Top 5 Ways Employers Fail Disabled Workers Seeking Reasonable Accommodations

The most common ways California employers fail disabled workers are ignoring accommodation requests, refusing to have a real conversation about solutions, demanding more medical information than the law allows, punishing workers for asking, and claiming “undue hardship” without proof. Each can violate the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which applies to employers with five or more employees. If one of these is happening to you, a written record of your request and your employer’s response is the most important thing you can build right now.

1. Ignoring or sitting on your request

Some employers simply don’t respond. Others say they’ll “look into it” and let weeks or months pass. California requires a timely, good-faith interactive process once your employer knows you need an accommodation. Unexplained delay can amount to a denial, and it can be evidence that your employer failed to engage in good faith.

Your employer’s duty can begin even without a formal request. Under 2 CCR §11069(b), it must start the process when it learns of your need from someone else or by observation, or when you’ve used up workers’ compensation, CFRA, FMLA or other leave and still need an accommodation.

What to do: Put your request in writing, keep a copy, and follow up in writing if you don’t get a response. Note the dates.

2. Refusing to engage in the interactive process

A one-line “no,” a “we don’t do that here” or a meeting where the decision was already made isn’t a good-faith process. Under 2 CCR §11069(c), your employer must give your request due consideration, analyze the job’s essential functions, explore possible accommodations with you and discuss alternatives if it rejects your idea. Failing to engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process is a separate unlawful practice under Gov. Code §12940(n).

Hypothetical: Marcus, a delivery dispatcher with diabetes, asks for two short breaks a shift to check his blood sugar. His manager replies, “Breaks are fixed. No exceptions,” and won’t discuss it further. No one looked at whether the breaks were workable or offered an alternative. That kind of response can support both a failure-to-engage and a failure-to-accommodate claim. Our guide to the interactive process explains what a good-faith process looks like.

3. Demanding excessive medical information

Your employer can ask for reasonable medical documentation when your disability or need isn’t obvious. That generally means a note from your provider that:

• gives the provider’s name and credentials;
• states that you have a condition that limits a major life activity; and
• explains why you need an accommodation.

It generally can’t demand unrelated records, such as your complete medical file, and you don’t have to disclose the nature of your disability. Once it has sufficient documentation, it shouldn’t ask about the underlying medical cause. If your employer says the documentation isn’t enough, it must explain what is missing and let you supplement it. If it then requires an exam, it must pick up the cost and limit the exam to the functional limitations at issue (2 CCR §11069(c), (d)).

Red flags: requests for your entire medical history, repeated paperwork demands with no explanation of what’s missing, or supervisors who know your diagnosis when only HR should. Medical information must be kept in a separate, confidential file.

4. Retaliating for the request

It can be unlawful to discriminate or retaliate against you for requesting an accommodation, whether or not the request is granted (Gov. Code §12940(m)(2); 2 CCR §11068(k)). Retaliation can look like:

• cut hours or a worse schedule;
• a sudden negative review or write-up;
• being excluded from meetings, projects or promotions;
• demotion or termination.

Timing matters. A write-up that arrives a week after your first-ever accommodation request, after years of good reviews, is the kind of evidence that can support a claim. See retaliation claims in California.

5. Claiming undue hardship without proof

An employer can refuse an accommodation only if it would cause undue hardship, which California defines as “significant difficulty or expense” in light of factors such as the accommodation’s cost, the employer’s overall resources and size, and the type of operation (Gov. Code §12926(u)). It is the employer’s defense to prove, and the regulations say it must be shown after engaging in the interactive process (2 CCR §11068(a)). “It would be too hard” or “it isn’t fair to everyone else” isn’t proof.

Hypothetical: A 300-employee company tells Rosa, who uses a wheelchair, that lowering a break-room counter is “too expensive” without getting a quote or considering cheaper options. A blanket refusal like that is unlikely to meet the undue hardship standard.

Other common failures

• Forcing leave. Leave can be an accommodation, but your employer can’t require it if another accommodation would let you keep working (2 CCR §11068(c)).
• “Fully healed” policies. Your employer must assess your ability to do the job individually and can’t require you to be fully healed before returning (2 CCR §11068(i)).
• Ignoring vacant positions. If you can’t do your current job even with accommodation, your employer must look for a vacant position you’re qualified for (2 CCR §11068(d)).
• Firing you because of the disability. Termination is generally allowed only if you can’t perform the essential duties even with reasonable accommodation, or can’t do so safely (§12940(a)). See fired because of a disability.

What you can recover

If your employer violated FEHA, remedies listed by the Civil Rights Department can include back pay, reinstatement, emotional distress damages, attorney’s fees and, in some cases, punitive damages. What a claim is worth depends on the facts, including your lost pay and how the employer’s conduct affected you. For the basics of your rights, see your right to reasonable accommodation.

What to do if your employer is failing you

1. Make or repeat your request in writing, describing your limitation and the change you need.
2. Give reasonable documentation from your provider if asked, and keep copies.
3. Keep a timeline of every request, response, meeting and change in treatment.
4. Save evidence: emails, texts, reviews, schedules and names of witnesses.
5. Watch the deadlines in the table below.
6. Get advice before signing a separation agreement or resigning.

See the CRD complaint process and our guide to filing a CRD complaint and getting a right-to-sue notice.

Frequently asked questions

Can my employer require a doctor’s note before accommodating me?

Yes, if your disability or need isn’t obvious. The note can be limited to confirming a limiting condition and explaining why you need the accommodation.

My employer offered a different accommodation than I asked for. Is that allowed?

Generally yes, if the alternative is effective. Your employer must consider your preference but can choose another option that lets you perform the essential functions.

Is it a violation if my employer never responded at all?

It can be. A failure to engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process can be its own claim under §12940(n), separate from a failure to accommodate.

Does this apply to small employers?

FEHA applies to employers that regularly employ five or more people. The federal ADA applies at 15 or more.

Talk to a California employment lawyer

Employees First Labor Law represents workers exclusively, including employees whose accommodation requests were ignored, denied or met with retaliation. We offer free virtual consultations. Contact us online or call (310) 853-3461.

This article is general information about California law as of 2026, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.