How to File a Reasonable Accommodation Lawsuit

What You Need to Know About Reasonable Accommodation Lawsuits

Millions of working Americans live with disabilities, while others may develop them over their lifetimes. Here’s what to do if an employee requires reasonable accommodations for a disability at work.

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to current and prospective employees. If an employer does not provide such accommodations, an employee may be able to file a reasonable accommodation lawsuit against them for disability discrimination.

What Are Reasonable Accommodations?

A reasonable accommodation is meant for employees who cannot fulfill specific job duties due to mental or physical disabilities. Such an accommodation would enable the employee to fulfill their duties with their condition. Examples of reasonable accommodations include:

Providing a medical leave of absence
Allowing service animals in the workplace
Modifying work schedules for disability-related reasons (allowing one to take time off for treatments during the day, for example)
Providing assistive technology (for auditory or visual impairments, for example)

Exceptions for Employers Providing Reasonable Accommodations

Employers do not have to require reasonable accommodations if they can prove that the accommodation would cause “undue hardship” due to significant difficulty or expense to the employer. Considerations of whether an accommodation can be proven to cause undue hardship include:

Financial resources available to the employer
The number of employees that the company or corporation has
The size of the facility, workplace, etc.
The number of employees that would be affected by the accommodation

Steps for Requesting Reasonable Accommodations

If an employee has determined that they require a specific accommodation from their employer, they must communicate that with their employer. It is recommended that this request be made in writing and be accurately dated. It must be clear within the request that the need for accommodation is due to a specific disability; otherwise, it will not be considered reasonable, and employers will not be required to provide it.
Once the employer has received this request, by law, they are required to engage in a “good faith interactive process.” This process includes communicating about the nature of the disability that the employee is facing and how it is interfering with regular job tasks. The employer and employee should collaborate in finding appropriate accommodations. Considerations should include employee preference, accommodation efficacy, and whether or not such accommodations would cause undue hardship on behalf of the employer.
Through the interactive process, the employer must implement the accommodations so long as the discussed accommodations do not cause undue hardship.

My Employer Failed to Provide Reasonable Accommodations. Can I Sue?

An employer can legally only refuse to provide reasonable accommodations if they can prove that they would cause undue hardship. An employee can sue the employer for failing to provide reasonable accommodations with discriminatory intent. If an attorney can successfully prove that the requested accommodations would not cause undue hardship, then a court will likely deem the employer’s actions as discriminatory and thus unlawful.

Steps for Filing a Reasonable Accommodation Lawsuit

If an employee believes that their employer refused reasonable accommodations with discriminatory intent, they can file a lawsuit against them by following these steps:

File a report of discrimination from your employer with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or your state’s fair employment practices agency. The employee must file the report within 180 days after the discrimination occurred. In cases where state or local laws expressly prohibit disability discrimination, this deadline extends to 300 days after the discrimination occurred. An employee may not file a lawsuit against their employer without filing this report first.
The respective agency will require the employer to investigate the claims made in the report and resolve the issue. This investigation may include discussions with other employees and mediation and/or negotiation sessions between the employer and employee.
If issues remain unresolved after the second step, the agency with which the initial report of discrimination was filed will send an employee a “right to sue” letter. This letter will confirm that the employee has already filed an initial report with an agency and can now file a lawsuit against their employer. An employee may need to file this lawsuit as quickly as 90 days after receiving the letter.

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