labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Employers need to be aware that allergies to fragrance or multiple chemical sensitivities can be disabilities under ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act.

 

This was amply illustrated in a recent post on McBride v. the City of Detroit that ruled senior city manager Susan McBride’s chemical sensitivity was a disability under ADA because it interfered with the major life activity of breathing.

 

One of the major problems in that case was that the HR department for the City of Detroit simply refused McBride’s request, without any interactive process to uncover a reasonable accommodation.

 

According to the Job Accommodation Network or JAN, there are a number of ways that employers can accommodate workers with fragrance allergies or chemical sensitivities. JAN is a great resource for any employer dealing with an accommodation issue under ADA.

 

In the JAN guide on fragrance sensitivities, the non-profit organization suggests that employers take a number of steps before implementing a fragrance-free workplace. These include maintaining good indoor air quality an air purification system. Often, moving the disabled employee’s workstation or modifying his or her schedule is helpful. Employers should consider allowing the employee to communicate with coworkers by Skype, telephone or email, rather than face-to-face.

 

The most extreme accommodation is to implement a workplace policy asking or requiring all employees to use on fragrance-free products. This includes abstaining from perfume, cologne and aftershave as well as scented soaps and deodorants, and even using unscented laundry soap.

 

After the lawsuit with Susan McBride, the City of Detroit added the following section to its ADA Handbook:

 

“Our goal is to be sensitive to employees with perfume and chemical sensitivities. Employees who are sensitive to perfumes and chemicals may suffer potentially serious health consequences. In order to accommodate employees who are medically sensitive to the chemicals in scented products, the City of Detroit requests that you refrain from wearing scented products, including but not limited to colognes, after-shave lotions, perfumes, deodorants, body/face lotions, hair sprays or similar products. The city of Detroit also asks you to refrain the use of scented candles, perfume samples from magazines, spray or solid air fresheners, room deodorizers, plug-in wall air fresheners, cleaning compounds or similar products. Our employees with medical chemical sensitivities thank you for your cooperation.”

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1. Posted by: Lisa

   What a great article! As a teenager with chemical sensitivities that cause me swellings that can send me to the hospital with breathing issues and shut down my entire system its nice to see someone is working out there in the world with this issue. Would be so great if we could get a school to do the same!

2. Posted by: Riverdance Ruined? — ChronicHealing.com

   [...] April 30, 2010: New ADA Guidelines for Fragrance Sensitivity (Another victory! This one capitalizes on the Susan McBride case mentioned above). This link is courtesy of Harry B Clark. [...]

3. Posted by: Amelia

   Hi Lisa! We are glad we could help! Yes, many people are beginning to understand the issues faced by workers with chemical sensitivities. Interestingly enough, these new ADA guidelines would apply to most public schools. They cover employees (like teachers and janitors.) However, the ADA also covers students, meaning schools have to make reasonable accommodations for a student with chemical sensitivity. While this has not been tried in court, if you are having a major issue at school, you may want to contact the eeoc at http://www.eeoc.gov. This is the federal agency that enforces the ADA.

   It may not be practical to require that 1,000 high school students all refrain from wearing scented products. But the school may be able to come up with another reasonable accommodation. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

4. Posted by: Linda Simmons

   What about chemical sensitivity and trying to get medical care in the hospital ER or a doctors office connected to a public tax supported hospital? This is Lisa’s mom and the Florida Advocate Rights claims that if Lisa were a employee she could request accommodations but as a patient trying to get medical care due to a airway problem from perfumes she has no rights, is this true? We have been in a battle with the hospital and doctors office’s for years now trying to keep Lisa breathing . Is there a advocate that can help us fight this? Linda in Fla simmonr@bellsouth.net

5. Posted by: Amelia

   HI Linda! Under ADA, a hospital must provide reasonable accommodations for a patient with a disability, as well as an employee with a disability. For example, hospitals and other public buildings have to provide wheelchair ramps so disabled patients can get into the building.

   However, there is no law that specifically requires every hospital to provide free medical care to every person with a disability. Even publically funded hospitals are not required to offer care for most conditions — that is what the current Healthcare Reform debate is all about. Many states like Florida offer Medicaid for the very poorest residents. However, people who make slightly more money are often out of luck if they have no insurance, or if they have exceeded the coverage of their insurance policy.

   It’s the same old dilemma. Any ER is required to treat you if you have a heart attack, because that is life-threatening. However, they are not required to treat you if you simply have high blood pressure, because it is not yet life-threatening. Even though we know that untreated high blood pressure often results in heart attacks, the hospital is not required to treat it.

   You probably need to find an online support group for people with MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, or a healthcare advocacy group. We deal only with issues of employer/employee relations. You can also contact United Way or the Department of Human Services in your area for resources. You can also contact the Legal Aid Society in the nearest city, to see if they can offer you free or low-cost legal representation. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

   Find MCS support groups at: http://www.angelfire.com/planet/mcshelpsite/orgs.html