When enough is enough: limits on an employer's duty to accommodate

Deciding how to accommodate an employee's disability is always a fact-driven, situation-specific analysis. Unfortunately, there's no clear-cut test. And the analysis becomes more challenging when the employee's disability is questionable and his accommodation request involves special treatment—such as jumping the queue to get a coveted office or being granted privileges that no other employee has.

Even (or especially) in challenging situations, the employer's responsibility is to be objective and reasonable, and the employee's responsibility is to provide the necessary information and cooperate with the employer in assessing potential accommodations. Savvy employers will fulfill their responsibilities and hold employees accountable for fulfilling theirs—and document each step of the process.

First accommodation request: time and a quiet workspace

In 2012, John Doe was hired by the California Department of Corrections (CDCR) to work as a psychologist at Ironwood State Prison in Blythe. (It's unlikely that “John Doe” is his real name, but for undisclosed reasons, that's the name he used in the lawsuit.) On the employment application he completed in 2007, he indicated that he didn't have a disability, so no accommodation was required.

In January 2013, shortly after he was hired, Doe requested an accommodation for an unspecified “learning disorder.” The accommodation he sought was “time to read and write in a work space that's quiet.” The CDCR asked him to provide medical documentation of the existence of his disability and his need for the accommodation.