THE REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION SEARCH AREA

How far must an agency search in seeking a position to which it can reassign an employee needing a reasonable accommodation?  Here is what EEOC said recently. “We emphasize that a federal agency’s obligation under the Rehabilitation Act to offer reassignment is not limited to vacancies within a particular department, facility, or geographical area. Instead, the extent of the agency’s search for a vacant position is an issue of undue hardship. Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation at Q. 27. Accordingly, absent undue hardship, the agency must conduct an agency-wide search for vacant, funded positions that the employee can perform with or without reasonable accommodation. See Julius C. v. Dep’t of the Air Force, EEOC Appeal No. 0120151295 (June 16, 2017).” Bill A., v. Megan J. Brennan, Postmaster General, EEOC Nos. 0120182340, 2019005819 (2020)