Happy Cinco de Mayo all! This is our third installment of Leave on Me, our series on leave of absence law. Last week we discussed FMLA and CFRA and the requirements to qualify for either of these leaves of absence. This week we will delve into reasonable accommodation and the interactive process. For more info on the basics of leave of absence law, make sure to check out week one here.
Generally, reasonable accommodation and the interactive process come into play when an employee has a disability. In the context of this series, we are approaching both of these concepts from the perspective of an employee returning from a leave of absence. Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") requires that an employer provide reasonable accommodation to qualified employees or applicants for employment, unless to do so would cause an undue hardship. To determine whether a reasonable accommodation is something that is viable, an employer has an obligation to engage in the interactive process with the employee. The interactive process generally consists of a sit down meeting with the employee and management to determine what type of accommodations the employee will need to perform their job duties. This meeting, however, requires more than just an employer talking at an employee. It is called the interactive process for a reason. There should be an honest dialogue where the employee can discuss exactly what their limitations are and the employer can discuss just how much they can accommodate them.
A reasonable accommodation can look like a variety of scenarios; an extended leave, part time work, limitations of physical duties. The employer is required to do research on what type of reasonable accommodations could work in a particular employee's situation. The reasonable accommodation requirement balances the interests of the employee maintaining their employment with not placing an undue hardship on an employer. An undue hardship generally means significant difficulty or expense and focuses on the resources and circumstances of the particular employer. The employer is not required to waive essential job functions of the position, including lowering or waiving productivity standards consistently applied to all employees in the position or creating a new position for the employee.
To better illustrate exactly how the process works let's try an example. Bill has been an employee of Acme Limited for 10 years as an accountant. Acme Limited has 400 employees and is based in Los Angeles, CA. Bill was diagnosed with cancer and informed his employer that he would need to undergo at least four rounds of chemotherapy. Acme's Human Resource department informed Bill that he was entitled to FMLA/CFRA Leave and provided him all of the requisite notices. Bill took the full 12 weeks off for his treatments. At the end of the 12 weeks, Bill's doctor released Bill back to work but with certain restrictions. Bill was not to work more than 5 hours a day due to the side effects of his treatments. When Bill returned to work he had a meeting with Human Resources where he explained his current physical state and Human Resources agreed to comply with Bill's restrictions, though he did not have any additional leave available. Bill was therefore able to receive a reasonable accommodation after going through the interactive process.
If you have any questions regarding reasonable accommodations or the interactive process contact the Attorney's at The Rad Firm, APC.
