Employee Rights

ADA — Disability & Accommodation

At AJG Law Group, PC, we represent California employees who have been denied disability accommodations, fired instead of being accommodated, or subjected to adverse action after disclosing a medical condition. Both California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) impose strict obligations on employers — and California’s law is broader in almost every respect.

Who Is Covered

California FEHA vs. Federal ADA

The ADA applies to employers with 15 or more employees. California’s FEHA applies to employers with as few as 5 employees. FEHA also defines disability more broadly: a physical or mental condition that limits a major life activity qualifies — not just one that substantially limits it. This means many conditions that would not qualify under the ADA still entitle California employees to accommodation under FEHA.

FEHA also provides a longer statute of limitations (three years from the discriminatory act versus the EEOC’s 300-day deadline), requires the employer to pay attorney fees when the employee prevails, and allows recovery of emotional distress damages. For California employees, FEHA is almost always the stronger statute.

Common Disability Accommodation Issues

Accommodation Request Ignored or Denied

An employer who receives an accommodation request and does nothing — does not respond, does not follow up, does not initiate any discussion — has violated FEHA’s interactive process requirement. This is an independent violation, separate from any question of whether the accommodation itself should have been granted. An employer cannot claim the request was unreasonable if they never discussed it.

Inadequate Alternatives Offered

An employer who offers an accommodation that does not actually allow the employee to perform their job, or that is so inferior to the employee’s actual request that it is effectively a denial, has not complied with FEHA. The interactive process may require a genuine exploration of what accommodations are feasible.

Termination Before Completing the Process

Terminating an employee while an accommodation request is pending, or before the interactive process has run its course, is among the most common FEHA violations. The employer’s obligation is to engage in the process before taking adverse action. Terminating the employee to avoid having to provide an accommodation does not excuse the failure.

Return from Leave — Restrictions Not Accommodated

When an employee returns from medical leave with work restrictions — a lifting limit, a reduced schedule, a remote work requirement — the employer must accommodate those restrictions unless they impose an undue hardship. Terminating or refusing to reinstate an employee because of work restrictions upon return is a FEHA violation.

The Interactive Process

California law requires employers to engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process when an employee requests a disability accommodation. The process requires:

• A prompt response to the accommodation request — ignoring or delaying indefinitely is itself a violation
• A genuine discussion with the employee about what accommodations might work — the employer must participate, not just receive the request
• Consideration of alternatives if the specific accommodation requested is not feasible
• No adverse action until the process has been completed and the parties have genuinely explored options

A failure to engage in the interactive process is an independent FEHA violation even if the accommodation itself might ultimately have been properly denied. That means an employee can prevail on the interactive process claim alone, regardless of whether the requested accommodation was reasonable.

What You Can Recover

A successful FEHA disability accommodation case can recover:

• Lost wages — back pay from the date of the adverse action through judgment
• Front pay — future income losses if reinstatement is not feasible
• Emotional distress damages — the anxiety and disruption caused by the employer’s failure
• Punitive damages — available where the employer’s conduct was willful or oppressive
• Attorney fees — paid by the employer when the employee prevails under FEHA

If your employer denied a disability accommodation request or failed to engage in the interactive process before taking adverse action, contact AJG Law Group, PC for a free consultation.