Seniority 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. An employee may, however, present evidence of special circumstances that makes exception to seniority rule reasonable under particular circumstances.¹

Consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court precedent, California's disability regulations provide that an employer isn't ordinarily required to ignore its seniority system to accommodate an employee. However, if an employer reserves the right to modify its seniority system or regularly allows variations to the policy, it may be reasonable to violate a seniority²