Are you living with a physical or mental disability or chronic medical condition that requires some kind of adjustment(s) to your work environment to be able to do your job? If so, you likely know that the law requires most employers to provide “reasonable accommodation” when requested by an employee.
This is required under both federal and Minnesota state law for employers with at least 15 employees. According to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR), an accommodation may involve “a change to the workplace, the job, the way the job is done, or the application or hiring process.”
Just what is “undue hardship?”
Under both federal and state law, an employer may deny a person’s request for an accommodation if it would cause “undue hardship” on the employer. Of course, that term could be open to interpretation.
To help prevent employers from wrongfully claiming that a requested accommodation would cause undue hardship, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) clarifies what that entails. According to the EEOC, undue hardship means that an accommodation “would be unduly costly, extensive, substantial or disruptive, or would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the business.”
The EEOC also notes that even if a specific accommodation would cause such a hardship, that doesn’t relieve an employer of the responsibility of finding “another accommodation that will not pose such a hardship.” They’re allowed to instead provide an accommodation “that effectively accommodates the disability,” according to the MDHR.
In addition to the undue hardship rule, employers can also deny a requested accommodation if it would involve eliminating essential functions of the job or if it would pose a safety risk to employees, customers or others.
Employees need to be allowed to help with the accommodation
The EEOC notes that employers “must also give the applicant or employee with a disability the opportunity to provide the accommodation or pay for the portion of the accommodation that constitutes an undue hardship.” That doesn’t mean all employees should be expected to pay for their accommodations. However, if the only reason for the denial is that the employer legitimately can’t afford it, then an employee needs to be allowed to provide it themselves.
Typically, it’s best when employees and employers can work together on reasonable accommodations that will help qualified people do their job without significant inconvenience to other employees or the business. If an employer isn’t willing to do that, it may help to get legal guidance.