1. Quality health plans & benefits
Healthier living
Financial well-being
Intelligent solutions
Aetna's ADA Workplace Solutions: Services for the Americans with Disabilities Act
November 12, 2018
(11/15)

2. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else.
Employers are required to provide equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with disabilities in every aspect of employment.
To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability, which is defined by the ADA as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.
The current version of the ADA includes changes made by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008,which became effective on January 1, 2009 and is referred to as the ADAAA.
What is the ADA?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush. The ADA is one of America's most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation that prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life -- to enjoy employment opportunities, to purchase goods and services, and to participate in State and local government programs and services. Modeled after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin – and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of the ADA is an "equal opportunity" law for people with disabilities.
Employers are required to provide equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with disabilities in every aspect of employment, including but not limited to the job application process, the essential functions of a job, and benefits.
To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability, which is defined by the ADA as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment. The ADA does not specifically name all of the impairments that are covered.
For more information visit the ADA.gov site or ASKJAN.org.
For more information visit the ADA.gov site or ASKJAN.org

3. Take the guesswork out of ADA compliance ADA Workplace Solutions*
You receive support and guidance on ADA compliance:
An ADA coach
ADA accommodation support
Support and training on how to talk with employees
Periodic newsletters and updates
Facilitation and support in the ADA interactive process
Designed around your needs
Customers told us what kind of help they needed to comply
with ADA requirements. We listened. And we designed a
full-featured program based on the feedback.
A designated coach: You get an ADA Coach as the program’s focal point and your go-to contact. When you have questions, just pick up the phone and call toll-free.
Guidance for talking with the employee: The ADA Coach will also work with the human resources (HR) manager and employee to facilitate communications about reasonable accommodations so the two of them can come to a decision.
A personalized assessment: How prepared is your organization to handle the ADA’s challenges? We conduct an in-depth review to find out. Then our findings go into a report that gives you suggested areas of improvement.
Training helps staff manage ADA: Keep your supervisory and HR staff trained and up to date. We offer self-paced online courses to fit your schedule.
*offered for a fee

4. ADA Workplace Solutions
ADA Coach Services, PLUS the assistance you need to administer your ADA accommodations
ADA Workplace Solutions
Take the guesswork out of ADA compliance. ADA compliance can be complicated. But you don’t have to do it alone. Our ADA Workplace Solutions gives you information and guidance. ADA compliance can be complicated. But you don’t have to do it alone. Our ADA Workplace Solutions gives you information and guidance including an ADA Coach, It’s a proactive approach that can help your employees stay at work instead of going out on disability. However, if an employee needs to be absent as a part of an ADA accommodation, your ADA Coach is here to help connect you with resources to support the leave administrative process. We also offer ADA Leave Administration. That includes the following activities:
Sends notification letters and forms
Gathers required forms and information
Confirms with you whether additional leave can be approved as a reasonable accommodation
Tracks approved ADA leave time
Provides ADA leave activity reports
Help in coordinating getting vocational rehab resources if needed

5. ADA accommodation administration
ADA WorkPlace Solutions
ADA Coach
ADA accommodation administration
Sending notification letters and forms
Gathering required forms and information
Confirmation from you as employer, for decisions for each accommodation
Communications to employees with employers' accommodation decisions.
Administration for re-certification of temporary accommodations
Tracking and reporting for accommodations
ADA Coach available to assist staff with ADA questions
Systems based training – 3 levels
ADA compliance assessment
Interactive process support
News, links & reports: Periodic newsletter to HR unit with relevant ADA articles
Coordination with vocational rehabilitation resources
We initially provided administration for ‘Leave as an ADA accommodation’ only. Now we expanded are administering for all types of ADA accommodations. Some of the most common examples are: building accessibility, hardware adjustments, interpreters, modified work schedule, modified work duties, software adjustments, telework, and workstation/ergonomic adjustment. .

6. ADA Coach Services

7. ADA Assessment Review and assess employers’ ADA preparedness:
Employment policy and procedures
Overall ADA management practices
Management of ADA accommodation requests
Essential functions and job descriptions
Training and communication

8. Interactive process
Provide guidance in the ADA reasonable accommodation process.
Help facilitating interactive process assists employers to make accommodation decisions

9. Training modules – self-paced & online
ADA overview for managers and supervisors
Essential functions
Reasonable accommodation
In-depth ADA review for human resource staff
Definition of disability
Undue hardship
Direct threat
Reasonable accommodation for the human resource staff
Interactive process
Accommodation identification

10. Newsletter
Distribute periodic newsletters to HR unit with relevant ADA articles
Provide helpful resource information in response to your ADA questions

11. ADA accommodation support

12. ADA accommodation support
Help with administrative details related to ADA accommodations
Locate, send out and organize required forms and letters
Maintain accurate, up-to-date and consistent records
Track and recertify ADA accommodations
Provide standard reports on accommodation requests and decisions

13. Thank you
Disability insurance plans/policies are offered and/or underwritten by Aetna Life Insurance Company (Aetna).
Aetna’s ADA Coach services are designed to assist employers, but are not intended to relieve an employer of its ADA legal and compliance requirements. Aetna guarantees no outcomes and is not responsible for an employer’s decisions. This material is for information only and is not an offer or invitation to contract. Disability insurance plans contain exclusions and limitations. Information is believed to be accurate as of the production date; however, it is subject to change. For more information about Aetna plans, refer to
Policy forms issued in Oklahoma and Idaho include: GR-9/GR-9N and/or GR-29/GR-29N.
Copyright Aetna Inc.
(11/15)