When consulting with employers regarding employee accommodation requests under the Americans with Disabilities Act, we frequently hear concerns that granting a requested accommodation will likely result in coworkers making similar requests to obtain the same scheduling or other perceived benefits. Of course, any worker seeking accommodations would be subject to the ADA’s medical certification requirements. However, companies also have the right to evaluate accommodation requests based on the impact of measures in place for other employees.
Let’s use the example of an employee who requests an accommodation that would excuse her from working overtime due to a medical condition. The company determines that overtime is not an essential function for that employee, and that excusing her will not result in an undue hardship. After learning that their coworker no longer has to work overtime, two employees in the same department present the employer with medical information disclosing ADA disabilities and requesting similar accommodations. The company determines that the inability of three workers in the same department to work overtime would result in its inability to meet production demands.
Can the company deny the accommodation requests based on similar measures previously put in place for another employee? The answer is yes, if the company can demonstrate an undue hardship. The cumulative impact of successive accommodation requests may be taken into account when reviewing the subsequent requests.
As an alternative to denying the subsequent employees’ requests, the employer could reevaluate the original employee’s accommodation based on the later employee situations. When an employer agrees to grant an ADA accommodation, it should explain in writing to the employee that the measures put in place are not guaranteed as permanent and may be revisited based on changing business circumstances. The company could attempt to devise an overtime plan that provides maximum accommodations to the disabled workers while still meeting production goals.
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