Examples of Reasonable Accommodations

Reasonable accommodation is defined by function, not by a list. An accommodation is reasonable if it enables a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of their job, or to enjoy equal terms and privileges of employment, without imposing undue hardship.

Examples are still useful, because employers frequently cannot picture what an accommodation looks like. These are grouped by the barrier they address.

Changes to the Physical Environment

• Adjustable-height desks, ergonomic seating, or anti-fatigue matting.
• Relocating a workstation nearer an accessible entrance or restroom.
• Improved or reduced lighting for visual conditions or migraine triggers.
• Noise reduction — a quieter location, sound-dampening panels, or permission to use noise-cancelling headphones.
• Accessible parking, ramps, automatic doors and accessible restroom facilities.

Changes to Schedule and Attendance

• A modified start or finish time, for conditions with predictable daily variation or for transport constraints.
• Additional or more frequent breaks.
• Part-time or reduced hours, permanently or temporarily.
• Leave for treatment or recovery — including leave beyond FMLA entitlement, which is one of the most commonly missed accommodations.
• Remote work where the essential functions can be performed remotely.

Changes to How the Job Is Done

• Reallocating marginal functions to other employees. Essential functions generally need not be removed under the ADA, but marginal ones may be.
• Providing written instructions where verbal instructions are a barrier, or vice versa.
• Adjusting supervisory method — more frequent check-ins, written feedback, clearer prioritization.
• Permitting a service animal.
• Allowing a job coach during training.

Equipment and Technology

• Screen reading or magnification software, and braille displays.
• Speech recognition software, for mobility or dexterity limitations.
• Amplified telephones, captioning services and assistive listening devices.
• Modified keyboards, trackballs and alternative input devices.
• Lifting aids and carts.

Reassignment

Where no accommodation enables the employee to perform their current job, reassignment to a vacant position for which they are qualified may be a reasonable accommodation. The employer is generally not required to create a position, displace another employee, or promote the individual.

Adjustments to Policies

• Exceptions to a no-food-at-desk rule for an employee managing diabetes.
• Modifying a dress code where a condition makes compliance difficult.
• Adjusting a no-leave-in-first-year policy.
• Permitting a support animal in a workplace that otherwise excludes animals.

What Makes an Accommodation Effective

The test is effectiveness, not preference. An employer is not required to provide the specific accommodation requested if an alternative is equally effective — but the alternative must actually work, and the reasoning should be documented. An accommodation that is cheaper and does not remove the barrier is not an accommodation.

What Employers Are Not Required to Do

• Eliminate an essential function of the job (though see essential functions under the PWFA, which takes a different approach).
• Lower production or performance standards applied to all employees.
• Provide personal-use items such as eyeglasses or hearing aids.
• Create a new position.
• Provide an accommodation imposing undue hardship — assessed on evidence, not assertion.

The Most Common Mistake

Treating cost as the determining factor. Most accommodations cost little or nothing, and undue hardship is assessed against the employer's overall resources rather than a departmental budget. Employers who reject accommodations on cost without analysis rarely have a defensible position.

Cost in Practice

Employers frequently assume accommodation is expensive, and the assumption drives more refusals than any genuine hardship analysis. In reality a large proportion of accommodations cost nothing at all — a schedule change, a relocated workstation, permission to sit, a modified break pattern.

Where equipment is needed, the cost is usually modest relative to recruiting and training a replacement. And undue hardship is assessed against the employer's overall resources, not a departmental budget line, which is a distinction managers routinely miss.

Temporary Versus Permanent

Accommodations are not necessarily permanent. Some address a temporary limitation and end when it resolves; others continue indefinitely; many are adjusted over time as circumstances change.

What matters is that changes are made through the interactive process rather than unilaterally. Withdrawing an effective accommodation without discussion, or allowing one to lapse quietly during a reorganisation, is a common route to a complaint.

Frequently Asked Questions

Must we accept the employee's suggestion?

No, provided the alternative is genuinely effective.

Is indefinite leave a reasonable accommodation?

Generally not, but leave of a defined and reasonable duration frequently is — including after FMLA is exhausted.

Can we accommodate temporarily and then stop?

Accommodation should be reviewed as circumstances change, but withdrawing an effective accommodation without a basis invites a claim.

Related Reading and Training

See job restructuring under the ADA and documenting the accommodation process. For training, see the integrated FMLA, ADA, COBRA and workers' compensation program.