Can reasonable accommodations cause undue hardship under the ADA?

Q           We have an employee who suffers from migraines and has been taking a lot of time off—especially on Mondays, our busiest day—creating a significant strain on her team and decreasing morale. Could this be considered an undue hardship under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?

Accommodating an employee with migraines under these circumstances may be considered an undue hardship if certain factors are met. Under the ADA, an employer discriminates against an employee with a qualifying disability—which can include physical conditions like migraines—by failing to implement reasonable accommodations unless the employer can show it would impose an undue hardship on the business.

Primarily, a reasonable accommodation should enable an employee to perform the essential functions of their job by accommodating their physical or mental limitations. At the same time, the accommodation must be feasible for the employer to implement—an employer is not required to agree to the specific accommodations requested by the employee. Thus, employers are required to go through an interactive process with employees to identify a reasonable accommodation, which in this case may look like a modified work environment or work schedule. In most circumstances, however, the parties should be able to identify an accommodation.