What Are Reasonable Accommodations? Your Rights Under the ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that covered employers provide “reasonable accommodations” to employees who request them. If you need a reasonable accommodation, it will be important to make sure you have a clear understanding of what the ADA requires (and what it doesn’t). Unfortunately, employers improperly deny their disabled employees’ requests for reasonable accommodations far too often; and, if your employer improperly denies your request, you will need to be prepared to make informed decisions about asserting your legal rights.

What Is a “Reasonable Accommodation” Under the ADA?

A reasonable accommodation under the ADA is, “a modification or adjustment to a job, the work environment, or the way things are usually done during the hiring process.” As the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) goes on to explain, the purpose of the ADA’s reasonable accommodation requirement is to ensure that, “individual[s] with a disability have an equal opportunity to not only get a job,” but successfully perform their job tasks to the same extent as people without disabilities.”

Reasonable accommodations can take many different forms; and, if you are covered under the ADA, you have the right to request any accommodation that you believe is reasonably necessary for you to safely and comfortably perform your job. Some examples of common reasonable accommodations include:

• Revised work schedules or additional flexibility regarding work hours
• Additional rest breaks
• Physical accommodations such as a different chair or work station
• Facility-related accommodations such as installing ramps or modifying an office’s layout
• Providing closed captioning, screen reading software or other necessary software tools

If you are covered under the ADA and you request a reasonable accommodation, your employer must process your request in good faith. This means that your employer must determine if it can provide your requested accommodation; and, if it cannot, it must determine if there is a reasonable alternative available. When determining what is “reasonable,” employers are allowed to consider factors such as:

• The costs involved in providing the accommodation
• The extensiveness of the work needed to provide the accommodation
• The impact of the accommodation on other employees’ ability to do their jobs
• Whether the accommodation would be disruptive
• Whether the accommodation would “fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the business”

If, based on these factors, an employer determines that providing an accommodation would constitute an “undue hardship,” then it is not required to provide an accommodation under the ADA. With that said, as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explains, “If a particular accommodation would be an undue hardship, [the employer] must try to identify another accommodation that will not pose such a hardship[; and, i]f cost causes the undue hardship, [the employer] must also consider whether funding for an accommodation is available from an outside source . . . .” Thus, employers have an obligation to provide reasonable accommodations in most cases—and, when they fail to do so, they can (and should) be held accountable.

Have You Been Denied a Reasonable Accommodation Under the ADA? Contact Us for More Information

If you believe that your employer has improperly denied your request for a reasonable accommodation in violation of the ADA, we encourage you to contact us for more information. To discuss your legal rights with an experienced Philadelphia employment lawyer in confidence, call us at 267-273-1054 or request a free consultation online today.