Employers must provide a disabled individual with a reasonable accommodation of his or her disability in contrast to providing the accommodation preferred by the individual

Employers must provide a disabled individual with a reasonable accommodation of his or her disability in contrast to providing the accommodation preferred by the individual
2015 NY Slip Op 03936, Appellate Division, First Department

The Appellate Division agreed with Supreme Court’s finding that the City of New York as the employer [Employer] had demonstrated that it had engaged in a good faith interactive process through which it had provided Complainant with a reasonable accommodation to address her vision and reading disabilities.

However, said the court, neither the New York State’s Human Rights Law [Executive Law § 296] nor New York City’s Administrative Code [Administrative Code of City of NY § 8-107] requires that an employer provide a disabled individual with the specific accommodation he or she preferred, citing Pimentel v Citibank, 29 AD3d 141, leave to appeal denied, 7 NY3d 707.

Further, said the Appellate Division, Employer had established that the Complainant’s preferred additional accommodation would not have addressed the non-visual disabilities that were impacting her job performance and preventing her from satisfying the essential requisites of her job.

The decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2015/2015_03936.htm