On the recent trend to direct workers back to the office, employers should not overlook teleworking as a reasonable accommodation for a disabled employee.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has sued Federal Express Corporation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for its refusal to accommodate a disabled 30-year dispatcher’s request to telework because of  physical disabilities affecting her ability to walk.

FedEx cited an “operational need” for all dispatchers to work in-office, which the EEOC rejected, citing that the company had remote dispatching for three years during the pandemic.

EEOC Regional Attorney Kimberly A. Cruz stated:

Allowing an employee to work at home can be a reasonable accommodation where the person’s disability prevents them from successfully performing the job on-site and the job, or parts of the job, can be performed at home without causing significant difficulty or expense. Before denying such accommodation requests, companies must sincerely evaluate whether the accommodations can be made, whether they would require significant difficulty or expense, and/or whether alternative accommodations exist.”

Take-Aways:

Management must engage in an interactive process with disabled employees to find reasonable accommodations short of undue hardship to the employer.

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

See also:

• Pregnant Worker Discrimination: Company Pays Big for Brushing Off Accommodations (February 6, 2025)
• Religious Ruling Favors Employees: Supreme Court Requires Accommodation Unless Substantial Cost Burden (September 1, 2023)
• Bathroom Discrimination: EEOC: Walmart Failed to Accommodate Disabled Worker’s Toilet Trips (April 14, 2023)

Helena Kobrin
March 7, 2025