How does the law define reasonable accommodation?
In employment law, an employer is entitled to make reasonable accommodation for an employee's disability or an employee's religious beliefs. What constitutes a reasonable accommodation depends on the context.
For an employee with a disability, providing a reasonable accommodation means giving assistance or making changes in the job or the workplace that will allow the employee to do the job. Reasonable accommodations fall into three general categories:
Employers also have to provide a reasonable accommodation for an employee's religious beliefs or practices. This might mean not scheduling an employee to work on a Sabbath day or relaxing a company dress code so that an employee can wear religious garments. The law is still evolving as to how much religious expression an employer must allow at work as a reasonable accommodation. For example, an employee's religious beliefs might require the employee to profess his or her faith or attempt to proselytize coworkers. However, accommodating these beliefs could be disruptive in the workplace, or even lead other employees to feel harassed. The lines on this issue continue to be drawn.