Chapter 9 - Reasonable Accommodations

Disability

A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits an individual in the performance of one or more major life activities. Under the ADA, a disability includes: §A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities §A record of such an impairment §Being regarded as having such an impairment

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The ADA stands for the proposition that people with disabilities can work, especially when employers are flexible and supportive. The ADA applies to state and local governments as well as private sector employers with 15 or more employees.

Failure to Reasonably Accommodate Disability Claim

Where a person with a disability is qualified for a role and able to perform its essential functions (with or without reasonable accommodations) and is not a direct threat to their own safety or that of others AND an employer knows or should know of a person's need for an accommodation, and one or more reasonable accommodations exists, THEN the employer will be liable for failure to reasonable accommodate disability UNLESS The employer can show the proposed accommodations, though reasonable, would pose an undue hardship (significant difficulty or expense) on it due to the employer's resources and operational requirements.

Undue Hardship

An accommodation imposes an undue hardship if it is: §Unduly costly; §Unduly extensive; §Unduly substantial; §Unduly disruptive; or §It would require fundamental alteration of the nature or operation of the business

Failure to Reasonably Accommodate Religion

An employee may assert a failure to reasonably accommodate religion by showing: §The existence of a sincere religious belief or practice conflicting with an employment requirement §The employer was informed of the conflicting belief or practice §The employee or applicant suffered an adverse employment outcome because of the religious belief or practice To overcome a failure to reasonably accommodate religion claim, an employer must show either: §A reasonable accommodation was offered but not accepted OR §No reasonable accommodation without undue hardship was available

Aisha wears a symbol of her religious convictions on a pendant necklace to work every day. She also frequently discusses her practice of attending religious services at her local place of worship with her colleagues and sometimes invites them to attend. Aisha is tired of her job schedule conflicting with her worship services and is considering a failure to accommodate religion claim against her employer. Choose all correct answer(s): Given the above facts, Aisha's claim would fail because: A.There is no indication that her religious belief or practice is sincere. B.There is no indication that she has informed her employer that her practice of attending worship services conflicts in any way with her. C.There is no indication that she has suffered an adverse employment outcome.

B.There is no indication that she has informed her employer that her practice of attending worship services conflicts in any way with her. C.There is no indication that she has suffered an adverse employment outcome.

Leonidas is applying for a role as a chocolatier as Neuhaus. Although he has a disability that substantially limits a major life activity, abundant reasonable accommodations that do not pose an undue hardship exist for people with Leonidas's disability. Leonidas: A.Is automatically entitled to the job, and if he does not get it, he has a viable failure to reasonably accommodate claim B.Would have a viable failure to reasonably accommodate claim if he is qualified and does not pose a threat to himself or others C.Would have a viable failure to reasonably accommodate claim if he is qualified, does not pose a threat to himself or others, and Neuhaus knows or reasonably should know he needs reasonable accommodations

C. Only by demonstrating all elements of the legal claim could Leonidas have a viable failure to reasonably accommodate a disability claim.

Other best practices concerning accommodations and requests therefor

Employers must recognize when requests for accommodations are made even if legalese or the phrase "reasonable accommodation" is not used. Requests for accommodations must be considered regardless of whether they have been previously provided. Accommodations must be maintained for as long as they are needed. Information about reasonable accommodations and the reasons therefor should not be shared with other employees aside from the accommodated individual's supervisors.

The Reasonable Accommodation Process

Employers that become aware of a disabled employee's need for reasonable accommodations must engage in an interactive process to identify appropriate and mutually agreeable accommodation. The process starts at identifying the essential job functions and moves forward from there. Important: employers' obligation to reasonably accommodate qualified disabled persons is ongoing and does not only exist at the hiring stage.

Best practices for employers in responding to requests for accommodation

In responding to requests for accommodation, employers should: §Act in a timely and responsive manner §Engage in the interactive process §Work closely with the individual needing accommodation to identify potential accommodations §Select a mutually acceptable accommodation §Assess whether the selected accommodation is effective §Document all aspects of the accommodation process

Reasonable Religious Accommodations

Just as with disabilities, employers are required to reasonably accommodate religion, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on them. Under Title VII, religion encompasses: All aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that it is unable to reasonably accommodate an employee's or prospective employee's religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business.

Recorded or Perceived Disability

Past recorded disabilities (from a medical history or even a misclassification of a disability) and perceived disabilities (even if they do not exist in reality) are also covered under the ADA.

Able to Perform Essential Job Functions

The criteria for identifying an essential function of a job are: §The function is specialized. §Few other employees are available to perform the function. §The position exists to perform the function. §Note: a role's essential functions may be dynamic, meaning they can change over time. The critical question is not whether a person can perform the essential job function but rather: whether the person can perform the essential job function with reasonable accommodations provided without undue hardship.

Reasonable Accommodations Include:

§Making facilities accessible to and usable by disabled persons §Devising part-time or modified work schedules §Adjusting or modifying exams, training materials, and policies §Reassigning disabled individuals to vacant positions