Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers with 15 or more employees are required to provide reasonable accommodations for the known disability of a qualified employee provided it does not impose significant difficulty or expense when considering the employer’s size, financial resources and nature and structure of its operation. Consequently, the employee may have to accept a space that does not adequately accommodate their disability.įor example, a deaf person may not be able to see a visual notification appliance from their workstation or private offices may not be equipped with them at all. However, because hoteling only allows for a limited number of workstations or private offices, spaces with necessary accommodations may be unavailable or already reserved.

In a traditional office setting, a deaf or hard of hearing employee may be able to choose a permanent workspace that allows them consistent access to visual fire alarm signals and other accommodations. With regard to the workplace, the National Deaf Center reported that only 53% of deaf people were employed in 2017 with many opting out of the workforce due to burn out from facing countless barriers, few accommodations and considerable bias. These numbers are projected to increase to 73 million (22.6%) by 2060.

adults ages 18 and older have some trouble hearing while 3.6% consider themselves to be deaf or have serious difficulty hearing. Systems equipped with visual appliances may be more beneficial as they provide a more appropriate means for emergency notification for this demographic. Standard fire alarm audible notification appliances may not be effective for alerting all deaf and hard of hearing people.

Hoteling poses some unique challenges for deaf and hard of hearing employees specifically when it comes to fire safety. This can be especially problematic for people with certain types of disabilities.įor example, employees who use wheelchairs may require larger workspaces while those with visual or hearing disabilities may need specific technology to do their work. While office hoteling provides a variety of benefits for both companies and employees, one of the major drawbacks is unassigned seating, which prevents personalization of the space.

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