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Thompson Hine LLP, a full-service business law firm with approximately 400 lawyers in 8 offices, was ranked number 1 in the category “Most innovative North American law firms: New working models” by The Financial Times and was 1 of 7 firms shortlisted for The American Lawyer’s inaugural Legal Services Innovation Award. The firm has been recognized by the National Law Journal as a Legal Technology Trailblazer and featured by Bloomberg for its innovative service delivery models, which drive accuracy and predictability. The firm’s commitment to innovation is embodied in Thompson Hine SmartPaTHTM – a smarter way to work – predictable, efficient and aligned with client goals. For more information, please visit ThompsonHine.com and ThompsonHine.com/SmartPaTH.

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Welcome to the twelfth and final issue of Compliance Check 2020. We hope you’ve found our monthly self-assessments of your company’s compliance with federal, state and local employment laws and regulations helpful and informative. We’ve covered everything from handbooks to internal investigations to OSHA inspections and a variety of issues in between to help you get your company ready for the new decade. In this last edition we help you evaluate your company’s readiness to address requests to accommodate disabilities and religious needs.

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The Americans with Disabilities Act requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities who are employees or applicants for employment, unless doing so would cause the business undue hardship. Similarly, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employers to reasonably accommodate the religious beliefs and practices of applicants and employees, unless doing so would cause more than a minimal burden on the operation of the employer's business. A reasonable religious workplace accommodation is any adjustment to the work environment that will allow the employee to practice his or her religion.

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Although these two topics seem distinctly different, both types of accommodation requests have fundamentally similar process requirements, including a standard interactive process, verification that the underlying request is bona fide, an individualized analysis and documentation of the process. And the risk of failing to meet any of these requirements is equally high, with the EEOC and individual plaintiffs increasingly pursuing discrimination claims in court.

Here are some questions to help you evaluate your company’s ability to respond to accommodation requests:

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As always, we welcome your questions, feedback or suggestions. Please contact:

Megan S. Glowacki, Author &amp; Co-Editor 513.352.6503 <a href="mailto:Megan.Glowacki@ThompsonHine.com">Megan.Glowacki@ThompsonHine.com</a>

Heather M. Muzumdar, Co-Editor 513.352.6691 <a href="mailto:Heather.Muzumdar@ThompsonHine.com">Heather.Muzumdar@ThompsonHine.com</a>

Nancy M. Barnes, Practice Group Leader 216.566.5578 <a href="mailto:Nancy.Barnes@ThompsonHine.com">Nancy.Barnes@ThompsonHine.com</a>

This newsletter may be reproduced, in whole or in part, with the prior permission of Thompson Hine LLP and acknowledgment of its source and copyright. This publication is intended to inform clients about legal matters of current interest. It is not intended as legal advice. Readers should not act upon the information contained in it without professional counsel. This document may be considered attorney advertising in some jurisdictions.

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Compliance Check 2020 – December 2019

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