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Employers are not required by law to prepare an emergency evacuation plan but if one exists, a plan for building occupants with disabilities must be included.

Importantly, the Americans With Disabilities Act permits employers to ask employees whether they will require assistance in the event of an evacuation because of a disability.

However, the law makes clear that this inquiry may only be done at certain times: after making a job offer, but before employment begins; as part of a periodic company-wide survey; or when it knows an employee has a disability, according the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The ADA also provides an exception to its confidentiality requirements for this information. In the event of an evacuation, relevant medical information may be shared with medical professionals, emergency coordinators, floor captains, colleagues who have volunteered to act as “buddies,” building security officers who need to confirm that everyone has been evacuated and other non-medical personnel who are responsible for ensuring safe evacuation, according to the EEOC. For more details, take a look at the commission’s Fact Sheet on Obtaining and Using Employee Medical Information as Part of Emergency Evacuation Procedures.

Furthermore, employers who do not have emergency evacuation plans may still have to address emergency evacuation for employees with disabilities as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, according to the Job Accommodation Network. For additional guidance on this topic, visit JAN’s Employers’ Guide to Including
Employees with Disabilities in Emergency Evacuation Plans.

Subscribers to our ADA Compliance Guide should check out Fig. 203 for a checklist on including workers with disabilities in emergency evacuation plans.