Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution
Abstract
The consideration process surrounding the use of reasonable accommodations in the workplace is sophisticated, flexible, and often litigious. Although employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations to employees, accommodation requests can be denied by showing an undue burden in the workplace. Because this determination is made on a case-by-case basis, there are no bright line rules for when it is acceptable for an employer to refuse an accommodation request. Accordingly, this situation can deprive deserving employees of accommodations and expose employers to liability. Mediation is an excellent process to address this problem because creative solutions can be used to make tailored remedies that are not available to plaintiffs in lawsuits.
Part II of this Note will provide an overview of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ("Rehab Act"), the Americans with Disability Act of 1990 ("ADA"), and ADA Amendments Acts of 2008 ("ADAAA") and explain why accommodations are a significant issue in the American workplace. Part III will discuss the use of service animals, a practice that raises workplace accommodation issues, providing case law to demonstrate how courts are not adequately equipped to deal with this problem. Part III will then give an overview of ADA mediation, explain the benefits of mediation, and describe its potential limitations. Finally, in Part IV, the author advocates for why the tailor-made remedies of mediation are best for processing service animal workplace accommodation requests.
Disciplines
Civil Rights and Discrimination | Dispute Resolution and Arbitration | Law
Recommended Citation
John F. Walpole,
Don't Fight Like Cats and Dogs: Using Mediation for Workplace Accommodation Requests for Service Animals,
21
Cardozo J. Conflict Resol.
799
(2020).
Available at:
https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cjcr/vol21/iss3/10