California Disability Discrimination Attorney

Reasonable Accommodation Under § 12940(m)

The duty to accommodate is triggered the moment an employer knows of a physical or mental disability. Gov. Code § 12940(m) applies equally to job applicants and current employees. Common accommodations include modified schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, leave beyond what FMLA or CFRA require, remote work arrangements, modified equipment, and restructured non-essential duties.

An employer may refuse an accommodation only by proving undue hardship under Gov. Code § 12926(u): a showing that the accommodation requires significant difficulty or expense, assessed against the employer’s financial resources, workforce size, type of operations, and geographic and fiscal relationships between facilities. The burden of proving undue hardship falls on the employer, not the worker. An employer that simply asserts hardship without analysis has not met that burden.

The Interactive Process: What “Good Faith” Requires Under § 12940(n)

Gov. Code § 12940(n) requires employers to engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process with the employee or applicant to identify effective reasonable accommodations. When the process breaks down, liability is attributed to the party who caused the breakdown. An employer who fails to respond at all, delays without explanation, or makes a unilateral decision without consulting the employee bears responsibility for that failure.

Illustrative scenario: A warehouse worker discloses a herniated disc and requests a temporary light-duty assignment for eight weeks while completing physical therapy. Her employer acknowledges the request, schedules one meeting, and then stops communicating. Six weeks later, she receives a termination letter citing “inability to perform the job.” No accommodation was offered, no alternatives were explored, and no hardship analysis was conducted. Under § 12940(m) and (n), the employer’s unilateral decision to terminate without completing the interactive process is a textbook FEHA violation.

Warning Signs an Employer Has Violated the Law

A disability discrimination attorney evaluates these patterns when reviewing a potential claim. Each item below corresponds to a statutory duty your employer was required to fulfill:

• No response to an accommodation request. Silence after a written or verbal request violates the § 12940(n) duty to engage promptly and in good faith.
• Termination shortly after disclosure. Timing matters. Discharge within days or weeks of an employer learning of a disability is a recognized red flag and will be scrutinized for pretext.
• Claimed hardship with no supporting analysis. Under § 12926(u), “it would be too difficult” is not a legal defense. The employer must show specific financial or operational evidence.
• Refusal to consider any alternative. The interactive process requires genuine exploration of options. An employer that presents one option and terminates on the same day has not engaged in good faith.
• Position “eliminated” during or after leave. A frequent employer defense is that the role no longer exists. Under FEHA, the burden shifts to the employer to demonstrate the elimination was unrelated to the disability or accommodation request.
• Denial of leave or schedule modification without explanation. Where a leave or schedule change would have addressed the limitation without significant operational disruption, the denial must be justified under the undue hardship standard.
• Sudden negative performance reviews after disclosure. A performance record that changes in tone or frequency immediately after an accommodation request can support an inference of discriminatory motive.
• Exclusion from meetings, assignments, or advancement opportunities. FEHA protects not just termination but all terms, conditions, and privileges of employment under § 12940(a).