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administrative burdens. This means that providers need not remove physical barriers such as stairs in existing buildings as long as the programs are made accessible to individuals with disabilities in other locations or through other methods.

Examples: A DSS office that is located on the second floor of a building that has no elevator may make its services available to an applicant who uses a wheelchair by meeting with that applicant in an accessible ground floor office.

A job-training program that usually offers classes in an inaccessible second-floor classroom may make its program accessible by relocating the class to an accessible classroom in another building. An applicant with a physical disability who cannot be accommodated at the county office must be offered an alternative to the office interview that will accommodate his/her needs and, at the same time, satisfy program requirements.

22.7 Conduct on the Basis of Disability That Is Prohibited in Employment Employers and those referring TANF participants to employers may not impose qualification standards that screen out any individual with a disability or a class of individuals with disabilities unless such standards are shown to be job related and consistent with business necessity.

Example: An employer may want to require that all job applicants have a driver’s license. If driving were an essential function of the position, for example, a bus driver’s job, no change in policy would be required. If the job could be done with accommodation (a personal driver, for instance), then the policy would have to include this accommodation.

However, if an applicant were seeking a position for which having a driver’s license is merely convenient (such as a secretarial position); the employer would be prohibited from applying this requirement to an applicant who does not have a driver’s license because of a disability.

The ADA limits an employer’s ability to ask questions of applicants and employees regarding the existence, nature, or severity of a disability and to require medical examinations. Employers may not ask disability related questions of applicants or require medical examinations before an offer of employment is made. If an applicant has a known disability that may prevent the individual from performing the essential functions of the job, the employer may ask how, with or without reasonable accommodation, the applicant would perform the specific tasks required.

Example: A TANF recipient has just applied for a job as a data entry clerk. As she is filling out a personnel form, she mentions this is the first job she has had since she developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The personnel manager cannot ask her for the name of her doctor so he can determine if she is currently under treatment. However, the personnel manager may ask her to demonstrate or describe how she would perform her job-related duties.

Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations to employees to enable them to perform the essential functions of the job unless the employers can demonstrate that providing a