ACCOMODATING EPILEPSY in the workplace

An employer must, in most cases, make every reasonable effort to adjust the duties or conditions of work to meet the constraints of the epilepsy—this is called “accommodation”. The Canadian Human Rights Code as well as some provincial codes state that employers must accommodate people with disabilities UNLESS the disability interferes with performing the essential duties of the job OR such accommodation causes the employer “undue hardship”.

Workplace accommodations for epilepsy are inexpensive, easy to make, and only require a little creativity and flexibility. Here is a list of examples of reasonable accommodation for people with epilepsy:

• Job restructuring—redistributing nonessential, marginal job functions, such as driving, to other employees
  
• In a case of photosensitive epilepsy, replacing flickering light in an employee’s work area and/or adjusting the display intensity on their computer if these trigger seizures.
  
• Installing a safety shield around a piece of machinery.
  
• Installing a piece of carpet to cover a concrete floor in the employee’s work area.
  
• Putting work instructions in writing (rather than just giving them orally) if memory difficulties/deficits are a side effect of the seizure disorder or anti-epileptic medication.
  
• Scheduling consistent work shifts if seizure activity is made worse by inconsistent sleep patterns.
  
• Allowing an employee who experiences fatigue as a side effect of medication the place and opportunity to take frequent rest breaks.
  
• Allowing an employee to take time off to recover after a seizure.