Standardizing the Accommodations Process for Health Care Workers During COVID-19

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Human Resources Management
• Legal Compliance

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in employee requests for job accommodations.
• Standardized procedures were needed to manage these requests consistently and fairly.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the workflow and components of the COVID-19 Accommodation Review process at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
• To highlight the benefits of a multidisciplinary committee in managing accommodation requests.

Main Methods:

• Establishment of a dedicated COVID-19 Accommodation Review committee.
• Inclusion of experts from occupational health, legal, human resources, and ADA coordination.
• Development of a structured workflow for reviewing accommodation requests.

Main Results:

• Implementation of a consistent and equitable process for evaluating accommodation requests.
• Improved management of job alteration and relief demands during the pandemic.
• Standardized approach ensuring fairness in granting employee requests.

Conclusions:

• A multidisciplinary committee approach provides a robust framework for managing pandemic-related accommodation requests.
• The established process ensures equitable and consistent decision-making.
• This model can be adapted by other institutions facing similar challenges.