Failure to Accommodate
California employers must reasonably accommodate an employee's known disability unless doing so would cause undue hardship.
California employers must adjust how a job is performed when an employee has a disability that can be accommodated without undue hardship. The duty comes from the Fair Employment and Housing Act at Government Code section 12940(m), and it applies to employers with five or more employees. That threshold is far lower than the 15 employee minimum under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, so many California workers have state protections that federal law would not give them.
Who Is Protected
State law defines disability more broadly than federal law. A condition qualifies if it limits a major life activity, and California does not require that the limitation be substantial. Coverage extends to physical disabilities, mental health conditions, chronic illnesses, injuries, pregnancy related conditions, and conditions the employer believes an employee has even when that belief turns out to be mistaken.
An employee remains protected as long as they can perform the essential functions of the position with a reasonable accommodation. The question is not whether the employee can do the job exactly as it has always been structured, but whether they can do it with the adjustments the law requires the employer to consider.
Case Results
What Counts as a Reasonable Accommodation
the employee is qualified to fill
technology, or workstation changes
technology, or workstation changes
task is performed, including remote work
marginal job function
or other support
An accommodation does not have to be the one the employee asked for, but it does have to work. An employer cannot satisfy its obligation by offering something that fails to let the employee perform the job.
The Undue Hardship Standard
An employer may decline an accommodation only if providing it would cause undue hardship, meaning significant difficulty or expense measured against the size of the operation, the resources available, and the nature of the business. The employer carries the burden of proving hardship, and it must prove it as to the specific accommodation requested rather than in general terms. Cost alone is rarely sufficient for a large employer.
How Employers Get This Wrong
- Denying the request without discussion or explanation
- Requiring the employee to be fully recovered before returning to work
- Treating a request for finite leave as automatic grounds for termination
- Applying a rigid maximum leave policy without individual review
- Insisting on a formal diagnosis before considering any adjustment
- Granting an accommodation and then quietly withdrawing it
- Disciplining the employee for performance problems the accommodation would have resolved
Requesting an Accommodation
An employee does not need to use legal language or complete a specific form. A note from a treating provider, an email describing a limitation, or a conversation with a supervisor about a condition affecting work is enough to put the employer on notice. Putting the request in writing is still worthwhile because it establishes the date the employer learned of the need.
Requesting an accommodation is itself protected activity. Government Code section 12940(m)(2) prohibits retaliation against an employee for making the request, whether or not the request is granted.
Deadlines
A complaint must be filed with the California Civil Rights Department within three years of the last unlawful act. Once the department issues a right to sue notice, the employee has one year to file suit. A parallel claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act must be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 300 days.
Available Remedies
If a failure to accommodate is proven, available remedies may include:
- 601 S Glenoaks Blvd Ste 201, Burbank, CA 91502
- 3200 Guasti Rd. Suite 100, Ontario, CA 91761