What is a reasonable accommodation under the ADA?
A reasonable accommodation under the ADA and also under California's FEHA statutes is any accommodation to the workplace that'll make it available for an employee who's disabled to be able to continue to work. The accommodation must be reasonable, so it can't be outrageous or extreme.
And the accommodation needs to be something that the employer can do. Once an accommodation is given, the employee should be able to continue to do the reasonable job expectations with that accommodation. And so an employer is required to give reasonable accommodations to disabilities, but those are only accommodations that the employer can do without an undue burden.
There's a lot of legal terms involved in here. So, it's important if you need an accommodation or if you're looking to get a reasonable accommodation or if you want to see if what the employer gave to you is a reasonable accommodation that you contact an employment law attorney who specializes in this area of law who can help you determine what a reasonable accommodation is in your circumstance.
The back-and-forth the law expects — the interactive process
Once an employee asks for an accommodation, or an employer otherwise knows one may be needed, the law requires both sides to engage in what's called the interactive process — a genuine, good-faith conversation about what the employee needs and what might work. This isn't a single meeting; it can mean going back and forth as circumstances change, and an employer who stalls, ignores the request, or refuses to engage at all can be on the hook even if a workable accommodation existed.
California's FEHA is generally more protective than the federal ADA here. It defines disability more broadly, reaches smaller employers, and gives employees more room to challenge a denial. A common misunderstanding is that the employer gets to pick between the accommodation the employee asked for and no accommodation at all — really, the employer just has to provide something effective, which can include modified schedules, equipment, adjusted duties, or leave itself as an accommodation. What it can't do is dismiss the request outright.
If a request is denied or ignored
Put your request in writing, describe the limitation and what would help, and keep records of every response (or non-response) from your employer. If you were denied without any real discussion, or you were let go shortly after asking, an employment attorney can evaluate whether the process was handled lawfully.
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