn how to handle mental health accommodations and navigate tricky situations without overstepping legal bounds. While it’s totally natural to worry about saying the wrong thing or getting asked questions that you can’t answer, you can take powerful steps now to create an environment where people can get the support they need.

Let’s explore some suggested steps and cautions by connecting with another hypothetical farmer, Keshon.

Farmer Keshon

Farmer Keshon is feeling anxious and overwhelmed. This morning, his experienced farm manager of 10+ years, Janelle, asked for flexible work hours because she was recently diagnosed with major depressive disorder. She currently works 40 hours a week from 7 a.m.–3 p.m. each day, but noted that because of her new medication, she is finding it hard to stay awake and would like to change her hours to 8–4 each day. Farmer Keshon suspects that he has a legal obligation to take action, but he is unsure what he needs to do.

How should he proceed?

This situation sounds tough, but Farmer Keshon is on the right track. First, he knew when an accommodation was being requested, and he suspected he needed to take action. While Janelle made her accommodation request clear, it’s important to note that sometimes accommodation requests are less straightforward and may sound like a comment in casual conversation like, “I think I need to be off my feet today because I just had back surgery,” or “I’m pretty tired today because of my new medication, can I inventory the CSA produce tomorrow?”

Legal resilience requires staying attuned to when you are being asked for accommodation and making sure you follow up appropriately.

However, following up appropriately mid-conversation can be tricky. As an employer, it matters what you say, and sometimes, accommodation requests are made right in the middle of a casual conversation, like talking about someone’s weekend.

It’s important to be prepared to have vulnerable conversations so that you don’t accidentally stumble into legal trouble. Make opportunities for the individual to safely and privately explain to you the source of any difficulty at work that might be due to mental illness. Specific, non-judgemental observations that are directed to work outcomes, like the following example, can help:

“Hey, I noticed that you’ve missed our last two meetings; how can we help you stay engaged?”

 Or,

“I noticed that the CSA inventory has been incorrect for a few weeks; it’s always okay to ask for help if something is going on for you.”

If an employee opens up to you, you may be further on your way to solving the problem. But always remember that as an employer, you can never force anyone to talk about their health. If they choose not to talk about any health conditions, including mental health, that means they may not be able to request an accommodation. The employee does need to take the initiative to request what they need. Thus, we might experience an awkward balancing act between the employee’s willingness to disclose and the ability of the employer to assist. Finding this balance can be hard, but developing honest dialogue about work outcomes can help.

From here, Farmer Keshon can explore the same five steps as Farmers Raina and Zed as he navigates Janelle’s needs.

Exploring Possible Accommodations

As we leave our farmer friends, all experiencing different accommodation requests, how can their situations help you?

The first big takeaway here is that even though Farmer Raina, Farmer Zed, and Farmer Keshon used the five steps to help them chart a way forward, every employer needed to provide accommodations that met their employee’s specific needs. It can be easy to think that accommodations are one size fits all, but that is not the case. Instead, make sure to take the time you need to work through the steps and discover the accommodations that work best for you and your employees.

The second big takeaway is that you can provide cost-effective accommodations that meet the needs of your employees, and there are many options available for you to consider.

Oftentimes, employers have heard that offering accommodations can be time-consuming and expensive, leaving even the most compassionate, proactive employer feeling discouraged. We are working here and now to dispel those notions. There are many financially affordable accommodation strategies that employers can consider right away when developing accommodation strategies for their employees.

In other cases, employers will opt to provide accommodations only after a request has been made, but the reality is that proactively providing conveniences that make mental and physical challenges better for all employees is wise. It can provide incentives to potential workers and increase the productivity of current employees, regardless of their diagnosed conditions.

It’s key to remember that accommodation strategies are meant to level the playing field, not to make more work for others or to treat employees unfairly. Legal resilience starts with awareness of how you can proactively support your employees.

Below, we offer accommodation strategies that you can put into place right away:

Providing accommodations takes creativity and some time. To connect with some additional organizations or resources for support, see the suggestions in our last chapter.

Which strategies are a good fit for your operation?

Read through the list of general accommodation strategies below and then check off (a) the ones that could help your team and (b) whether they can be reasonably implemented on your farm. Any strategy that is both helpful and reasonable could be a valuable addition to your employment practices and an immediate boost to your legal resilience:

Part 2: Enforcement

For many employers, understanding how to make sure their operation stays in compliance is their biggest concern. They want to know if they have to comply, who enforces the rules, and what to do if the worst happens. Those concerns and questions are valid and can often feel overwhelming.

 We do have some solutions for you and will tackle each of those concerns in this section.

Action Plan to Move Forward

Now that you understand the basic requirements for providing accommodations, it’s time to decide how you want to move forward.

It can be overwhelming to think about being accused of discriminating against your employee because you didn’t provide disability accommodations. As you’ve learned, you can effectively reduce that risk by (1) being aware of the situations that create an opportunity for discrimination and (2) the types of disabilities that are legally protected.

Proactive farmers may consider taking a step further towards legal resilience by creating standardized policies and procedures to help guide accommodation decisions.

Another important step you can take is documenting your reasons for accepting or rejecting accommodation requests. Your ability to demonstrate that you’ve made decisions for legitimate, legally defensible reasons rather than discriminatory motivations can help you and your farm business demonstrate the integrity of your employment practices. Of course, seek the advice of an attorney right away if a claim has been filed against you.

●     Do you need additional information about your legal obligations as a farm or ranch employer with regard to accommodating employee disabilities?

○     Take a deeper dive into understanding when it’s reasonable and unreasonable for a farm to provide an accommodation by reading That’s Unreasonable! The Selected Essentials in Farm Employment Law for Your State will help you understand your obligations under state law.

 ●     Do you want additional resources to help you implement accommodations on the farm? Here is a list of trusted organizations that can support you:

○     AgrAbility is a national organization sponsored by the USDA and Purdue University dedicated to supporting farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural workers with disabilities. They help folks find success through gainful employment, access to appropriate assistive technology, targeted support for family caregivers, and evidence-based information related to the treatment and rehabilitation of disabling conditions.

○     The ADA: Your Responsibilities as an Employer notice from the U.S. EEOC. This notice provides a broad overview of employer responsibilities as well as solutions to frequently asked questions.

○     Center for Workplace Mental Health: ICU Program: This awareness campaign was made to reduce the stigma associated with mental health and is designed specifically for the workplace. The ICU program helps employers and employees take action by understanding and identifying signs of distress, connecting with the person experiencing distress, and identifying a way forward.

○     Job Accommodation Network (JAN) provides free guidance on job accommodations and disability employment issues. Whether employers are looking for resources, guides, tips, strategies, or one-on-one guidance regarding Title I of the ADA, JAN provides a wide range of options and solutions.

Funder Acknowledgements

This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2023-70027-40444.