Reasonable Accommodation

A common question I get from clients goes something like this: “My employee handed in a note from their doctor saying they need a leave of absence. Do we have to give it to them?”

The short answer is not necessarily, at least not yet. But the note does trigger an important legal process, and how you handle it matters. Here’s a breakdown of what employers actually owe employees when a medical note requesting leave lands on your desk.

In March 2020, businesses across the country had no choice but to shutter their workplaces and permit their employees to work from home (also called “telecommuting” or “teleworking”). With vaccine distribution ramping up and government restrictions loosening, employers are starting to bring their employees back to work.

Now that many employers have been able to conduct business with a telecommuting workforce for the last year, many employers are grappling with the question of whether they will ever be able to deny an employee the ability to work from home as a reasonable accommodation in the future.

I was recently retained by a new client to defend the company against wage and hour charges brought by a former employee that were filed with the California Labor Commissioner’s office. As I do whenever I get a new client, I asked if they had an employee handbook or other written personnel policies. Unfortunately, they did not. This makes it much more difficult to defend against employment claims brought by employees. The failure to have written policies may be taken as evidence that you do not comply with your legal obligations.