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Reasonable Accommodation of Disabilities

State and federal disability laws require covered employers who know of an individual’s disability to reasonably accommodate that disability, unless the employer can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship.

A “reasonable accommodation” is any modification or adjustment in a job, employment practice or work environment that allows an individual with a disability to enjoy an equal employment opportunity.1 It’s also any modification or adjustment that enables an employee or applicant to perform essential job functions or enjoy equivalent employment benefits and privileges that similarly situated employees without disabilities enjoy.

The reasonable accommodation obligation is an ongoing duty and may arise anytime a person’s disability or job changes. Disability discrimination laws don’t require you to make any modification, adjustment or change to a job or policy that you can demonstrate would fundamentally alter the essential functions of the job in question.

California’s disability regulations provide guidance on reasonable accommodation and the interactive process.

Examples of AccommodationsExamples of Accommodations
The term “reasonable accommodation” includes, but isn’t limited to the following:

Accommodating Residual Effects of a DisabilityAccommodating Residual Effects of a Disability
Employers must reasonably accommodate an employee who suffers from the “residual effects of a disability.”

Interactive Process for Reasonable AccommodationsInteractive Process for Reasonable Accommodations
When an employee or applicant with a known disability or medical condition requests reasonable accommodation, FEHA requires you to engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process to determine effective reasonable accommodations.

Obligations of the Employer in the Interactive ProcessObligations of the Employer in the Interactive Process
California’s disability regulations require an employer to initiate the interactive process when any of the following events occur:

Obligations of the Employee in the Interactive ProcessObligations of the Employee in the Interactive Process
Employees must cooperate in good faith in the reasonable accommodation process;

Reasonable Accommodation Obligation Is OngoingReasonable Accommodation Obligation Is Ongoing
You must try more than once to accommodate an employee, and a “good faith” interactive process is an ongoing effort.

Reassignment as a Reasonable AccommodationReassignment as a Reasonable Accommodation
If an employee can no longer perform the job’s essential functions, reasonable accommodation might include transfer to a different job or schedule.

Telecommuting as a Reasonable AccommodationTelecommuting as a Reasonable Accommodation
Telecommuting may be seen as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA and the FEHA.

Extended Disability Leave as a Reasonable AccommodationExtended Disability Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation
Under the ADA and FEHA, California employers must engage in a good-faith interactive process to determine if any necessary accommodations exist for an individual. For more information, see Disability Leave.

Attendance and AccommodationAttendance and Accommodation
In some cases, regular attendance at work constitutes an essential job function. If an employee’s job requires face-to-face customer contact, allowing that employee to work from home isn’t a reasonable accommodation.1

Seniority System and AccommodationSeniority System and Accommodation
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a request for a job change to accommodate an employee’s disability may not be “reasonable” if it requires the employer to violate a seniority policy.

Assistive and Service Animals Assistive and Service Animals
Bringing animals into the workplace — whether as employees or customers — has been a growing trend over the last 20 years. This section addresses how employers can accommodate those with legitimate requests, while limiting disruptions.

Failure to AccommodateFailure to Accommodate
Failure to reasonably accommodate an employee is unlawful, and an employee may be able to recover damages unless the employer can demonstrate undue hardship, as defined by the law.

Undue HardshipUndue Hardship
You aren’t required to reasonably accommodate a qualified individual with a disability if you can show that the accommodation would cause an undue hardship.

Reasonable Accommodation DefensesReasonable Accommodation Defenses
Employers may defend a claim of disability discrimination by demonstrating bona fide occupational qualifications (see Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)), business necessity (see Business Necessity as a Discrimination Defense), or threats to health and safety.

Direct Threat to Health or Safety of OthersDirect Threat to Health or Safety of Others
Under the ADA and FEHA, you are not required to hire or retain an applicant or employee who poses a “direct threat” or significant risk to the health and safety of coworkers or others that a reasonable accommodation can’t eliminate.

Direct Threat to Health or Safety of SelfDirect Threat to Health or Safety of Self
FEHA clearly provides that employees or applicants aren’t qualified if a disability poses a direct threat to their own health or safety.

Food Handling RiskFood Handling Risk
You can refuse to assign food-handling duties to employees who have a communicable or infectious disease that can be transmitted to others through handling food, if the risk can’t be eliminated by reasonable accommodation.1

Health Care Employee Threat to OthersHealth Care Employee Threat to Others
In the health care industry, the court looks at a four-part test to evaluate the direct threat a health care employee with an infectious disease poses to others:

Reasonable Accommodation and Hostile ConductReasonable Accommodation and Hostile Conduct
Employers have a duty to protect employees from workplace violence, and the EEOC states in its Enforcement Guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act and Psychiatric Disabilities that “nothing in the ADA prevent[s] an employer from disciplining an employee for threats or violence in the workplace.”

1.29 CFR sec. 1630.2(o), 2 CCR sec. 11065(p)

Forms

Q&As

News

Reasonable Accommodations: Meeting Your Employer Obligations
October 31, 2024
Court of Appeal Sets Stage for Vaccine Accommodation Cases
July 13, 2023

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