Question

question 16 3 pts a company needs to hire a telephone customer service representative. the job is 100% telephone contact with customers and requires the ability to speak clearly and quickly, because representatives must handle so many calls an hour. it also requires the ability to use a computer and to think and solve problems independently of supervision. ellen applies. bright, experienced with computers, she has a speech impediment that makes enunciation difficult and slow for her. she has an excellent track record for working unsupervised at previous jobs. she is not hired due to the speech impediment. is this a case of discrimination under ada?
no, because the speech requirement is an essential task that cannot be accommodated.
yes, because she was disqualified solely because of the impediment.
no, because the speech requirement is a marginal job duty.
yes, because she has a major life activity impairment.
yes, because the company must accommodate her by offering her another position not requiring the ability to enunciate clearly.

Explanation:

To determine if this is ADA discrimination, we analyze the job requirements. The role is 100% telephone - based, so speaking clearly and quickly is an essential function (handling many calls per hour). Ellen’s speech impediment prevents her from performing this essential task, and no reasonable accommodation can overcome this (since the job’s core is telephone contact with clear speech).

• Option 2 is wrong because being disqualified solely due to the impediment isn't enough if the impediment prevents essential task performance.
• Option 3 is wrong as the speech requirement is essential, not marginal.
• Option 4 is wrong as having a major life activity impairment doesn't automatically mean discrimination; the key is essential job functions.
• Option 5 is wrong as the company isn't required to offer a different position, only to accommodate within the applied position (which isn't possible here).

So the correct reasoning is that the speech requirement is an essential task that can't be accommodated, so it's not discrimination.

Answer:

A. No, because the speech requirement is an essential task that cannot be accommodated.