What A Reasonable Accommodation Is, And Who Has To Provide One In Michigan.
Both the ADA and Michigan’s Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act call on employers to adjust jobs and workplaces for qualified workers with disabilities, subject to undue hardship. The state law has no minimum employer size.
The Basics Of Disability Accommodation.
Overview only, not legal advice. Confirm what the law says today.
Who Is Covered
The ADA begins at 15 employees. Michigan’s PWDCRA has no size threshold.
What Counts As An Accommodation
A change in the job, the schedule or the work environment that lets a qualified person do the essential functions, such as equipment, modified schedules or a leave of absence.
The Undue Hardship Limit
An employer need not provide an accommodation that causes significant difficulty or expense, judged by cost, resources and the effect on operations.
Handling A Request.
A request need not be phrased in legal terms. A worker who tells a supervisor a medical condition makes a task hard has given notice, and the employer should begin the conversation. Michigan law also expects written notice from employees, so check the current statutory text with counsel before leaning on it to refuse a request.
The accommodation must fit the essential functions, which are the fundamental duties of the job, not every task listed in a job description. The employer may choose among effective accommodations, and it may ask for medical documentation that is limited to the need for the accommodation.
Anything gathered about a worker’s medical condition belongs in a confidential file kept separate from the general personnel file. Share it only with supervisors who must know about restrictions, safety personnel and certain others.
Where this shows up in your plan.
Plan Eligibility Stays Neutral
Accommodating an employee leaves plan eligibility rules untouched; the employee receives benefits on the same terms as comparable colleagues.
Leave As An Accommodation
Unpaid leave can be a reasonable accommodation and can interact with FMLA and health coverage rules.
Cost Of The Accommodation Versus The Plan
Accommodations are paid by the employer as an employment cost. They are not a health plan benefit unless the plan covers them.
Setting it up.
Treat any statement about a medical limitation as a possible request and respond promptly.
Identify the essential functions of the job.
Ask for only the medical information needed to understand the limitation and the need.
Consider options, including ones the employee proposes, and document the decision.
Review the accommodation periodically and keep medical records confidential.
Mistakes to avoid.
Requiring a specific form or the words reasonable accommodation.
Denying a request because the employer has fewer than 15 employees without checking Michigan law.
Disclosing a diagnosis to coworkers.
Applying a no-fault leave policy without considering accommodation.
Other rules employers work with.
Accommodation Guide: ADA and Religious Requests
The parent guide for disability and religious accommodation.
Harassment and Discrimination Rules
Michigan and federal prohibitions.
FMLA Rules for Michigan Employers
Eligibility and benefits during leave.
Laws and Rules Referenced
ADA discrimination provisions, 42 U.S.C. 12112 — The duty to make reasonable accommodation and rules on medical inquiries.
ADA definitions, 42 U.S.C. 12111 — Employer, reasonable accommodation and undue hardship.
ADA regulations, 29 CFR 1630.2 — What counts as a reasonable accommodation, plus the interactive process.
PWDCRA, MCL 37.1101 et seq. — Michigan disability discrimination and accommodation.
Quick answers.
Brief replies on disability accommodation for Michigan employers, with links to the whole guide.
Must a very small employer follow the ADA?
The ADA starts at 15 employees; Michigan’s statute has no size floor.
Do we have to provide the accommodation the employee asks for?
Not necessarily. The employer may choose among effective options, but the accommodation must actually work.
Can we ask for a doctor note?
Yes, when the disability or need is unclear, and only as to the limitation and the accommodation.
What is undue hardship?
Significant difficulty or expense, judged by factors such as cost, the employer resources and the effect on the operation.
More guides in this series.
Religious Accommodation Under Title VII and Michigan Law
A companion guide in the same series.
The ADA Interactive Process for Michigan Employers
A companion guide in the same series.
Disability Leave, Accommodation and Health Plan Eligibility
A companion guide in the same series.
ADA, GINA and Wellness Program Rules for Michigan Employers
A companion guide in the same series.
Reassignment, Modified Schedules and Reduced Hours as ADA Accommodations
A companion guide in the same series.
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