“Reasonable Accommodation” in California – A Legal Guide

California employers have a legal duty to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities to help them perform their essential job duties. Failure to accommodate can be the grounds for a labor board complaint or a civil lawsuit.

Examples of reasonable accommodations (RAs) include:

• making a worksite wheelchair accessible,
• allowing a disabled employee to leave work to attend doctor appointments,
• buying equipment to better accommodate the worker, and/or
• restructuring the employee’s job duties or requirements.

The above duty applies unless the employer would experience an undue hardship in making appropriate accommodations for workers or job applicants. An “undue hardship” means that upholding the duty would result in the company incurring significant:

• expense, or
• difficulty.

If there is no undue hardship, and the employer fails to make reasonable accommodations, then the employee can file an ADA complaint under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Depending on the case, failure to provide reasonable accommodations may amount to employment discrimination on the basis of disability.

Disability discrimination is just one form of employment discrimination. Others include discrimination on the basis of:

• gender,
• race,
• religion,
• pregnancy,
• age, and
• medical conditions.

Our California labor and employment law attorneys will address the following in this article:

• 1. What is a reasonable accommodation in California?
• 2. What qualifies as a reasonable accommodation?
• 3. What is a disability?
• 4. Can an employer deny reasonable accommodation?
• 5. What if California employers fail to make reasonable accommodations?

1. What is a reasonable accommodation in California?

California employment law imposes an affirmative duty of “reasonable accommodation” on an employer when it learns that an employee has a certain known disability.

In this situation, the employer has a legal duty to:

1. reasonably accommodate, or provide for, the disabled employee, and
2. do so in a manner that allows the worker to perform his or her essential functions of the position.¹

This duty applies unless an accommodation imposes an “undue hardship” on the employer.²

Further, the reasonable accommodation duty does not apply to those California employers with less than five employees.³

Note that once an employer learns of a disability, California law requires:

• the employer to enter into an “interactive process” with the employee, and
• do so in a reasonable effort to help find an appropriate accommodation.⁴

An “interactive process” refers to communication between the employer and employee that:

• helps the employer find the right accommodation, and
• ensures that it assists the employee in performing the essential functions of a job.⁵

Note too that if a qualified employee requests a reasonable accommodation, the employer must respond to it in a timely fashion and must act in good faith. Even if the employee does not directly request an accommodation, an employer should provide one as long as the disability is observable or someone else informs the employer of the disability.

Also note that employees should be able to give their boss a list of requested accommodations. But employers can only request medical documentation if the reason for an accommodation request is not obvious.⁶

2. What qualifies as reasonable accommodation?

An employer makes a “reasonable accommodation” when it makes appropriate adjustments so that the disabled employee can perform his/her essential functions of the job.⁷

Whether or not an adjustment helps in performing an “essential job function” is based upon the facts of the case. Courts consider the following factors:

• the disabled employee’s job description,
• the basic job duties of the employee,
• the training materials applicable to the job, and
• the employer’s experience with other similarly situated employees.

In determining whether a job function qualifies as “essential,” courts consider:

• How specialized the job function is;
• How many other employees can perform the function;
• Whether the purpose of the job is to perform that function.

Common evidence in these cases include:

• the work history of employees in similar positions;
• how much time employees spend on a particular job function;
• job descriptions
• the consequences of the job function not being performed

Note that employers must keep an employee’s disability private (unless the employee says otherwise). The only people who can know about it are the managers who need to know about it to provide the accommodation. And any medical documentation must be stored separately and confidentially from the employee’s personnel file.⁸

2.1. What is an example of a reasonable accommodation?

The following are examples of an employer’s reasonable accommodations:

• buying equipment to accommodate an employee’s disability and increase accessibility,
• job restructuring or alterations in work schedules to make changes in an employee’s essential functions,
• letting an employee take time off of work to make health care appointments,
• making changes in the work environment to allow for a wheelchair accessible work site,
• reassignment of the employee to a vacant position,
• bringing an assistive dog to the office,
• modifying the job application process for qualified applicants with disabilities,
• making schedules more flexible (“flex-time”),
• an unpaid leave of absence, and
• relaxing work restrictions for the disabled employee.

Example: Joe is an outside salesperson for a company based in Los Angeles. He works part-time in the office and spends three days a week traveling to meet with clients in San Francisco.

Joe gets in a car accident that leaves him wheelchair bound. He speaks with his employer’s Human Resources Department and asks if it can make any reasonable and effective accommodations to help him perform his job tasks given his disability.

As part of the reasonable accommodation process, the company changes Joe’s duties so that he longer has to fly to San Francisco and allows him to work full-time in the Los Angeles location. These changes represent a type of accommodation that is reasonable.

3. What is a disability?

California employment law does not require employers to comply with every accommodation request made by an employer with a medical condition.

The law states that an employer only has to make accommodations if a condition qualifies as a “disability.”

A “disability” is a condition that limits a person’s major life activity.⁹ A condition limits a major life activity if it makes it more difficult for a person to perform that activity.¹⁰

“Major life activities” include things like:

• walking,
• eating,
• working,
• performing physical tasks and activities, and
• engaging in social interactions.

A qualified individual under these laws can suffer from either:

• a mental disability (e.g., a bipolar disorder, learning disabilities, or other mental impairment or illness), or
• a physical disability (e.g., migraines, missing a limb, organ impairment, or being paralyzed), or
• a medical condition, defined as either (1) cancer, or (2) genetic characteristics associated with increased risk of developing a disease or disorder

Not covered are sex behavior disorders, usage of unlawful psychoactive substances, or such disorders as compulsive gambling, starting fires (pyromania), or stealing (kleptomania). And California state employees with marijuana prescriptions do not enjoy legal protections for pot use.¹¹

4. Can an employer deny reasonable accommodation?

Employers have a duty to provide for reasonable accommodations for a disabled employee unless doing so would impose an “undue hardship.”

An “undue hardship” means that the company would experience significant difficulty or expense by making appropriate accommodations.¹² If it would, then the business can deny an employee’s request for reasonable accommodations.

The facts of a case often determine whether an undue hardship exists. Some important factors to consider in this determination are:

• the true cost of the accommodations,
• the size of the business (e.g., the number of employees) and its financial resources,
• how the business is structured,
• the type of work the company performs (“type of operations”), and
• the interactions among the company’s facilities.¹³

Note that disabled employees who do not ask for accommodation – and do poor work – can be terminated. The employee has the responsibility to ask for accommodations.

5. What if California employers fail to make reasonable accommodations?

If there is no undue hardship, and the employer fails to make reasonable accommodations, then the employee can file a complaint under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – which is federal law.

Violations of the ADA can be filed as a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC.gov). The EEOC enforces federal ADA disability discrimination laws. This includes the failure to provide reasonable accommodations.

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is the state agency that handles complaints of disability discrimination. These complaints are brought under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

Before filing a complaint with the EEOC, an employee should have requested a reasonable accommodation from the employer. If there is no resolution, the employee can file a complaint with either the EEOC or the DFEH. (Usually there is a one-year statute of limitations to file a claim.)¹⁴

Note that depending on the facts of the case, the failure to provide appropriate accommodations may also be considered disability discrimination.

Note too that it is unlawful for a company to retaliate against an employee because of a request to provide reasonable accommodations. Instances of wrongful retaliation include:

• discrimination,
• wrongful termination,
• harassment,¹⁵
• bullying (if retaliation is done by co-workers) and
• reducing the employee’s pay below the minimum wage.¹⁶

For additional help…

Need additional enforcement guidance or to discuss your case with a labor and employment lawyer? We invite you to contact our law firm at Shouse Law Group. We provide free consultations and bona fide legal advice that you can trust.

For additional resources see the Job Accommodation Network (JAN).

Disclaimer: Results cannot be guaranteed.

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