[155967] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: Color vision for network techs
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Joel Maslak)
Fri Aug 31 14:46:20 2012
In-Reply-To: <50410210.6020108@gmail.com>
From: Joel Maslak <jmaslak@antelope.net>
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2012 12:45:41 -0600
To: JC Dill <jcdill.lists@gmail.com>
Cc: "nanog@nanog.org" <nanog@nanog.org>
Errors-To: nanog-bounces+nanog.discuss=bloom-picayune.mit.edu@nanog.org
On Aug 31, 2012, at 12:27 PM, JC Dill <jcdill.lists@gmail.com> wrote:
> So if you DO decide to test for color vision, make sure you know your righ=
ts and responsibilities for handling any employee or applicant who fails the=
test.
>=20
> IANAL - if you have any questions be sure to get advice from an attorney -=
preferably one who specializes in employment law.
Agreed. It's also a good idea to check with JAN if you're in the US, to see=
what accommodations they might suggest. I'd also add that it's the decent t=
hing to do - if someone is qualified for the job, except for not being able t=
o do one small part of the job the way you would imagine it being done, the r=
ight response is to find solutions, not immediately dismiss the qualified ap=
plicant.
I had some involvement in the past with employees with vision disabilities. =
Many are trivial to accommodate.
Tools I've personally seen used are the "Seekey" and colored pieces of plast=
ic (overlays). The overlays are very cheap, not sure how much a Seekey cost=
s. I'd also suggest asking the employee, since they have a vested interest i=
n finding a solution. These would also work for terminating twisted pair c=
ables.
I've also seen an electronic pen-like device that was used by blind people, t=
o determine if an LED was lit. We used this for a phone receptionist who nee=
ded to scan "busy" lights on a telephone while handling calls (I'd probably l=
ook at a softphone type solution today, but the phone system we used was def=
initely not softphone capable!). I don't know if it can tell the difference=
between red or green, nor do I remember what the thing was called.
(also note that, depending on environment, "reasonable accommodation" might a=
lso mean "asking a coworker what color the light is")
