Dive Brief:

• Reasonable accommodations are not limited to essential job functions, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held in a case involving an employee's request that meeting materials be provided in a large font or distributed to her in advance of meetings (Stokes v. Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, No. 17-11083 (5th Cir., Oct. 4, 2018)).
• Jacqueline Stokes, an operations support specialist at the Department of Homeland Security, received multiple accommodations for a vision impairment, according to court documents: a workstation with natural lighting, special light bulbs, multiple monitors, magnifying software and magnifying equipment. She then requested that she be provided with meeting materials in advance, so she could review with her magnifying equipment, or in a large font. Despite assurances from her supervisors that the accommodation would be provided and her follow-up reminders, she never received the requested materials, according to the court. Stokes sued, alleging she was denied a reasonable accommodation under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act public-sector counterpart.
• The trial court dismissed Stokes' claims, finding that a reasonable accommodation is only required when necessary to perform an essential function of the job. The appeals court disagreed, saying that the lower court applied the wrong legal standard. "Our circuit," the appeals court said, "has explicitly rejected the requirement that requested modifications must be necessary to perform essential job functions to constitute a reasonable accommodation."

Dive Insight:

Disability discrimination under the ADA and the Rehab Act includes an employer's failure to make reasonable accommodations, unless the employer can demonstrate that such an accommodation would impose an undue hardship, the Stokes court noted in its opinion.

Accommodations can take many forms, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which enforces the ADA. Employers may need to make existing facilities accessible; restructure a job; allow for a part-time or modified work schedule; acquire or modify equipment; change tests, training materials or policies; provide qualified readers or interpreters; and offer reassignment to a vacant position, among others, according to an EEOC guidance.

HR can work to make sure that simple requests for accommodation don't turn into lawsuits by training managers on the law's requirements. When such requests are handled incorrectly — and the employer fails to engage in the ADA's interactive process — the consequences can be serious. A rejected request from a diabetic worker that she be allowed to keep a small container of orange juice at the counter in case of a medical emergency led to a jury trial for Dollar General that ended with a $700,000 award. Experts recommend that managers generally be allowed to grant simple adjustments or policy exemptions, noting that by getting into "ADA land," employers can sometimes turn a small problem in a major issue. Managers also should know, however, when requests need to be escalated to HR.