In the workplace, disabled employees have various needs. For example, someone struggling with a hearing disability or blindness could require an interpreter or reader, and a staff member who uses a wheelchair might need assistance with respect to accessibility. According to the law, employers must accommodate disabled employees. However, they do not have to provide accommodations if the changes would result in undue hardship.
It is pivotal for disabled workers and employers to review issues related to reasonable accommodations and undue hardship closely.
An overview of undue hardship
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission provides information on disability discrimination, reasonable accommodations and undue hardship. According to the EEOC, an employer does not have to provide accommodations if the changes would cause their business to suffer undue hardship. For example, if an accommodation would prove too costly based on a firm’s size and resources, an employer may not have a legal obligation to move forward with its implementation.
Addressing false claims of undue hardship
It is important to understand that employers cannot reject accommodations just because they generate certain costs. In some instances, employers falsely claim that they cannot move forward with accommodations because the changes would prove too costly and they wrongly deny requests. Also, disabled workers might have the ability to work with their employer and find an alternative accommodation that meets their needs.
Unfortunately, some employers refuse to help disabled staff members with respect to reasonable accommodations. It is pivotal for disabled workers who deal with violations of their rights and experience discrimination at work to go over the unique details of their case closely.