Failing to provide accommodation brings risk, even absent damages to worker

Under federal and state antidiscrimination statutes, most employers must provide reasonable accommodations to employees who experience a disability that interferes with their performance. The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Maryland employers) recently spotlighted the financial risk to employers of not providing an accommodation, even when the affected employee suffers no job loss or financial harm.

Blind CSR eventually winds up getting transfer

Yasmin Reyazuddin worked for the Montgomery County government as a customer service representative (CSR). The county decided to consolidate all of its CSRs into a single call center.

The county didn’t transfer Reyazuddin, who is blind, to the new call center because the software in use there wasn’t accessible to visually impaired users. Instead, she was shifted to a series of alternative positions with the county.

Reyazuddin sought to regain her CSR job and ultimately filed a lawsuit against the county alleging it had failed to accommodate her disability in violation of the federal Rehabilitation Act, a forerunner to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

After a trial, the jury found the county had failed to accommodate Reyazuddin’s disability but awarded no damages. She then requested a court order directing the county to transfer her to the call center.

Before the trial court could rule on the matter, the county transferred Reyazuddin to the call center. The court therefore determined a transfer order was unwarranted.

But what about attorneys’ fees?