January 06, 2016
The only statutory limitation on an employer’s obligation to provide reasonable accommodation is that no such change is required if it would cause “undue hardship” to the employer. “Undue hardship” means significant difficulty or expense, and focuses on the resources and circumstances of the particular employer with regard to the cost or difficulty of providing a specific accommodation. A determination of whether an accommodation constitutes an undue hardship is based on several factors, including:
- the nature and cost of the accommodation;
- the overall financial resources of the facility making the reasonable accommodation;
- the number of persons employed at the facility;
- the effect of the accommodation on the expenses and resources of the facility;
- the overall financial resources, size, number of employees of the employer (if the facility involved in the reasonable accommodation is part of a larger entity);
- the type of operation of the employer, including the structure and functions of the workforce, the geographic separateness, and the administrative or fiscal relationship of the facility involved in making the accommodation to the employer;
- the impact of the accommodation on the operation of the facility. 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(p)(2).
Thus, undue hardship refers not only to financial difficulty, but to reasonable accommodations that are unduly extensive, substantial, or disruptive, or those that would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the business.