State and federal statutes protect workers with disabling medical conditions. Federal anti-discrimination statutes include medical conditions and genetic information among the various protected characteristics that should not affect employment rights.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) expands on those baseline protections by requiring that employers accommodate workers with disabling medical conditions. Ohio has adopted a similar state statute. Ideally, workers who need support to perform their jobs safely and effectively can secure the support of their employers.
Unfortunately, some businesses may resent the expense or operational disruptions created by a worker’s accommodation requests. Is it legal for employers to refuse to accommodate workers in certain circumstances?
Limitations on accommodation requests apply
Both employers and workers should enter into accommodation discussions in good faith. Workers shouldn’t make unrealistic demands, and employers should try to support workers who can perform their jobs with reasonable accommodations. That being said, there are a handful of scenarios in which businesses can justify a refusal to accommodate workers with disabling medical conditions.
In some cases, the business may not actually be large enough for disability protections to apply. Typically, a company needs to have at least 15 employees for reasonable accommodation obligations to apply to a work arrangement under the ADA.
Small local businesses can justify denying all accommodation requests because the ADA does not apply. Thankfully, Ohio has enacted more robust protections than the ADA. Ohio has a state statute that applies to smaller businesses if they have four or more employees.
Employers can also potentially deny accommodation requests if they create undue hardship. Undue hardship relates to financial expense or operational disruptions.
For example, if a worker requests specialized devices that cost tens of thousands of dollars, businesses may be able to reject the request because of the impact it could have on the company’s finances. Similarly, when the specific accommodations requested could significantly disrupt company operations, that could be a hardship that justifies declining the worker’s request.
Employers do have the right to establish internal systems for handling reasonable accommodation requests. They can deny workers support if they do not follow appropriate procedures as outlined in employee handbooks or employment contracts. In cases where workers do not have medical documentation affirming the need for accommodations, employers could also theoretically decline their requests without consequence.
Reviewing communication with an employer and other details about the situation can help a worker determine if they have experienced workplace disability discrimination. The unfair refusal to provide reasonable accommodations could constitute actionable disability discrimination in some cases.