When an employee has a disability or medical condition that affects their ability to perform their job, employers may have a legal obligation to provide reasonable accommodations. If your employer refuses to engage in the accommodation process, ignores your restrictions, or punishes you for requesting help, you may have important legal rights.
Goodman Sullivan Law Group, Inc. represents employees facing failure to accommodate, disability discrimination, and retaliation issues. We help employees understand their options and pursue the protections available under California law.
When an employee informs an employer that a medical condition or disability affects work, the employer may have a duty to respond appropriately. That can include considering reasonable accommodations, discussing options in good faith, and avoiding actions that punish the employee for needing help.
Too often, employers delay, demand unnecessary information, reject workable solutions, isolate the employee, or start building a paper trail toward discipline or termination. We know those tactics and we know how to challenge them.
A failure to accommodate happens when an employer does not make reasonable changes that would allow a qualified employee to perform the essential functions of the job or enjoy equal access to the workplace. The right accommodation depends on the employee’s condition, job duties, restrictions, and the realities of the workplace.
Reasonable accommodations may include modified duties, schedule changes, leave, reassignment in some situations, ergonomic equipment, remote work in appropriate cases, extra breaks, policy modifications, or other practical adjustments. An employer does not get to ignore the issue simply because the request is inconvenient.
Silence, Delay, and Stonewalling Can Be Part of the Violation.
California law may require employers to engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process once they become aware of the need for an accommodation. That means the employer should communicate, evaluate options, and seriously consider workable solutions.
Many employers fail not just by denying accommodations, but by avoiding the process altogether. They ignore requests, demand the same paperwork repeatedly, refuse to discuss alternatives, or make decisions without meaningful dialogue. That conduct may support a separate legal claim.
Failure to accommodate cases rarely stand alone. Employers that refuse accommodations often also discriminate, retaliate, or push employees out after medical issues arise. What starts as an accommodation request can quickly turn into write-ups, isolation, reduced hours, demotion, or termination.
If your employer treated you like a burden after you asked for accommodation, that may support multiple claims under California law.
California employees may have claims under the Fair Employment and Housing Act and California Government Code section 12940, which prohibit disability discrimination, failure to provide reasonable accommodation, and failure to engage in the interactive process. Depending on the facts, related claims may also include retaliation and wrongful termination.
Employers often assume employees dealing with medical issues will back down, resign, or accept mistreatment because they are already under pressure. We do not let employers take advantage of that. Our firm aggressively represents California employees in failure to accommodate, disability discrimination, and retaliation cases.
If your employer refused workplace accommodations, ignored medical restrictions, failed to engage in the interactive process, or pushed you out after you asked for help, do not wait to get legal advice. You may have a strong claim and important rights under California law.
Injured in an accident? Our expert team is here to guide you through your rights and next steps with personalized legal advice.
