127 lines
5.5 KiB
Plaintext
127 lines
5.5 KiB
Plaintext
FOCUS ON TRAINING
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THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
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By
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John A. Leonard
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Captain
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Connecticut State Police Training Academy
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Hartford, Connecticut
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In July 1990, President George Bush signed into law the
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Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This milestone
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legislation, which is intended to end discrimination based upon
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physical or mental disabilities, presents new challenges to law
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enforcement administrators. These administrators must now
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ensure that their agencies comply with the provisions of the new
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law.
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In order to meet this challenge successfully, police
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executives must first implement training that focuses on the ADA
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and how this law may affect hiring practices. The legislation
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explicitly defines what is expected of employers; however,
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before employers can meet these expectations, they must develop
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training programs that focus on educating all employees within
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their agencies. This education process should accomplish two
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goals: It should educate employees on the specifics of the law,
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and it should allay their fears that the law may have a negative
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impact on the agency or its current employees.
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EARLY TRAINING
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Agency leaders should begin the education process by
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targeting selected personnel to receive early training in the
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particulars of the ADA. The initial training sessions should
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include those employees who will direct the implementation of
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the law. This encompasses the agency heads themselves, as well
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as their administrative staffs.
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Administrators should then target for training those
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involved in the hiring process. In order to ensure that hiring
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procedures adhere to the new regulations, background
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investigators, polygraph examiners, and oral interviewers must
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know what information they should obtain, how they can
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legitimately obtain this information, and what types of
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inquiries are inappropriate. Early training of these employees
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may avoid problems for the agency at a later date.
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BROADENING THE SCOPE OF TRAINING
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After key personnel receive training on the specific
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provisions of the ADA that directly affect their job
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responsibilities, all other personnel within law enforcement
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agencies should receive training to broaden their understanding
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of the law. Taking this critical step may help to minimize many
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of the misconceptions that occur when agencies lack training of
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this nature.
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For example, any modification of hiring criteria by police
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agencies, either real or imagined, will likely be greeted with
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skepticism by some officers and outright hostility by others.
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Some officers will immediately begin to speculate on how the new
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legislation may affect them and whether it will lower the
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standards of the agency--a source of great pride to most
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officers.
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Early intervention by administrators in the form of
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training can do much toward allaying any unfounded fears that
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employees may have. Clearly, if employees view the
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implementation of the ADA as a reduction in hiring standards,
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concern--and even resentment--can build. This may, in turn, cause
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the employees' sense of pride, which is built on traditional
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practices within the department, to be challenged, lowering
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employees' morale. In addition, new recruits who do not meet
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the expectations of the existing personnel may never be fully
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assimilated into the organization.
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However, with effective training programs in place,
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employees learn not only what the ADA is but also what it is
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not. They will then understand that the employment provisions
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of the ADA do not reduce or eliminate selection criteria--the
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law simply attempts to offer equal employment opportunities to
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qualified individuals with certain disabilities.
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Through effective training programs, employees also learn
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that persons with disabilities must demonstrate that they can
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perform the essential functions of the position they seek. The
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essential functions of a job may be determined by a variety of
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factors, including written job descriptions, collective
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bargaining agreements, the amount of time spent performing the
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task, the consequences that may occur if the task is not
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performed, and the employer's judgment. (1)
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Finally, effective training programs underscore the fact
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that the ADA expressly excludes certain individuals, including
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current drug users, transvestites, kleptomaniacs, and
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pyromaniacs, among others. In addition, the law allows certain
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employers, such as law enforcement agencies, to exclude
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applicants with a history of illegal drug use if it is
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established that such an exclusionary standard is job-related
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and consistent with business necessity. (2)
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Providing employees with this critical information reduces
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employee stress and the opposition that frequently accompanies
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change. Through education, employees gain both an understanding
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and an acceptance of the law.
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CONCLUSION
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Law enforcement administrators who develop instructional
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programs that prepare employees for the changes the ADA brings
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to their agencies create an atmosphere where well-informed
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employees both understand and support the law. This, in turn,
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creates an atmosphere that fosters the successful fulfillment of
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this legislative mandate.
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ENDNOTES
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(1) Jeffrey Higginbotham, "The Americans with Disabilities
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Act and the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973: An Overview,"
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(unpublished manuscript, 1992).
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(2) Ibid.
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