FEHA clearly provides that employees or applicants aren’t qualified if a disability poses a direct threat to their own health or safety.1 California’s disability regulations require employers to engage in the interactive process prior to determining that an employee’s health or safety is at risk,2 and the EEOC’s regulations on the ADA contain the same provision. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld this interpretation when it ruled that a job applicant wouldn’t be a “qualified individual” under the ADA if the job’s essential duties would pose a direct threat to the individual’s health or safety.
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