TELECOMMUTING CAN BE A REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
Just a few weeks ago another federal circuit court held that a disabled employee’s request to telecommute can be a reasonable accommodation. If an employer wants to deny the requested accommodation, it has the burden to prove that granting it would cause it an “undue hardship.” If you are dealing with this issue, take a look at what a management-side law firm is telling clients about telecommuting as a reasonable accommodation. Note particularly the court’s criticism of the company for trying to restate the position’s essential duties to include arguments why telecommuting would be an undue hardship and the court’s rejection of the tired old management objection that employees cannot telecommute because their work requires teamwork with others, “we are not persuaded that positions that require a great deal of teamwork are inherently unsuitable to telecommuting arrangements.” FEDSMILL has written about this before, e.g., “Want to Telework As A Reasonable Accommodation?”