Disability Accommodations at Work: Your Rights Under California Law

Anxiety. A bad back. Diabetes. A cancer diagnosis. A pregnancy complication. A knee that needs surgery. If a health condition affects your work, California law does more than forbid your employer from firing you over it. It requires your employer to sit down with you and find a reasonable way for you to keep doing your job. Employers that skip that step, or that let an employee go instead of accommodating them, are one of the most common sources of the employment claims we see.

Who Is Protected

The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) protects employees with physical disabilities, mental disabilities, and medical conditions, and it applies to employers with five or more employees. (Cal. Gov. Code §§ 12926(d), 12940(a).)

California’s definition is deliberately broader than federal law. A condition qualifies if it “limits” a major life activity, which includes working. The Legislature’s own examples include HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, epilepsy, seizure disorder, diabetes, clinical depression, bipolar disorder, multiple sclerosis, and heart disease. Whether a condition is limiting is judged without regard to medication or other measures that help control it, and a condition “limits” a major life activity if it simply makes that activity difficult. (Cal. Gov. Code § 12926(j)(1), (m)(1)(B).)

Three more points people miss:

• You are protected if your employer regards or treats you as having a disability, even if it is wrong. (Cal. Gov. Code § 12926(m)(4).)
• “Medical condition” separately covers cancer, a history of cancer, and genetic characteristics. (Cal. Gov. Code § 12926(i).)
• Pregnancy-related conditions carry their own right to reasonable accommodation and up to four months of leave. (Cal. Gov. Code § 12945(a)(1), (3).)

Your Employer Has Two Separate Duties

Once your employer knows about your disability, it has two obligations. Failing either one is its own violation.

1. Provide a reasonable accommodation. The employer must reasonably accommodate a known disability unless it proves the accommodation would cause undue hardship, meaning “significant difficulty or expense” measured against the size and resources of the business. (Cal. Gov. Code §§ 12940(m)(1), 12926(u).) For most employers and most requests, that is a high bar.
2. Engage in the interactive process. When you ask for an accommodation, the employer must engage in a “timely, good faith, interactive process” to figure out what will work. (Cal. Gov. Code § 12940(n).) That means a real back-and-forth, not a one-line denial, weeks of silence, or a form letter telling you to come back when you are fully healed.

What a Reasonable Accommodation Can Look Like

The statute lists examples, and the list is not exclusive. (Cal. Gov. Code § 12926(p).)

• A modified or part-time schedule
• Job restructuring, such as shifting a marginal duty to someone else
• Lifting, standing, or driving restrictions
• New or modified equipment, or a changed workstation
• Time off for treatment, or a finite leave of absence
• Reassignment to a vacant position you are qualified for
• Remote work, where the job allows it

Your employer does not have to give you the exact accommodation you ask for, but it does have to offer one that works. Leave can be an accommodation by itself. Eligible employees get up to 12 workweeks of job-protected medical leave under the California Family Rights Act (Cal. Gov. Code § 12945.2(a)), and California courts have long held that a finite additional leave can be a reasonable accommodation when the employee is likely to be able to return to work at the end of it. (Hanson v. Lucky Stores, Inc. (1999) 74 Cal.App.4th 215.) What the employer cannot do is put you on open-ended unpaid leave and forget about you.

How to Ask

There are no magic words, and you do not need to use the word “accommodation.” Tell your supervisor or human resources that you have a medical condition and need a change at work because of it. Then put it in writing, even a two-line email, so there is a record of when you asked. Something like this is enough:

“I have a medical condition that affects my ability to [stand for long periods / work the closing shift / lift more than 20 pounds]. I am requesting [a stool at the register / a schedule change / a lifting restriction] as a reasonable accommodation. I can provide a note from my doctor.”

Your employer may ask for reasonable medical documentation confirming that you have a condition and need an accommodation. A short note from your doctor listing your work restrictions is usually the fastest way to move the process forward. Keep a copy of everything you send and everything you receive.

Retaliation Is Illegal

It is unlawful to retaliate against you for requesting an accommodation, whether or not the request was granted. (Cal. Gov. Code § 12940(m)(2).) Warning signs:

• Your first write-up arrives soon after you ask.
• You are told not to come back until you are “100% healed” or have “no restrictions.”
• You are placed on open-ended unpaid leave with no discussion.
• Your hours are cut, or your position is “eliminated,” while your request is pending.
• You are let go within weeks of returning from medical leave.

If Your Employer Refuses

Keep copies of your requests, your doctor’s notes, and every response. Claims under FEHA generally must be filed with the California Civil Rights Department within three years, and a lawsuit filed within one year of the right-to-sue notice. (Cal. Gov. Code §§ 12960(e)(5), 12965(c)(1)(D).) An employee who prevails can recover lost wages, emotional distress damages, and attorney’s fees (Cal. Gov. Code § 12965(c)(6)), and punitive damages where the employer acted with malice, oppression, or fraud (Cal. Civ. Code § 3294(a)).

If your employer ignored your request, told you to come back only when you are fully healed, or let you go instead of accommodating you, North Star Law, PC can review your situation in a free consultation.