The American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibit discrimination and harassment of employees based on a disability or medical condition, whether actual or perceived. Employers are required to make “reasonable accommodation” to the known physical or mental limitations of otherwise qualified applicants or employees with disabilities, unless the employer can demonstrate that accommodation would cause an undue hardship. Some examples of “reasonable accommodation” include:

• Job restructuring
• Modifying work schedule
• Part-time work schedule
• Medical leave
• Re-assignment
• Acquisition or modification of equipment

It is also mandatory under the ADA for employers to engage in an “interactive process” to determine what accommodations are suitable for implementation to address the employee’s disability or medical condition. The employer’s failure to engage in the interactive process may result in liability. However, if the employee refuses to cooperate with the employer in the process, the employee’s claims could be diminished. Because of the intricacies of the requirements, we recommend that clients proceed cautiously in navigating through the labyrinth of the interactive process to determine the appropriate reasonable accommodation.