Reasonable Accommodation

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act requires employers of five or more employees to provide reasonable accommodation for individuals with a physical or mental disability to apply for jobs and to perform the essential functions of their jobs unless it would cause the business an undue hardship. Employees who are injured in any capacity whatsoever, are entitled to some level of accommodation, even if it is just extended unpaid leave during recovery. This prevents and employer from simply terminating an employee the second there is a medical condition or health issue, tantamount to disability or medical condition discrimination. 

Generally, reasonable accommodation is any workplace modification or adjustment that enables the disabled employee or applicant to perform essential job functions.  Swanson v. Morongo Unif. School Dist., 232 Cal. App. 4th 954, 968-969 (2014). Reasonable accommodation can include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Changing job duties
• Providing leave for medical care
• Changing work schedules
• Relocating the work area
• Providing mechanical or electrical aids
• Ergonomic Update to Work Station 

Employees with disabilities may have separate rights to unpaid leave under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act or the California Family Rights Act. These employees may also substitute unpaid leave and use their paid leave upon request. However, an employer will not have the right to terminate an injured employee before the employee has had the opportunity to use the leave that is available to him through the FMLA, CFRA, and his Paid Sick Leave. 

How does an employer become aware of a need for an accommodation? 

An employer may become aware of the need for an accommodation by: 
• Request from an employee
• Request made by a third party on behalf of the employee
• Request made by a representative of the employee (such as a spouse)
• Request initiated by a manager who becomes aware of a need for an accommodation either from the employee or through observation

The Interactive Process

When and Employee informs his employer that he has been injured, or when the employer comes to find out that an employee has been injured, either physically or mentally, the employer must engage in the interactive process. A “timely, good faith” Interactive Process is now a stand-alone statutory requirement in the California Code of Regulations (CCR, title2, section 7294.0). California State and Federal laws define the “Interactive Process” as an on-going communication between the employer and the applicant or employee with a known disability in an effort to provide reasonable accommodation. It is unlawful for employers to fail to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process whether or not the interactive process would have resulted in an obligation to provide a reasonable accommodation.

Employers often attempt to deny having knowledge of the need for a reasonable accommodation stating that the employee did not directly request one. This is not the law. The employer should know to engage in the interactive process to begin developing a reasonable accommodation as soon as they become aware of the potential need for an accommodation. This awareness might come through a third party, by observation, or because the employee has exhausted leave benefits but still needs reasonable accommodation.

In California, it is unlawful for an employer to fail to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process. The point of the process is to remove barriers that keep people from performing jobs that they could do with some form of accommodation. The process requires an individualized assessment of both the job and the specific physical or mental limitations of the individual that are directly related to the need for reasonable accommodation.

Reasonable Accommodation of Religious Beliefs

On top of providing reasonable accommodations for your physical or mental injury, your employer must be careful not to discriminate against you for your religious beliefs and provide reasonable accommodations when necessary. Under FEHA, it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate on the basis of an individual's association or relationship with a person of a particular religious creed. Employers are required to "Explore any available reasonable alternative means of accommodating the religious belief or observance, including the possibilities of excusing the person from those duties that conflict with his or her religious belief or observance or permitting those duties to be performed at another time or by another person."

Additionally, the California Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2012 (WRFA) extends the definition of religion to include every aspect of religious belief, creed, observance and practice by also adding religious dress and grooming practices, including clothing, head or face coverings, jewelry, artifacts or other items that relate to a religious observance. This includes body, head and facial hair observances one must keep due to the employee's religion.

Reasonable accommodation in California also includes job modifications that enable religious employees to exercise their beliefs. This can include scheduling changes for religious observances or holidays or allowing workers to pray at work during a break, in a private area or at regular intervals throughout the day. Additionally, California Law makes it clear that employers cannot retaliate against employees for requesting reasonable accommodations due to religious reasons.

Lactation Accommodation 

Pursuant to Labor Code Section 1030 every employer, including the state and any political subdivision, must provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employee's infant child each time the employee has a need to express milk. The break time shall, if possible, run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee.Break time for an employee that does not run concurrently with the rest time authorized for the employee by the applicable wage order of the Industrial Welfare Commission need not be paid.Pursuant to Labor Code Section 1033, the denial of a break or adequate space to express milk may result in the recovery of one hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of pay for each violation by filing a wage claim under Labor Code section 226.7.

Exceptions to Reasonable Accommodations 

FEHA requires California employers to accommodate an employee or applicant's known physical or mental disabilities, except where one of the following exceptions applies:

• The employer need not provide an accommodation that results in undue hardship to business operations.  Government Code § 12940(m); 2 Cal. Code Reg. § 11068; CACI 2541.
• The employer need not provide an accommodation allowing the use of illegal drugs, including medical marijuana.  Ross v. Raging Wire Telecommunications, Inc., 42 Cal. 4th 920 (2008).

If you feel you have been denied a Reasonable Accommodation, or your Employer Refuses to Engage in the Interactive Process to Develop a Reasonable Accommodation, Contact Our Office at Miller Wilmers APC for a Free Consultation with a Los Angeles California FEHA attorneyto Discuss your Next Steps Moving Forward.