Does my employer have to accommodate my disability?

Question

Accepted Answer

Short answer: Generally yes, under Arizona law — with important conditions.

Under Arizona's employment discrimination statute, it is an unlawful employment practice for a covered entity to fail to make reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified applicant or employee, unless the covered entity can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its business . It is also unlawful to deny employment opportunities to an otherwise qualified applicant or employee based on the employer's need to make a reasonable accommodation .

Key conditions and limits:

- You must be a "qualified individual" — meaning a person with a disability who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job .
- Your condition must meet the statutory definition of "disability" — a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment (excluding impairments caused by current illegal drug use) . However, if you qualify *only* under the "regarded as" prong, the employer is not required to provide a reasonable accommodation .
- Your employer must be covered — generally, an "employer" means a person with fifteen or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year .
- The "undue hardship" defense — an employer may refuse if the accommodation would require significant difficulty or expense, weighed against factors like the cost of the accommodation, the financial resources and size of the facility and the business, and the nature of the operation .
- What counts as a reasonable accommodation includes making facilities accessible, job restructuring, part-time or modified schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquiring or modifying equipment, adjusting exams or training materials, and providing readers or interpreters .
- Direct threat exception — an employer may require that an individual with a disability not pose a direct threat (a significant risk that cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation) to the health or safety of others in the workplace .

Federal law note: The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) also governs workplace disability accommodation alongside Arizona's statute, but the ADA is federal law and outside the scope of the Arizona sources provided here — for advice on your ADA rights, consult a licensed attorney.

Caveat: The sources provided do not address the process for requesting an accommodation, filing deadlines, or how to bring a complaint, so this answer covers only the substantive duty described above. For guidance on your specific situation, consult a licensed Arizona attorney.