Failure to Accommodate Employment Lawyers Los Angeles

What failure to accommodate means under California law

In Los Angeles, most workplace disability accommodation claims are brought under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). FEHA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with known physical or mental disabilities, unless doing so would create an undue hardship on the operation of the business.

California law defines a disability more broadly than federal law. A condition only needs to limit a major life activity, making it difficult to perform, rather than substantially limiting it. This protection extends to workers across all Los Angeles sectors, including major employers like UCLA Health, USC, the City of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles, Netflix, Paramount, and the massive retail and tourism sectors.

Two separate claims: accommodation and the interactive process

Los Angeles failure to accommodate cases often involve two related but distinct legal duties. An employer can be liable for failing one duty even if they attempted the other:

• Failure to provide a reasonable accommodation under Government Code section 12940(m).
• Failure to engage in a timely, good faith interactive process under Government Code section 12940(n).

The interactive process is the mandatory back-and-forth communication to identify effective accommodations. Precedent setting cases provide strict guidelines. Shirvanyan v. Los Angeles Community College District (2020) clarified that an employee generally must prove a reasonable accommodation was actually available at the time the interactive process should have occurred. Richards v. CH2M Hill, Inc. (2001) established the continuing violation doctrine for reasonable accommodation, allowing employees to link a series of failures over time. Colmenares v. Braemar Country Club (2003) reaffirmed the broad application of California’s disability definition compared to federal standards.

What counts as a reasonable accommodation

A reasonable accommodation enables the employee to perform the essential functions of the job. Accommodations depend on the job duties and medical restrictions. Examples include:

• Modified or reduced schedules, including intermittent time off
• Remote work or telecommuting
• Ergonomic equipment or workstation modifications
• Transfer of non-essential job tasks
• Finite leaves of absence beyond protected leave periods
• Preferential reassignment to a vacant position for which the employee is qualified

Common failure to accommodate issues in Los Angeles workplaces

Recurring patterns in Los Angeles failure to accommodate cases often involve rigid policies. Examples include requiring an employee to be 100 percent healed before returning to work, automatically terminating an employee after FMLA expires without exploring further finite leave, ignoring medical documentation, or taking unreasonable delays to respond to requests.

Local Los Angeles considerations and major employers

Public sector workplaces, such as the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles, often have specific internal accommodation procedures that create additional administrative layers. In the private sector, large entities like UCLA Health, USC, Netflix, and Paramount must strictly adhere to FEHA standards. Employees in the massive retail and tourism sectors frequently face issues with scheduling adjustments or physical accommodations.

If you work in Los Angeles and need legal guidance about an accommodation request, a denial, a breakdown in the interactive process, or termination following medical restrictions, Miracle Mile Law Group can evaluate your situation and advise you on the best path forward to protect your career and your health.