Accommodating an Employee's Commute to Work Under the ADA: Reasonable, Preferential, or Both?

Abstract

The federal courts are split on whether a request to accommodate an employee's commute to work is a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. A majority of courts take the position that such a request is inherently unreasonable either because commuting occurs outside of the work environment or because granting such a request would amount to impermissible preferential treatment. A minority of courts, in contrast, find that commuting-related requests are not unreasonable per se and that the appropriateness of such requests should be determined on a case-by-case basis. This article contends that those courts following the majority position take a mistaken categorical approach to reasonable accommodation analysis. Courts, instead, should undertake an individualized analysis that focuses on the effectiveness of the requested accommodation and whether such an accommodation would impose an undue hardship. More broadly, this article asserts that concerns about preferential treatment and the inside/outside distinction should not automatically defeat an otherwise effective reasonable accommodation.

Keywords: Disability, Americans with Disabilities Act, Reasonable Accommodation, Commuting